Safety walking in Maywood/Riverside area

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by pvande55

About 20 years ago I often had to go there and I took Metra to Maywood and walked to Hines. Never had a problem walking down 5th Avenue. You didn't note where you'd be living, but somewhere along the UP-W line would be good. The alernate of Riverside to Hines is a little longer, but through better neighborhoods. You are prudent to be looking at Metra; driving to work any distance over 10 miles can be a bear.

Did you realize the original posting was from 2007? Whatever decision she made was made a long time ago.

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

Did you realize the original posting was from 2007? Whatever decision she made was made a long time ago.

Whoops! But somebody posted just yesterday.

[CountableRex89]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

Bellwood shouldn't be lumped together with Maywood. Bellwood has significantly less crime, and is on par with Berwyn, Forest Park, and only slightly worse than Oak Park.

There are parts of Bellwood is also very high crime kinda like Evanston

[TheTimidBlueBars]

Originally Posted by OccidentExpress

What I can't figure out is where the working-class portion of the age 25 - 40 crowd is at right now. There are a lot of young Whites who can't afford to buy into the desirable suburbs that are always talked about on this forum, but they also aren't buying into the undesirable neighborhoods that cause everyone on this forum to hold their noses. Are they spending beyond their means to live in the desirable suburbs for a little while and then filing for bankruptcy when they can no longer pay the mortgage? Are they still living with their parents? Are they leaving the Chicago suburbs and/or Illinois entirely? Are they going rural/exurb, where housing costs are cheaper but commutes are longer? Are they renting rather than buying?

I get the feeling that there was a mass exodus of working-class Whites (the parents of the people we're talking about) from Chicagoland years ago and the remainder are either getting old and dying or trying to find a way out. It would be interesting to know where they're going.

As someone in his early 20s who grew up in Oak Park and has known a lot of people in the demographic you mention, most of them who don't still live with their parents have moved to cheaper inner suburbs (Berwyn, Forest Park) or into cheaper/gentrifying areas of the city - usually with roommates. These areas have active nightlife with a lot of bars, arcades, and concerts.

I have the same impression as you do, though, that the white working-class population of the area has plummeted over the last 30-40 years, especially compared to other Midwestern metros.

...For my on-topic portion of this post, maybe I just have a deathwish but I don't feel that unsafe in Maywood. It's different from the suburbs around it but it's not like you're on the south side of the city. If I stay on major streets and keep moving I can bike there reasonably comfortably.

[damba]

It is painfully clear that Mr. Occident did not leave the house frequently LOL

[ToriaT]

People revive posts all the time and possibly some people besides the original poster are interested in the information. Just a caution though as areas change and something that was posted years ago may not be relevant today. Regarding Maywood, I've driven through the area and its not as bad as some posters make it out to be. Its not boarded up buildings, vacant lots, chain link fences, etc. like the bad areas in Chicago. Its basically a lower middle class to working class African American suburb. Take a look on the streetview of google maps and you will see that many of its areas are relatively well kept up. Having said all this I certainly would not walk around there myself or frequent the area at night as it has a higher crime rate.

[OKParker]

Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars

As someone in his early 20s who grew up in Oak Park and has known a lot of people in the demographic you mention, most of them who don't still live with their parents have moved to cheaper inner suburbs (Berwyn, Forest Park) or into cheaper/gentrifying areas of the city - usually with roommates. These areas have active nightlife with a lot of bars, arcades, and concerts.

I have the same impression as you do, though, that the white working-class population of the area has plummeted over the last 30-40 years, especially compared to other Midwestern metros.

...For my on-topic portion of this post, maybe I just have a deathwish but I don't feel that unsafe in Maywood. It's different from the suburbs around it but it's not like you're on the south side of the city. If I stay on major streets and keep moving I can bike there reasonably comfortably.

Oak Park is miles ahead, and even Berwyn/FP are miles ahead of Maywood. Maywood is pretty ****ty and definitely filled with vacant lots and has boarded up buildings. I buy old housing materials from houses that are getting torn down in Maywood and there is constantly new inventory.