Safe nieghboorhoods in Chicago (Lincoln: apartments, rentals, violent crime)

[jay grant]

Im moving to Chicago from San Francisco. The biggest question I have is what are the safest neighboorhoods to live in. I lived in the tenderloin district of San Francisco for a year because It was the only apartment i could afford in the central SF was there. I hated it cause thir would be prostetutes a block away from my apartment and the street was lined with rundown buildings and porn shops. I moved to the SOMA district after my lease expired six months ago. When I moe to Chicago I want to find a neghboorhood thats in the central city but safe. I never want to live in a rough gritty area like that again. so if anyone can tell me about which nieghboorhoods in Chicago are safe this would help me. Another question I have is what is the cost of living like compared to SF. I payed $1900 a month for my first apartment then 1700 for my second one and both were 300sq ft studios. So give me some info on the cost of rent as compared to SF that would be great.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by jay grant

Im moving to Chicago from San Francisco. The biggest question I have is what are the safest neighboorhoods to live in. I lived in the tenderloin district of San Francisco for a year because It was the only apartment i could afford in the central SF was there. I hated it cause thir would be prostetutes a block away from my apartment and the street was lined with rundown buildings and porn shops. I moved to the SOMA district after my lease expired six months ago. When I moe to Chicago I want to find a neghboorhood thats in the central city but safe. I never want to live in a rough gritty area like that again. so if anyone can tell me about which nieghboorhoods in Chicago are safe this would help me. Another question I have is what is the cost of living like compared to SF. I payed $1900 a month for my first apartment then 1700 for my second one and both were 300sq ft studios. So give me some info on the cost of rent as compared to SF that would be great.

San Francisco is much, much more expensive cost of living than Chicago. $1700-$1900/month will get you a very nice apartment in a high rise downtown in Chicago basically. My place downtown is a little over $1300/month. Once you move into the $1500 or $1600 a month range is when you start getting new/new-ish appliances and a really nice place downtown. This will give you an idea. Remember these are downtown, and you get more bang for your buck as you move away from downtown (although I bet all these places have a private pool, gym, 24 hour security/doorman, etc):

http://www.rent.com/rentals/near-nor...ents/432560/1/
http://www.rent.com/rentals/near-nor...ents/430369/1/
http://www.rent.com/rentals/near-nor...ents/434669/1/

etc

Honestly, if you were paying that much in San Fran and want to pay that here, you can pretty much take your pick of any neighborhood to live in, in Chicago. Yeah, you can afford downtown with that, but there's a lot of other neighborhoods and they're usually cheaper too. Depending on what you want, downtown might actually not be "right" for you. There's a number of happening areas here and they aren't downtown. What type of area are you looking for?

There's a lot of safe neighborhoods here, contrary to popular belief (most violent crime is centered in a handful of areas, most of which you have no reason to even go to). If you tell us your price range and what type of stuff you want around you, if you plan on owning a car and/or taking public transit, etc we can recommend some areas (that will be safe).

[ChicagoBay]

Originally Posted by jay grant

Im moving to Chicago from San Francisco. The biggest question I have is what are the safest neighboorhoods to live in. I lived in the tenderloin district of San Francisco for a year because It was the only apartment i could afford in the central SF was there. I hated it cause thir would be prostetutes a block away from my apartment and the street was lined with rundown buildings and porn shops. I moved to the SOMA district after my lease expired six months ago. When I moe to Chicago I want to find a neghboorhood thats in the central city but safe. I never want to live in a rough gritty area like that again. so if anyone can tell me about which nieghboorhoods in Chicago are safe this would help me. Another question I have is what is the cost of living like compared to SF. I payed $1900 a month for my first apartment then 1700 for my second one and both were 300sq ft studios. So give me some info on the cost of rent as compared to SF that would be great.

Near North Side or North of there along the lake. If that is your budget you'll be able to live in any part of it you like.

[Aleking]

$1900 for a 300 sqft studio in the tenderloin is hard to believe

[jonnynonos]

If you are looking for nearly suburban levels of sanitariness, I would say you are looking at a downtown highrise, the Gold Coast, Streeterville, River North, Lincoln Park, most of Lakeview, Andersonville, Ravenswood, Lincoln Square...

There are a whole host of other neighborhoods that are also very safe but if you are trying to completely avoid any grit like check cashing stores, empty buildings, some transients, a little crime, etc., that is where I would look.

[It'sAutomatic]

I wouldn't even live south of Division Street if you want to avoid "grit". Old Town south of North Ave and further than a block or so west from Wells is out of the question. Lincoln Park is probably your best bet, but not near North/Clybourn.

[geoking66]

River North reminds me of SoMa, perhaps that would be a good place to start. Not nearly as gritty as San Francisco on the whole, though.