I lived in what is now considered Logan Square when I was a kid (1963-1966). It was heavily Polish Catholic then. When we drove through the old neighborhood in the early 90s, it was mostly Hispanic.
S1 has talked about heading to Chicago at some point, and I’d be surprised if he went anywhere other than Logan Square. Kinda completes the circle, to my mind.
DH says Chicago reminds him of the NYC of his youth. If we ever leave DC, Chicago would be high on the list.
I remember looking at this site ( or one like it) when my son first moved to Chicago. It’s scary.
I, admit, I don’t like watching Philadelphia news, where my daughter lives, either.m
Crime stats in neighborhoods in Chicago, weekly reports, and trends.
http://crime.chicagotribune.com
Crime stats by neighborhood, weekly trends.
http://crime.chicagotribune.com
The crime is mostly West Side and South Side, which are not where one typically recommends for new-to-town 20somethings. Hyde Park is an island on the South Side, but typically of more appeal to young people who are affiliated with the U of Chicago as there is relatively little restaurants, retail, etc. (There’s another island on the South Side called Beverly, but that’s the home of Irish firemen in pleasant bungalows, has a suburban feel, and is not a destination for 20somethings.)
The crime rate here has shot up, though, and it’s concerning. Having said that, my petite 23 yo daughter shouldn’t be walking home alone at 3 am anywhere in Chicago, even on Astor Street. Of course, she shouldn’t do that in any city.
@Pizzagirl, congrats on your daughter buying a place.
I think part of what is also going on is that many of the areas we are talking about are more recently gentrified - Logan Square, Wicker Park/Bucktown/Uk Village, West Loop, South Loop.
By contrast, the Gold Coast, Streeterville, Lincoln Park have been “established” and known as safe, settled neighborhoods forever. Your parents felt safe there and your grandparents did too.
People not from Chicago don’t have pre-existing notions of these neighborhoods. If you have lived here for a while, it’s harder to shake the old-time notions that some of these places are sketchy. After all, “they” have been talking about gentrifying Humboldt Park forever and a day (“it’s up and coming!”) and it’s been supposedly up and coming for 15 years now and I’m still not sending my D there.
When my oldest daughter graduated from college, she told me she was going to move near 3rd St in SF.
I replied, “Are you kidding? When I was a kid, if you walked on that street, you were never seen again”.
So, I got in my car and drove 45 minutes to 3rd St. Walked all over the area. Hmmmm…
Came back home. Called my daughter. “I said nevermind. Forget what I said”. 
Neighborhoods have changed over the years.
My wife and my daughter teased me about checking out the area. But you know what? Behind the teasing, my whfe and my daughter were happy I did check out the area.
^ son moved into an apt with four guys! not so far from Cabrini green. I was concerned, he was not. Well, two years later I found out the two apts below theirs were robbed at gunpoint, one night when all his roommates were out. Nothing taken from their place. During that year All cars were also broken into,except his. He never told us about this until two months ago. Scary out there.
Cabrini Green has been gone for five years now and the entire area is considerably different. Not sure how that old experience is pertinent now? We lived about a mile north back in the day. And yes, crime is always an issue in a big city and was for us, but we do not regret living in Lincoln Park for the time we were there - great place for Yuppies, as we were then.
Back then, Perennial Virant was Jeff’s Laugh-inn, open 24/7.
I used to work in Old Town, maybe a half mile east of Cabrini Green. A mile north is a whole different universe.
Not when your bus to work went right by. We had lived closer earlier, across from Nookies.
“And yes, crime is always an issue in a big city and was for us, but we do not regret living in Lincoln Park for the time we were there - great place for Yuppies, as we were then.”
It wasn’t Lincoln Park that had a reputation for sketchiness. It’s been yuppieville for many years. It was the other neighborhoods we were discussing - Wicker Park, Bucktown, etc. - where it’s harder for those who have lived here to shake the sketchy reputation. That’s all. Wicker Park has done so successfully. There are still areas that get touted as the “next up and coming” that I feel like - yeah, saying it doesn’t make it so.