Early 20's girl moving to Edgewater neighborhood.... safe??? (Sheridan, Granville: apartments, rent)

[scl114]

Hello,

Can you please tell me everything there is to know about Edgewater? I wanted to live in Lakeview/Wrigleyville. But of course I slowly and sadly learned that you get way more bang for your buck the more north you go. I'm concerned about the safety, but it's Loyola's campus so it can't be that bad, right? I'm just thinking about when I'm coming back from the train from downtown when it's dark outside.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[ChicagoMeO]

I like Edgewater. I've lived next to it and always went shopping on Broadway between Foster and Touhy, very nice area,, I'd live there if I wasn't living where I am! I cannot think of any bad streets, except watch the speed bumps on some streets to keep speeders down, if you go too fast on them, your car will suffer from a huge bump.

[jgardener]

Edgewater is a great place to live and as you discovered is significantly cheaper than
Lakeview. Like any urban neighborhood there is some crime: drug dealing, a small amount of gang violence, and some car break-ins. I've lived in 3 different sections of Edgewater and 6 different areas of Uptown (the neighborhood directly to the south) and never had an issue. I'm a man in my 30s, but every building I've lived in has had multiple female residents in their 20s. Even when I've come home at 2 or 3am, there have been multiple people getting off the train with me.

The nicer areas of Edgewater tend to be South of Bryn Mawr, along Sheridan road, or west of Broadway. The closer you get to Andersonville, the more expensive the rent will be.

Something to keep in mind while looking is that Edgewater and Rogers Park have a higher incidence of bedbug infestations than other neighborhoods. Check Bedbug registry and do a google search on any address and/or property management company you might potentially rent. I recently was on another apartment search and one apartment I looked at wasn't listed on Bedbug registry, but the property management company had reviews on yelp for 10 other properties they owned, which all had infestations.

Good luck with your search and be sure to check out the many other citydata threads on Edgewater, you will find a lot more information.

[travel3r]

I lived in Edgewater for 2.5 years right off the Bryn Mawr redline stop. Pros - it was affordable, it is easily accessible by train/bus, I felt safe during the day, the area has decent restaurants, and it was fun to jog by the beach in summer, but there were some down sides to living there too. The area changed completely once the sun went down - I felt fine walking along Sheridan Rd., Broadway and Bryn Mawr, but I wouldn't recommend taking side streets after dark. Also, the tires on my car were slashed twice in the apartment parking lot. I'd say check out some apartments on Craigslist and drive by in the evening to see what the area looks like when it's dark.

Also, have you considered Andersonville? It is super cute and has tons of restaurants/shopping. It is pretty affordable and is close to Edgewater.

[glass_of_merlot]

Andersonville is lovely.

[Aleking]

you'll be fine...chances of an early 20s girl getting into trouble in Edgewater are no higher than Lake View


also lol @ the Andersonville suggestions....do you people read or just spam your hoods over and over?

[glass_of_merlot]

If several people suggest the same "hood" then it might be more likely the OP will take a second look. When I asked the same question a while back, several people suggested Andersonville, which is the reason why Im here.

[MannheimMadman]

Andersonville is...uh....awful.

You should not move here. Take it from me; I live here. Worst decision ever!

[scl114]

Thanks for the input everyone. I should probably rephrase my question to something more simple:

Would it be a stupid decision for an early 20's girl to live alone in Edgewater? (Like Winthrop and Granvilleish?) Would I basically never be able to walk to the gym at night or back from the train late?

Thanks!

[jgardener]

You'll be fine, the Granville station is around the corner. If you feel really unsafe late at night, it is probably a 20 or 30 second run from the station to your house. That area has frequent patrols by both CPD and Loyola security and I think there are emergency call boxes. Between 1999 and until just recently, I've known 3 different women who've lived in the artist in residence building on Winthrop near the corner of Granville, and not a single one had any safety issues. Just be aware of your surroundings and don't wear an iPod or talk on your smartphone while walking late at night.