Do you consider Chicago a safe city?
Is it just me or is Chicago getting worse and worse each year? All these gangs, killings, robberies, etc. ALOT of violence. I'm seriously considering moving to another city once I turn 22-24. I mean, today I read about a young boy who was walking with his mother on the street, and someone randomly shot him in the back of the head. Like, are we even safe anymore? Ugh.
Comments
depends on which part of chicago you live in.
As someone who grew up in Colorado, I can tell you when I first moved to Chicago, I disliked it. The city was dirty, cramped, lots of homeless, and lots of crime. I came from a city where people usually did not lock their front doors at night to a city where your normal commute to work could be a little uneasy.
After traveling around the world and visiting other BIG US cities, I can easily say it's just not Chicago. All big cities have their share of crime. There were pick-pockets in NYC, times I felt a little unsafe in Paris, and bomb threats while using the Tube in London. Crime is just a normal part of living in a big city.
Chicago just gets a bad rep because it already had one in the early half of the 20th century that continued with a lot of the gang violence of the 1990's. Combine that with the shady politics and there yah go.
Yeah it's probably not the smartest thing to walk in an alley after midnight or fall asleep on the Red or Blue line after a night at the bars, but these are things that make Chicago, CHI-CAA--GO!!!
Actually, the gangs have calmed down a lot in the last few years...In fact I don't even hardly watch the news anymore, cuz thats all you hear about...But it does all depend on where you live in the City, and I agree with some of the other answers as well, that we are safter than other big City's. Anything can happen anywhere, and ya got to be aware of your surroundings. I grew up on the South Side..and I'm still here, in the Roseland area, (white female i'll add)..Not a good area but I will never feel unsafe here because this is my home, and where I was raised...I'll be moving north next year because i want to be in a better part of the city. (more transportation, nightlife,my friends) But every time you listen to the news..that is unfortunately all you will hear about, and all you can do is watch out for yourself.
Depends on the area.Some areas are more safe than others just like any other city.
Another thing is how you dress and act , if your in The Back of the Yards or Little Village and walking around like a tough guy with your "hip hop" style clothes with your hat busted to the right or left you will most likely get shot,killed or just beat the **** out of by gangbangers.
If you are a "regular" looking Yuppie you will most likely just be robbed by regular thugs or crackheads.
And all these murders are majority of those that deserve it.Like the kid you mentioned he probably was a gangbanger or was talking s**t to the person that shot him.
Or the kid that got beat to death outside of school , what was he doing in the fight ? If I seen a large group of punks fighting outside my school I will GO BACK INTO THE SCHOOL , not try and walk through or stand and watch.
Some innocent kids do get killed like the 9 year old girl in Pilsen but MAJORITY are punks or gangbangers themselves made out to LOOK innocent.
The above answer is probably the best one..I am in Chicago a lot and I consider it fairly safe, yes. In certain areas you have to really watch yourself. I'm not used to watching my own back, but that's the reality, you have to be careful and aware of your surroundings ALL the time. There are some places I would not recommend stopping and asking for directions (have a GPS for travel), and for cripes sake don't give money to panhandlers, not even the ones hanging out on the street corners (at traffic lights). Don't LOOK at 'em, and don't roll down the window to give them anything, don't even make it LOOK like you are looking in your purse or console for change.
OH and make sure your doors are locked when driving around, esp if you have a nice car.
I'd say it's as safe as any other American Metropolis City. You've got your bad areas, and you've got your good areas, but you never really want to be alone at night. All big cities in the US is pretty much the same, they have their gangs, they have their upper class districts, their business district, their artsy district, their night life, their suburbs, as well as their slums. Be careful and be smart, and you'll be just as safe as you are anywhere else.
Most of Chicago is safe, but there are some extremely violent neighborhoods, like the one Leila's mom sells tricks in.
most of chicago is pretty safe
compared to other citys Chicago is the safest by far
hell of a lot safer than the other cities in america
do you really think I would have my family here if it was not the safest place of all??