how bad are chicago's bad areas? (streets, worst, small)

[brainiac138]

I don't know how it really compares, but my band once played an outdoor music festival off of Rosa Parks Drive, I believe, but not sure, in Detroit. There were blocks and blocks and blocks of abandoned buildings, and then at night several of the buildings were inhabited by vagrants, with huge fires in the middle of the buildings. Also, several gunshots were heard throughout the night, including a car pulling up to our van with all our gear inside, a man driving asked what was going on, we told him what was up, and he said, "good, I'm gonna come back and kill of ya and steal your s--t." That was a fairly bad experience to a pretty decent night, but from my own first-hand experiences, this was the worst neighborhood I had been to.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by bulldawg1594

dont even think about telling me that philly is as bad as chicago.

Are you joking? Philly doesn't have nearly the same degree of gentrification that Chicago has--though it's definitely happening there on a large scale. Philly also has a higher violent crime rate than Chicago, and the housing conditions are worse.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by sueprnova

LA isn't even in the same ballpark...it's kiddieland compared to here.

Areas like Compton and South Central LA do lack the tenements that you will find in the midwestern ghettos. It is hard to tell when you are transitioning into a bad neighborhood.

However, the area is just as deadly.

[Gelasia]

where is camden?

[TheLordYourGod]

Originally Posted by MyssaTx

where is camden?

It's in New Jersey, just across the river from Philly.

[Costa Rica Chica]

Originally Posted by bulldawg1594

dont even think about telling me that philly is as bad as chicago.

I would say it's worse, or at least feels worse. I went to college in Philly and had to drive out to the Puerto Rican neighborhood periodically, (which in itself wasn't too bad,) but I had to drive through some pretty nasty places to get there. I think what makes these areas seem scarier than Chicago's "bad" areas, (which I visit periodically for my job now,) is that the streets in Philly are so narrow and there are many row houses which are boarded up or falling down. In Chicago, there are also lots of boarded up and dillapidated apartments, but they are set far back from the streets, which are wider. There are a lot of vacant lots in Chicago, whereas in Philly - the slummy buildings are right on top of each other, and right on the street. I also saw people doing crack in broad daylight in Philly, among other sketchy things. I felt unsafe driving through Philly, I don't feel particularly unsafe driving through any neighborhood in Chicago during the day.

[MassVt]

...as much of the Mid-Atlantic (Trenton, Philly, Camden, Wilmington and Baltimore) is in bad shape; all of these cities are filled with dilapidated row houses that are boarded-up/falling down; lots of urban renewal to be done here..

[bulldawg1594]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Are you joking? Philly doesn't have nearly the same degree of gentrification that Chicago has--though it's definitely happening there on a large scale. Philly also has a higher violent crime rate than Chicago, and the housing conditions are worse.

it may be worst overall, but there are parts of chicago that are worst than any part of philly.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by MassVt

...as much of the Mid-Atlantic (Trenton, Philly, Camden, Wilmington and Baltimore) is in bad shape; all of these cities are filled with dilapidated row houses that are boarded-up/falling down; lots of urban renewal to be done here..

Huh... never really knew or suspected that about Wilmington. Then again about the only thing anyone outside the Philly area and Delaware know about Wilmington is that seemingly every bank in America is incorporated there.

[surlycue]

Originally Posted by Drover

Huh... never really knew or suspected that about Wilmington. Then again about the only thing anyone outside the Philly area and Delaware know about Wilmington is that seemingly every bank in America is incorporated there.

It is actually the hub of a few major credit cards, not many national banks that I'm aware of.