<p>My S will be starting at UChicago in the fall in a graduate program and he just received his grad student apt. info today. He was assigned to a building just south of the Midway Plaisance. I thought I had read that the area south of the Plaisance could be a little “sketchy” as my kids would say. Would really appreciate any opinions of those in the know about the neighborhood.</p>
<p>If it’s assigned by the U of C, it’s safe. A few blocks south of the Midway is a very different world than one or two blocks south of the Midway. The U of C law school and all that goes with it, the large student dorm Burton Judson, a major undergraduate dining hall, and the “new dorm” are all south of the Midway. It’s only when you go further out that it becomes pretty sketchy (:)). If the apartment is “just south,” as you say, then I’m sure it’s fine.</p>
<p>Thanks, corranged! I was hoping you’d check in on this one. The building looks like it is just south of 60th St., and with my lousy map reading skills, it looks like 60th St. is the southern border of the Plaisance. Any opinion as to how safe it is to walk through the Plaisance at night?</p>
<p>It’s pretty safe. A lot of students wouldn’t want to walk there alone at night–but the same students wouldn’t feel great walking other places on campus alone at night, either. (There’s also a difference between a male grad student and female undergrades.) Undergrads play midnight soccer on the Midway all the time. There are free shuttles around campus at night–until 2 AM on weekdays and 6 AM on weekends, some of which eventually go to BJ. There’s also the late night shuttle service, otherwise known as the drunk van, which undergrads use all the time to get places at night. I don’t think walking would be very dangerous, though. It would basically consist of walking across the academic quads and then crossing two streets that have a grassy area in between. I’ve never lived in BJ, and I don’t have good friends there, so I’m not sure about how well-lit it is at night. Since there are streets running on either side of the Midway, I’m assuming there are street lights. My opinion is that the powers that be are trying to spread the UChicago campus further south, which can be seen by the fact that the “new” undergrad dorm is south of the Midway and the new art center will be south of the Midway. </p>
<p>The thing about the unsafe areas south of the Midway is that any sketchy people in that area really stay there. It’s a somewhat sad statement, but students don’t travel far south of the Midway, and the people on the other side of that invisible line don’t travel onto campus. (The relationship between students and residents of Hyde Park in the areas around campus is considerably different–and better.) </p>
<p>60th street is very much a part of campus, so it’s just about as safe as the rest of campus. The U of C also has the 2nd largest private police force in the world, second to the Vatican, and UC police regularly patrol campus. UC police are definitely there to help the students. I don’t think you have much to worry about. 60th street is fine.</p>
<p>Thanks again for all your great info! My kid is thin and slight in stature, so I cannot help but be concerned. (It’s a Mom thing.) His Dad and I see him as slightly naive about living in the city and as somewhat of a potential “target.” ;)</p>
<p>Tell him to put the iPod away while walking alone, at night or during the day. That tends to make people into targets pretty quickly.</p>
<p>momof3sons: the seminary I graduated from last May was once a UofC building, to give you an idea of the proximity it is to UofC. I spent several years commuting down to that area, and often found myself walking out to my car at night by myself after 9:30. Security is very, very visible in that area, but crime does occur just like any other urban area; with some ‘street’ smarts, one can be perfectly safe. Crimes usually occur when someone has left a door unlocked, window wide open (if on a first floor), left a car unlocked, etc. People familiar with the area learn very quickly how far you can safely explore by following the lead of others. </p>
<p>This being said, I remember one afternoon when I was about a mile from campus when my cell phone rang. I pulled into a McDonalds parking lot to take the call (had been waiting all day for it), and within a minute there was a rather unsavory looking guy walking across the street toward my car who tried to get me to roll my window down. I immediately left the parking lot, and felt it was safer to continue the call while driving than sitting there in that parking lot. Since then, that McDonalds has been torn down and replaced by a new, updated McDonalds whose parking lot is surrounded by an iron fence. </p>
<p>Of course, I’m speaking as a parent who has a D at Syracuse, where you also don’t want to stray too far off campus in the wrong direction. I’d say both universities have the same sort of sketchy element to them in their surrounding areas, but anyone who’s not looking for trouble will be fine.</p>
<p>My guess is that he will be more troubled by the Arctic winds sweeping through the Midway Plaisance during winter than by the marauding thugs.</p>
<p>^^^LOL, JHS. We will be purchasing an excellent parka for him before he leaves for good in September!
And thanks again to corranged and teriwtt. We just made our plane reservations to fly out there in a couple of weeks to check out his assigned apt. There is a letter that came with the housing assignment alerting potential residents that there is construction in the very nearby vicinity. Supposed to be kept to 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and finished fairly soon, but possibilities of traffic and noise and no real guarantees, so he really needs to see for himself what’s actually going on before he signs a lease.</p>
<p>Depending on where it is, the construction in the very nearby vicinity could well be the university’s new 800±student undergraduate dorm. If that’s the case, “fairly soon” probably means Spring 2009.</p>
<p>Actually, it’s a parking structure at 61st St.</p>
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<p>Don’t forget the ice skates (or he can rent some); he’ll be just a few steps away from the Midway skating rink:</p>
<p><a href=“http://maroon.uchicago.edu/photos/pages/1-13-04ice_rink.php[/url]”>http://maroon.uchicago.edu/photos/pages/1-13-04ice_rink.php</a></p>
<p>yup yup yup! ice skating!</p>
<p>If your son is in the “New Graduate Residence,” he’ll be fine. There are blue lights about every three inches, plus enough surrounding protection.</p>
<p>The streets that cut through the Midway (Ellis and Woodlawn) are extremely well-lit at night. I live in Burton-Judson and I keep up with crime reports-- very little happens on 59th and 60th.</p>
<p>unalove,
He’s not in the NGRH, but rather a university owned building in the 60th and Drexel area. That’s a couple of blocks away from Burton-Judson, so says my lousy map reading skills…Thanks for the reassurance.</p>