West Elsdon. (Chicago, Cicero, Brighton: condo, crime, townhome)

[MannheimMadman]

This is sort of a branch off from another post I made, so..

Another poster mentioned they saw this new home development Park Place Homes Chicago, and it piqued my interest. After all, I am in the beginning stages of a home search, and if something looks interesting on paper I'll go check it out.

West Elsdon itself seems a lot like much of the South Side- working class, little houses, comfy neighborhood.

The properties themselves seem alright, I guess. My biggest concern is the proximity to seemingly crappy neighborhoods. You've got Gage Park directly east of the properties (51st & Lawndale) and then kitty-corner, you've got Brighton Park- all within walking distance.

I know that earlier on in the year there were 3 or 4 shootings in Gage Park. West Elsdon's crime is pretty low for being in the city, but the other two-not so much. If you guys had a kid, what would you do? And do you think the crappiness of the other two neighborhoods would encroach on West Elsdon?

[Drover]

I'm noticing West Elsdon showing up in the crime blotter more and more often. It looks like it may have turned the corner, or is on the verge of it. If I lived there I wouldn't be fleeing yet, but I also won't be looking there either when it's time to buy. So far this year there have been 3 shootings there, and going back 365 days there have been 3 homicides. This in a neighborhood that almost never saw either just a few years ago.

BTW, Gage Park and Brighton Park have had more than a few shootings. In the last 365 days there have been over 30 shootings in both.

If you want the same general feeling in the same general area with the same general affordability, I'd look into McKinley Park. IMO it's a safer bet than West Elsdon. It has Bridgeport anchoring it to the east, there's a huge railroad yard serving as a buffer between it and Back of the Yards to the south, and an above-grade railroad corridor dividing it and Brighton Park.

[MannheimMadman]

Good call. I guess you've got to really pay attention to the surrounding communities and how they're holding up. I know shootings can happen anywhere, but just how crappy are those surrounding communities? I've only walked through Brighton Park around noon-time.

[Drover]

I haven't spent a lot of time in Gage Park, but to look at much of Brighton Park on the surface, it doesn't look like the kind of place that would have the degree of serious crime that it does.

[prairiestate]

I probably wouldn't do it if you have a kid and want a place to settle down. West Elsdon is pretty safe right now, and may remain that way. However, as a lifelong resident of the Southwest Side, I've seen Western Ave. fall to gangs, then Kedzie, now there are gang problems along Pulaski, Cicero and into the inner 'burbs. It's not even close to being a war zone or anything like that. But when you've gone your whole life without any incidents, and then there are several shootings over the past year, it makes you wonder. Maybe it'll settle down, maybe it'll get worse, it's hard to say right now, but history doesn't offer much hope. Plenty of people will tell you there is nothing to worry about if you're not involved in gangs or drugs. Try telling that to all the innocent people that have been caught in the crossfire, like the guy last fall who was killed sitting in traffic around 85th and Pulaski. I found that rather unsettling, considering all the hours I've spent sitting in traffic over there.

[Drover]

Or those two dudes who got shot in Beverly over a friggin' basketball game.

[MannheimMadman]

The only frustrating thing is that if you want to be safe and have a family on the southside, you're running out of options. What happens when places like Clearing and Garfield Ridge become a dump? You're right, West Elsdon is fine now, but what about in 5 years? It sucks that you don't have the comfort of knowing if your neighborhood will be ok that soon.

[Drover]

Even Clearing and Garfield Ridge are starting to see hints of trouble, including a recent murder in broad daylight on Archer Avenue of -- get this -- someone in a funeral procession for another murder victim. They didn't even get a chance to bury the dude before another one fell victim.

It sucks watching the southwest side go down the drain because it was the last safe and actually affordable (and not the "only 450K for a SFH kind of affordable) sliver left in the city.

[MannheimMadman]

I tell all this to my wife, and she gets frustrated because we'd not be too particularly happy about paying that 450K for a SFH. Her prerequisites were a a house (not condo, townhome) and a yard. Those prospects when considering all these violent trends are looking expensive.

[chet everett]

I would not write off all of the SW side based on some freakish funeral procession shooting. Most of the Hispanic types that have moved there are pretty quiet. You don't see the youth oriented places much, which I suppose is a mixed blessing. It is good in the sense that too many of those places tend to be hang outs for the less desirable types, but they can also be money makers both for the folks that invest in 'em and the City. Too much entertainment money has just dried up. Not good...