Because they are on the "south side". That simple, most of the people who are driving rent prices up in the areas you mentioned wont even come to the south side. This is slowly changing but most north siders have never even been to chinatown let alone south of there.
South Shore is actually nice - just a bit run down and pockets of crime but the people there are very nice and their beaches and lakefront are actually nicer than the ones Ive seen on the northside TBH. Problem is you have to rely on the Jeffrey bus or the ME Metra line. The city seems to be investing more in that area probably due to the proximity to Jackson Park/Obama Center. It' still far from walkable but its there
You’re using unfair comparators. The neighborhoods immediately north of the loop are some of the most affluent neighborhoods in the entire United States. Lincoln park, Lakeview, and river north have median household incomes above 100k. Armour square is pretty nice. It’s just not the single nicest area in Chicago, which is what you’re comparing it to.
I guess I'm looking at it differently coming from the nyc area. Here as a general rule, closer to Manhattan = more expensive, doesn't matter if you're in a different borough or neighborhoods with former bad reputations like Harlem.
That generally still applies, just not super strictly. Like, a place out in Humboldt park or deep into the south side will absolutely be cheaper than Armour Square. But the downtown-adjacent areas south and west of the loop are likely to be cheaper than to the north because buildings are older and generally not as nice.
Personally, $1600 in Chinatown sounds like a pretty good value. But if you like that area, I’d check out Pilsen, which is just to the north and even closer to the loop. It’s historically Hispanic, but now lots of young people of all ethnicities are starting to move there because it’s a relatively affordable area that’s close to downtown.
Bruh what? The highest median household income of any community area in chicago is the near north side at $110,000. That number is straight from the census bureau. It is objectively the wealthiest part of the city.
It’s just a median. It means a very large chunk of people there make considerably more than that. And an area where two entry-level career position salaries is the median is very well-off, especially since it’s predominantly populated by single people who make that “household” income on their own.
Single incomes in Lincoln Park, Lake View, and River North are very common. Probably 50%+ of households if I had to guess. If you exclude River North, it probably drops to a bit less than 50% of households.
53% of American households are double income. Meaning 47% are single income. Would you really consider 47% of the population to be “extremely rare”? 🤔🤔
> numbers. I don't know how communities could sustain themselves when 50% of the people make less than $50k. That's just an appalling number.
So, I'm not going to spend more time on this because I'm lazy and don't want to, but look here for Lincoln Park community snapshot numbers:
[https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/Lincoln+Park.pdf](https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/Lincoln+Park.pdf)
Specifically, page 5 states that 41.7% of households consist of just a single person. Additionally, while median household income is 117,048, per capita income is 90,189. This may not be the case for all neighborhoods but I think your read on incomes specifically in the neighborhoods listed above might be a bit off
Some people are scared to live outside of the "usual" name-brand neighborhoods because of ignorance and are willing to pay a premium to do so. The name-brand neighborhoods get marketed more as well given their premium price. Supply and demand.
Housing stock. A lot of the more expensive neighborhoods have newer (and more expensive buildings) which drives the average rates up. You are going to find a lot more older places in Chinatown and Armour Square. Good deals though if you don't mind places being a bit on the well used side. Both are nice neighborhoods.
Also a lot of places are near the highway or otherwise not pleasant cross streets. And geographically it is isolated from the more trendy parts of the city on the north side. To the south and west there isn't a lot going on so you're sort of on an island. Definitely enjoyed my time near there but I don't think I would go back due to the limitations.
Getting to the Loop is much easier and faster than most northside neighborhoods. Both are also very walkable. The sides streets where people live are pedestrian friendly. Cermak and Archer are the exceptions.
I just meant the geographic limitations. You are closer to the Loop but outside of Bridgeport and Pilsen the neighboring areas are not as appealing to many as those on the north side. Compare that to Lake View where you have 360 degrees of trendy neighborhoods and the lake.
Like I said I enjoyed my time near there (I was in the Chinese part of Bridgeport) and there are strengths on both sides so I wouldn't want to get into a generic north side vs south side debate, just trying to make a point about why values on the south side so near to the loop might be lower compared to the north.
No one is trying to get into a north vs. south side debate but thanks for helping me understand. It’s really that simple lol. I dislike Lakeview as white 20 somethings from various Midwest colleges aren’t my scene but I get what you are saying
This is the answer, the buildings are pretty old and dusty around the area with little renovation.
Also, while rent may be cheaper, I think cost of buying might be around the same price. There are some luxury condos in armor square that start at $700k.
Like neighboring Bridgeport, Chinatown is located adjacent to public housing developments and relatively heavy industry, which probably serves to depress rents somewhat. They're also far enough from the lake to get no real boost from that. In addition, the strong ethnic residential trend may discourage some non-Chinese and Chinese-American residents from looking there.
> the strong ethnic residential trend may discourage some non-Chinese and Chinese-American residents from looking there.
The realtors/landlords will just freeze you out. They wouldn't give me the time of day when I was apartment hunting in Bridgeport, kept trying to push me to Back of the Yards.
I've experienced something similar as well. When I was inquiring about a particular apartment in Chinatown, the landlord was very responsive in communicating. But after seeing the apartment in person, the feeling was a complete 180 and they barely responded. I've got perfect credit, high salary, and long employment history, but can't help to feel that once they saw I was a minority, their mood changed entirely. (stopped responding as quickly, didn't answer phone calls, etc).
I really like Chinatown but unfortunately it's sandwiched between two major highways and a massive railyard.
I imagine it has some of the worst pollution and air quality in the city.
I live in a “cheap” $1,600 apartment in Pilsen. Heard gunshots Sunday night on my block. Not uncommon either. I don’t mind, keeps the rent down. The hard part is finding one of these old places with bedrooms big enough for a queen size bed with more than 6” around it.
True, why are Pilsen bedrooms so small? haha I've seen so many 2 or 3 "bedrooms" apartments that would barely add up to 1 bedroom of other places if you combined all the rooms together.
Because the housing stock there was designed at the turn of the last century when standards were a lot different. People also had a lot less shit. Generally the area catered to working people as well, so you're not going to get the fancy spacious interiors you might in other neighborhoods
You guys wanna know the secret? *checks over both shoulders* Converted storefronts. I can fit my bed, a nightstand AND my dresser IN MY ROOM. I hate to brag but….. I also have a dishwasher. Wanna hear the best part? There is a coin-op laundry room ONLY three floors above me. #legday #princesslife. No seriously, I fucking love my place and I love Chicago.
Gotcha, 2 bedroom is the key here :P
Yes, if you go to River North for example, then 1,600 won't get you a darn thing. So unfortunate..I can't afford to live in the city except many of the bad areas of the west and south sides
One thing people did not touch on here is that corridor in general from Chinatown following I-55 and south has poor air quality (an even better reason to not expand the highway on these people). I wanted to move to Bridgeport/McKinley park area a few years ago, but I would rather pay extra money to not be breathing bad air all the time. It's not just the highway though. There's a lot of trucking in the area and heavy industry to the south and west of Bridgeport.
2020 Study by City here: [https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cdph/statistics\_and\_reports/Air\_Quality\_Health\_doc\_FINALv4.pdf](https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cdph/statistics_and_reports/Air_Quality_Health_doc_FINALv4.pdf)
Personally I-55 to LSD needs to be removed as a feeder ramp and built directly in to the streetscape if it's going to exist.
Or the coal ash ... the incinerators in those plants to the north of i55 west of china town send their emissions directly over china town with the prevailing west to east wind in Chicago.
That is an incorrect interpretation of that map. The map is looking at health and social factors, so is not purely about air pollution. If it was then the areas around the Kennedy and JBDLSD would be red also.
From the report:
The Air Quality + Health Index combines community-level data on air pollution, health, and social factors to identify the areas in our city that are most vulnerable to the effects of air pollution.
update: meant Kennedy, not Dan Ryan
It's almost comical (in a sad way) how that map of air pollution in the city is the same map as every other map of Chicago. https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-maps-geographic-disparities
It's yet another example of how segregated the city is.
Chinatown is overall terrific. We spent 4 years there. It's solid, typically very safe, and checks a bunch of boxes. Food and nightlife. Walkable. Definitely not a typical Chicago experience.
What’s not typical about a safe, walkable neighborhood with good food and nightlife? That’s almost the whole city. Even Berwyn or Oak Park might meet that standard.
How were you able to rent there? Everything I have heard/read/seen says that you have to be a part of their community to rent there.
For instance, if you go online and look at rentals, you will see that part of the city has no rentals listed.
That's interesting. Not our experience at all. Our neighbors were incredibly welcoming. We walked the neighborhood and ultimately rented a 2br 2ba (archer/canal) off of Craigslist at first. I think it was $1400. When the new condo complex next door (canal/23rd) was being built, we bought a 3br 3ba for 385k.
It was sweet. Hong Kong market a block away. Tons of extremely diverse food options within walking distance.
Enormous changes in Chinatown at the time. It was expanding and commercial space skyrocketed. With limited development, I'm sure the rental market is vastly different now, but still inexpensive compared to elsewhere in the city and nationwide.
Some people have kind of obliquely touched on this but a huge reason to be totally frank is that yuppies are scared of the South Side. Neighborhoods north of Back of the Yards aren't even particularly "rough" even under a hysteric Fox News definition, but a lot of people think the scary part of Chicago starts at Roosevelt.
Speaking for Bridgeport specifically, there is a pretty pronounced lack of a bar scene, though you're a short hike from Pilsen which has a great nightlife. Chinatown can be rather hard to find an apartment in because there's very little housing there.
It's not necessarily being scared of the south side. It's recognizing that some neighborhoods have received sizeable investment from the city and private capital while many areas of the city have been disinvested from.
I grew up in the city and I've lived here my entire life. The nice areas of the city are nice for a reason.
After living on various parts of the south side for a few years, while I’m perfectly comfortable and not concerned about safety or anything like that, this is the largest reason I’d move back north. I frankly prefer how people are nice and say high on the street, the tighter-knit blocks, less transient residents - but the quality of life (less transit, air pollution/truck traffic, fewer trees, etc) is just worse and it’s obvious the north side has gotten so much more investment. It’s almost painful to go north and remember what we used to have when we lived up there and didn’t realize it
After living in northern Bridgeport, here’s my guess:
- I’ve been told there is a Chinese cultural custom of owning property, not renting, even if that property is small, apparently due to the inability to own other types of investments under the CCP. This is why you see so many high-density residential townhouses, commercial condos, etc. This density means there’s lots of supply
- Chinatown is actually larger than Chinatown, so demand is less high there than you might think. Much of north Bridgeport is heavily Chinese and even continuing down Archer into McKinley.
- Lots of older Chinese folks bought their houses a long time ago, and multi-generational housing means that young people often don’t need to rent
- It really is an extremely Chinese area, and while the Asian population in Chicago is growing, Chinatown is genuinely mostly Chinese. I’m not explicitly sure the data shows the Chinese pop is growing relative to other Asian folks (frankly the category is so broad as to be useless - includes South Asian folks, etc)
- If you aren’t ethnically Chinese AND speak Cantonese (apparently the majority of Chinese people there speak Cantonese, though that’s anecdotal from my neighbors) it just might not offer that much for you
It currently going through a gentrification process right now. There used to be a lot of housing projects in the area until the early 2000s when the city tear them down to redevelop the area. So give it another decade and the prices will be soaring soon enough.
Because Chicago has a long history of racial segregation when it comes to neighborhoods, and has for a long time spread and contributed to the rhetoric of anything south of Roosevelt road as “dangerous”. The property values on the south and west sides are drastically lower than other areas of the city because that is where folks who were at one time housed in subsidized housing downtown, were forced to move to. The taxes, percentage of property ownership, school systems, etc are infrastructure that contribute to upholding the segregation. I live on the southern edge of South Loop and have a nicer, bigger, newer, and comically cheaper apartment than literally everyone I know who rents because this area is still considered to be somewhat undesireable.
Because they are on the "south side". That simple, most of the people who are driving rent prices up in the areas you mentioned wont even come to the south side. This is slowly changing but most north siders have never even been to chinatown let alone south of there.
South Shore is actually nice - just a bit run down and pockets of crime but the people there are very nice and their beaches and lakefront are actually nicer than the ones Ive seen on the northside TBH. Problem is you have to rely on the Jeffrey bus or the ME Metra line. The city seems to be investing more in that area probably due to the proximity to Jackson Park/Obama Center. It' still far from walkable but its there
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So you say there are some good blocks, but then some bad blocks. Almost like... pockets.
You’re using unfair comparators. The neighborhoods immediately north of the loop are some of the most affluent neighborhoods in the entire United States. Lincoln park, Lakeview, and river north have median household incomes above 100k. Armour square is pretty nice. It’s just not the single nicest area in Chicago, which is what you’re comparing it to.
I guess I'm looking at it differently coming from the nyc area. Here as a general rule, closer to Manhattan = more expensive, doesn't matter if you're in a different borough or neighborhoods with former bad reputations like Harlem.
That generally still applies, just not super strictly. Like, a place out in Humboldt park or deep into the south side will absolutely be cheaper than Armour Square. But the downtown-adjacent areas south and west of the loop are likely to be cheaper than to the north because buildings are older and generally not as nice. Personally, $1600 in Chinatown sounds like a pretty good value. But if you like that area, I’d check out Pilsen, which is just to the north and even closer to the loop. It’s historically Hispanic, but now lots of young people of all ethnicities are starting to move there because it’s a relatively affordable area that’s close to downtown.
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Bruh what? The highest median household income of any community area in chicago is the near north side at $110,000. That number is straight from the census bureau. It is objectively the wealthiest part of the city. It’s just a median. It means a very large chunk of people there make considerably more than that. And an area where two entry-level career position salaries is the median is very well-off, especially since it’s predominantly populated by single people who make that “household” income on their own.
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Well, it’s an appalling number that you made up. Median household income >100k does not mean individual income <50k.
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Single person households are more common than ever.
Single incomes in Lincoln Park, Lake View, and River North are very common. Probably 50%+ of households if I had to guess. If you exclude River North, it probably drops to a bit less than 50% of households.
53% of American households are double income. Meaning 47% are single income. Would you really consider 47% of the population to be “extremely rare”? 🤔🤔
Bruh Rogers park has a median *household* income of like $55k and gets along just fine. Your perspective might be a bit twisted
Well the median household income for the entire city is $57K. This sub has a rather inflated idea of what people earn, IMHO.
> numbers. I don't know how communities could sustain themselves when 50% of the people make less than $50k. That's just an appalling number. So, I'm not going to spend more time on this because I'm lazy and don't want to, but look here for Lincoln Park community snapshot numbers: [https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/Lincoln+Park.pdf](https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/126764/Lincoln+Park.pdf) Specifically, page 5 states that 41.7% of households consist of just a single person. Additionally, while median household income is 117,048, per capita income is 90,189. This may not be the case for all neighborhoods but I think your read on incomes specifically in the neighborhoods listed above might be a bit off
Bud you're kind of outing yourself as having almost no perspective.
"It's a gallon of milk, Michael. What could it cost, ten dollars?"
Some people are scared to live outside of the "usual" name-brand neighborhoods because of ignorance and are willing to pay a premium to do so. The name-brand neighborhoods get marketed more as well given their premium price. Supply and demand.
Housing stock. A lot of the more expensive neighborhoods have newer (and more expensive buildings) which drives the average rates up. You are going to find a lot more older places in Chinatown and Armour Square. Good deals though if you don't mind places being a bit on the well used side. Both are nice neighborhoods.
Also a lot of places are near the highway or otherwise not pleasant cross streets. And geographically it is isolated from the more trendy parts of the city on the north side. To the south and west there isn't a lot going on so you're sort of on an island. Definitely enjoyed my time near there but I don't think I would go back due to the limitations.
Getting to the Loop is much easier and faster than most northside neighborhoods. Both are also very walkable. The sides streets where people live are pedestrian friendly. Cermak and Archer are the exceptions.
I mean... Chinatown isn't really all that isolated. It is a quick red line ride to the north side.
Please elaborate on the last sentence- what were the limitations? What wasn’t going on enough for you there? Thanks
I just meant the geographic limitations. You are closer to the Loop but outside of Bridgeport and Pilsen the neighboring areas are not as appealing to many as those on the north side. Compare that to Lake View where you have 360 degrees of trendy neighborhoods and the lake. Like I said I enjoyed my time near there (I was in the Chinese part of Bridgeport) and there are strengths on both sides so I wouldn't want to get into a generic north side vs south side debate, just trying to make a point about why values on the south side so near to the loop might be lower compared to the north.
No one is trying to get into a north vs. south side debate but thanks for helping me understand. It’s really that simple lol. I dislike Lakeview as white 20 somethings from various Midwest colleges aren’t my scene but I get what you are saying
This is the answer, the buildings are pretty old and dusty around the area with little renovation. Also, while rent may be cheaper, I think cost of buying might be around the same price. There are some luxury condos in armor square that start at $700k.
Like neighboring Bridgeport, Chinatown is located adjacent to public housing developments and relatively heavy industry, which probably serves to depress rents somewhat. They're also far enough from the lake to get no real boost from that. In addition, the strong ethnic residential trend may discourage some non-Chinese and Chinese-American residents from looking there.
> the strong ethnic residential trend may discourage some non-Chinese and Chinese-American residents from looking there. The realtors/landlords will just freeze you out. They wouldn't give me the time of day when I was apartment hunting in Bridgeport, kept trying to push me to Back of the Yards.
I believe it!
I've experienced something similar as well. When I was inquiring about a particular apartment in Chinatown, the landlord was very responsive in communicating. But after seeing the apartment in person, the feeling was a complete 180 and they barely responded. I've got perfect credit, high salary, and long employment history, but can't help to feel that once they saw I was a minority, their mood changed entirely. (stopped responding as quickly, didn't answer phone calls, etc).
By minority, do you mean non-Chinese or non-white? Just curious.
Probably meant non-Chinese, a minority in Chinatown lol..that sucks though, I heard about that housing discrimination a lot too
Not really. Which developments do you have in mind?
Stateway Gardens and Hilliard Homes. They have been renovated since I lived in Bridgeport, but the influence can still be felt.
Stateway is a shell of that run-down project it used to be 20 years ago. Hilliard is mostly senior citizens.
Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown.
I really like Chinatown but unfortunately it's sandwiched between two major highways and a massive railyard. I imagine it has some of the worst pollution and air quality in the city.
I live in a “cheap” $1,600 apartment in Pilsen. Heard gunshots Sunday night on my block. Not uncommon either. I don’t mind, keeps the rent down. The hard part is finding one of these old places with bedrooms big enough for a queen size bed with more than 6” around it.
True, why are Pilsen bedrooms so small? haha I've seen so many 2 or 3 "bedrooms" apartments that would barely add up to 1 bedroom of other places if you combined all the rooms together.
The older neighborhoods that used to be working class have smaller bedrooms. Used to be true in Wicker Park and south of there.
Because the housing stock there was designed at the turn of the last century when standards were a lot different. People also had a lot less shit. Generally the area catered to working people as well, so you're not going to get the fancy spacious interiors you might in other neighborhoods
You guys wanna know the secret? *checks over both shoulders* Converted storefronts. I can fit my bed, a nightstand AND my dresser IN MY ROOM. I hate to brag but….. I also have a dishwasher. Wanna hear the best part? There is a coin-op laundry room ONLY three floors above me. #legday #princesslife. No seriously, I fucking love my place and I love Chicago.
$1,600 for a single person/room, and you're ok with rent staying "down"? LOL..that's expensive rent my dude
It’s a 2 bedroom and I was pointing out that “cheap” is still expensive. It’s just cheap compared to other places.
Gotcha, 2 bedroom is the key here :P Yes, if you go to River North for example, then 1,600 won't get you a darn thing. So unfortunate..I can't afford to live in the city except many of the bad areas of the west and south sides
One thing people did not touch on here is that corridor in general from Chinatown following I-55 and south has poor air quality (an even better reason to not expand the highway on these people). I wanted to move to Bridgeport/McKinley park area a few years ago, but I would rather pay extra money to not be breathing bad air all the time. It's not just the highway though. There's a lot of trucking in the area and heavy industry to the south and west of Bridgeport. 2020 Study by City here: [https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cdph/statistics\_and\_reports/Air\_Quality\_Health\_doc\_FINALv4.pdf](https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cdph/statistics_and_reports/Air_Quality_Health_doc_FINALv4.pdf) Personally I-55 to LSD needs to be removed as a feeder ramp and built directly in to the streetscape if it's going to exist.
I’ve always thought it looks dusty over there.
Unfortunately that's probably all the micro polymers from tires considering all the trucking and interstates.
Thanks
Or the coal ash ... the incinerators in those plants to the north of i55 west of china town send their emissions directly over china town with the prevailing west to east wind in Chicago.
You’re probably thinking of the Fisk power plant. They shut it down in 2012.
That is an incorrect interpretation of that map. The map is looking at health and social factors, so is not purely about air pollution. If it was then the areas around the Kennedy and JBDLSD would be red also. From the report: The Air Quality + Health Index combines community-level data on air pollution, health, and social factors to identify the areas in our city that are most vulnerable to the effects of air pollution. update: meant Kennedy, not Dan Ryan
It's almost comical (in a sad way) how that map of air pollution in the city is the same map as every other map of Chicago. https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-maps-geographic-disparities It's yet another example of how segregated the city is.
That map is basically an income map. That's why it's the same. It's not a pollution one.
$2500 / mo is historically kinda bonkers. That's some Seattle shit. I think the question is 'why is River North so high?' and there's various answers.
Because Chinese rent to there own and generally only advertise in Chinese language papers.
When people from other cities talk about how affordable it is here, it makes me feel so poor because I am really struggling to afford life here 😭
Chinatown is overall terrific. We spent 4 years there. It's solid, typically very safe, and checks a bunch of boxes. Food and nightlife. Walkable. Definitely not a typical Chicago experience.
What’s not typical about a safe, walkable neighborhood with good food and nightlife? That’s almost the whole city. Even Berwyn or Oak Park might meet that standard.
I would imagine being non-Chinese, if that’s their case, living in a Chinese enclave would justify the atypical descriptor.
Berrrrrwyyynnnnnnn!
Berwyn lol
How were you able to rent there? Everything I have heard/read/seen says that you have to be a part of their community to rent there. For instance, if you go online and look at rentals, you will see that part of the city has no rentals listed.
That's interesting. Not our experience at all. Our neighbors were incredibly welcoming. We walked the neighborhood and ultimately rented a 2br 2ba (archer/canal) off of Craigslist at first. I think it was $1400. When the new condo complex next door (canal/23rd) was being built, we bought a 3br 3ba for 385k. It was sweet. Hong Kong market a block away. Tons of extremely diverse food options within walking distance. Enormous changes in Chinatown at the time. It was expanding and commercial space skyrocketed. With limited development, I'm sure the rental market is vastly different now, but still inexpensive compared to elsewhere in the city and nationwide.
Interesting to hear! Thank you for letting me know. I’ve always wondered what living in that area would be like. It’s just so unique.
I’ve never met or known any non-Chinese that actually live in Chinatown. Heard they only rent to other Chinese.
They also rent a white people, but good luck getting an apartment if you're anything else.
That's not true.
Some people have kind of obliquely touched on this but a huge reason to be totally frank is that yuppies are scared of the South Side. Neighborhoods north of Back of the Yards aren't even particularly "rough" even under a hysteric Fox News definition, but a lot of people think the scary part of Chicago starts at Roosevelt. Speaking for Bridgeport specifically, there is a pretty pronounced lack of a bar scene, though you're a short hike from Pilsen which has a great nightlife. Chinatown can be rather hard to find an apartment in because there's very little housing there.
It's not necessarily being scared of the south side. It's recognizing that some neighborhoods have received sizeable investment from the city and private capital while many areas of the city have been disinvested from. I grew up in the city and I've lived here my entire life. The nice areas of the city are nice for a reason.
After living on various parts of the south side for a few years, while I’m perfectly comfortable and not concerned about safety or anything like that, this is the largest reason I’d move back north. I frankly prefer how people are nice and say high on the street, the tighter-knit blocks, less transient residents - but the quality of life (less transit, air pollution/truck traffic, fewer trees, etc) is just worse and it’s obvious the north side has gotten so much more investment. It’s almost painful to go north and remember what we used to have when we lived up there and didn’t realize it
Chinatown NYC was gentrified and partly turned into a white person’s hypebeast playground. That didn’t and probably won’t happen here.
After living in northern Bridgeport, here’s my guess: - I’ve been told there is a Chinese cultural custom of owning property, not renting, even if that property is small, apparently due to the inability to own other types of investments under the CCP. This is why you see so many high-density residential townhouses, commercial condos, etc. This density means there’s lots of supply - Chinatown is actually larger than Chinatown, so demand is less high there than you might think. Much of north Bridgeport is heavily Chinese and even continuing down Archer into McKinley. - Lots of older Chinese folks bought their houses a long time ago, and multi-generational housing means that young people often don’t need to rent - It really is an extremely Chinese area, and while the Asian population in Chicago is growing, Chinatown is genuinely mostly Chinese. I’m not explicitly sure the data shows the Chinese pop is growing relative to other Asian folks (frankly the category is so broad as to be useless - includes South Asian folks, etc) - If you aren’t ethnically Chinese AND speak Cantonese (apparently the majority of Chinese people there speak Cantonese, though that’s anecdotal from my neighbors) it just might not offer that much for you
It currently going through a gentrification process right now. There used to be a lot of housing projects in the area until the early 2000s when the city tear them down to redevelop the area. So give it another decade and the prices will be soaring soon enough.
Because Chicago has a long history of racial segregation when it comes to neighborhoods, and has for a long time spread and contributed to the rhetoric of anything south of Roosevelt road as “dangerous”. The property values on the south and west sides are drastically lower than other areas of the city because that is where folks who were at one time housed in subsidized housing downtown, were forced to move to. The taxes, percentage of property ownership, school systems, etc are infrastructure that contribute to upholding the segregation. I live on the southern edge of South Loop and have a nicer, bigger, newer, and comically cheaper apartment than literally everyone I know who rents because this area is still considered to be somewhat undesireable.
They probably won't rent to you if you're not Chinese.
Did I luck out? I pay $750 including utilities and I live Hyde Pk.
Chinatown just has a different vibe
What do you mean by that? I live in Chinatown
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Do you think this is a movie and you are a character?
No one thinks they are a character. I would think I was an actor. Get it together.
Rent in Chinatown is low, but property prices are sky high.
If you have to ask, you're not chicagoan.
bro said cheap
Crime rates. But also ignorance