Devon and Ridge - safe area? (Chicago, Cicero: apartments, rentals, condo)

[Antt]

Hi, guys. Was wondering if anyone has any idea of the neighborhood around Devon and Ridge and if you do, would you please share your experiences? Anything you have in mind about that area (overall cleanliness of apartments or neighborhood, safety, etc), I'd love to hear.

I currently live near Western and Devon and the area, although not the greatest, really doesn't seem that bad. I mean you have the occasional person singing at the top of their lungs at four in the morning or even waking up to a girlfriend fighting with her boyfriend directly in front of your window for one straight hour, but beyond things like that, I'm thankful that we've not experienced much worse.

That being said, I know nothing about the area I'm asking about, so if anyone does, I'd really appreciate any insight you can give. I'd like to think that we'd have the same experience there as we do here, considering it's really not much further than where I currently reside, but I'd rather not assume, which is why I'm here.

[MannheimMadman]

If you live near Devon and Western, then you already know what Devon and Ridge is like, which is only something like 5 blocks away.

I think Devon is nicer the further east you go, and closer to Loyola. Ridge is mostly shabby as you go from Peterson all the way north until the Evanston border.

[ChicagoMeO]

I've driven down Ridge all the way from Evanston. That looks like from my car what i can see a decent place..Devon and Ridge, if i am remembering right there are some small apartment buildings there which look ok from the outside. however, if you go north a half mile or so, you get Howard, i do NOT like the few blocks on either side of Howard because there are too many people hanging out and i just dont feel as safe. but Devon seems to be pretty ok. you have to see for yourself. I know a lady who moved to another area Broadway and Kenmore and thats supposed to be not safe.. and she says "well here i am, i'm alive."

you can drive or walk down the area and see how you feel, see if theres people just loitering or what. some people dont get freaked out by people loitering and some do. so is really up to you.

see how things are at night.. THATS when you will tell. but be in a car when you do that.

[Drover]

"I live in Wicker Park, what is Bucktown like?"

"I live in Boystown, what's Wrigleyville like?"

"I live in River North, what's Streeterville like?"

[Antt]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

I think Devon is nicer the further east you go, and closer to Loyola. Ridge is mostly shabby as you go from Peterson all the way north until the Evanston border.

You mean in terms of overall safety or looks? As far as looks go, everything east of Western seems like it's just been the same since the 80's. Whereas most of the apartments and homes west of Kedzie are really nice and they seem to get nicer the closer you get to Cicero and even past Cicero a few blocks. I'm assuming the neighborhoods around there must be pretty decent as well.

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

you can drive or walk down the area and see how you feel, see if theres people just loitering or what. some people dont get freaked out by people loitering and some do. so is really up to you.

see how things are at night.. THATS when you will tell. but be in a car when you do that.

I've lived on the south side of Chicago (in the same apartment, actually) practically my whole life, so common sense things like checking out the neighborhoods (especially at night - great call on that) didn't even cross my mind. Thanks for the tip, though. Very helpful for an inexperienced renter.

Originally Posted by Drover

"I live in Wicker Park, what is Bucktown like?"

"I live in Boystown, what's Wrigleyville like?"

"I live in River North, what's Streeterville like?"

I'm going to assume each of those places are several feet apart from one another. If so...

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by Antt

You mean in terms of overall safety or looks? As far as looks go, everything east of Western seems like it's just been the same since the 80's. Whereas most of the apartments and homes west of Kedzie are really nice and they seem to get nicer the closer you get to Cicero and even past Cicero a few blocks. I'm assuming the neighborhoods around there must be pretty decent as well.

As far as safety, I haven't had a look at stats of the West Ridge neighborhood in a while. I bet it'd be safe to assume there isn't too much going on there. I take my kid to Indian Boundary Park every so often, but otherwise don't spend much time there.

When I said shabby, I meant looks. The reason everything west of Kedzie looks a lot newer and nicer is because over all, it is. And, it's not even the city of Chicago at that point; it's Lincolnwood. I'm pretty sure a lot of the housing in Lincolnwood is more upscale post-war stuff, whereas you're still going to get a lot of pre-war vintage stuff in Rogers Park and West Ridge. I do notice a lot of ho-hum 70's looking stuff along Ridge, though. Not sure of the quality, since I've not been inside anything over there.

When I was working in Niles, I used to regularly use the Sauganash trail to cycle through the neighborhood around Devon and Cicero. There's some really beautiful housing back there and it's completely suburban at that point. You've also got the neighborhoods of Edgebrook and Wildwood along Devon and Caldwell (Peterson) which have some incredible homes in them as well.

Is there a reason you're considering Devon and Ridge? I'd bet you could find a better apartment in a different part of Edgewater for similar rent.

[Antt]

Oh, that's right. You're no longer in Kansas once you pass McCormick. All those neighborhoods you mentioned do have some amazing homes.

But yea', there's an apartment over on Devon and Ridge that checks off some of my requirements: clean (looks it, anyway), somewhat updated/modern apartment/condo, with an in-unit washer/dryer, central air and heat. I mean I'd really prefer to stay in the same area I'm in now, but after having searched for a new place for months, I've not been able to find anything decent. It's been pretty frustrating, actually. I'm mainly searching online, though, so perhaps I've not really exhausted every possible resource available to new renters.

If you have any tips you can provide for finding decent apartments in Rogers Park, I'm all ears. I've been using Hotpad because it's pretty user-friendly, but every single apartment that's within my budget ($1,000 to $1,100) just doesn't fit the bill. I've tried Trulia, but unlike Hotpads (where it automatically lists every apartment in your price range, nationwide), you actually have to enter the city or zip for homes to come up. Craigslist was another one I tried, but it had some seriously suspect listings. So besides leaving a bad overall impression, they seemed to have the same apartments every other site had.

I'm thinking my only other options at this point is either to head over to a realtor or perhaps just drive around in hopes that I find something that people haven't listed online.

[MannheimMadman]

If in-unit W/D and modern HVAC are requirements, you're not going to have as many options. Hell, I'm searching for a condo (which are usually more upscale than rentals) to buy right now and a lot of vintage places don't have either one. I do suggest driving around or walking the neighborhood to look for rentals. 4 years ago when I was apartment hunting, I came across some really great units by looking for 'for rent' signs and calling the numbers listed on the sides of buildings.

Also, you're not going to find a lot of availability right now. Typically, any rental you see right now is just the un-wanted or too pricy stuff left over from the prime summer market. When is the lease up for your current place? The apartment I'm in now happened to be listed in FEBRUARY for MAY rental, which means the landlord started very early to get things locked up. I would consider my unit to be a real prize, which goes to show that a lot of the good stuff is snapped up and spoken for long before the typical 'searching time' of mid March/April.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Antt

I'm going to assume each of those places are several feet apart from one another. If so...

Well let's be realistic about this... you live literally right down the street from the location you're asking about, so realistically you're in a better position to know about the area than probably anyone in this forum. But if you want to get a unique perspective on that specific intersection, walk into the Shell or BP gas station late at night and ask whoever works the overnight shift what goes on around there while the rest of the city is sleeping. If there are any stories to tell, they're the ones who would have 'em.

[ChicagoMeO]

How about going into Evanston, on Ridge Road,, they have some nice places there. I hear people advise going north of South Boulevard, so your not too close to Howard. You might like some of them, they have some really nice places that are not too much money. and not much farther north than you. you can check Trulia for those or just walk down Ridge Road and see.