Know anything about living in South Shore in Chicago??

Question

Hey,

I'm moving to Chicago and considering south shore. Have heard mixed reviews, but was told it's being developed. I'm considering a place at 6945 South Crandon street. Does anyone have first-hand experience in this neighborhood or have any info you'd like to share. I'd really appreciate it because I'm moving site unseen.

Answer 1

I visit Chicago often.  I am not overly familiar with that neighborhood.  I do know it is primarily minority occupied.  Just about any place in Chicago is fine.  Good luck.

Answer 2

South Shore has a kind of split personality. The parts near the lake are very nice; lots of pricey condos, manicured grass and even a golf course. Part of it are kind of sketchy, particularly when you head west. The part near the lake are mixed in terms of ethnicity (white and black) and as you head east it's primarily an African American community. I personally think it's pretty nice although the people in the swanky part near the lake tend to be a little older. There are not a lot of entertainment options around there (other than golf, like I said), so if you're looking to party, you'll probably be doing a little traveling to downtown and perhaps the north side of the city. Take a look at the Google Maps link below and in particular the Street View option.

Answer 3

I live on south shore drive and the area right on the lake front is pretty nice but some of the people in the area are....no other way to put it but...."ghetto".  Once you go west, like even a block, you can feel like you're in two different neighborhoods, crack heads on the corner, people selling drugs, sitting on the porch braiding hair, men whistling at women, etc.  

The area on Crandon, at the north end is okay, but I wouldn't go past 70th street. It gets a little rougher at that point. So the place you're considering is right at the border line. I would recommend that you find something right on south shore drive 1 bedrooms range from $600 - $800. You could find a 1 bedroom in a nice high rise building for about $700-750 right on the lake. Unfortunately there isn't much to do over here. Most of the time when I want to go out, I end up going to the suburbs just south of here in Calumet City, downtown or up to Hyde Park.

You may want to even consider Hyde Park, which is just a little north of the place you're looking at.  It's between 50th Street and 59th Street, from the lake front to Cottage Grove Ave  I used to live there and I liked the area better than I like it over here but it's more expensive and you don't get as much for the money, as far as space in your apartment is concerned. I liked Hyde Park because there are a lot of nice restaurants, shops, etc in the area. It's also a very diverse neighborhood probably about 40% Black 40% White and 20% everything else. Plus it's convenient. It only takes about 20 minutes to get downtown riding the #6 bus. Or you could take the Metra, which is like a 10 minute ride to downtown. But if you want to find something there expect to pay more like $800 plus for a 1 bedroom. The price is worth it for the neighborhood though.

Answer 4

South Shore isn't the nicest area as far as crime goes.

Answer 5

It's a good area in terms of being by the lake and stuff but its not a great neighborhood. I think they are trying to turn it around but that's not going to happen anytime in the near future.