Moving to Chicago. Suggestions for a safe neighborhood?

Question

I will be moving to Chicago the first week in October. What are some of the safer neighborhoods to live in? My office is on North Wabash, so I need to be close to the train/bus system.

Answer 1

Check out the link I am providing for the Reader Newspaper...this is a free weekly publication which lists all kinds of housing available in Chicago.

With the current housing downturn, you might be able to find something just outside the main downtown area for a reasonable price. Places to check out include the South Loop and the University of Illinois at Chicago/Little Italy areas (both easily accessible by the CTA subway/Els as well as the buses).

As others have mentioned, Hyde Park is not a bad area to check out as well as the South Shore Area. The latter especially has a lot of new development and there are some apartments/condos which are reasonably priced. In that area you can get downtown via a number of bus routes as well as the Metra Electric (South Chicago Branch).

I am also providing the link for the public transportation services in Chicago so you can figure out you can get to work.

Good luck finding a place to live!

Answer 2

Trains and buses are plentiful in Chicago, so whereever you live, you'll be near public transportation. What you need to figure out is how much you are wiling to spend for rent (if in fact you are renting an apartment and not planning on buying a condo). That will determine the type of neighborhoods you live in. Granted no Chicago neighborhood is 'safe"; this is a big city and crime can happen anywhere. But some may be a little safer than others. Why not list your price range for rent and then you may get more useful answers. For instance, I could tell you the Gold Coast is a safe neighborhood. But unless you are prepared to buy a mansion in the million dollar range, you probably won't be living there. So give us a price range and we can help. FYI, there are some great relatively safe neighborhoods that have one bedrooms for about $700 and up.

Answer 3

The Lincoln Park Area (Near Brown and Red Line Trains and Bus Routes: Fullerton, Belmont, Clark) is Nice and full of Working White Collar People, Along With Wicker Park (Near Blue Line Train and 3 Buses: Damen,Milwaukee,North Avenue) for the Hip and Trendy. Also try River North and Gold Coast Area (This Neighborhood is Closer To Downtown then the above-mentioned and has many transportation bus and train routes) is a more Family occupied and Upper Class Area. Good luck in your search!

Answer 4

If you want to raise kids in a more "conservative" enviroment, check out Beverly/Chicago, Mt Greenwood/Chicago (loaded with policemen and firemen), Evergreen Park, Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge, Alsip and Palos Heights and Palos Park. You can catch the train from any of those spots or get to a station within minutes.

It's boring out here but it's a great place to raise a family and housing is probably 20% cheaper than up north.

Schools tend to be better in the burbs. Not all Chicago schools are bad, but you have to do your homework.

If you want the best place for families, try Naperville; however, everyone's trying to move there and houses are skyrocketing.

Good luck to you--I know you'll love it here.

Answer 5

I'd recommend these for safe neighborhoods with a commute less than 45 minutes to downtown:

- Bucktown
- Near North Side
- Lincoln Park
- Lakeview/Wrigleyville/Roscoe Village
- South Loop

Answer 6

You can find a few studios in the city for $600+, but you have to figure electricity and maybe cable/internet into the mix, which will jack up the price of the apartment a bit. Then you have to factor in transportation (the bus is cheap but it ain't free), food and occasional entertainment (unless you're happy with Miller High Life and Netflix). And you'll probaby need furniture. There are a few studios like that in Edgewater, a nice, relatively quiet area on the far north side of the city. It's just a few steps to the lake which comes in handy in the summer. I put a link to one of the places in Edgewater below but you can search for others.

Answer 7

I live on the Southwest side of Chicago...9 miles southwest of downtown....Its the Garfield Ridge neighborhood...Midway airport is in this neighborhood...The neighborhood is very nice...If you are white, it will be even better for you since it is a majority white neighborhood...the only bad thing is I hope you have some money because the prices of the houses are a lot and you will get raped on taxes too since Chicago is trying to keep the minorities out of my neighborhood. Party neighborhood!

Answer 8

I grew up in the suburbs and have lived around the city, so I'd say that it all depends on where you decide you want to be. To be honest, a lot of city neighborhoods are gentrifying so if you want a good deal, pick one of them (i.e. South Loop or UIC or Bucktown) and get in now and the land values keep going up and crime going down, but currently they're still not perfect, but not unsafe. Evanston is connected to transit, and safe as long as you're careful (they have had problems with mugging on campus, just be wary). Avoid Rogers Park for now, it's been iffy lately, and avoid most of the area on the South Side between south of Canaryville and north of Beverly and Oak Lawn.

Suburbs to look at if you have a good budget that have transit to the city are Naperville, Schaumburg, Palatine, Deerfield, Highland Park, and River Forest. If you need the city and you want my honest opinion of safest neighborhoods right now, you will find they're the most expensive ones to live in: Lincoln Park, Wrigleyville (NOT Wicker Park in my opinion...I still think it's a little unsafe, as is Logan Square, but both of them are rapidly becoming more gentrified, so I would still look there--lots of young working adults right out of school), Gold Coast (AMAZINGLY expensive--I wouldn't bother unless your last name is Pritzker), and Beverly. Hyde Park can go either way. There are tons of wealthy people and faculty members for University of Chicago, but it also has a lot of crime and low-income blocks.

Answer 9

I lived in Lincoln Park for 5 years, and owned in this building for 2. Marilyn is the Manager there, and she is great-so are the building engineers, Kurt and Jerry.

Here is the website-check it out for a clean, safe place to live in a fine neighborhood.

http://hampdengreen.com/hampdengreen/outside_frame.asp

Answer 10

The Gold Coast, Lincoln Park and Wrigleyville are great Places to live in and safe..

Take care..

Bcn_mimosa from Barcelona, Spain