Is the Southside really that bad? (Chicago, Chatham: low crime, house, neighborhoods)

[Miami305Kid]

Southside Chicago get an infamous reputation from the media. Is it really that bad? I think it makes up like 60% of the city so is most of Chicago dangerous or is their just more working class immigrants on the southside?

[prairiestate]

Well, I know I've lost track of how many times I've been killed!

I would say yes and no. Some of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods are there, but there are also plenty of stable, middle class neighborhoods on the South Side. On the other hand, Chatham is a well kept middle class neighborhood which I've always assumed was relatively safe. Looking at the actual crime stats recently, it's pretty shocking. It's actually not a very safe community. Also, many neighborhoods that would have a very low crime rate tend to see a bit more crime then a community in say, DuPage County, because of the proximity to high crime areas. Still, I don't have any great concerns about safety. Check the crime stats, avoid the highest crime areas, you'll almost certainly be fine.

[Chicagoland60426]

Yes, the over half the reported crimes are on th southside, as well the westside too. There are good neigborhoods like Beverly, Mt. Greenwood, Hyde Park, Kenwood, and some on the southwestside, but most of the high retail districts and shopping districts are either downtown and the northside.

[ParkerP]

There's a mixture of good and bad and it varies block by block. You'll have a clump of beautiful neighborhoods ie West Chesterfield, Chatham, Jackson Park Highlands (my favorite), parts of South Shore, parts of South Chicago, Pill Hill, etc that are surrounded by the pits of Hell. My neighborhood is very nice but because it shares a zip code with the bs that goes on on 83rd, 87th, and 93rd street, it will also share the bad rep. Jackson Park Highlands will share the bad rep with 71st and 67th street. So unless you grew up here or actually came to see for yourself, you'll never know.

[ManheimMadman]

Agreed. As I've said before, the scenery changes quick, and you have crappy neighborhoods next to great neighborhoods. I've been checking out Beverly a lot lately, and as soon as you cross Vincennes, things get rough in a hurry- like entering a new city. You can certainly see this as you drive east on 63rd starting in Clearing. You move to Westlawn which is so-so, then into Marquette Park, which is kind of meh. Then you get into West englewood and englewood which speak for themselves.

I would say the near south side is pretty decent, most of the sw side is ok further west, and the s.e. side has been discussed by ParkerP. I'm not hesitating to live here, but people definitely need to do there homework and drive/walk the southside a lot before they buy. I've been doing this for about a month, and I've got most of the SW side and near southside covered. I have no desire to live in the s.e. side, so I'm skipping that.

[MyMotorcycle]

The south side is 95% black community . Why would you want to move to a place where one block is ok , and one block over it's bad .
You have to drive to your house . Meaning you will have to drive down or pass that "Bad" block .

You are better off living in the northwest burbs or the far west burbs of the city .

[ManheimMadman]

Most known good neighorhoods are good for the entire 'hood- so let's say 10 blocks worth of 'hood is alright. So what if a good part of the southside is black? Does that make it a wasteland? Did you know black people live in Beverly in harmony with white people? Shocking, I know.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by MyMotorcycle

The south side is 95% black community .

95%!?! Are you sure about that?

[ERS-One]

Originally Posted by MyMotorcycle

The south side is 95% black community

Okay, that's not true, but even if it was, what's your point?

[ManheimMadman]

Originally Posted by ERS-One

Okay, that's not true, but even if it was, what's your point?

I believe he was trying to equate high populations of blacks with high crime and undesirability.