safe neighbourhoods in northern part of city? (Chicago, Evanston: hardwood floors, rental car)

[mnkb_chicago]

We are a young couple without children looking for a condo/townhome in Northern parts of the City.
My husband has to commute all the way up to Abbott in North Chicago so we looked at North Suburbs like Highland Park and Wilmette too but found them a little too sleepy and quite expensive(our budget is 300-400K)
Also I will have to work in the City from next year so we don't want to buy something too far north.
We could not find anything we liked in Evanston close to Metra line that goes to 'North Chicago' (the suburb not the northern part of the City) and prefer mid-rise condos so we are looking at Rogers park and northern part of the city within walking distance to the metra line.
How is Rogers park in terms of safety, neighborhood demographics? Can anyone suggest good neighborhoods around that area with a metra line that goes North?
Thanks!

[Drover]

Rogers Park is hit-and-miss. It's one of those neighborhoods that has to be evaluated almost on a street-by-street basis. Generally, the closer to the lakeshore and Loyola University, the more consistently safe it is. In terms of demographics, Rogers Park is probably the most racially diverse portion of the North Side. There are nearly equal portions of blacks, whites and Hispanics. Additionally, there is notable central Asian presence, as a small portion of the city's Indian/Pakistani neighborhood (called International Market) falls within Rogers Park. (Most of International Market actually falls into the adjoining West Ridge neighborhood.) Economic demographics also runs the gamut from solid upper-middle-class to just-arrived-from-the-third-world poor. In short, Rogers Park has it all. Finally, Rogers Park is probably the best bang for your buck on the North Side right now. It's certainly the most affordable lakeshore neighborhood on the North Side. Two-bedroom condos start at $150K. That's almost unheard of anywhere on the North side, much less in a lakeshore neighborhood. Get in while you can though; gentrification is underway.

[Drover]

Here's what $400K can buy you in Rogers Park (be sure to click on the "Featured Tour" box:

http://tinyurl.com/2svdga (broken link)


That's a block from the beach.

[ekg56]

We will be selling my Mom's house in Rogers Park. It is 1 block from the Metra station. It is a 4 square, 100 years old. It has 4 bedrooms, hardwood floors, 50/150 foot lot. Lots of windows, corner lot. It has been in our family for almost 50 years. It still has old world charm. Like the boxed ceiling in the dining room. Email if you want more info or pictures.

[unexplained bacon]

I've lived in Rogers Park since I moved to the city five years ago. Obviously, I like it.

It does have a bit of an "edge", but given that I moved from a sleepy suburb and acclimated just fine, it's clearly not a very hard one. It is true that you need to evaluate RP on a street-by-street basis. So far, I have lived on:

-Devon & Newgard: great location, close to the El, beach, etc. Cons: I lived in a building with loudass Loyola students, and the parking was awful.

-Greenview & Jarvis: this was the chanciest area, and the only place I have ever heard gunfire. Still, I lived all by lonesome with my cats, and never had a problem. Parking was super, close to the beach, one block from the El.

-Ashland & Wallen: This was OK. Again, I never personally experienced any trouble, but we did see arrests going down outside our window, and there were some shootings I heard about afterwards. I liked the location though, the neighborhood was pretty quiet, while still having close proximity to shopping and restaurants.

When we went to buy, we ended up in West Rogers Park (Devon & Leavitt) because we couldn't find anything in our price range in RP. In retrospect, it was just that our realtor sucked and we didn't know any better; if we had to do it over again, we'd look a bit longer and live in RP. WRP is just far far FAR for us transit-riders, there's gang activity, and our block is trashy as hell.

[mnkb_chicago]

Thanks !! We will research more about the specific streets and visit the place soon to check out

[nateaus]

I am visiting Chicago. I will have rental car and will be going to do some work.. but my girlfriend will be on foot.. will she be ok traveling going to the metro to go around in and out of the city?

The address - 1751 w. North Shore, Chicago, IL

Thanks for all your help.

[1ink1npark66]

Is this address safe and good to be on foot and taking public tranportation
6487 N sacramento ave chicago IL 60645