I have heard so many bad things about southern Chicago that it’s starting to concern me a bit. Of course, I am taking all this with a grain of salt. People warned me that I would be mugged by newspaper-waving gypsy children if I visited Rome, but I managed to stay a week without having to deal with newspaper-waving people of any kind. And of course, my American friends believe that Seoulites live in bomb shelters in the constant fear that North Korea will launch a missile given half the chance. I’m happy to say I’ve never seen the inside of a bomb shelter in my life.
So I’m not too worried when people react with horror when I tell them I’m moving to south Chicago, but I have a friend who goes to Northwestern and even she tells me that the area around UChicago is known to be dodgy at best. I’m thinking that the Hyde Park area - which is the area right around the university, right? - should be reasonably safe. So tell me - exactly how dodgy is the area? And are there any streets/neighborhoods in particular to avoid? And where exactly IS the Hyde Park area? I’ve been looking on maps for areas labeled “Hyde Park” but haven’t found anything so far.
I have friends who live on the North side who have never been on the South side. One said, “All I know is that if the street name is a number it’s a bad neighborhood.” (Only the South side uses numbers for street names i.e. “53rd Street”)
Hyde Park is one of the coolest neighborhhods in the City. I was born/raised in Chicago, but live in Ohio now. I’m terminally homesick but when I go home I will almost certainly move to Hyde Park. (I’m from the North side originally; Logan Square)
Hyde Park has a distinctive personality—the people are more liberal, they’re cooler, they’re more laid back and cerebral. IMO, they’re more interesting. There used to be a super cool restaurant on 53rd called “The Tiki” which was open till 5 a.m. You could run into musicians, rockets scientists, philosophers, cops–everything. Totally racially cool and color blind. It’s closed now. Accross the street is a cool little neighborhhod bar called The Falcon—I think it’s still there. The neighborhood had some great little jazz clubs.
It’s got great feel, nice shops, grocery stores, banks etc. If you like city living it feels like a neighborhood.
It is surrounded by some dicey neighborhhods, and late at night you should always be aware of your surroundings. But hey, that’s the case in Rogers Park, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Newtown and other ‘hot’ neighborhhods.
I would suggest you drive through the neighborhoods—from 51st Street through around 58th Street, from the lake to a few blocks west of say… Dorchester. There are some amazing houses (extremely expensive) and some cool streets. Once again, if you go 10 blocks North, Soth or West you’re in a different neighborhood.
But if you’re interested in urban living, Hyde Park is a very cool neighborhood.
Chicago is HUGE. Only LA, NYC and maybe Phoenix rival it in size/feel. (maybe Philly?)
I’ve been to Detroit, Indy, Memphis etc etc and if you’ve been to Chicago cities like Detroit seem small.
The South side of Chicago has 25 or so distinctive neighborhhods, and the South side alone is bigger than most cities.
It is also common for people to live on the North side, or the South side and never go to the other side. The city is so large (and for decades the city was very segregated–something that is still kind of prevalent) that you never really needed to go to the opposite side of the city.
The point is…I wouldn’t really trust the judgement of a friend that lives in Evanston, if they’ve never been to Hyde Park. Believe it or not, many North siders see the South side as a ghetto although they’ve never been there. Their perceptions are no better informed than someone in St Louis.
It is true that the South side has some very bad neighborhoods. Hyde Park is not Evanston. It has some crime like any other urban neighborhood. And it has some neighboring areas that are dicey. But there are many people living there who feel entirely cool about living there. (And the Univ of Chicago is one of the best Universities in the world)
I grew up partying on the south side (though I lived in one of the south suburbs, actually) and now live in Evanston, about to move to Rogers Park.
Hyde Park is really cool and relatively safe. However, as already mentioned, it is surrounded by really bad neighborhoods, some lasting only a block or two before “good neighborhood” starts again.
How do you figure out what’s good and bad? Experience. Time. Friends who live in the area. Just don’t go wandering alone after dark until you get a feel for the area and you’ll be fine.
Don’t let your friend freak you out. Chicago is awesome, and that includes the South Side. Some North Siders, who likely equate “black” with “dangerous”, would sooner die than live on the South Side, but…meh. I’ve waited for the bus alone at night in South Woodlawn (which neighbors Hyde Park to the south and is…well, “run down” would be charitable) and nothing happened except some people walking by said “hi”. Little white girl me got back up to the North Side without incident.
Hyde Park is an interesting and diverse neighborhood. I’m sure you’ll have fun. The only bummer is that the el doesn’t go there.
I did get pickpocketed in Rome, though. Twice. Gah.
Hey, now! Evanston is 22.5% African American, you know. We’re incredibly racially diverse! Anyone afraid of The Black Man is not going to fare well here, either.
(What you’re seeing here might be informative, actually. There’s a long standing “war” between North Siders and South Siders. The South thinks the North sees them as ignorant gang bangers or uneducated trash, and the North thinks the South sees them as elitist, racist art fags. Neither point of view is entirely accurate, but it keeps everyone defensive.)
I really love Evanston. I used to live in South Evanston (near Asbury & Oakton) and it is a great place to live. If I was going to live in any suburb, Evanston is the only one I would live in.
I went to the Illinois Inst. of Tech in Chicago, and spent 6 years living there, all on the south side. I love and miss that city dearly.
Not ONCE did I have any kind of problem. IIT’s campus is located across from what used to be (all torn down now) the largest public housing project in the country. Even that area (bronzeville) is becoming gentrified. I spent considerable time on the U of C campus and Hyde Park, and I’ve yet to come across a cooler neighborhood. I chased a lot of tail in the neigborhoods in the deep south side (95th st. around Chicago State Univ) and the “Wild Hundreds” (100th st and down). Sure there is crime, any large urban area has crime. There are some spots here and there where I wouldn’t recommend a preppie-looking white guy walk around at 3 am but hey, that’s common sense. Most crime is drug or gang related, meaning you pretty much need to be involved in some way to get into trouble.
The places where I felt like I had to watch my back in Chicago were mostly the Italian and still somewhat racist neighborhoods in certain parts of the near west side (around Comisky Park). I still ventured there anyways, because a finer Italian beef sammich cannot be had anywhere else.
The only Chicago-area places I avoided altogether are the southernmost “suburbs” such as Harvey, Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Hammond, etc. It’s not the crime that will kill you in those places, it’s the depression!
Ditto what everyone says about Hyde Park. It’s a great, diverse exciting neighborhood.
The areas that are dicey around it are mostly dicey at night, if they are at all. use common sense, you’ll acquire that pretty fast. Don’t walk there looking like you’re afraid to be a victim, chances are those are the people most victimized.
I used to follow the 90/10 rule. Probably the numbers are skewed, but my guess is 90% of the trouble is caused by less than 10% of the people there.
I spent 3 years running a bus company at 91st just off the Dan Ryan. I had the campus buses at the U of C, I was all over the south side at public schools and factories and never, ever nce had a problem while I was there. And I’m the whitest mexican you ever saw.
It’s actually startlingly clear where Hyde Park ends and poorer neighborhoods begin, more so than in other cities I’ve been in. Not skin color but the general appearance of the area.
Hyde Park is just fine, and you have easy bus access over to Midway airport, the baseball stadium over that way, and north to the Loop and North side.
Thanks for all the info! So excited to be moving back to the States. Can’t wait till the semester starts.
Common sense it is. I suppose I’ll be safe as long as I don’t wander around in the middle of the night in my undies. But that’s true here in Seoul as well.
Accross the street is a cool little neighborhhod bar called The Falcon—I think it’s still there. The neighborhood had some great little jazz clubs.