Anyone here live in Chicago?

[Meta Reign]

I was in Chicago about 3 weeks ago and my wife's uncle was telling me how bad Chicago is and all the shootings blah blah. . .

I asked him a question. . . I said had it not been for the news media telling you that all these murders are happening . . . Would you be able to tell that it was really that bad by your own day to day observation?

HE SAID, NO.

Infact he said he drives all around Chicago as an Uber driver and rarely if ever sees any evidence of such mass scale violence.

According to the news. . . 60 PEOPLE IN CHICAGO WERE SHOT OVER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND, WITH 11 DEATHS. . . More than 60 shot, 11 killed over holiday weekend in Chicago

So my question to any of you that live in Chicago is the same. . .

Does your day to day interaction with the city match the violence portrayed in the media?

 

[Vandelay]

I do. I live in uptown, which isn't the worst neighborhood. But it's not sweet either.

I've been here just shy of a year. It's bad, but anyone with common sense and avoids criminal activity will be OK from what I can tell.

 

[88m3]

If you don't see the blood and body did no one die?


There's a lot of posters here from Chicago maybe ask in tlr...


My friend and I are were talking about Chicago last night, it's a world class city but it's also on the verge of bankruptcy along with the county and possibly state.

 

[Macallik86]

Checking in from Chicago.

As a big city, you just have to expect shyt to go bad every now and then. I've been here 9 years and I've experienced some unsavory things that remind you that it's real out here, but at the same time, it is really dependent on where you live and what you do. If you live/stay in the hood, then you have a lot to worry about but if you are anywhere else in the city things are pretty straightforward.

When I first was in Chicago, I lived in Chatham. If you are from the hood, you can tell Chatham isn't really the hood, but if you grew up middle class then... it can be an adjustment. I experienced a few things living there, and this kind of weariness eventually set in from constantly having to be vigilant and on edge to not end up a vic. I remember almost swinging on someone on the Monroe Red Line stop because he bumped me when I was trying to get off the train. I didn't realize how heavy it was weighing on me until I moved to Hyde Park (another neighborhood on the south side).

Hyde Park is like a black mecca though. Creative, smart, woke black people in their 20s and 30s. Easily the best 5 years of my life since I moved over there. It's getting more expensive but I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the country.




If you are really interested in Chicago there is a funny/interesting documentary I saw a while back about living on the south side. It's got everything from snapping in the convenience store to chilling at the beauty salon to a kid tryina make it to college and everything in between:

 

[Rice N Beans]

Born here, raised here, will die here.

Isn't all that bad. Most of it is sensationalized. I don't live in a good area per se (Humboldt Park) but I manage to avoid most shootings in the area by not being an idiot. Avoid gangs and their relations on top of keeping your eyes peeled.

The poverty and gang culture overlapping are problems #1A and #1B. Tackle them both with redevelopment on the south and west sides and I think the violence drops dramatically. Note I'm not talking gentrification or booting them out, just bringing in business and better living. Mixed income CAN fly but I know the scars remain from the CHA tickets and Cabrini issues.

It's a wonderful place to be, and I don't plan on living anywhere else. But there are problems and they should have attention.

 

[invalid]

From Chicago. Family has been here since 1902 and came here from Ohio and Canada (Chatham).

The family first settled in Morgan Park then moved to Englewood around 1915 and was some of the first blacks to move in the area around Ogden Park. Then moved over into Washington Park around 1930 where there was a sizeable black middle class population. Around the 60's we left for the Flossmoor/Olympia Fields and Oak Park/River Forest areas when they were still predominantly white. I grew up in River Forest and now live in Lincoln Park.

All this to say, I was raised in an environment where I was not only removed but also oblivious to many of the issues that plague the south and west side communities. Although, we still attend our family church in Washington Park, most of the members live outside of the area and come from similar backgrounds like mine and the church doesn't really interact with the community outside its doors (Literally just found out the street the church is located on is dubbed "Murder Row."

I rarely look at the local news, but that is the only time I ever hear about shootings that are going on. In my day to day, I'm either in Lincoln Park/Old Town/River North/Loop. At least where I'm at, violent crime, with the exception of one-off situations, is pretty non-existent.

I will say though, I don't feel at all uncomfortable going into Englewood. We still have our great grand parents property near Ogden Park and people still know who our people are. But all in all, pretty unaware of the violent crime that is usually reported.

 

[Serious]

@Brozay
@beaniemac @Populair
@CHICAGO

 

[GnauzBookOfRhymes]

This election should teach everyone never to underestimate the power of media coverage and its ability to warp our collective consciousness through pure repetition. So I agree with you to a point.

If you live in S. Loop and you only head into The hood to get your hair cut then you'll probably never come into contact with it. If you have a job that has you in the office all day and home at night then you'll probably never see it - although you may hear it. But one thing about Chicago is that outside of the Loop you are never more than a few minutes drive from the hood.

 

[How Sway?]

Geez how many documentaries are they gonna do on chicago

 

[Meta Reign]

I'm attempting here to find the truth BEYOND media coverage. If people don't question these things then we all can be fed lies way too easily.

Now, I'm not saying this shyt doesn't happen. Not at all. I'm from Brooklyn, a distant cousin of mine was shot and killed just a few weeks ago. Word to my babies. Brooklyn man fatally shot in car was heading out for fast food

I know dudes that have killed and I have known dudes that have been killed. So I know shyt goes down.

All I'm saying is . . . To what extent? The way Chicago is portrayed is like a literal war zone. The numbers sound ridiculous.

60 people shot in one weekend??? Those numbers imply that if you know 100 people from Chicago a few of them might be able to tell they heard gun shots, saw ambulances, cops, etc. . . I mean something.

If everyone is saying ''Oh, I don't live in the bad area so I wouldn't know'' then who does? Anything to make black folks look like animals is what these people are savvy in. What makes Chicago so violent and NYC or Detroit not?

 

[NvrCMyNut]

 

[koolkeef]

You mean to tell me that your city doesn't bring in the new year like this?

 

[Meta Reign]

Bruh. . . That's every hood on New years

 

[NvrCMyNut]

Bruh. . . That's every hood on New years

Not in New York.

 

[Meta Reign]

Not in New York.

What?!?! Where are you from in NY?

Do me a solid. Stand on the corner of gates and nostrand tonight at 12:01 AM.