SRO @ 1039 West Lawrence Ave - Uptown...bad area? (Chicago, Naperville: rental car, extended stay)

[bostonguy1960]

I've seen the large old single room occupancy listed regularly on Craigslist starting at $525 monthly without a meal plan. It's a very old mid-rise with very basic rooms and a cafeteria. Seems it caters to some seniors, as bingo is one of the activities. Meal plans are just a few dollars daily for three meals. According to a manager I spoke with on the phone, the meals are quite good.

I would just stay for a month or two in order to get a local driverr's license, then move to a suburban extended stay hotel until I find a roommate. An apartment would have to wait until I'm settled with a job. Seems that at all apts., they wish to see six or more months in the same job? I realize people in professional jobs get apts. readily due to their high salary and status, but this would not apply to me if I do move to Chicago.

I don't think your state would give me a driver's license simply by my living for a month or two at an extended stay or hotel? That's why I would "slum it" and live spartanly at the Lorali SRO in Uptown. This would give me residency in the state, I think.Comcast is available, and CORI and credit checks are done...but I'm told they don't really pay too much attention to one's credit score; it's required by state law, that's all. (if I understand the manager correctly.)

I wouldn't even need a job. I'd just need to come up with the funds monthly. In my other CL inquiries about furnished rooms and apts., both decent and substandard buildings, one needs employment. Even the YMCA in Evanston requires not only a job, but I believe a few months at that job. Most think anybody can stay at the Y. Not necessarily...they do and must have standards.

One can't just pay six months rent upfront at most places despite what some think...they want a job listed on your application!

Long-winded intro, but...

Is this part of Uptown safe? Are any parts actually safe?

I'm not sure if I drove my rental car in or near this section. I was in Roscoe Village and Andersonviile as well as Lakeview and maybe Edgewater. I liked a neighborhood as I drove to Evanston; I think that would be Edgewater? Confused at times as I drove here and there mostly without accessing a map, wanting to just explore What are Uptown's surrounding neighborhoods? Is there a subway close, or is the bus the most practical way to most general areas?

I hope to visit in the next month. In the meantime, I really want to know if the area of the Lorali SRO should be avoided. I know, the SRO itself should be avoided, right!? But I'm a bit of a risk taker at times.

Thanks for any feedback...

[chicagobear]

It's not the best area but it's not the worst either and it has been getting better. Obama had his birthday party next door at the Aragon Ballroom next door last year.

[chet everett]

While I agree that the general trend of uptown had been upward as other parts of Chicago's near to the lake areas boomed and a brief stay at a SRO may not be as dangerous as in once was, I would be extremely reluctant to endorse moving to Chicago without having some sense of the relatively large percentage of drug abuse places located in Uptown -- it would be easy for employers to be extremely leary of hiring someone living in an area that probably has the highest percentage of "rehab clinics" in the whole region...

[Kevin J]

As others said, that location isn't the greatest, but it isn't a war zone either. You just need to be the type who can walk the streets confidently and nonchalantly, even though you'll be seeing lots of young men loitering on street corners. Some of the quieter side streets in Uptown feel safer, if only because they don't have the loitering teens hanging around.

The building you mentioned is less than a 5-minute walk to the Lawrence stop on the Red Line, an el line that runs south to the Loop and beyond.

[eevee]

When I moved out to Chicago from Boston, I was able to get a state ID fairly quickly. I think I got mine w/in a week, before I got a job. I was renting a room at the time so I had an address to use. Have you looked at that option? Cheap rooms for rent can be found around the city and may offer more security than a SRO. Plus, they often don't ask for pay stubs or even check if you're employed (though some people will make calls).

I don't live that far from there and, as others have mentioned, it's not a war zone but you still need some street sense and jump at the sight of people loitering (you WILL see a couple of somewhat sketchy people around that JJ Peppers, but I don't think anything as ever gone down there). You'll be close to a lot of venues that will bring a lot o foot traffic, so it's a desolate spot. Not sure what parts of Boston you've been through, but I'd say that, for the most part, if you're okay w/ walking through Roxbury and chunks of Dorchester like Codman Sq. at night, Uptown shouldn't be an issue.

[chet everett]

Don't you mean "so it's NOT a deserted spot. "???

Desolate - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Definition of DESOLATE

1
: devoid of inhabitants and visitors : deserted

[linicx]

I think it strange that not only is uptown unique in that it has the only rehab clinics in the city-- it's doubly unique in that it also has the highest percentage of rehab clinics in the whole region. One could conceivably conclude that there is no drug related activity anywhere except uptown.

Let's see. Hmm, I just found various types of "rehab centers" in places like Geneva, Cicero, Berwyn, Pilsen, Evergreen Park, Hazel Crest, Palos Heights, Calumet City, Naperville, Evanston, Oak Park and Harvey. Plus neighborhoods: Southshore, West Loop, Bucktown, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Gold Coast, Near South, and the Loop. Others are located on streets like N. Sheffield, W. Devon, N. Clark, S. Michigan, W. Wacker Dr., E. Huron. Lake Shore Drive and more.

All things considered, I suspect for a county and city with a combined population that tops 8 million residents, the actual number of Rehab clinics is not only not excessive it is misrepresented in maps not drawn to scale.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by linicx

I think it strange that not only is uptown unique in that it has the only rehab clinics in the city-- it's doubly unique in that it also has the highest percentage of rehab clinics in the whole region. One could conceivably conclude that there is no drug related activity anywhere except uptown.

Let's see. Hmm, I just found various types of "rehab centers" in places like Geneva, Cicero, Berwyn, Pilsen, Evergreen Park, Hazel Crest, Palos Heights, Calumet City, Naperville, Evanston, Oak Park and Harvey. Plus neighborhoods: Southshore, West Loop, Bucktown, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Gold Coast, Near South, and the Loop. Others are located on streets like N. Sheffield, W. Devon, N. Clark, S. Michigan, W. Wacker Dr., E. Huron. Lake Shore Drive and more.

All things considered, I suspect for a county and city with a combined population that tops 8 million residents, the actual number of Rehab clinics is not only not excessive it is misrepresented in maps not drawn to scale.

The Trib did a big article on it a few years ago. Uptown absolutely does have an abnormally high concentration of rehab facilities, halfway houses, mental service centers, etc. I can't find the article at the moment but if you spend time on the Trib archive you can find it.

For whatever reason the city decided to ghettoize a lot of that stuff in Uptown.

[IAmEverywhere]

I spend a lot of time in that immediate area when I'm visiting Chicago. I'd generally agree with:

Originally Posted by chicagobear

It's not the best area but it's not the worst either...

Originally Posted by Kevin J

You just need to be the type who can walk the streets confidently and nonchalantly, even though you'll be seeing lots of young men loitering on street corners.

Originally Posted by eevee

I don't live that far from there and, as others have mentioned, it's not a war zone but you still need some street sense...

Whether this area is a good choice for you depends on whether you already know how to carry yourself in this type of area. Kevin J has a good point about being confident and nonchalant. But there's much more to it than that. And there's more to it than can be learned overnight. So if you don't already have the street smarts, I'd look elsewhere.

The catch is that informal rentals at a reasonable price are likely to be in areas which are at least as risky as Uptown. The exceptions are likely to be in inconvenient areas.

[Drover]

The area is a mixed bag of yuppies, crazies, junkies, you name it. I wouldn't be worried so much about the neighborhood as the specific building. I figure an SRO building in that area is likely to housing a disproportionate number of the latter two types of neighborhood characters. Sharing walls, floors, and ceilings with such folks is sure to be exhilarating.