Why People Flee The City Of Chicago (Bridgeport, Pittsburg: houses, neighborhoods)

[Scribbler]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

I've known far too many friends who get married, live in the city and love it, but then get pregnant and have a baby. All of them have been kinda bummed out about moving out of the city, but they do it for the more stable lifestyle and larger house in the burbs. They aren't FLEEING the city, they're just doing what's turned out to be somewhat of a natural progression. Graduate college, move to the city, have kids, leave. I think the black population on the west side and south side are an exception to this (and have over half the city population). They haven't moved out of the city when they have children as much as the white people. I know there are social and racial issues for this - but for the sake of this conversation, it is what it is. A lot of the growth in the 90's was also because of the somewhat newer hispanic presence in the city. They moved in en-masse from other countries, and set up neighborhoods and families within the city limits. I'm sure over time they will start following suit and move out to the suburbs, and the city population might dip a bit more.

This is the thing that I don't get, though...the perception that an urban lifestyle is stable for singles or married folks without kids, but the minute kids are in the picture, the lifestyle suddenly gets relabeled as less stable?

[Drover]

No, it's been less stable for a while, precisely because of the kind of transience into and out of the city (s)he describes. There tends to be more stability and less "coming-and-going" out in the suburbs. Once there, people tend to stay put for a while unless a job or similar life situation uproots them.

[ALLEY29]

I grew up in Chicago in the Albany park neighborhood I beleive on Lawrence Ave
I would like to bring my kids there to see where I grew up and went to school at Volta Elementary school,Eugene park,Gompers Park, also lived on Ainslie street. I'm trying to remember things. Lake Michigan
Would it be a safe neighborhood to visit.
Any info would help
Thanks

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

They aren't FLEEING the city, they're just doing what's turned out to be somewhat of a natural progression. Graduate college, move to the city, have kids, leave.

but it wasnt always like that. generations of families lived their entire lives in the city. it wasnt until the 1950s and developers came around and created and marketed the "american dream", that people felt they needed a huge house and a yard and to "get away".

the fact is, americans for whatever reason love their suburbs. this is the opposite in europe, where most money is poured into the city center and its seen as the most desireable place to live. this is why our city centers are crumbling: because we dont invest in them. but i guess the people have spoken...

[Manigault]

Originally Posted by Drover

There tends to be more stability and less "coming-and-going" out in the suburbs.

I'm not so sure of that. Outside of university areas people in single family homes in the city and in condos tend to stay put, also. Maybe its inertia.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by via chicago

but it wasnt always like that. generations of families lived their entire lives in the city. it wasnt until the 1950s and developers came around and created and marketed the "american dream", that people felt they needed a huge house and a yard and to "get away".

That's not entirely true.

Americans have always been fleeing the dense city for more leafy environments. Back in the early 20th century, the dream was to move out of the apartment by the lake and to a SFH with a yard in western part of the city (northwest, southwest sides, Austin, etc). In fact, Chicago grew in size by annexing areas further west as they became more and more populated.

The difference now, is that the city limits are pretty much set. There is no more significant annexation by the city of Chicago. If the annexation trends of the 19th and early 20th century remained up till today, Chicago would probably encompass all of Cook and Dupage county.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by via chicago

but it wasnt always like that. generations of families lived their entire lives in the city. it wasnt until the 1950s and developers came around and created and marketed the "american dream", that people felt they needed a huge house and a yard and to "get away".

It wasn't just that they felt the need to "get away." It was that the growth of suburbia gave people a chance at home ownership for the first time, something that was not as easy to achieve in the city. That's a huge, huge reason why the suburbs became so popular.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by ALLEY29

I grew up in Chicago in the Albany park neighborhood I beleive on Lawrence Ave
I would like to bring my kids there to see where I grew up and went to school at Volta Elementary school,Eugene park,Gompers Park, also lived on Ainslie street. I'm trying to remember things. Lake Michigan
Would it be a safe neighborhood to visit.
Any info would help
Thanks

Albany Park is a pretty safe neighborhood. It's an interesting mix of white, Hispanic, Korean and Middle Eastern. Makes for some good eatin' up there.

[LisaLisa]

I've been in Chicago (Westlawn) on and off for 30 yrs. Back in the 70's the buzz was if you lived west of Pulaski, you were in a "Hot property" spot. Law was passed for City workers to live in the city, so the ones I knew of, bought on the fringes of the town. One moved in 2 doors down from me. So why move if you got someone with a gun living 2 doors down? It was safe. Now that same home has 2 or 3 families in it... all hispanic... Most homes on the block are multi families in one home. this much concentration of people causes the potential for crime to escalate. And the street I live on is dangerous because it's a shortcut for the heavy pulaski traffic. The stop signs are ignored, and that's also a crime, and dangerous for anyone trying to cross the street. If I had children in the "hood" they would have to speak Spanish to be able to play. dont get me wrong, if I spoke enough Espanole', I would be knocking down the Tequila on the front stoop of the house and talking trash. Maybe that's the new way of being "safe"

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by LisaLisa

And the street I live on is dangerous because it's a shortcut for the heavy pulaski traffic. The stop signs are ignored, and that's also a crime, and dangerous for anyone trying to cross the street.

people dont blow stopsigns in the burbs? interesting.