How safe is Englewood?? (Chicago, Chatham: middle-class, rental, houses)

[TeacherMan]

My wife and I will be relocating to Chicago from MI in August. I will be teaching for CPS on the South Side. She will be seeking a paralegal position. We are looking for safe, affordable housing, ideally in a multi-ethnic area.
We have heard about/been referred to many of the same areas:
- Hyde Park/Kenwood
- Bridgeport
- Bronzeville
- Pilsen
etc.

There seem to be a LOT of rental options in Englewood. (We would like a 2+ bedroom for under $1000/month.) However, no one seems to recommend that area. Is it not so safe?
Looking for some thoughts from those familiar with the city in general, and that area specifically.
(Also appreciate thoughts on: Chatham, Ashburn, Pullman, Woodlawn, Roseland, McKinley Park)

Thanks to Drover and j33 who have already provided some wonderful insight!

Looking forward to some further insight...
-TM

[NSH]

Englewood is not multi ethnic, the area is 99.9% black. Lots of gangs, drugs, prostiution and other vices going on here. Basically, it's the ghetto

Chatham is also 99.9% black and is mostly owner occupied single family homes owned by police, firefighters and other city workers. Features good schools and lots of big box store shopping

Ashburn is about 90% black and has the same socio economic makeup as chatham

Pullman is 50% white and 50% black, and features beautiful row homes on winding streets from the turn of the century.

Roseland is 99.9% black and is more like englewood than chatham.

Woodlawn is about 90% black and is like chatham. A big plus for this area is that this is the neighborhood the 2016 olympics will be held in if they come to Chicago.

McKinley Park is about 80% white, and is socio economically depressed. You will see more gangs and violence here than what you might expect in a typical white neighborhood.

[TeacherMan]

Ok...that explains the amount of rental possibilities without recommendations (as far as Englewood is concerned)! Looks like the are some areas to add to the list (albeit non-multi-ethnic, with the exception of Pullman).

Other thoughts from the City-Data community??

THANKS!
-TM

[NSH]

you may also want to look into East Beverly and Morgan Park, although central and west beverly are anything but multi ethnic (unless you count being from county cork or county kerry as different ethnicities) , you will find east beverly and morgan park to be much more accepting to other races and faces than in probably any other area on the south side. (this is where i live )

[TeacherMan]

Originally Posted by NSH

you may also want to look into East Beverly and Morgan Park, although central and west beverly are anything but multi ethnic (unless you count being from county cork or county kerry as different ethnicities) , you will find east beverly and morgan park to be much more accepting to other races and faces than in probably any other area on the south side. (this is where i live )

What kind of commute would that give me to 72nd and I-90? To downtown??

THANKS SO MUCH!!

-TM

[NSH]

you could get to the east side in about 10-15 minutes by entering i-57 at halsted or 111th st and taking it to i-94 and exiting at the stoney island/103rd st/95th st exit
downtown can be done via commuter rail in 20-30 minutes. The famous rock island line (now metra) has 8 turn of the century rail stations within a 3 mile stretch to make it very easy to walk from your home to the train. A typical driving commute to downtown is also about 20-30 minutes.

[janesse]

Hey Teacherman,

I read your previous threads about the difficulties in finding a teaching position in Chicago, and congrats on finding one! I will be relocating to Chicago next year-- I have one more year left on my contract here in Phoenix. I will be relocating for graduate school, if all goes well.

What advice can you give me on finding a teaching position? How early should I start the job search? Did you attend any of the job fairs by CPS? What kind of school did you get a position at? Any and all information would be beneficial.

When I got my teaching degree, another teacher told me that one of the best benefits is being able to go anywhere in the country and finding a teaching position. Now that I am actually starting the process of relocating, I am finding that this is not the case!

[Drover]

Originally Posted by NSH

Englewood is not multi ethnic, the area is 99.9% black. Lots of gangs, drugs, prostiution and other vices going on here. Basically, it's the ghetto

Chatham is also 99.9% black and is mostly owner occupied single family homes owned by police, firefighters and other city workers. Features good schools and lots of big box store shopping

Ashburn is about 90% black and has the same socio economic makeup as chatham

Pullman is 50% white and 50% black, and features beautiful row homes on winding streets from the turn of the century.

Roseland is 99.9% black and is more like englewood than chatham.

Woodlawn is about 90% black and is like chatham. A big plus for this area is that this is the neighborhood the 2016 olympics will be held in if they come to Chicago.

McKinley Park is about 80% white, and is socio economically depressed. You will see more gangs and violence here than what you might expect in a typical white neighborhood.

Actually McKinley Park is about 80% Hispanic. The above description is more accurate of Canaryville directly southeast of McKinley Park. I'd call McKinley more middle to lower-middle-class than economically depressed, but in any case I just don't understand all the buzz it's been getting lately. I'm also a little skeptical of the suggested 50/50 racial make-up suggested for Pullman. Wikipedia claims its racial makeup is approximately 80% black, 10% white and 10% Hispanic with a smattering of "other." It cites the Census Bureau as its source but it doesn't say how it obtained/extrapolated/whatever the Census data for just Pullman alone. I've only been in Pullman for short, fleeting periods of time, but that quick impression leads me to believe the Wikipedia data is basically accurate. I'd also note that Pullman is still pretty rough in most areas; it's not for the feint of heart. Otherwise, agree with the rest of the info supplied.

As to the original question... stay way clear of Englewood.

[southsida]

Originally Posted by TeacherMan

My wife and I will be relocating to Chicago from MI in August. I will be teaching for CPS on the South Side. She will be seeking a paralegal position. We are looking for safe, affordable housing, ideally in a multi-ethnic area.
We have heard about/been referred to many of the same areas:
- Hyde Park/Kenwood
- Bridgeport
- Bronzeville
- Pilsen
etc.

There seem to be a LOT of rental options in Englewood. (We would like a 2+ bedroom for under $1000/month.) However, no one seems to recommend that area. Is it not so safe?
Looking for some thoughts from those familiar with the city in general, and that area specifically.
(Also appreciate thoughts on: Chatham, Ashburn, Pullman, Woodlawn, Roseland, McKinley Park)

Thanks to Drover and j33 who have already provided some wonderful insight!

Looking forward to some further insight...
-TM

Englewood has had 700 murders in the last 10 years as a former resident I wouldn;t recommend moving there west englewood is nice and quiet. But englewwod is a living hell, death is a normal thing there if your not from chicago you have no buisness in englewood.

[Drover]

West Englewood is nice and quiet??? Compared to what -- Baghdad? In the last full year for which data is available (May 21 2006 through May 20 2007) there were 18 murders in West Englewood, compared to "only" 14 in Englewood during the same time period. If that's your idea of "quiet" then Englewood must have been a special kind of Hell when you were living there. (Looks like it was -- just read somewhere that between January and April 1991 there were EIGHTY murders there. Holy sh#t.)

I drove through West Englewood yesterday. I took a detour off of Western Avenue to try to scoot around some traffic and drove through a portion of the residential area on the western edge of West Englewood. I have a pretty high tolerance for urban conditions and I don't spook easily, but I've never wanted to get back onto a main thoroughfare so badly in my life. Funny thing is, the first two houses I drove past had pefectly landscaped/manicured yards out front (though I technically wasn't in West Englewood yet); in one of 'em I saw the lady out tending to her garden. I thought to myself, "hmm, this isn't so bad." Then it went downhill before I even got to the other end of the block. There were an awful lot of shady-looking characters sitting around doing a whole lot nothing, and naturally, a couple of them thought it necessary to fulfill the stereotype by drinking 40s. I've driven through a lot of areas in this city that I wouldn't necessarily want to live in. I did the same in Pittsburgh too when I lived there. And I never in my life got a creepier vibe from a neighborhood than I did there.