Question about Rogers Park - specific location (Chicago, Skokie: real estate, apartments) - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

JamesL1 · 06-25-2010, 05:24 PM

I know that this topic has been talked about before, however, I haven't seen a recent one.

I found a place for decent rent in RP. It is located 1 block east on off clark Farwell (the street where the library is). Basically a stone's throw from Ashland/Farwell.

I like the building, I like the place.. its the right size for the right price.

However, I drove around at different times of the day, and while I did see a very diverse group of people (mom's, kids playing, elderly), I also spotted a couple of groups of shady characters just standing in the corner on the next street's corner. I saw this more than once.

I got out of my car and walked around a bit, I never felt threatened but it it was just odd that I passed a mom walking her baby in warm-ups and 3 seconds later my spidey sense told me to watch out.

Can anyone please please please comment on Rogers Park in general (safety is paramount) as well as my specific area of RP if anyone has any input (also, regarding the Morse stop).

Thanks!!

Avengerfire · 06-25-2010, 05:30 PM

Drover is good for some things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drover

Sheridan & Pratt and W. Morse are up in Rogers Park, which is an unusually delicate subject in this forum -- see the following threads:

My short take is that there's a reason apartments in RP are cheap. Though for what it's worth, the Sheridan strip from Pratt south, especially the tiny strip between Lakewood and the lake, is fairly drama-free. Go much further northwest than Sheridan/Pratt and who knows what you'll encounter.

And here are a couple I found:

//www.city-data.com/forum/chica...ptown-etc.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/chica...gers-park.html

If you want to know about the Morse stop search the forum for posts instead of threads using the word Morse.

grapico · 06-25-2010, 05:50 PM

I've walked through that area a bunch, never had an issue. have been to that library as well to use the free internet. some good taquerias in the area...

I am a large guy though, your experience might be different.

now if you keep going east there... between there and the lake there is a pretty sketchy area...

would be good from there as you can get to the metra/red line stops pretty easy.

JamesL1 · 06-25-2010, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Drover is good for some things.

And here are a couple I found:

//www.city-data.com/forum/chica...ptown-etc.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/chica...gers-park.html

If you want to know about the Morse stop search the forum for posts instead of threads using the word Morse.

Oh man..... fudge.. lookes like I'm boned. FUDGE!!

Ashland and Farwell... looks like I'm in the wosrt block in RP. The crime stat page has like 7 crimes per day the vicinity... oh man.

jenniferashley99 · 06-26-2010, 10:39 AM

I lived in RP. I totally understand what you are writing about. My street, that I lived on, was beautiful but the minute you turned the corner it was shady. Many teenager guys hanging around (I had one guy say vulgar things to me from his bedroom window) I saw the police around my neighborhood (usually on Friday and Saturday nights just hanging on the street with the wagon ready to loot people up) so they do make their presence's known. Just pick a safe building!! I mean you can go to a safe neighborhood (say Gold Coast) and get mugged..you never know your luck.
I enjoyed myself there and never had issues. I loved the beaches. I loved the used bookstores and cafe. It's cheap rent. So I say-go for it. I am moving back to Chicago and will probably head back to RP because of the cheap rent prices I can find. Good luck

grapico · 06-26-2010, 11:12 AM

LOL

okay, I take back my original statement...

I read that in my head as Clark/Farwell and dyslexic in the other direction west as you mentioned the library!... and as you see in my original post...

Quote:

now if you keep going east there... between there and the lake there is a pretty sketchy area...

yeah... you are right where I am talking about, that is not a good block dude. I would advise going a couple blocks west of there on the other side of clark OR a couple blocks east of that towards Sheridan. I actually tried to walk around that area several times. I remember this crack head lady sitting in her apartment (project) yelling at anybody walking by..

That being said, like jenniferashley, I am probably moving to RP or northern Edgewater due to its proximity to the lake for dogs/cheap rents for 2 bedrooms, proximity to Northwestern, and somewhat available street parking. Plus I have a bunch of friends and family in the neighborhood.

RP has been an up and coming neighborhood, for what I understand 20+ years now... but it is constantly in that "up and coming" stage... so just watch what you do.

spartanalia · 06-26-2010, 03:25 PM

I'm a small twenty-something white woman who has felt threatened in that area. Both the Latin Kings and Gangster Disciples claim territory around there. I ended up moving to Lakeview after a girl was shot outside of my apartment in a gang dispute. Stay close to Sheridan and you'll generally be ok, but even a few blocks west of there have a lot of gang activity.

Stay away from Morse and Wayne, especially. I lived at Wayne and Pratt and it was terrible, with high school brawls down the street weekly (Sullivan High is close to there)

xavier xerxes · 06-26-2010, 10:00 PM

Well
to my two cents in,
I live in the heart of rogers park.

And people love to say its been up and coming for twenty plus years,
Hmmm.
It got bad in the seventies and eighties and nineties.
Then it has gotten slowly better since.
So you if are knocking a neigborhood by saying its
been steadily improving for 20 plus years,
there are worse things to be called

I own and live in an apartment building near the Morse El Stop.
There are problems but they have vastly improved in the past 5 years.
The two four plus ones by the EL stop are now managed
by that Reside at blah blah blah group, BIG DIFFERENCE.

Also the Mayne Stage has made a big difference.
It makes the most sense to be here if you are investing in real estate
or you would like to save on rent.

I have seen the bangers hang out less on my block
because of us people living here are fed up with it
and basically call the cops when we see thugs loitering
and we have positive loitering ourselves.

Morse and Wayne is getting better, I wouldnt say stay away from there
except very late at night. Check out the Mayne Stage.
Mayne is an amalgamation of Morse and Wayne,
so no I wouldnt stay away from Morse and Wayne.
Featured Events

Morseland is a nice bar just down the street.
Common Cup is at Morse and Greenview.

Its true Farwell has seen more than its fair share this summer,
well there is construction on morse and thats for the streetscape
and fixing up the sidewalks, so that has pushed the gangbangers to farwell. I too have seen the thugs on farwell and then I just call the cops
to disperse them. Its true its shadier the closer to clark you get.
I guess you just have to figure out what you can live with.
I think that there are plenty of apartments for rent in Rogers Park
closer to the lake for a decent price that you would like better.

JamesL1 · 06-27-2010, 12:37 PM

So tough to know. Seems most think the area is bad, but others think say that all of that area is improving, then others that Morse improving and the gangs are getting pushed to that area of farwel.

I think I may take the apartment. I keep driving around, and while I do see unsavory fellows, I also see a very populated residential area wich families and even some women (white, black, hispanic) walking around with their children. The day time is definately not threatening at all, but at night it feels a little scary.

The unit has a parking spot in the alley behind the building (right up against the building). I think I'm going to take the apartment. $1100 for a 2 bedroom with a washer & dryer (which I find nowhere else in RP), its in the 4th floor of a walk-up. Also, the whole place is just HUGE compared to everything. I think I can live with having to walk very fast into my apartment at night for that value.

Wish me luck guys.

Please any other input would be appreciated, if you think I'm crazy--tell me!

The people I'll be renting from are leaving cities and are a family of 3 with a young daughter (age 7). They seem like perfectly nice people and said in their 8 years in the area, they have yet to have an issue (but a landlords word isn't worth the air its carried on).

JamesL1 · 06-27-2010, 12:51 PM

(Separate question, please still response to my question above)

Also, RP isn't bad. I mean, I understand that in certain areas its sketchy and you need to keep your wits about you, but as a whole RP is a pretty tame neighborhood all around when compared to Chicago's real dangerous areas, right?

I mean, are the worst parts of RP comparable to the average parts of Englewood or Garfield Park? Are we saying that RP is a nice neighborhood with where crime happens more often than it should, or are we saying that RP is a dangerous neighborhood with nice areas throughout as well?

I am moving from a pretty OK apartment building in Skokie, and I wouldn't say its nice/safest, but I wouldn't like to move to certain parts of Cabrini...

I am just trying to get a sense... is RP a decent neighborhood where the appearance and isolated criminal activities scare off squeamish people, or are we really in the ghetto here and a single woman should be scared?

Thanks