I Knew Chicago Was A Great City, But I Had No Idea It Looked This Stunning

Distractify ^ | 12/30/2014

[Abathar]

Martintucky here, bought 100 acres with a good size lake and love it. We have the usual petty crime like anywhere else, but I have never felt unsafe a single day since I moved here. This place gets a bad rap because of the racist stuff decades ago, haven’t seen much of that myself at all.

[QualityMan]

yeah, Dr. Cram did the honors for me, I think...nowdays, the building is known as Sheldon Manor.... :)

olive oil is a condiment? who knew?

cascarellis in homer was a regular watering hole in november for us, after a long day in the woods. my dad went to school with bob cascarelli, who ran the place for many years. my dad graduated from homer high school in 1958.

I was at the albion cascarelli’s back in may, 2012..in town for my grandma’s memorial service, and we all went for beer afterwards.

I still have lots of cousins down that way, and an uncle by Duck Lake, north of albion. cousins in parma, springport, albion, jackson, et al.

[cornelis]

Hey! You spewed on my metaphor.

[cripplecreek]

There are a few locals from the Jonesville/Albion/Hanover triangle at FR. I’ve lived here in Norvell for nearly 20 years.

[QualityMan]

like old home week when I see you post about your neigborhood.... :) some of the best whitetail hunting in the country, if you ask me...certainly in the state of michigan.

I live in Iowa these days...dont get back to michigan too often..wife’s family is still in holland, so that is usually the destination when a visit happens.

[Usagi_yo]

Icy deadpeople

[cornfedcowboy]

The police keep the gangs out of the downtown business district. A couple of summers ago the gangs got in a big fight at Oak St. Beach(I think the one in the picture)and the mayor cracked em pretty good. There was also a flash mob downtown(Once mind you)and that stirred up the police and city council something fierce. Even the beggars/panhandlers are pretty low key.
IMO downtown Chicago shown in the picture is quite safe and a great time.

[Azeem]

My wife and I have been looking for land for our compound in that area or north in the Kokomo area. I want enough land to have my own 100+ m range. She wants land to have a garden.

[aruanan]

The Chicago political establishment has tacitly — and sometimes not so tacitly — supported segregation of the city. So, not very far from the downtown are some pretty dangerous and ugly ghettos. It’s been that way for years.

I've lived here since 1994. It is a pretty good city. I've also lived in New York. But the segregation comment is laughable. People tend to live with others of similar interests and ethnicity, whether in Little Italy, Greek Town, or Boys Town. Many places in Chicago that some may consider ghettos were once completely different in racial or ethnic composition and still have many examples of very fine buildings. The change in racial/ethnic characteristics of the inhabitants is merely an accident of history and economics, not any segregation policy of the city, tacit or otherwise.

I am extremely familiar with Rogers Park, Albany Park, Hyde Park, Kenwood, and Evanston. The reason Rogers Park may have a lot of police sirens is because it is home to a very large police precinct. It is also home to Loyola University and one of the largest Jewish populations (especially West Rogers Park) outside of Skokie and New York. The crime isn't particularly high in Rogers Park compared to places like Englewood. The worst place up in that area is the north half of the little neighborhood north of Howard and south of the Catholic cemetery and east of Chicago after it changes from Clark, referred to in the past as Juneway Jungle. But even that is not too bad compared to some neighborhoods on the west side. But even Humboldt Park, though one of the bad ones, is mostly okay and safe if you're not a young black guy alone on foot, especially at night. But none of that is by design, tacit or otherwise, of the Chicago political establishment for this simple reason: No one is told that he cannot live in this place or must live in that place because he is or is not of one or another group.

[ltc8k6]

http://spotcrime.com/il/chicago

Where is that picture on this map?

[Borges]

If you look closer you’d see that very few of those incidents take place in the Loop area where those photos were taken.

[cripplecreek]

The downtown areas of all cities are safe.

[GeronL]

I guess its all about looks from a distance to some people, never mind they would never want to live there

[Borges]

I do live there and love it.

[1rudeboy]

You are showing pictures of buildings and roads from several thousand feet which obscures what makes Chicago a fugly place. Get down to street level with that camera and take pictures from a couple of thousand feet to the south of those skyscrapers. Before you do, let us know where to send the condolence cards.

I'll do it, for pay . . . and to prove you wrong. (Is there a better way to make money?)

[AllAmericanGirl44]

I find your posts so very interesting, in that you just don’t allow anyone to have a different opinion or perspective.

I was born and raised here as well and there are many wonderful things about Chicago, but I can surely accept that others view it differently. To ignore the crime, the politics, gangs and some very very beaten down areas of the city, is just making you sound rather pompous. Just my own opinion, you can charge at me, I expect it.

[Borges]

I’m not charging at anyone and everything you said is true. I’m just talking only about the physical beauty of the city. ALL big cities have ‘run down parts’, corruption etc...

[cornelis]

I agree with Saul Bellow that the elevated train(the EL) was the fault of a bad architect.

[vekzen]

“But the segregation comment is laughable. . . The change in racial/ethnic characteristics of the inhabitants is merely an accident of history and economics, not any segregation policy of the city, tacit or otherwise.”

I suggest you read a biography of Richard J. Daley, entitled American Pharaoh, to learn how Daley and other Chicago pols actively contributed to segregation in Chicago.

[Chgogal]

I'll triple down on that bet MichaelArchangle and 1rudeboy!!!!

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of Baaaaad Neighborhoods, but there are plenty of really nice places to live.

One rule I will never break, I will never ever live in a city that does NOT have alleys, i.e. Boston or NYC.

For those that plan on visiting Chicago proper, a very good restaurant is North Pond. It now has one Michelin star. It is located in Lincoln Park on the North Pond, so the view is beautiful and the food is quite good. The architecture is Prairie Style. There is valet parking. Sunday Brunch is a good deal if you are used to big city prices.

http://www.northpondrestaurant.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g35805-d455982-Reviews-North_Pond-Chicago_Illinois.html