Do the people who are telling you about crime seeping into those neighborhoods actually live in those neighborhoods?

Here’s the thing: all cities have crime. Virtually all neighborhoods within cities have at least some crime. The three neighborhoods you mentioned are extremely safe but yes, crime does happen.

I live in Logan Square which is similar to those but has a higher crime rate, but I still feel quite safe and have no reservations raising my kids here. Depending on what sort of environment you’re coming from, it may take some adjustment for you to get used to being situationally aware in different spaces. But for me, that is a cost of the true awesomeness of living in an amazing giant city with endless cool things to do.

I've lived in Chicago for about two decades. Currently live in the Loop, previously lived in Roger's Park, Edgewater, Conners Park(Gold Coast), Old Town, and a brief period of time in the first-ring suburb of Forest Park, which while not specifically in Chicago is served by both the Blue and Green CTA El lines, which I rode a pretty fair amount. I work as something of a real estate analyst who specializes in low income housing, which takes me to pretty much all of Chicago's 77 community areas. In the nearly 20 years I've lived here, I have only been mugged once. And it was in >!Milwaukee.!<

I'm still a little salty about it.

I have to say that the craziest thing that I ever encountered crime-wise was one day about two summers ago my fiance and I were drinking at a rooftop bar of a building that had a homeless encampment behind it. All of a sudden, we heard the tell-tale sounds of "pop-pop-pop," "BAM BAM," "pop-pop-pop" from down below. A little old British woman sitting next to me turned and asked, "Excuse me, sir, but is that gunfire?" To which I informed her that we wouldn't want to jump to conclusions but since there were two distinct sets of sounds, we may want to give it 5 or 10 minutes before peering over the edge of the building to see if the coast was clear. The name of that bar is >!The Warwick Rooftop!< located in >!Denver, CO.!<

Aside from maybe cajun binaca, which Ive never even pulled out let alone used, I go about my day unarmed and the the worst thing I really ever come across are the occasional aggressive panhandler, which are becoming more common on the el. What I did learn from getting mugged though was, while it's totally fine to take public transportation out to a restaurant/bar, as a working professional who can afford a ride share back home, if it's late enough at night sometimes it's just better to hail that uber/lift/curb. Before my fiance moved in with me in the Loop, she lived in Ravenswood and we spent a fair amount of time in Lincoln Square & Andersonville, and honestly those places are so safe it practically feels like you're in the suburbs. Going south into Uptown or west into Albany Park can get a little iffy at times, but there's still stuff worth seeing there if you keep your head about you. (Incidentally, I was just up in Lincoln Square yesterday to go drinking at Mayfest.)

So yeah, there is some crime here and there, but the neighborhoods you're describing may have some minor property crime (stolen bicycles, etc), however, crime from physical violence is much less common.

Also OP, whether you guys decide to move here or Seattle, one thing a buddy of mine showed me when he moved here from downstate Illinois which he found useful was the Strava Heat Map. If you're not familiar, Strava is an app that helps people keep track of their workouts while running outdoors. While it's not exactly foolproof, he noted a strong correlation between highly trafficked running areas with safer neighborhoods. If you have any other questions, let me know.

Lived in Chicago for a decade and only recently moved away.

In short, we didn't have any issues until our last year there. As they say, you don't have an issue until you do.

Anyway, in the last year of our residence there...
-- I was walking my friends dog in Rogers Park and there was a shooting on the same street. We hid under a Jeep.
-- I got mugged and our car got stolen. It was later found and later totaled. This happened in Uptown.
-- I got robbed by gunpoint. This happened in Michigan Ave. Since people ask, it was beautiful summer afternoon in broad daylight.

I will always hold Chicago close to my heart. It's a beautiful city and we didn't have issues for a long time. We largely took the train and lived from Pilsen to Rogers Park.

Statistically you'll be fine. I lived in Chicago for twenty years before moving to Austin and the worst issue I had was my bike getting stolen when I forgot to lock it. Most of my friends had similar gripes. That said, one of my friends was carjacked at gunpoint in broad daylight in a good neighborhood. She was just the unlucky one. 

I live here. Used to live in Andersonville, those areas are all fine- very gay or lots of families. LP is more young people and trendy.

Crime can be random (saw a dude robbed in broad daylight in Andersonville, a dead body in Uptown etc), even in nice areas. BUT the bad areas are pretty obvious and you have no reason to go there unless you are looking for trouble.

Avoid the CTA later at night or certain lines like the Green line

Lakeview but even there, people were shot last year bc there’s still gangs. And it does look racially segregated bc certain areas will have majority 1 race for sure but it’s more segregated by social class imo.

Northside is usually the safest but there are gangs there primarily in Rogers park, Humboldt park, Belmont Cragin, Albany park, Uptown but if your a nuetron your good. It’s segregated mostly on the south and west sides.

Tbh if you just do you and not flodge around you'll be alright anywhere, I'd say stay at a hotel in the med district, west loop or downtown.

just go to the suburbs💀

parkway gardens is a beautiful area

Finally someone asks this question! Its about time someone asks if a neighborhood is safe!!!

Just avoid the whole city

DO NOT ENTER CITY LIMITS

By law, all visitors are shot to death every time they enter and then every 24 hours after. Save yourselves!

Don’t come here

If you want a serious awnser then you will need to be more specific, you've just described about half the city. But in general, yes, Chicago is safe.

Every major city, in every country, since the dawn of time has had crime. It’s no different than any other major metropolitan area. The south loop is alright. Mostly boring as shit.

You’ll be fine! Chicago is a wonderful city.

People don’t like and get angry at this question. Safety for me depends on time and place. I personally am always watching my surroundings regardless.

Nope

Yea I’m out and about with my kiddos all the time. Not late at night, bc they gotta sleep, but never feel unsafe. Sometimes if Roosevelt has a bunch of people hanging out we will travel towards the lake via a smaller street maybe 11th or 13th. No one really gives us a problem. Also lived in printers row (river city) when I was younger, this is when south loop really wasn’t safe, but honestly we didn’t have much problems either. Look it’s a big city and crime is a reality, be aware of your surroundings, you’ll be fine.

I believe that shit dangerous frfr but I went to get food from margarita pizza on 79th and Marquette while I was visiting on vacation my uber driver left me while I was waiting on my food shit was straight but death is definitely in the air in Chicago

Drive around the Southside at midnight and see

It’s safe asl bro walk down 73rd king drive🙏🏽

just go downtown if you worried about ts, i be seeing tourists down there

Long as you a out the way not in the mix ass nigga you got nun to worry about 💯

All considered top neighborhoods in Chicago so at this point it’s personal preference. If you are a runner, maybe live closer to the lake, if you are a foodie, live closer to west loop. Also, where exactly in the loop as in summer it’s a nice walk from your home, but in the brutal sloshy blizzard winner, you may want to think about public transport.

West Loop > River North > Streeterville > The Loop > South Loop

Just IMO. I wouldn’t recommend living directly in the Loop.

Will you need to walk/ride/CTA to work or are you driving?

What's your budget? Some of these places are more expensive than others.

Depends on how you view safety. There is a moderate amount of crime downtown, but the sheer number of people in downtown areas drastically decreases the amount that it will specifically happen to you. That said, it'll still impact your life, assuming you go to restaurants, take CTA, navigate to friends' houses, etc.

All those neighborhoods are fine though. At this point it really depends on a few other things: commute, budget, and what you like to do in your spare time. I think there's a chance that moving from a very small suburb could be a big transition to one of the busiest areas of the country. Maybe check out each of the areas for a bit before moving?

West town/west loop is pretty easy to get most places.

Lincoln park is great but public transit mostly relies on the bus as the L doesn’t make many convenient stops.

As for safe… it’s chicago. It’s more luck of the drawl. Chicago crime stats

Lincoln Park, Lakeview and the Loop but really you want to get a place where your commute to work is convenient and efficient. You would be fine in nearly any neighborhood if you aren’t walking alone on dark streets too much.

What’s your budget?

Chicago is safe..long as u not tryna be in the bs. That shit only a small portion of chicago. It's neighborhood in Chicago that don't shit happen in then some thats terrible

Bro it’s way more dangerous now than 2012 lmao, after 2016 the murder rates started to get much higher, in 2012 niggas wasn’t outside trying to slide with cars full of niggas with automatic switches 💀

The murder rate from 2024 was slightly higher than its 2012 rate

Cops are too lax, you got chicks twerking on squad cars, folks blocking ambulances and talking shit to cops. Morning has changed except being more brazent

There’s violence but Chicago is like the 3rd most populated city in the U.S. so it’s gonna have crime but it is safe.

The lower west side is becoming so nice that the big issue is gentrification, not crime. That said, crime can happen and some basic precautions help.

Lock doors. Lock bikes. Invest in good lighting. Be especially careful after midnight. Watch out for con artists. Ask a neighbor to pick up mail and packages if you are out of town or notify the post office. Get to know your neighbors and watch strangers.

Every hour with these posts I swear. Can we get a sticky or an automod or something?

Btw, yes. All 10 million of us are robbed and shot at least once a week. It’s why we all chose to live here.

Unless they join a gang or start selling drugs illegally, their odds of being shot are pretty dang low.

Yes. Its a big city and there's bound to be crime because of that but for the most part it's safe. Chicago is not even in the top 10 most violent cities in the country.

If mods are listening, we should probably pin a "Is Chicago Safe FAQ" so we don't get this question multiple times a day.

Really?