Originally Posted by
chgoeditor
Oddly, a friend who lives in the South Loop recently expressed some safety concerns. I was really surprised, given how that neighborhood has changed in the last 10-15 years, but what she said was that the recent residential developments have become safe little enclaves, but once you step out of them, there's either more crime or more perceived safety issues than you might imagine. I'm not sure how much of that is tied to Chicago's normal warm-weather spike in gun violence, but she did say she feels less safe in the area than when she first moved there. Just one data point...can't vouch for the accuracy of it.
Hmm, that is strange, do you know where in south loop they are? I would be curious to see if there are any changes in the crime statistics for the area. Printer's Row is so close to downtown (friends are 3 blocks south of the loop), that I just can't see it being significantly worse than downtown proper. They walk everywhere (as did we this passed few days), and haven't had incidents.
Granted, if you go further south or west in South Loop, it does become somewhat gritty.
Originally Posted by
rjque
We also checked out Wicker Park and Bucktown and really liked it, at least preliminarily. Any downsides there?
Lots of people love Wicker Park/Bucktown. There are lots of stores and restaurants in the neighborhood, many people like the younger vibe, and Blue Line is super convenient compared to say, Brown Line where the tracks have a nasty habit of freezing in the winter.
The only things I didn't like about it are superficial: it is not by the lake, is less aesthetically pleasing than some neighborhoods, and it is overrun by drunk teens and 20-somethings on the weekend. Just check out the noise level of the place you are considering renting on a Saturday night before you commit and you should be fine.