Apartment on Cermak rd between Damen and Hoyne (Chicago, Bridgeport: rent, crime)

[JKHOSU]

I am looking at renting a room on this street. Is this safe, or is it dangerous as I suspect? Thank you very much.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by JKHOSU

I am looking at renting a room on this street. Is this safe, or is it dangerous as I suspect? Thank you very much.

Not particularly dangerous. It's not the Gold Coast, but it's not a warzone.

[JKHOSU]

OK, thanks. When you say not particularly dangerous, what do you mean specifically? Are there stats on murder rates and etc?

Thanks

[emathias]

Originally Posted by JKHOSU

OK, thanks. When you say not particularly dangerous, what do you mean specifically? Are there stats on murder rates and etc?

Thanks

All that is available online with a quick search. I'm not a librarian and you should be a bit more self-sufficient. I offered my subjective opinion based on my experience visiting there and talking to people who live there. You shouldn't be asking other people to research easily findable hard facts for you.

[JKHOSU]

Well excuse me. I will go look at the hard stats then.

[ChicagoMeO]

I think that is Chinatown actually, or maybe Bridgeport,, but not the Gold Coast which is on the north side.

[ChiNaan]

Actually it's the southwest part of Pilsen, not Bridgeport and definitely not Chinatown, which is about 3 miles east of there. Emathias was clearly using "not Gold Coast" as a figure of speech to say that it's not the safest or most wealthy neighborhood.

Generally speaking, the further southwest you go in Pilsen the less gentrification and the higher the crime rate, and that's getting pretty far southwest, but it's still pretty middle-of-the-road in terms of safety of Chicago neighborhoods --As Emathias said, it's neither wonderful nor horrible. Just a couple blocks southwest of there is a very small Italian district that's nice. Some call it "Heart of Chicago" or "Heart of Italy," though it's most commonly still referred to as part of Pilsen. A friend of mine who is a single female medical resident lives in that area (due to affordable rent and easy Pink Line access to the medical campus a couple of stops north), and likes it. You'll probably see UIC and Rush students and staff around there along with working class Latino families and a small handful of older European immigrant stock. Maybe even a few artist types. Mostly the Latino families, though.

Given how low the rent there probably is, it's one of the better price-to-safety ratios in the city without getting pretty far away from downtown. If you can afford to pay significantly more and want to be in a safer area, do it, but if you're on a low budget you're better off there than in many other places that are likely in your price range.

It's also good if you want a kind of low-key area with easy access to downtown. It's on the other side of the neighborhood from the more hopping part of Pilsen, and even that part is pretty mellow compared to most neighborhoods that close to downtown.

A little further west of there, across Western, you get into Little Village, which gets significantly sketchier, crime-wise. Personally I would stay east of there.

[marothisu]

I agree with what Emanthias said. It's not a terrible area, but it's not amazing either. At least the train is right there and there's some stuff around. There's some good Mexican food around you, but even more so if you go north on Damen to 18th street and then East of there.

I agree with ChiNaan. West of Western starts to get a little sketchy. Lawndale is not good. Also if you go south of your area closer to the river it gets sketchy for a few blocks, but overall not bad. That goes into McKinley if you continue on Damen or Western which is not a bad area.

[ProgMichael]

Originally Posted by emathias

All that is available online with a quick search. I'm not a librarian and you should be a bit more self-sufficient. I offered my subjective opinion based on my experience visiting there and talking to people who live there. You shouldn't be asking other people to research easily findable hard facts for you.

That was kinda bush-league, dude. Our friend was just asking for a little help and a place to look. You could have made the same point without rubbing it in his/her face. Remember, you're a representative of your city, whether intended or not. Please handle yourself with a little class.


Hey JKHOSU, try this: http://crime.chicagotribune.com/chic...ower-west-side
-The Lower West Side (aka Pilsen) is something of an average to slightly-above-average neighborhood in terms of safety but is improving (and also gentrifying, whether you think that's a good thing or not is up to you). I had a couple friends who lived there and would occasionally hear gunshots in the middle of the night. However, I don't think a lot of random crime (esp. violent) happens much too much in Pilsen. Start at the link above and I'm sure you'll be able to find more stuff with a Google search.

If you decide to move there, hope you enjoy the neighborhood!

[JKHOSU]

Well, I suppose I should have taken more time to do my research.

Nevertheless, thank you very much for taking the time to write up all of this information; incredibly helpful. Based on this, it sounds like it isn't perfect, but it is definitely livable. I think I will try and rent here after all.

Thanks again guys!