Black Professionals on the Northside of Chicago? (Evergreen Park, Lincoln: middle-class, transplants)

[PRDivaX5]

Hi Everyone,

I am a twenty-something black professional and will be relocating to Chicago in July. I have done a lot of research, however, I continue to struggle with the question of, "is there a large population of black professionals living on the Northside (i.e. Wicker Park, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, etc)?"

Any insight you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Veronica

[chet everett]

The bigger question might be "is there a large population of such people ANYWHERE in Illinois" -- the answer is, sadly "no". That said, you will certainly not be the lone 20 something black professional in ANY of those area, just that if you want to have a lot of people with similar appearance and employment nearby you won't find that. While the percentage of people in your circumstance might be a bit higher in Hyde Park or parts of Bronzeville there is no reason not to consider the neighborhoods you've listed. In general, safety and cost are not too different and the deciding factors will be your commute, comfort, and the actual apartment.

If you were looking at Atlanta, LA , or NY the percentages are considerably different...

[PRDivaX5]

Thanks.... I actually live in New York City now, and yes, it is very diverse. I guess if I can find two or three people that look like me, I will be ahead of the game.

Thanks for the insight!

Veronica

[Ron.]

You will not find that on the Northside of Chicago at all. One thing i get sick and tired of people saying about Chicago is how "wonderful and Diverse" the city is. That's far from the truth. The city is Diverse in terms of ethnic groups but they DO NOT interact with eachother on a regular basis. Most only interact with eachother during work.

I live in Lakeview at this time and for the most part grew up on the Northside.I'll be honest and say that Lakeview is lilly white as can be. I don't even like leaving my apartment sometimes. There is one black guy that Isee in my neighborgood, he's the guy that is cleaning the streets for the city.

Lakeview looks like a white suburb. It's a darn shame
that black professionals in Chicago don't have enough sense to create establishments for "us". All over the Northside are white establishments that cater to whites but go on the Southside and it's a pure dump. To me the only people to blame are blacks, noone else.

The Northside is nice but It sucks as it relates to the social scene. As A single black guy, It is hard as hell to meet black women on the Northside. Those that I do meet are 100% into white guys.I was on the southside on Sunday for breakfast in Evergreen Park, and it was like i was a kid in a candy store when I saw all the "good looking" blacks with nice beautiful homes and nice lawns. The problem is Everpark is to far from my daily "grind". It's just out of the way.

Some folks may have a problem with what I am saying but this is 100% real talk. If the tables where turned, many whites would feel the same way.


Lately I have been thinking of relocating, For the record I have no problems with white people, but It's only natural to want to be around other successful people of your own ethnic group.


Good luck........

Originally Posted by PRDivaX5

Hi Everyone,

I am a twenty-something black professional and will be relocating to Chicago in July. I have done a lot of research, however, I continue to struggle with the question of, "is there a large population of black professionals living on the Northside (i.e. Wicker Park, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, etc)?"

Any insight you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards,
Veronica

[PRDivaX5]

Well, ChicagoRon..

I am a 28 year old black woman likely moving to the North Side of Chicago. So, you just met a nice black woman that lives in your area.

Veronica

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by PRDivaX5

Well, ChicagoRon..

I am a 28 year old black woman likely moving to the North Side of Chicago. So, you just met a nice black woman that lives in your area.

Veronica

Hi Veronica, enjoy your time in Chicago. It's a lovely city and, hopefully, a very nice change of pace after NYC.

The truth of the matter is that Chicago (and Detroit, and most other rust belt cities) has a large black population that was lured north from the south sometime in the late 50's. Most were promised good paying factory jobs and low-cost homes, because those homes had been abandoned by white folk scared out of the neighborhood by the same real estate agents looking to sell to the new black populace. Well, they bought their houses but the jobs ran out, in effect screwing them over. Everything else went bust and that makes it very hard for any impoverished group to improve themselves when there's nothing around to do so with.

What this means today is that, for the most part, Chicago really doesn't have a share of America's well-educated black populace. The South Side is still a slum no one's tried to gentrify. The city's (that is to say, Daley's) only solution to the poor (and mostly black) was to knock down government housing and not offer alternatives.

I'm sure you'd be a welcome presence in the Northside. I lived in the Gold Coast for a number of years and there are black people there; I think the lack these days is more attributable to the black community's preference to return to the south and their families there.

Again, enjoy Chicago and the north side. Yes, it's predominantly white, but it's still a very nice area

[DC's Finest]

As a black person (Im in PR too Veronica) who has visited Chicago hundreds of times, it is truly one of the great cities in the world. It is very difficult to gauge the segregation because I don't live it everyday, like most of you. I am aware that all of my black friends live on the Southside and some of my white friends live above Madison. But I wasn't aware that there isn't that much interaction between the diverse groups who populate Chicagoland. There is segregation in every city but you normally see well to do whites, asians, blacks, hispanics in some of the same (clubs, gyms, restaurants, plays) haunts. Just think, I was beginning to believe that today's segregation was a result of socioeconomics. This is interesting!

[Ron.]

Granted the segregation is SELF segregation, but the question is why so much of it? I can't agree with you as it relates to there being segregation in every city, that's just not true because there are not enough minority groups in the country to say that.


You can go in any city in the entire country and YOU WILL see someone white but you cannot say the same for any other group of people. Those cases that have whites only in a city, I would not consider them segregated, I'd just say they are cities where other ethnic groups don't live( ex. Small town in Montana wilh a population of 15,000)


Again, I am not complainig but It's disturbing to see it that's for sure. I am certainly not one of those blacks that "hope and pray" that white folks like me, because I could careless, all I want is an opportunity to succeed and a certain level of respect. I am certainly not someone that will say " some of my best friends are__________. Why should color matter?"

I can't make someone accept and like me, nor do I try.

The bulk of the interaction is AT WORK. There a exceptions but they are just that,exceptions. You normally don't see "one big happy,we are the world,racial harmony mix" in Chicago.

Originally Posted by DC's Finest

As a black person (Im in PR too Veronica) who has visited Chicago hundreds of times, it is truly one of the great cities in the world. It is very difficult to gauge the segregation because I don't live it everyday, like most of you. I am aware that all of my black friends live on the Southside and some of my white friends live above Madison. But I wasn't aware that there isn't that much interaction between the diverse groups who populate Chicagoland. There is segregation in every city but you normally see well to do whites, asians, blacks, hispanics in some of the same (clubs, gyms, restaurants, plays) haunts. Just think, I was beginning to believe that today's segregation was a result of socioeconomics. This is interesting!

[Lookout Kid]

Chicago is supposed to have one of the largest middle-class African American populations in the nation. However, not much of it is concentrated on the North Side. There are smattering here and there in Lakeview, Lincoln Park, etc., but no large concentrations. Also, Edgewater seems to have a good number of professional African-American homeowners in the condos along Sheridan Road.

In terms of inter-racial interactions, it's hard for me to say. I'm in a profession that's one of the "whitest" in most corners of the U.S. (architecture), but I have inter-racial marriages and adoptions in my own family. Most of the professional, educated Chicagoans under 50 wouldn't even think twice about it.

[Ron.]

What the OP is talking about is interacting with other professional blacks, which is understandable. Not diversity,not inter-racial relationships nor whether someone has friends of another race. She's looking for other blacks to interact with.

As far as Edgewater is concerned, it's not as white as Lakeview and L.P. but I would not go as far as saying their are a "good number" Professional blacks in Edgewater. Their are more but not in noticable numbers. Just slighly more.

Most of the blacks you see in Lakeview or LP or NOT older established professional blacks(over 40 years old). The blacks in these areas are usally transplants and are fairly young( under 30 years old).

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Chicago is supposed to have one of the largest middle-class African American populations in the nation. However, not much of it is concentrated on the North Side. There are smattering here and there in Lakeview, Lincoln Park, etc., but no large concentrations. Also, Edgewater seems to have a good number of professional African-American homeowners in the condos along Sheridan Road.

In terms of inter-racial interactions, it's hard for me to say. I'm in a profession that's one of the "whitest" in most corners of the U.S. (architecture), but I have inter-racial marriages and adoptions in my own family. Most of the professional, educated Chicagoans under 50 wouldn't even think twice about it.