Anyone here in SAN familiar with Chicago Neighborhoods?

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by daveyboy1225

Oddstray, are you retired? What area do you live? You're right about the chicago real estate. But it comes with a price, which could be you or your loved ones life. Chicago has gotten out of hand with crimes. Tons of petty theft and robbery which cops never arrest anybody. Murder, drugs.... Read the chicago tribune or suntimes. I found that LA and San Diego are very very safe compared to chicago. Chicago has this great transport system that brings all kinds of hood rats and riff raff from crappy areas into all the nice neighborhoods. Who said segregation is bad? Who said not having a great transport is bad? add traffic on top of that along w super high taxes on everything and it's really stressful. Young people will like it because there's tons of stuff to do but the older folks will not no way. Chicago is great if you're young n dumb and full of umm... Not a great city or state to settle down or age.

Is it really that bad, or are you being taken in by drama masquerading as journalism? You are aware, I assume, that that enormous rate of violence is very localized to a few neighborhoods, as it always was. Breathtaking tales of danger sell newspapers.

I grew up in the 50s - 70s on the <gasp!> crime-ridden southwest side. Yeah, there were pockets on the south and west side that I wouldn't have dared to go to during the day. Still wouldn't. But most of the rest of it is fine and always was. I do know that the neighborhood I grew up in, which was lily-white in those years, has now turned completely non-white. Is that bad? I don't think so - not necessarily. I don't read of gangs and violence in my old neighborhood. It's probably a solid, middle-class area similar to when I lived there, but with at least some tolerance. I daresay there was more violence when I was growing up there, but it was white-on-black because how DARE you outsiders come into our lily-white neighborhood.

I say segregation is bad, because it spawns the hood rats and riff raff. I say not having great transport is bad, because there are entirely too many cars and not enough streets and parking, at least here in SoCal and apparently, increasingly so, in Chicago.

The high tax I'm aware of in Illinois, these days, is the property tax. California does have the advantage of Prop 13, which ties your property taxes to your purchase price with reasonable increases only.

And I agree that Chicago is probably more attractive to young people than to older people. And traffic - yeah! It was horrible when I was last there a few years ago.

[rgb123]

income tax is now up to 6% in Illinois last I heard....sales tax is also really high in Chicago compared to the outlying areas.