Hispanic comunity (Chicago, Aurora, Joliet: crime, safest neighborhood, college)

[gabry76]

Hello everybody!
My wife and I are relocating soon to Chicago. Anybody can tell me what are the areas where the hispanic comunity is more concentrated? Thanks

[Drover]

The Hispanic community is most heavily concentrated on the city's Southwest side. That said, a lot of the Hispanic area on the Southwest side is not particularly nice or safe. The major exception would be Pilsen, which is the cultural heart of the Hispanic community, anchored around the Mexican Fine Arts Museum. However, many of the area residents lament that the neighborhood is getting whiter.

Hispanics are also pretty widely integrated throughout the North and particularly Northwest sides. There is a large Puerto Rican neighborhood on the near Northwest side called Humboldt Park that is relatively safe in certain areas (particularly along its eastern border) but isn't too hot in the rest of the area. In much of the rest of the Northwest side Hispanics are pretty well mixed into otherwise white communities, to the extent that a lot of businesses have bi-lingual signage. I'd say the best and safest neighborhoods with a significant Hispanic presence would be Avondale, Irving Park, and Albany Park.

[Marcus23]

You're looking for hispanic community, but a lot of crime is associated with those areas. I'm hispanic and wouldnt live in the hisanic community.

[prairiestate]

Where isn't there a large Hispanic presence? That would be an easier question to answer.

The largest Hispanic populations are as follows:

Starting near downtown, head down Cermak, all the way to Berwyn.
Down Archer, then south anywhere between Kedzie and Cicero, to Marquette Road.
Much of west Cook County, especially Cicero, Berwyn, Melrose Park, North Lake, Franklin Park and adjacent areas.
North DuPage County, such as Bensenville, Wood Dale, Addison, and Glendale Heights
Far west suburbs, like Aurora, West Chicago, Elgin and Carpentersville
Far north suburbs, especially Waukegan and the Round Lake area.
Northwest Suburbs, like Des Plaines, Mt. Prospect, Hanover Park and Streamwood.
Northwest side, heading up Elston Ave. and down Fullerton.
South and southwest suburbs, like Blue Island, Chicago Heights, Bolingbrook, Woodridge and Joliet.

Anywhere else in Chicagoland, you'll still see a significant number of Hispanic residents. We have the 2nd largest Mexican population in the country, and Hispanics will, more than likely, soon be the 2nd largest percentage of the population in the City of Chicago. Hispanics also make up almost a quarter of Cook County, nearly 30% of Kane County, 20% of Lake County, Ill, 15% of McHenry and over 10% each in DuPage and Will. So, you will never feel out of place as an Hispanic resident almost anywhere in Chicagoland.

[CiscoKid]

Prairiestate knows his Chicago Hispanic demographic data, but I'd like to emphasize a point as a native Chicagoan (and Hispanic) who has lived in other urban areas with large "Hispanic" populations including San Francisco, Boston, and currently NYC. In Chicago, while there are sizeable Puerto Rican, Cuban, and even Colombian populations, when you are talking about Latinos/Hispanics, you are generally talking about Mexicans, who make up about 3/4 of the Chicago area Hispanic population. So, depending on where you're from and what you mean by Hispanic, this may or may not be what you are looking for. As was previously mentioned, Humboldt Park has a large concentration of Puerto Ricans with a culture different from the Mexican culture of Pilsen and The Little Village neighborhoods. Also of note, there is some significant animosity between Puerto Ricans and Mexicans in Chicago. This is a broad generalization, but I think in general this tension does exist-the distinct Puerto Rican vs. Mexican neighborhoods are evidence of this. This really raises a larger issue of what the artificial grouping "Hispanic" really means considering it encompasses so many countries of origin, generations, cultures, and even languages.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by CiscoKid

This really raises a larger issue of what the artificial grouping "Hispanic" really means considering it encompasses so many countries of origin, generations, cultures, and even languages.

I've always wondered about the usefulness of a demographic identifier that puts Jessica Alba and Cameron Diaz, or my blonde-haired blue-eyed friend with a German surname whose dad happened to come from Argentina, or someone whose ancestors arrived here from Spain 300 years ago, in the same group as someone who is 3/4ths first-nations who arrived from Peru last Thursday afternoon. It always struck me as an exceptionally artificial construct.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by Drover

I've always wondered about the usefulness of a demographic identifier that puts Jessica Alba and Cameron Diaz, or my blonde-haired blue-eyed friend with a German surname whose dad happened to come from Argentina, or someone whose ancestors arrived here from Spain 300 years ago, in the same group as someone who is 3/4ths first-nations who arrived from Peru last Thursday afternoon. It always struck me as an exceptionally artificial construct.

I would agree. If I may clarify, then, in most of the towns and areas I listed, you'll find at least one Mexican/Hispanic grocery store, and probably some Spanish language books in the library, and some churches with Spanish language services. So, there are still a lot of areas across the entire metro area with at least a moderately large, recent immigrant presence. I have to admit, though, I'm stumped as to where you would find a 3/4 first nations Peruvian community in Chicago though!

[Metro]

gabry76,

I just moved to Waukegan in January from Atlanta. I did demographic research because I, too, wanted to live in a large Hispanic community, but because of working in Wisconsin, needed to be well north of Chicago. Waukegan has about the largest concentration of Hispanics in Lake County. I have met a good mix of Puerto Ricans, Mexicans and Central Americans here. Of course, I have also met caucasions and African Americans here as well. I think the census bureau lists Waukegan as 44% Hispanic, but I think it is much higher.

[NYLATINQT]

Originally Posted by Drover

I've always wondered about the usefulness of a demographic identifier that puts Jessica Alba and Cameron Diaz, or my blonde-haired blue-eyed friend with a German surname whose dad happened to come from Argentina, or someone whose ancestors arrived here from Spain 300 years ago, in the same group as someone who is 3/4ths first-nations who arrived from Peru last Thursday afternoon. It always struck me as an exceptionally artificial construct.

Yeah seriously, people think that just because hispanics all speak spanish we are all one & the same. not the case. It's like lumping Americans, the British and Australians and calling them "Anglos" or something because they all speak english. give me a break. When i lived in NY, people assumed I was puertorican. When i lived in Florida, I was Cuban. Anywhere else in the country, they think you're Mexican. Pisses me off. (I'm dominican, by the way). They have me working as a "bilingual" counselor at my job. It sucks. I grew up in the states. I speak english 99% of the time and they want me to talk in spanish all day and half the times i can't even understand when i'm talking to a Mexican. No offense to anybody Mexican, i don't mean it like that. it's just that they do speak with a little bit of a different accent that i'm not used to, so people shouldn't just make assumptions that we are all the same. Anyway, whatever....

[Drover]

Originally Posted by NYLATINQT

Yeah seriously, people think that just because hispanics all speak spanish we are all one & the same . . .

But here's the thing: Not all Hispanics speak Spanish. Plenty have been here for numerous generations and now speak only English. So even that isn't a common identifier. I had a friend in college who was like 3rd or 4th generation Mexican and he looked rather, well, Mexican, but didn't know a word of Spanish. He told me, "every time someone comes up and just starts yapping at me in Spanish, I ask them, 'what country do you think we're in?' "