Safe neighborhoods on the southside? (Chicago, Bridgeport: apartments, to rent, violent crime)

[moneylova]

I'm looking for apartments on the southside of Chicago, but thing is I know nothing about Chicago. So does anybody know where I could find a safe apartment

[ajolotl]

Why don't you post on the chicago forum? You will get plenty of feedback there.

Originally Posted by moneylova

I'm looking for apartments on the southside of Chicago, but thing is I know nothing about Chicago. So does anybody know where I could find a safe apartment

[surlycue]

If you want to be close to the city try Bridgeport. It is relatively safe.

The safest areas on the south side IMO are on the far south side. Beverly and Pullman being the best of those. Hyde Park is also relatively safe but I would be careful of street crime related to the university.

Ooops, forgot Mt Greenwood on the south west side. This is a great neighborhood but I'm not sure if it is well serviced by the trains.

[meatpuff]

Originally Posted by surlycue

If you want to be close to the city try Bridgeport. It is relatively safe.

The safest areas on the south side IMO are on the far south side. Beverly and Pullman being the best of those. Hyde Park is also relatively safe but I would be careful of street crime related to the university.

Ooops, forgot Mt Greenwood on the south west side. This is a great neighborhood but I'm not sure if it is well serviced by the trains.

To these I would add Hegewisch, East Side, Garfield Ridge and Clearing. They're all facing some crime dribbling over from surrounding areas but are still safe in general.

To these I wouldn't quite subtract Pullman, but would add a caution. My impression is it is not for city neophytes. It is one of those "up-and-coming" areas. Or that might even be too complimentary. It is "headed in the right direction" at least. But it still has a plenty of crime and is surrounded by total crap (economically depressed, full of violent crime) areas on three and a half sides.

Mount Greenwood is the only one with middle class suburb-level safety. Beverly is not far behind. Clearing and Garfield Ridge are not far behind either, but some on this forum are worried about their future.

[ajolotl]

YOu have to be more specific to get any useful information. The south side covers a huge area. Do you want to be near something in particular? On a train line? Do you want nightlife? Urban amenities vs. a more suburban-like part of the city. Do you have a preferred racial or age demographic? What about price?

Originally Posted by moneylova

I'm looking for apartments on the southside of Chicago, but thing is I know nothing about Chicago. So does anybody know where I could find a safe apartment

[surlycue]

Originally Posted by meatpuff

To these I would add Hegewisch, East Side, Garfield Ridge and Clearing. They're all facing some crime dribbling over from surrounding areas but are still safe in general.

To these I wouldn't quite subtract Pullman, but would add a caution. My impression is it is not for city neophytes. It is one of those "up-and-coming" areas. Or that might even be too complimentary. It is "headed in the right direction" at least. But it still has a plenty of crime and is surrounded by total crap (economically depressed, full of violent crime) areas on three and a half sides.

Mount Greenwood is the only one with middle class suburb-level safety. Beverly is not far behind. Clearing and Garfield Ridge are not far behind either, but some on this forum are worried about their future.

I am one that is very worried about Clearing. I would personally rather live in a neighborhood that is going up than one going down, and fast.

OP, pardon my frankness but does race play a factor in your choice? Mt Greenwood is predominantly white to the point where an African American will stick out like a sore thumb. Bridgeport has a pretty equal balance of black and white and was rated in one of those fluff pieces as a top diverse community. Hyde Park and Beverly are also very diverse. Pullman is the most heavily African American of the communities I listed.

[mycrows]

Originally Posted by surlycue

Bridgeport has a pretty equal balance of black and white and was rated in one of those fluff pieces as a top diverse community.

Do you have a link for that? I think that Bridgeport is roughly a third white, a third hispanic and a third chinese with a very few black people. In this sense it's 'diverse' but I think black people are still uncomfortable living there. There are more blacks in Armour Square though which is contiguous to Bridgeport and very similar.

[surlycue]

Originally Posted by mycrows

Do you have a link for that? I think that Bridgeport is roughly a third white, a third hispanic and a third chinese with a very few black people. In this sense it's 'diverse' but I think black people are still uncomfortable living there. There are more blacks in Armour Square though which is contiguous to Bridgeport and very similar.

Eeeeg, you are right. There I go mixing up my ethnicities again. We'll have to see what the '10 census brings to that neighborhood as I know that the Asian community is growing while other may be shrinking.

[west lawn kid]

Wher do you plan to work? Whats your price range? What are your people prefrences White, black, Hispanic, asian?
Some good places would be Archer Heights, and West Eldson their both near the orange line and a large amout of bus lines, plus they are very safe and have many affordable places to rent.

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by surlycue

I am one that is very worried about Clearing. I would personally rather live in a neighborhood that is going up than one going down, and fast.

OP, pardon my frankness but does race play a factor in your choice? Mt Greenwood is predominantly white to the point where an African American will stick out like a sore thumb. Bridgeport has a pretty equal balance of black and white and was rated in one of those fluff pieces as a top diverse community. Hyde Park and Beverly are also very diverse. Pullman is the most heavily African American of the communities I listed.

Is Clearing any worse to the west of the neighborhood than it is to the east? Like near Minuteman Park? It seems pretty clean immediately west of Midway, between 59th and 63rd, and mostly east of Narragensett.

I'd live there, but my girlfriend seems to really not like airplane noise.