Future of Portage Park is Latino (Chicago: renting, house, neighborhood)

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Hendu

...I don't see the demographic trend in Portage Park as a negative...

That is because you never lived there when it was still very safe.

[Hendu]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

That is because you never lived there when it was safe.

Seems pretty safe to me now...but what do I know I just see this area from street-level every day.

Actually I feel safer in Hermosa than I did living in East Ukrainian Village from 2003-2006. Like I said, most of the crime here is not random unlike the trendier hoods.

[MannheimMadman]

Safe is a relative thing. Englewood is safe, relative to Baghdad.

At any rate, generally the poorest people come to the States from Mexico. In some instances, they are the ones more likely to commit crime. If they had a pretty good life in Mexico, why would they leave? Drug trade is quick, easy money. None of that used to be in a lot of places until the explosion of illegal immigration.

However, not taking into consideration per capita/density, Portage Park still has less violent crime than Albany Park. Though that doesn't really say much because Albany Park has been rough for the last twenty some years.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

...Though that doesn't really say much because Albany Park has been rough for the last twenty some years.

More like 30-40 years.

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

More like 30-40 years.

Well, there you go. It has the markings of being perpetually rough. So I suppose I wouldn't feel so bad about living in Portage Park. I don't have as much experience with the place as you or Hendu, but I'm usually in the commercial areas like six corners or the nearby HIP, so I have no right to say what the residential areas are like. It SEEMS less shady than Albany Park though.

[Hendu]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

Safe is a relative thing. Englewood is safe, relative to Baghdad.

At any rate, generally the poorest people come to the States from Mexico. In some instances, they are the ones more likely to commit crime. If they had a pretty good life in Mexico, why would they leave? Drug trade is quick, easy money. None of that used to be in a lot of places until the explosion of illegal immigration.

You could say the same thing about ANY immigrant group. If everyone had an easy life in their native countries, Chicago would be a Potawatami, Sauk or Illini town.

Look, I live here and I'm a middle class white guy, and my wife is a highly educated Polish woman. We are DINKs. If this neighborhood wasn't safe we could easily move to Lincoln Square or Roscoe Village or Oak Park or wherever (though it would hurt our travel budget a bit). But it is fine, from my view on the street level and not from anecdotal evidence or a couple Trib links...any neighborhood could be made to sound like it's going in the wrong direction that way. For all of the foreclosure issues, Hermosa has held together very well. I'm sure Portage will be the same unless white flight creates a vacuum.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

...It SEEMS less shady than Albany Park though.

That it is, but in the long run I think it will become much worse. Belmont-Cragin is dropping like a bullet and that will probably dictate the future of Portage Park.

[Go Hawk's]

I too have seen the changes in portage park . I grew up on the northwest side of chicago now considered the westtown neighborhood i lived there most of my life it was my family's home, having pulaski park right down the block I had a fun childhood . moving only 2 blocks away when i got married and had children is when I started worrying about my kids safety as there was an increased population of puerto ricans/mexican's and the neighborhood was changing.since then the neighborhood has changed but still has pockets of scum.I now live in norridge and have noticed the mexicans /ricans moving into the portage park area as well as harwood heights and a few in norridge,another person mention on here how whites take flight when they notice them moving in and I say they are thinking of their property value going down and of course they is concern violence follows these people like the plague and no one wants to be around that. was it last year I seen on the news how there was a murder/shooting at a hair salon that specializes in gang banger haircuts in portage park! then you wonder why whites want to take flight!

[Alacran]

Gangbanger haircuts? Wtf?
And His name was charles and he was white

[xavier xerxes]

Originally Posted by Alacran

Gangbanger haircuts? Wtf?
And His name was charles and he was white

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/n...,1827979.story

gangbanger haircuts.
artificial hairlines.
blockheads, a carved look.
looks dumb, is dumb.
two of these jugheads have gangbanger haircuts.
the two on the right.