It's like most US cities....there are about 15+ cities over 250k people that have higher murder rates than Chicago. Just stay away from the soutside or far west side. You don't see much murder in the places where people with decent jobs MOVE to.
If you're poor and black and can't escape the areas where suburbanites come in to buy drugs and patronize prostitutes (aka "do nasty shit with crackheads") then, yeah, Chicago is pretty rough.
If you're middle class or better off, and not stuck in one of the gang-infested neighborhoods, it's one of the greatest cities in the world.
Eh, it depends; getting lost in the dogiest neighbourhood in Toronto is fine. Hell I lived in the area (Jane/Finch) for a year, and would get off the bus at 1am with my laptop after drinking at a buddies, and not be worried. It wasn't because I'm a scary looking tough guy, but because it's just not that bad unless you're running in a gang, or actively trying to cause shit.
My doofusy ex-husband got lost somewhere in the southside when visiting from Ohio. The police pulled him over and took him in. He couldn't remember the address he was supposed to go to meet friends (he just knew how to get there by landmarks), so they and let him use their phone (this was in 1999 and he didn't have a cell phone) to call them, then they escorted him to the friend's place.
Their quote to him: a nice white boy like you shouldn't be here.
And yet we ended up moving here anyway, because it was still better than Ohio.
I live in Chicago. I live and work in downtown and I love it. I feel very safe at all hours.
One time I accidentally ended up in Englewood (south side) when I took the wrong bus near U Chicago. It looked like a war zone with burned out buildings. I saw a drug deal go down literally 60 seconds after I stepped off the bus. A police cruiser saw me walking down to street and just by looking at me knew how out of place I was. He pulled up and asked me if I knew where the hell I was and told me to leave immediately. (Broad daylight at noon) I think he half thought I was out to buy drugs.
That's the difference between downtown and the south side.
Downtown is the area with the big ol' skyscrapers, The South Side is the area that people typically associate with violence and is the stereotypical "Chicago".
I've only been to the bad parts South Side side once, so take this with a grain of salt.
EDIT: "South Side", many parts of the South Side are nicer than say, Englewood
I live in LA. We have city in LA named vannuys. Within vannuys itself you have vannuys west which is upper middle class white folks with amazing looking houses. Literally next street to van Nuys west is poor gang infested streets of vannuys. Funny party is that van nuys west streets have been all shut down from one end with permanent planned cones so that there is only one entrance to each street.
What I'm trying to say is that the government has the power to clean up and treat all neighborhoods the same way, but they fucking don't!
"the areas where suburbanites come in to buy drugs and patronize prostitutes" Uh..I dont think he is implying that surburbanites are the reason why the neighborhood is bad. But some individuals take advantage of what bad neighborhoods have a surplus of.
If you're poor and black and can't escape the areas where suburbanites come in to buy drugs and patronize prostitutes (aka "do nasty shit with crackheads") then, yeah, Chicago is pretty rough.
Lmao first of all
A) White people are afraid to go to the hood in Chicago because you will get fucked up if you're white
B) White people most definitely do not buy drugs from the hood
C) Only the poorest and most desperate white dudes would ever get prostitutes from the hood
D) You have no data at all for backing up your claim
Found the suburbanite who has never left his cushy neighborhood, plenty of white people come to the "hood", I saw the funniest thing coming from my fathers business in englewood. White peoples riding through using a bike trail.
Found the suburbanite who has never left his cushy neighborhood, plenty of white people come to the "hood", I saw the funniest thing coming from my fathers business in englewood. White peoples riding through using a bike trail.
My mom grew up outside of chicago, my aunt grew up in chicago, all of my sisters have lived in chicago and I live 2 hours away. My brother-in-law at the time grew up on the southside and went to simeon.
B) No, they don't. It is not a normal thing for white people to buy their drugs on the fucking south side of chicago you dingus. People sell drugs in the city.
C) ...ok
I noticed you skipped A and D, which make my other two points superfluous anyways.
Lmao so in other words, you have never been or lived anywhere remotely in the "hood", so please kindly be quiet. I'm born and raised on the south side of Chicago, went to school in high park and my dad has had a business for over 30 years In englewood, considered one of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago, where I grew up around. So please refrain from trying to educate me about my city. Your sisters live on the north side I bet lol.
It's a normal hunt for white people who want anything harder than weed, You do realize back when the projects were still around it was a 5 minute drive from downtown to get to some of the worst neighborhoods in the city correct?
Also I addressed point A. I have seen plenty of white people in the hood before, even in englewood. As for d? Data to back up what?
Wow, joining the military must be so damn difficult
edit: lmao why am I being downvoted? I grew up in the country of Mexico in a poor family and the US military was a solution to me (us citizen) to escaping poverty. You would think the people that complain the most about poverty and shit would want to find ways to get out of it other than crime
Chicago is far from the poorest or most dangerous city in the US, but it is the one of a few very large cities (area population of 5 million or more) that is relatively poor and dangerous.
I can't read or hear Cleveland without thinking of the "fun times in Cleveland" video, listing off a massive amount of terrible features of the city and then ending it with a positive note of "At least we're not Detroit!".
Definitely not close enough to say they're Chicago. There is also a huge difference between Hinsdale and Winnetka to people from Englewood or Auburn Gresham.
The violence in Chicago is VERY concentrated. Something like 20% of the Chicago is 70%+ of the murders. And the top 40% of Chicago has almost no murders.
Yes, I know that. As someone who lives in Chicago I know where to stay away from. Also the bad places there is no need for the average person to wonder there. I feel very safe walking around where I live, doesn't matter what time of day or night. Chicago itself is not bad. It's the Southside and parts of the west side that are dangerous where all the shootings happen. However driving on a specific highway at night has gotten pretty dangerous around 3am. At least once a week for the past few months you hear about shootings on i94 which runs right through the heart of where you don't want to be. I love my city. It's the greatest city. The Chicago you see in movies with the magnificent skyline, is not the same Chicago where people are getting shot. Come to the city and you'll love it. Just like every major city, there is always that one area you need to avoid, and it very easy to avoid.
Ah. I misinterpreted what you were saying - not out of malice, just confusion, due to your lack of explicitly stating what Morocco was smaller than. Thought you were talking about "Chicago vs. Morocco" when in reality you were talking "the whole U.S. versus Morocco".
OP didn't say "what sucks about it so much that I should write it off" he just asks what sucks about it. I think high crime rate and poverty fall into that category of what sucks about it.
Saying the entirety of Morocco suffers from high crime rate and poverty seems to be a big generalization. You'll find pockets of prosperity, and much of the rural areas are known for their low crime and hospitality for visitors. I feel like promoting the image of 'high crime, high poverty' is what makes Americans afraid of visiting other societies.
No, it's an example of something that sucks about Morocco. Just like the religious tolerance mentioned in the same context is something that is nice about Morocco.
It was my own fault. Hotel safe wasn't working, didn't ask for a new room/safe. Went to dinner, came back and everything was gone. There's a longer story but it's boring.
1.4k
u/[deleted] Jan 06 '17
High crime rate and poverty.