Illinois Road Videos

[Flint1979]

For what it's worth, noted Michigander Ted Nugent was saying Detroit was "the murder capital of the world" back in the 1970s.

It's not worth nothing, because noted Michigander Ted Nugent is a racist piece of garbage. He's the type who will base the favorability of a place on its whiteness, just like a large proportion of America's white population unfortunately would.

And this is the AARoads forum...nitpicking at technicalities is most of what we do here.

Went to Detroit a year ago, and I was amazed by the amount of decay.  It's not concentrated into neighborhoods like what I've seen of Chicago--it's widespread.  (I admit I haven't been to Chicago's South Side much--it might be more widespread there, too.) I like seeing the backdrops to where people live their lives, though, so it was really interesting to see, in a sad way.

Milwaukee might be a really nice place to visit, but its smaller size will simply make it less appealing to prospective tourists.  I don't see Milwaukee getting the "world-class city" treatment like Chicago does, just because it's not as big of a business giant with not as high a population.  Is that fair? Probably not.  But Milwaukee isn't going to start garnering more attention than Chicago does anytime soon.  I won't argue whether Milwaukee is more or less deserving of the attention, though; that's completely subjective.

Well I've been to the Southside of Chicago and most of it is in decay just like Detroit. I've often said that if you want to see Detroit just visit the Southside of Chicago and that is what Detroit is like. Detroit is comparable to Chicago they both have the same Urban headaches.

You obviously haven't been to the Southside if you're making that statement.

You have never been to Detroit so you have no business making such a claim. You have no idea what Detroit is like compared to the Southside of Chicago so don't try telling me I haven't been somewhere.

Then you should know that they are plenty of community areas on the Southside that aren't in decay (Bridgeport,Douglas, Grand Boulevard, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Oakland are just a few examples). Now the west side is a different story...it only has 3 community areas that aren't in decay (Near West Side, Pilsen, and West Town). However there are some parts of Austin that are more upscale.. I went over it in this video


https://youtu.be/hmgtPNtjNlE

Nice job nitpicking the neighborhoods that are nice on the Southside when overall the Southside is not a good part of town and does have decay.

[Crash_It]

For what it's worth, noted Michigander Ted Nugent was saying Detroit was "the murder capital of the world" back in the 1970s.

It's not worth nothing, because noted Michigander Ted Nugent is a racist piece of garbage. He's the type who will base the favorability of a place on its whiteness, just like a large proportion of America's white population unfortunately would.

And this is the AARoads forum...nitpicking at technicalities is most of what we do here.

Went to Detroit a year ago, and I was amazed by the amount of decay.  It's not concentrated into neighborhoods like what I've seen of Chicago--it's widespread.  (I admit I haven't been to Chicago's South Side much--it might be more widespread there, too.) I like seeing the backdrops to where people live their lives, though, so it was really interesting to see, in a sad way.

Milwaukee might be a really nice place to visit, but its smaller size will simply make it less appealing to prospective tourists.  I don't see Milwaukee getting the "world-class city" treatment like Chicago does, just because it's not as big of a business giant with not as high a population.  Is that fair? Probably not.  But Milwaukee isn't going to start garnering more attention than Chicago does anytime soon.  I won't argue whether Milwaukee is more or less deserving of the attention, though; that's completely subjective.

Well I've been to the Southside of Chicago and most of it is in decay just like Detroit. I've often said that if you want to see Detroit just visit the Southside of Chicago and that is what Detroit is like. Detroit is comparable to Chicago they both have the same Urban headaches.

You obviously haven't been to the Southside if you're making that statement.

You have never been to Detroit so you have no business making such a claim. You have no idea what Detroit is like compared to the Southside of Chicago so don't try telling me I haven't been somewhere.

Then you should know that they are plenty of community areas on the Southside that aren't in decay (Bridgeport,Douglas, Grand Boulevard, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Oakland are just a few examples). Now the west side is a different story...it only has 3 community areas that aren't in decay (Near West Side, Pilsen, and West Town). However there are some parts of Austin that are more upscale.. I went over it in this video


https://youtu.be/hmgtPNtjNlE

Nice job nitpicking the neighborhoods that are nice on the Southside when overall the Southside is not a good part of town and does have decay.

There are quite a bit more than that. Actually the only neighborhoods on what is really considered the south side that are bad are South Shore, Greater Grand Crossing and Fuller Park.

[Flint1979]

For what it's worth, noted Michigander Ted Nugent was saying Detroit was "the murder capital of the world" back in the 1970s.

It's not worth nothing, because noted Michigander Ted Nugent is a racist piece of garbage. He's the type who will base the favorability of a place on its whiteness, just like a large proportion of America's white population unfortunately would.

And this is the AARoads forum...nitpicking at technicalities is most of what we do here.

Went to Detroit a year ago, and I was amazed by the amount of decay.  It's not concentrated into neighborhoods like what I've seen of Chicago--it's widespread.  (I admit I haven't been to Chicago's South Side much--it might be more widespread there, too.) I like seeing the backdrops to where people live their lives, though, so it was really interesting to see, in a sad way.

Milwaukee might be a really nice place to visit, but its smaller size will simply make it less appealing to prospective tourists.  I don't see Milwaukee getting the "world-class city" treatment like Chicago does, just because it's not as big of a business giant with not as high a population.  Is that fair? Probably not.  But Milwaukee isn't going to start garnering more attention than Chicago does anytime soon.  I won't argue whether Milwaukee is more or less deserving of the attention, though; that's completely subjective.

Well I've been to the Southside of Chicago and most of it is in decay just like Detroit. I've often said that if you want to see Detroit just visit the Southside of Chicago and that is what Detroit is like. Detroit is comparable to Chicago they both have the same Urban headaches.

You obviously haven't been to the Southside if you're making that statement.

You have never been to Detroit so you have no business making such a claim. You have no idea what Detroit is like compared to the Southside of Chicago so don't try telling me I haven't been somewhere.

Then you should know that they are plenty of community areas on the Southside that aren't in decay (Bridgeport,Douglas, Grand Boulevard, Hyde Park, Kenwood, Oakland are just a few examples). Now the west side is a different story...it only has 3 community areas that aren't in decay (Near West Side, Pilsen, and West Town). However there are some parts of Austin that are more upscale.. I went over it in this video


https://youtu.be/hmgtPNtjNlE

Nice job nitpicking the neighborhoods that are nice on the Southside when overall the Southside is not a good part of town and does have decay.

There are quite a bit more than that. Actually the only neighborhoods on what is really considered the south side that are bad are South Shore, Greater Grand Crossing and Fuller Park.

And many more neighborhoods on top of that.

[Flint1979]

You can can it with the tourist guide of Chicago to me because I've lived there and I know what I'm talking about.

[GaryV]

I think I see a trend here.

"There are a few good neighborhoods on the South Side, so the whole thing is not bad overall."

"There are a few hilly areas in extreme corners of Illinois, so the whole state is not flat overall."

[Flint1979]

I think I see a trend here.

"There are a few good neighborhoods on the South Side, so the whole thing is not bad overall."

"There are a few hilly areas in extreme corners of Illinois, so the whole state is not flat overall."

He's the kind of person that'll tell you that the worst neighborhood in Chicago isn't all that bad. Like it's just fine and dandy to take a midnight stroll along 79th Street on Chicago's Southside.

[kphoger]

I'd kind of like to explore the south side, now that we're all talking about it.  Archer Heights, Little Village (maybe that counts as west side), Hyde Park, ...

[Flint1979]

Just a listing off the top of my head of neighborhoods on the Southside that aren't very safe at all.

Washington Park, West Englewood, Englewood, Grand Crossing, Chatham, South Shore, Burnside, Pullman, South Chicago, Fuller Park, South Deering and that's just a start.

[Flint1979]

I'd kind of like to explore the south side, now that we're all talking about it.  Archer Heights, Little Village (maybe that counts as west side), Hyde Park, ...

Little Village I thought at least was part of South Lawndale which in turn would be part of the Westside. I told a Mexican friend of mine about Little Village one time when he was visiting Chicago. It's not called the Mexico of the Midwest for nothing.

[Max Rockatansky]

It's usually the "unsafe"  neighborhoods that have the most interesting things to see, Chicago is no exception.  Whether or not that is worth the apparent/supposed risk to visit those places is really up to discretion of the individual.  My thoughts on urban exploration is already known, no big deal in my book. 

[kphoger]

It's usually the "unsafe"  neighborhoods that have the most interesting things to see, Chicago is no exception.  Whether or not that is worth the apparent/supposed risk to visit those places is really up to discretion of the individual.  My thoughts on urban exploration is already known, no big deal in my book. 

For example, Cermak is a pretty cool drive between Ashland and Archer, but I'm not so sure I'd want to walk the same stretch.

[abefroman329]

Like it's just fine and dandy to take a midnight stroll along 79th Street on Chicago's Southside.

I smell a challenge...

[Crash_It]

Just a listing off the top of my head of neighborhoods on the Southside that aren't very safe at all.

Washington Park, West Englewood, Englewood, Grand Crossing, Chatham, South Shore, Burnside, Pullman, South Chicago, Fuller Park, South Deering and that's just a start.

Some of those are the southwest and southeast sides.

[Max Rockatansky]

Just a listing off the top of my head of neighborhoods on the Southside that aren't very safe at all.

Washington Park, West Englewood, Englewood, Grand Crossing, Chatham, South Shore, Burnside, Pullman, South Chicago, Fuller Park, South Deering and that's just a start.

Some of those are the southwest and southeast sides.

So now we are specifically citing stuff that is only in a true southern direction?  You read that everyone?...southeast and southwest aren't south enough!

[kphoger]

Some of those are the southwest and southeast sides.

*groan*

[Max Rockatansky]

I think that I need clarification on the definition of "south."   Are we going by the definition of "True South"  or is this "Magnetic South?

[kphoger]

I think that I need clarification on the definition of "south."   Are we going by the definition of "True South"  or is this "Magnetic South?

Theoretically, the south side has multiple sub-regions.  However, most people don't talk that way, and I assumed we were talking about one of the three general sides of Chicago–north, west, south.

[Max Rockatansky]

I think that I need clarification on the definition of "south."   Are we going by the definition of "True South"  or is this "Magnetic South?

Theoretically, the south side has multiple sub-regions.  However, most people don't talk that way, and I assumed we were talking about one of the three general sides of Chicago–north, west, south.

That's why Carhorn chimed in, we plebeians got off track and needed correction. 

[thspfc]

I'm not fearful of any American city. I'm fearful of some American neighborhoods.

What about East Saint Louis?  Does that count as a city or a neighborhood?

In 2019 there were 36 murders in East Saint Louis, a town with a population of just over 26,000.  That's a murder rate of 137 per 100,000 population–more than twice that of nearby Saint Louis, and more than three times that of Detroit.

I used to make occasional deliveries there.  I didn't usually feel unsafe there, but it's the only town I delivered to where I'd make sure to shut the truck off and put the keys in my pocket at every stop.

There's plenty of regional and national traffic through there. Same can't be said of bad Detroit neighborhoods.

[thspfc]

You can can it with the tourist guide of Chicago to me because I've lived there and I know what I'm talking about.

Wow do I ever hate this type of comment.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

You can can it with the tourist guide of Chicago to me because I've lived there and I know what I'm talking about.

Wow do I ever hate this type of comment.

You shouldn't hate that comment. He lived there. You haven't. I don't pretend to know more about Madison or Milwaukee than you.

A person cannot learn what a place is really like without living there. You just can't and it's stupid to pretend you can.

[Max Rockatansky]

You can can it with the tourist guide of Chicago to me because I've lived there and I know what I'm talking about.

Wow do I ever hate this type of comment.

You shouldn't hate that comment. He lived there. You haven't. I don't pretend to know more about Madison or Milwaukee than you.

You cannot learn what a place is really like without living there. You just can't.

Don't forget the person you are talking to largely completely dismisses first hand experience in lieu of violent crime statistics.  But that's basically the reason I started the "Risk Aversion"  thread.  What considers risky or dangerous tends to be a subjective measure to the individual.  Individuals will weigh criteria very differently based on their subjective perspectives, this is why there is almost never a true consensus on crime or safety.  I tend to believe first hand accounts can have a lot of value, but also do believe statistics hold value.  Neither alone paints a full picture of a community or city. 

[Flint1979]

Just a listing off the top of my head of neighborhoods on the Southside that aren't very safe at all.

Washington Park, West Englewood, Englewood, Grand Crossing, Chatham, South Shore, Burnside, Pullman, South Chicago, Fuller Park, South Deering and that's just a start.

Some of those are the southwest and southeast sides.

Southeast, Southwest it's all the South side dude what are you talking about?

[kphoger]

Don't forget the person you are talking to largely completely dismisses first hand experience in lieu of violent crime statistics.

To a large degree, so do I.  Firsthand experience must be evaluated through the lens of statistics in order to make any sort of meaningful comparison.

[Flint1979]

You can can it with the tourist guide of Chicago to me because I've lived there and I know what I'm talking about.

Wow do I ever hate this type of comment.

Why? The stuff I'm saying I know what I'm talking about. It's stuff I've experienced and witnessed. I know what I saw and experienced. I've also lived in Detroit so I can compare the two because it's something I've experienced.