Why is UpTown considered bad? (Chicago, Sheridan: transplants, condo, violent crime)

[Sour]

I don't know, it just seems like UpTown has a bad reputation. Even my wife, who has lived in Chicago all her life, try's to tell me it's one of the worst areas in Chicago. I've been there multiple times, even there last week, I just don't see what's dangerous about there.

Sure, Broadway & Wilson can be sketchy ( I was there 12 P.M at night), and outside the Aragon Ballroom has a few weird fellows, but overall I find the area fairly nice and the people don't look trashy or anything.

Obviously not the best area in the city, but easily not the worst neighborhood, not even close.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Sour

I don't know, it just seems like UpTown has a bad reputation. Even my wife, who has lived in Chicago all her life, try's to tell me it's one of the worst areas in Chicago. I've been there multiple times, even there last week, I just don't see what's dangerous about there.

Sure, Broadway & Wilson can be sketchy ( I was there 12 P.M at night), and outside the Aragon Ballroom has a few weird fellows, but overall I find the area fairly nice and the people don't look trashy or anything.

Obviously not the best area in the city, but easily not the worst neighborhood, not even close.

The reputation is way overblown. Uptown is not even close to one of the worst areas in Chicago. Maybe in the 70s it was.

[Lookout Kid]

Uptown has more "quality of life" issues than serious crime. There is a concentration of homeless shelters, supportive housing, rehab clinics, halfway houses, and other social services. And there are some pockets of the neighborhood with gangs and low-income housing, but they are easy to avoid.

Uptown typically has between 1 and 5 murders a year, which isn't terrible for a neighborhood of 65,000 people. The violent crime there is actually on the lower side for the 77 community areas that make up Chicago. But if you live there you may have a homeless person defecate in your front yard now and then.

[emathias]

The 'T' isn't capitalized in "Uptown" unless you're not-so-subtly trying to find a crystal meth dealer there.

[Sour]

Originally Posted by emathias

The 'T' isn't capitalized in "Uptown" unless you're not-so-subtly trying to find a crystal meth dealer there.

My mistake.

[eureka1]

Uptown just SOUNDS cool. We have a blues band out here called the Uptown Kings. The few times I've been in Uptown Chicago we had no problems at all.

[marothisu]

Uptown is not that bad compared to other parts of town. There's some sketchy people/buildings but it's not that bad at all other than to make you a little uncomfortable here and there.

[Chicago60614]

It's more people with mental illness and social problems due to the very sharp concentration of social services in the neighborhood. Lots of crazies walking around, but not a lot of violent crime. I think the perception of it is much more intense than reality. I lived there since 2008 and have a lot of friends moving up there as well.

[ChicagoMeO]

I think its the fact that there are people hanging around, and of these people, if they look like they are homeless or druggies or drifters, or whatever, it makes the neighborhood look bad.

Like in Lakeview, theres a small grocery store, and there are a couple of people hanging out there, it makes the place look bad, especially my friend overhearing that the clerk who is working at the store, is paying the hanger-outer some beer to mop up the floor. this kind of thing if it happens over and over will make a bad impression of the place.

some parts of Uptown are nicer than others i.e. Margate Park and Sheridan Park is better than Montrose and Broadway.

[Aleking]

I have a theory that one of the reasons why Uptown's reputation continues to struggle (even when compared to more violent neighborhoods like Humboldt Park) is the way it was marketed to during the pre-housing crisis boom from 2000-2007. Surrounding neighborhoods were already well on their way and Uptown saw a massive influx of suburban transplants looking to make a quick buck in a lakefront neighborhood near Wrigley Field. Instead of embracing and building on the diversity, edge, transit options, and vibe of neighborhood (the Wicker and now Logan model), they became fixated on crime ... blowing up every minor incident into a headline worthy brouhaha. Uptown is still a gritty urban neighborhood but it's far from the war zone many of it's digruntled condo owners project.