Avondale- up and coming...safe? (Chicago: square, residents, news)

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I agree that Avondale is very "blah". It just doesn't have the charming architecture of a lot of nearby neighborhoods. It's a little bit "up-and-coming", but has a long long way to go. And crime is an issue there. There was a story in the news a few years ago about a young upstanding guy in his 20s who was murdered in his alley in Avondale. He heard some people breaking into his garage, went out to shoo them away, and they killed him. Nice story, eh? The coverage featured a lot of neighbors talking about gangs and Avondale crime.

Avondale is not a ghetto or even close to one of the worst neighborhoods in the city. It's probably safer than many other early gentrifying neighborhoods, like East Garfield Park and Humboldt Park. But it's still a little rough.

Avondale is much safer than E. Garfield Park and Humboldt Park, but it still is no Mayberry. The parts of Avondale closer to Irving Park and towards Roscoe Village and Lake View actually are much better than the others. The farther northwest or west in Avondale the worse it is.

[jdiddy]

The other nice thing is that if you're ever in need of a day laborer, Belmont/Milwaukee would be a short drive away.

[aswynn]

I just moved in the an apartment at the corner of Allen and Kimball. I feel safe and have been coming and going at all times. Yes, there isn't anything nearby, but with the bus and Blueline, it's not that far away. The only gang activity I have maybe seen was some tagging on a garage door, but as of yet, there has been nothing out of the ordinary.

[avondaleb]

I've lived in Avondale for two years. I bought a single-family home after selling a condo in Ravenswood. My neighbors (who bought their home only a few days after me) and I love it. We're within easy walking distance to the Logan Square stop (an easy trip to work in the Loop and to O'Hare) and blocks from several entrance ramps to I-94. There has been an influx of young professionals, like myself and my neighbors, into the neighborhood, esp. on the east side near Sacramento. To the south, there are several good restaurant options within walking distance (Buona Terra, Hatchi's Kitchen and Rustik) and several to the west within walking distance (El Cid and Azucar) and a cute wine shop (Provenance), although those are technically in Logan Square. And, of course, Starbuck's has invaded at Logan Square and California. In Avondale itself, there's Small Bar at Albany and Wellington that has a great patio and great food. There's also convenient shopping nearby including Strack & Van Til Grocery, Home Depot, Pep Boys, Target and a movie plex. Logan Blvd is a great place for dog walking and jogging. There's even a cute farmer's market at the end of Whipple/Albany and Logan Blvd. Avondale isn't a hip and happenin' place because it's primarily residential but it situated in a very appealing area for alot of reasons: easy access to I-94, the Blue Line, shopping and restaurants. Also, housing prices are still within reach, unlike many other areas of the city. Since I've lived in Avondale, the gang activity has been quickly moved to the west side of this very wide w/e neighborhood and is becoming no more prevalent on the east side than anywhere else I've lived in the city (Ravenswood, Wrigleyville, etc). It's quickly becoming gentrified.

I found that the following link provided some good, non-biased stats on what types of crimes happen where and helps to track trends in certain neighborhoods. It helped guide my buying decision, if you're interested: http://chicago.everyblock.com/crime/

It's interesting to note that as of the date of this posting (10/27/08), Avondale doesn't even make the top ten neighborhoods for crime in Chicago on everyblock.com but some neighborhoods deemed "safe" such as Lake View are. It pays to do your research and not rely too heavily on anecdotal evidence.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by avondaleb

It's interesting to note that as of the date of this posting (10/27/08), Avondale doesn't even make the top ten neighborhoods for crime in Chicago on everyblock.com but some neighborhoods deemed "safe" such as Lake View are. It pays to do your research and not rely too heavily on anecdotal evidence.

It also pays to make sure you understand the data you're trying to interpret. Lake View may make the "top ten" but it's also one of the most populous neighborhoods in the city and has over twice the population as Avondale. Everyblock's "crimes by neighborhood" ranking makes no attempt to rank according to the per-capita rate of crime, nor of the seriousness of the crime. Lakeview may have lots of property crime, for instance, but its per-capita rate of violent crime is still lower than Avondale -- 439 per 100,000 in the last 12 months versus 562 per 100,000; for aggravated battery it's 164 per 100,000 in Avondale versus 80 per 100,000 in Lakeview.

There's also a lot more gang activity in Avondale, which probably explains why rate of aggravated battery is double that of Lakeview. Then there' the store clerk who was murdered in Avondale about 2 or 3 days ago -- not at all common, but not terribly surprising either. That makes all of 2 murders in Avondale in the last year, but the year before there was a rash of murders there-- about 5 or so, mostly clustered in the area between the Belmont Blue Line stop and Kuma's Corner. Bottom line is while I personally could get by in Avondale -- live within a stone's throw of Avondale as it is -- it's not a place I would casually recommend to people who are accustomed to tidier surroundings.

[Humboldt1]

I know Avondale quite well, as I have looked at a number of properties there. I would rather stick to Logan Square. Avondale is certainly nicer than Humboldt Park, but has seen more and more hispanic gangs come in as the polish and eastern european residents are heading further north and west into areas like Norwood and Harwood Heights.

Across the street from my pastor's house in Avondale, near just north of Avers and Diversey, there was a shooting last year where a mexican guy who was part of a framing crew working on a house was shot out by people in a car. Needless to say, the local residents were not too happy to see this kind of crap happening in their neighborhood.

For long-term appreciation, I like Logan Square (east of Kimball) much better. Besides, for what you can buy a place in Avondale today you should be able to buy the same place in Eastern Logan Square in a year.

[Avengerfire]

El Rey Foods 3035 W. George St. early this morning.

Man shot dead at Logan Square food store - Chicago Breaking News

[SAI126]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

El Rey Foods 3035 W. George St. early this morning.

Man shot dead at Logan Square food store - Chicago Breaking News

That's an Avondale address. The news outlets often blur the boundaries of neighborhoods. It's of course also a tragedy for the man and his family, and this sort of thing happens all too often.

[Drover]

Another gang killing in Avondale lat night, and as per usual, the Tribune can't tell the difference between Avondale and Logan Square.

Teen killed in Logan Square shooting - Chicago Breaking News

[danco]

I have eaten my share of hot dogs from McDucks.
From what I remember try to stay west of Kimball.
If it's safety you want on the northwest side keep going northwest.
Having said that, my mom has lived in Avondale ( can't get her to leave )
the past 40 years and still feels it's safe enough despite being assaulted
on the street 20 years ago. Oh yeah, if you drive parking can be a challenge.