Opinion: Chicago Will Rise Again! (Skokie, Lincoln: foreclose, for rent, insurance)

[Cool Arrow]

Originally Posted by midwest1

Northwest Indiana is Chicago's secret weapon. NYC LA SF Seattle do NOT have a part of their metro located on a RED State, as does Chicago.

NWI will continue to rise for decades to come, mark my words. And this will be very good for Chicagoland. Especially the South Side.

Is this a joke? NWI is extremely depressing. Looks like a set of a dystopian movie. Abandoned steel mills and vacant properties left and right.

[BoraBoraBobby]

Originally Posted by biggap

Chicago is getting beat up by the national media, specially in regards to crime and political corruption. The corruption I cannot argue with. The city needs a total political cleanse from top to bottom! The crime, as bad as Chicago is these days, is a bit disproportionate, simply because there are many smaller cities with higher violent crime rates. I am not saying that nothing needs to change with crime, but come on, we are in the midst of a violent crime spike nationwide.

I believe once all of this political turmoil is over that has escalated since 2020, granted who knows when that will be, Chicago will begin to rise again. You may ask, ¨why?¨ All of these other cities like Atlanta, Denver, and Seattle are the ones truly growing! Well, here is my theory:

1) Chicago is a grand city with a downtown unmatched by basically any other in the US. I know about Manhattan, but here me out: The Loop has the best mix of business, transit, amenities, nightlife, scenery with the lakefront, and importantly, CLEANLINESS! People love Chicago for being so urban, but so clean.

2) Chicago has the infrastructure to withstand growth. There is a great mass transit system, and there is housing available. To grow, Chicago will not have to partake in some of the unsustainable growth habits of those West Coast and Sunbelt cities. Chicago will not depend on over-automotivizing, and it will not depend on building miles and miles of cul-de-sacs to grow.

3) The Great Lakes Area, including Chicagoland, will be one of the regions least effected by climate change. That is not to say it will be unscathed, but I think once wildfires, hurricanes, and droughts ravage other parts of the country, moving back to the Midwest will not look so unappealing.

Thoughts? It is time for Chicago to be optimistic! Tackle the crime, tackle the corruption, and show the city for all of its glory.

I agree but it has to do politics. Companies will grow or relocate there if the city is cost effective and attractive to talent. Chicago needs to keep its streets safe and have a more competitive tax structure.

[artillery77]

Originally Posted by Avondalist

To use a Silicon Valley quip, preventing the spread of gentrification with corruption and violence is a feature, not a bug, for those who would be displaced.

Which is why it is so appealing. The majority that can be lifted up with their neighborhood can get their violent and corrupt trash out of their neighborhood. It would be great if the trash would self identify and make it easier for everyone.

Almost every Chicagoan neighborhood was nice at some point in time. I doubt most New Yorkers pine for Times Square circa 1980. Admittedly it may go against the grain of Chicago's coarse reputation, but I'm sure a city that talented can blend course and chic for something amazing. One may miss dangerous Wicker Park that was no go except for a drug run....but I rather doubt it.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by artillery77

Which is why it is so appealing. The majority that can be lifted up with their neighborhood can get their violent and corrupt trash out of their neighborhood. It would be great if the trash would self identify and make it easier for everyone.

Almost every Chicagoan neighborhood was nice at some point in time. I doubt most New Yorkers pine for Times Square circa 1980. Admittedly it may go against the grain of Chicago's coarse reputation, but I'm sure a city that talented can blend course and chic for something amazing. One may miss dangerous Wicker Park that was no go except for a drug run....but I rather doubt it.

The issue is that people aren’t just lifted up, they are pushed out. I have a friend who lived in DC and at one point was in a quickly gentrifying area. She said that by the time she moved out (I think she was also priced out), most of the original folks no longer lived there. It was over the course of 2-3 years total that she was there. If the neighborhood can be lifted up without pushing the people out, that is one thing, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Even now in Woodlawn, speculators are building ridiculously expensive new homes in anticipation of the Obama library. I don’t think the people living there now are going to be able to afford a $600-800K home.

[quigboto]

Originally Posted by RamenAddict

The issue is that people aren’t just lifted up, they are pushed out. I have a friend who lived in DC and at one point was in a quickly gentrifying area. She said that by the time she moved out (I think she was also priced out), most of the original folks no longer lived there. It was over the course of 2-3 years total that she was there. If the neighborhood can be lifted up without pushing the people out, that is one thing, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Even now in Woodlawn, speculators are building ridiculously expensive new homes in anticipation of the Obama library. I don’t think the people living there now are going to be able to afford a $600-800K home.

When I bought my house in Humboldt Park in 2005 for market value (around $275k) I was told I had made a terrible decision (and not just in terms of real estate investment) When the housing crash happened a couple of years later and I wound up upside down on my house, those naysaying voices seemed to be pretty validated, but unlike a lot of others, I didn't walk away from my home/loan and now in 2022 I see what houses in the neighborhood are selling for and I'm glad I stuck in out. Even in parts of the neighborhood that I consider undesirable, I would pay more for housing than what I currently do. I am not patting myself on the back though. It was just dumb luck that it eventually worked out for me and for several years I doubted I would come out ahead.

[midwest1]

Originally Posted by Cool Arrow

Is this a joke? NWI is extremely depressing. Looks like a set of a dystopian movie. Abandoned steel mills and vacant properties left and right.

A very ignorant post. NWI has about 850,000 people.

Yes it has the core of the nations STEEL industry...which is $$$$.

It also has thriving cities like Michigan City, a beach and boating oasis where a 250,000,000 dollar muxed-uae development happening at a new South Shore station....guessing you never heard of the South Shore line ...goes from Millennium Park to South Bend, traversing the Region

It also has a National Park with some of the Nations greatest biodiversity and stunning beaches.

Valparaiso Indiana is thriving, a growing urban core. Chesterton is exploding with growth.

My section of Gary just saw it's first million dollar home sold, dozens of homes are sprouting there. Every single neighborhood of Gary and East Chicago and Hammond, the old Urban Core of The Region is seeing RECORD sales prices for flipped homes.

Wealthier suburbs like Mu ster Highland are rising in vae, new boomburbs such as Winfield are the fastest growing in nChicagoland.

Being a beacon of low taxes, less regulation, not being run by big government unions...a perfect recipe for The Region.

[dcisive]

Holy crud! are you telling me there was a Million dollar home in Gary Indiana? How did THAT happen?

[midwest1]

Miller Beach in Gary has a six-mile beach and is surrounded by a National Park. It is kinda like Staten Island visavis NYC.

[BOORGONG]

Originally Posted by midwest1

Miller Beach in Gary has a six-mile beach and is surrounded by a National Park. It is kinda like Staten Island visavis NYC.

Pretty interesting. Are the steel plants the reason for the turnaround? Where is the growth coming from these days?

[midwest1]

The growth is from the fact that 1/10th of Chicagoland is being administered by clean Hoosier Republicans, and 9/10ths of Chicagoland is a Democrat Kleptocratic ****hole.