Moving from Detroit to Chicago in August.... (transplants, apartments)

[Michteacher76]

In August my wife, kids, and I will be moving to Chicago. I will be teaching in CPS.....coming from Detroit Public Schools. We are looking for reasonable priced housing (hoping for a single-family home) in the city. We have done some research online and certainly notice that the north side seems to be safer than the south side. We are a little nervous about moving to Chicago....with hearing the recent news in April concerning all the shootings. However, we would be comparing Chicago to Detroit....not sure which is actually worse.

Can anyone direct us to specific areas to check out....either north or south?

Thanks!!!

[LIS123]

They say Detroit is much worse (safety wise) than Chicago. As noted, Chicago is no walk in the park either. For some reason, things seem to be getting worse.

You'll need to give a budget before others can tell you where you might be able to live. A teacher's salary won't buy much in the Chicago area (unless your wife works as well and earns good money).

[Michteacher76]

We are looking for about $1000.00 a month....give or take. Right now, I will be the only one working.

I hope there is something out there we can rent......

[Tex?Il?]

I think the best way to look at it, is that Chicago basically has many more good areas.

Two things: I'm from the Chicago suburbs and I've gone to school in Michigan, this is what I can tell.

Both cities experiences white (and black middle class) flight. However Chicago (maybe because of all the machine politics) always had middle class and working class areas that remained stable.

2ndly (also I think because of the machine politics and civic leadership) there was always a strong focus on keeping the downtown strong and vibrant in Chicago, this led originally led to the building of many nice high rises on the north lakefront leading from the Loop/near north side. This set into a domino effect of gentrification on the north side in areas closest to downtown (which means closer to cultural attractions that transplants and locals want to be close to).

So to sum it up, Chicago has many areas both close to downtown (especially to the north, and near northwest) that are good. As well as on the far NW and far SW sides that are suburban-like for families of city workers.

However there are big areas of Chicago (almost all of the west side, many areas on the south side, even some areas on the NW side are pretty dumpy) that are blighted and decayed, 99% African American (simply acknowledging the historic racial tensions) that are like Detroit with boarded up houses and factories.

So in Chicago, you can simply avoid those areas, by learning which areas are good and which ones are not. There are many threads here that discuss this too.

Good luck!

[Michteacher76]

Does anyone know a person or agency/website I can connect with to find out about home rentals? I have tried Craig's List.....but there are mostly apartments listed there. We are hoping for a house in a modest neighborhood.....where it is safe to utilize public transportation.....

Does this exist for a reasonable price, or am I dreaming?

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Michteacher76

Does anyone know a person or agency/website I can connect with to find out about home rentals? I have tried Craig's List.....but there are mostly apartments listed there. We are hoping for a house in a modest neighborhood.....where it is safe to utilize public transportation.....

Does this exist for a reasonable price, or am I dreaming?

Probably not for the price you´re looking for. If you can bump it up to 1400, then I think you may find something. Do you know what school you´ll be working at? Chances are, it will be cumbersome to access via public transit, unless you consciously relocate to a neighborhood where it won´t take more than 1 transfer to reach your destination.

[aragx6]

I agree that it'd really help to know where you'll be working.

[Chicago60614]

Yeah, I think the comment that really sums it up is that while Detroit and Chicago both have very dangerous areas, Chicago has vast areas of the city which are quite safe and "normal".

[Chicago60614]

I think most people who are recently hearing about crime in Chicago are talking about that weekend about a month ago where the city had 31 shootings over just one weekend.

I did a little analysis based on maps of where the shooting happened, and community information from those areas. Here's a blurb about it....

100% of the shootings happened in neighborhoods that house 25% of the city's total population. This means that 2,126,895 people who live in the city, or 75% of the population, live in neighborhoods that saw zero shootings or murders during this past weekend's "crime wave". For the most part, those 75% of people probably live in areas that very rarely would see a shooting, let alone murders.

That's what's different about this city compared to say Detroit. The city has still managed to preserve large swaths of residential areas that are still in good standing. The only problem is the one quarter of the city that had seriously declined. It kinda over-rules the rest of the city as far as being noticed for crime. Something major this city needs to work on, but sadly hasn't been addressed because it doesn't personally affect a vast majority of people.

[via chicago]

Also, should be noted that there have been 3 multiple slayings (2 triple murders, as well as a quintuple homicide). Those 3 cases accounted for 11 murders. I believe all of those were in some part domestic disputes as well, and not gang violence (although there has been a slight uptick in that category over last year).

The fact is there are good, bad, and "in between" neighborhoods in any major city. Chicago is doing better than just about anywhere else in the country for urban rejuvenation, and there are plenty of safe areas to choose from. The perceived danger is made out to be much worse than the reality. Of course you need to utilize street smarts and not live in a bubble as you go about your life..but seeing as you're coming from Detroit I really dont forsee any major transitioning issues.