edgewater safety (bryn mawr area) (Chicago, Evanston: apartment, condos, safe neighborhood)

[rubbersoul89]

Hey there, i'm new the forums and have a question about an area of east edgewater that i'm looking to move into.

i'm currently looking at an apartment on kenmore between bryn mawr and hollywood. i'm a 22 year old, white, skinny male living alone...would you recommend the area?

i can handle a little crime, but i'd also like to be able to walk to the el station and wherever else i need to without too much concern. i've checked the area out during the day and it felt safe enough to me, with a fair amount of college kids and senior citizens walking around, but i've yet to really explore the area at night.

i tend to read pretty mixed reviews on the area, although most say it's way better than it was even 10 years ago.

i know the area by the thorndale red line stop is probably best avoided, so i'll likely try to stay south of hollywood for the most part.

what i'm wondering, i guess, is just how prevalent the gang activity is in the area (particularly the block between bryn mawr and hollywood on kenmore)? i mean, i realize it's not nearly on the level of truly unsafe niehgborhoods, but i'm just wondering the likelyhood of having to deal with it on any sort of regular basis is going to be.

thanks.

[marothisu]

Hmmmmm, there might be some gang activity, but not much? I have some friends who live in that area and have walked numerous times alone at night from/to the red line station. I wasn't really that worried. My friends said one time they heard a gunshot, but that was once, awhile ago. I think the area is fine honestly, but I'm not an expert 100% on the area. Just been there many times alone at night.

[ProgMichael]

My girlfriend lived there for a year until about a year ago. She lived right by where you're looking, on Winthrop between Hollywood and Thorndale. She never had an issue, just the occasional bum or quirky individual. The issues of violence up when she lived there were mostly domestic. There's not a ton of nightlife up there, but if that's not a big deal to you, we both thought it was a nice, affordable, safe neighborhood.

[It'sAutomatic]

You'll be fine. There are some gangs but they don't own the streets in any way or form. There are some people around who would burn you real quick if you did something dumb like leave an iPod sitting out in a car but otherwise wouldn't bother you. I don't think the area around Thorndale is any worse than the rest of the neighborhood.

[ChicagoBay]

On Kenmore between Bryn Mawr and Hollywood is the EXACT boundaries of a section of the gang "Black P Stones". They have two other blocks very close by as well. Basically stay off of Kenmore and off of Winthrop between Thorndale and Catalpa - anywhere else in Edgewater is safer.

[gomexico]

There have been other, recent discussions of this specific area. You might want to locate them and read the good commentary provided.

[rubbersoul89]

thanks for the responses, i'll try to search out those recent threads.

the first few replies were pretty much what i was expecting, but then this...

Originally Posted by ChicagoBay

On Kenmore between Bryn Mawr and Hollywood is the EXACT boundaries of a section of the gang "Black P Stones". They have two other blocks very close by as well. Basically stay off of Kenmore and off of Winthrop between Thorndale and Catalpa - anywhere else in Edgewater is safer.

how true is that anymore, though? do you actually know that specific block that well or are you getting your information from websites such as this one?

ChicagoGangs.org Website

things can change rapidly in a few years, and gangs frequently abandon blocks if it's no longer a good location.

not saying you're wrong, it just seems crazy to me that this particular block would still be gang territory with the amount of nice shops and condos down by bryn mawr itself. it seems crazy to me that starbucks would open a store on the edge of serious gang territory.

and what does gang territory even imply exactly? a couple of guys who sporadically sell drugs or large groups of them gathering on the street corner regularly? that makes a difference to me.

[Aleking]

the area is totally fine

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by rubbersoul89

how true is that anymore, though? do you actually know that specific block that well or are you getting your information from websites such as this one?

It's fine. ChicagoBay has been posting that pretty much every neighborhood outside of Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and Evanston is dangerous, or "sketchy" which isn't true. I've gotten off that stop many times and walked a half mile around at night alone. I saw maybe one shady person ever and that's it. My friend up there grew up in a small town and is afraid of that type of stuff, and last I checked even she's not afraid of the area.

I wouldn't be too worried about it.

[tomcho]

Originally Posted by ChicagoBay

On Kenmore between Bryn Mawr and Hollywood is the EXACT boundaries of a section of the gang "Black P Stones". They have two other blocks very close by as well. Basically stay off of Kenmore and off of Winthrop between Thorndale and Catalpa - anywhere else in Edgewater is safer.

Seriously you need to stop posting info that is clearly from the chicagogang website map as fact. That map hasn't been updated in 4 years and most of those territories were extremely "ambitious" at best and downright wrong in some cases.