Palmer Square - Thoughts? (Chicago, Lincoln: luxury, condo, lease)

[bifevo]

Hey gang:

Just signed the lease on a place that is directly on Palmer Blvd a block east of Kedzie. I know there's a few mentions of this neighborhood in a few Logan Square threads, but I was curious if anyone had any thoughts on Palmer Square in particular or on the journey from here to the California Blue Line stop?

How reasonable is it to expect my car to be okay on the street along Palmer? (2006 Pontiac Vibe)

I really enjoyed the area but then again I only visited it during the day. Walking to the California stop seemed hit and miss however, with both new condo construction as well as boarded up buildings.

Seems like I may be getting in over my head after reading up about it, especially since my previous experience has been a few months in west Lincoln Park around Armitage & Racine, which could not be more sanitized and suburban. (just moved to Chicago not long ago)

Oh well. The lease is already signed so I guess I'm in for at least a year regardless of what happens.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[prairiestate]

Too bad you don't have the 2005, no problems there. The '06, probably won't be there in the morning.

[urbansagacity]

it's fine.. i live in humboldt park; not far from Palmer Square. yes, there are some sketch happenings, once in a blue moon, but that's like any place in the city, including the gold coast or lincoln park. the only place i've ever been robbed is in the Gold Coast/ River North area. It's usually perceptions of a neighborhoods that people are scared of. Nonetheless, crime usually happens within social circles, so you should be fin.

[Avengerfire]

West Town,Logan Square, and Humboldt Park have very high rates of car theft.

[Drover]

The Logan Square area is one of the car thieves' favorite areas. I don't know why. Nonetheless the statistical odds of waking up to find your car missing, while higher than normal, are still pretty small. Petty vandalism and car break-ins, on the other hand, are a part of city life that you should be resigned to expect once in a while.

[bifevo]

Thanks for the responses all! Coming from a relatively small town of 2000 people, Chicago is still taking some getting used to.

[Attrill]

I live a couple blocks east of Palmer Sq., and while I have seen a lot of car break ins on nights there are concerts at the Congress theater, I haven't had any problems myself (2003 Volvo XC) and haven't had any visitors or neighbors have problems. I would agree that the odds of waking up to find your car missing are pretty small.

[Lookout Kid]

My advice is to buy a used car with a few dings and sever any emotional attachment to it. Palmer Square is one of the nicest parts of Logan Square, but the likelihood of someone messing with your newer car over the course of a few years is probably pretty high. When I lived in Wicker Park a few years ago I usually saw at least one car with a broken side window every day or two. And that was definitely a lower crime neighborhood at the time.

In terms of walking to the California Blue Line, just use common sense. If it doesn't seem safe because it's late at night or something, take a cab. You should be fine. Logan Square is a great neighborhood, and it's only getting better.

[EMC217]

This is my wife's account. But, we are moving right down the street from you end of May, so I am replying on her account to respond. First, I drive an expensive car (40k+ new, 6 months old) so they'd probably go after mine first! Logan Square is safe, and Palmer is definitely safe, St. Sylvesters school and church help ensure that. I have lived in Chicago for 4 years in Old Town and then the Gold Coast. In the Gold Coast, we had some guy who was assaulting and robbing women in our "24/7" security staffed and monitored garage. He got three women (that we know of) and they never caught him. He used a baseball bat... In Old Town/River North, we were 99% positive we had a prostitution ring getting run out of our building, one of them got evicted and there was an incredibly sad and embatrasing scene we had to witness resulting from that. So, put yourself in the mind of the criminal. The professional criminal will take the train for 1 dollar to neighborhood X to steal something from someone wealthy. What neighborhood is neighborhood X?

[Humboldt1]

There are much nicer cars to go after in that area. I never undestood buying new but appreciate people such as yourself who take the depreciation hit the first couple of years. I always buy used luxury vehicles.

I only pay cash for vehicles and have better things to do with my money than buy a new, highly depreciable asset. I prefer to invest in equities and RE, though I am holding off until next year as prices continue to drop in areas such as Palmer Square and Logan as a whole.

Palmer Square is a decent area and Logan as a whole, especially east of Kimball is getting better.

Lookout Kid, just curious, do you reside in Logan? You seem to be a very strong proponent of the area. I like the area too, much better than Humboldt where I live now and see some great deals coming in the next few months.