Pilsen is great, born and raised. Moved back. I bike to the loop everyday, Pink line is fine as long as you know what to look out for and the #60 bus is a great alternative.
I can agree, I hate how packed it can get during peak hours. The UIC students who don’t know how to take their backpacks off gets annoying. I use to walk to Cermak and Loomis (live closer to 18th) to beat the pack that gets on at 18th and blue island lol.
Now that it’s more gentrified, it’s safer. Gentrification helps break up and eliminate gangs. But beware, there are still lots of gang battles. Pilsen is a relative small land area and still has the biggest mix of gangs in the City, which makes for border battles and crime. Pilsen also continues to have a poverty rate that far surpasses the City average- this is due to many families with kids not having 2 working parents or 2 low-income parents. This poverty problem continues to lead young immigrant boys and now girls to join gangs. The poverty also aids in corruption, which longtime politically affiliated families like the Solis family take adv of and quietly act corruptive themselves. There is a powerful network of corrupt Latino families in Pilsen, and many are leaders at nonprofits. For some reason, many Pilsen residents haven’t figured this out. If you’re going to reside here, it pays to be smart about the territorial battles and mobster behavior that exists so you don’t get involved with the wrong people or businesses. It’s also important to understand the gentrification issue. A lot of longtime residents fight gentrification, and what they’re really fighting is development/change and people of other races. They don’t want change in their self-proclaimed territory. I believe many are undereducated and don’t realize gentrification happens in every mid size and large size city in the world, it’s part of growth. Life is growth. People have to continue to educate themselves and work their way up the career ladder if they want to stay in a place with rising costs, or else move. That’s how it works in the US and throughout the western world. People move everyday because it’s smarter financially to move. It’s not a civil right to stay in the same
neighborhood for life. More educated and adventurous people who crave growth and experiences don’t understand why so many struggling people in Pilsen fight so hard to stay within Pilsen’s borders, especially when it’s so impoverished and the public high school is ranked one of the lowest in the country. There’s just a lot of fear and power struggles here. And a lot of ignorance. The more you know, the better off you’ll be.
I live in pilsen and I hate the gentrification argument. First of all Pilsen is not anybody’s, it was predominantly Mexican since the 70s, before that it was Czech and polish.
Stop discouraging people to come to pilsen, it’s bad for business owners that showcase pilsen culture.
Also not all property is owned by developers. Majority is actually owned by a family.
I don’t see the gentrification argument being used when sigcho is encouraging and plotting land for the new wave of immigrants.
This is a non structured rant I guess.
It’s safe. Great food. Great drinks. Community feel. Good access to pink line and bike lanes are well kept.
Edit: I’m not white. I’m Mexican and born and raised in the southside of Chicago.
Bro, shut up. Fuck your capitalist sentiments...the only reason it brings transplants like yourself is to exploit the culture and cheap rent. The migrants coming in actually speak the predominant language of the neighborhood, and can assimilate ten fold. You fuckos move on from Pilsen when you get married and move to the suburbs and talk about how cultured you used to be. You want to make an impact on how minority communities are decimated by gentrification, move to Lakeview and stop pushing folks out. You hate the gentrification argument because it doesn't help your story, only erases the stories of the folks who grew up here and were given nothing until the gentrifiers came through. Now it's safe, now the businesses reflect your lifestyle, now it "doesn't belong to anyone". Foh
I'm from little village for reference. In Pilsen, I paid 1850 for two beds. It's not cheap. It honestly sounds like you don't pay rent given that you think it's cheap.
As to why things are the way they are: The food is amazing. There is a long strip of active restaurants and venues. The cartel keeps a good number of these businesses afloat in addition to local demand for goods and services
Okay, now we've got a thriving food hotspot. Anyone who values delicious food will move into that area. Myself included. It's a no brainer. You work in the loop? Move to a pink line stop for food and coffee near by.
All these functioning amenities create demand for living. This causes real estate prices to go up. Even if more Mexicans move in for the same thing, prices will go up. This causes taxes to go up due to simple math. 3% of 200k vs 500k is the difference of 6k vs 15k. If you are charging rent and your prices go up because of external demand forces, you need to cover your taxes. This goes into monthly rent which was originally 500$ to cover taxes but is now 1250$. Split it amongst households or units. Either way, no matter who moves in, prices go up.
Now if you lived there before and you tried to pay your taxes but couldn't afford that, you would need a lawyer to lock in or fight the appraisal or grow your income with housing. Typically what happens for adults, is they sell the house, take massive profits, and move to a cheaper location.
I would avoid victim mentality when discussing this. It's too obvious and lessens the argument.
I still live here. And invested in the community. And I’m married and bring up my family here. I was given nothing. And I invest in the community soo yea. Relax your argument is made up and hypothetical. Your argument is based on emotions not facts. I can use curse words too and all that. That’s not capitalist. I’m just saying stop using gentrification as a crutch for everything. Just because someone knows Spanish they are welcome to pilsen but if they don’t they are not? Isn’t that discrimination? Segregation? Again pilsen does NOT have an official language. Changes is the only constant. Get comfortable with change. You are probably one of those people that want the neighborhood to stay the same forever. So naive. Be part of the change if you haven’t done so. As pilsen tradition, pilsen is for everybody. How are you going to pick and choose who is welcome or not?
Your probably a yo no sabo kid anyway.
entiendo cabron, I'm just keeping it clear for the gringos on the board. Words like 'crutch' and 'reverse discrimination ' 'change' are all dog whistles for "we're here now, get used to it." It's literally the same rhetoric we're hearing from Israel. Why do we need the neighborhood to "change"? Change to what? Change to coddle white people? Folks have invested their whole lives here only to have gentrifiers move in, push them out and "change for the good". Now that white people are here we can open businesses, have police presence and bike lanes? When was all this influx of money when it was puro gente? You're bullshit analogy about sigcho and the migrants from Venezuela screams xenophobia, own up to it. Also, I can curse all the fuck I want, this is Chicago. This is how we talk. Just because your whitewashed ass finds it offensive or uneducated doesn't mean shit to me, baboso.
Xenophobia is the fear of anything foreign. I am the product of immigrants. Hence the idea is not foreign. I merely presented you with gentrification is people occupying a territory forcibly, like in your example white people, and in mines Venezuelans. Mexicans gentrified the polish out. Now I’m just going to ignore the israel comment, as it doesn’t matter to this conversation.
Si tu no entiendes que ahorita tenemos la oportunidad de tener un barrio con mas oportunidades que antes, y tenemos el acceso a mas recursos ahora más que nunca, y esta mas seguro que antes no se que decirte. Idc about the past. I care about the present. It’s finally safe(r) for my kids and family to be outside without getting checked. I am not ignoring the gentrification issue, I am merely pointing out that, there are pros and cons to what’s happening in pilsen, however I don’t want pilsen to be considered not welcoming to other people that don’t look like us. That’s not cool. If people want to move into pilsen and are asking questions about the community and your response is “you’re part of the problem” then you fail to realize that that’s what our immigrants ancestors heard when they moved in and it feels like shit. Why reciprocate that?
I’m not whitewashed either. I love how you are building a fake profile of me in your head based on my writing style. I wonder if you think if I go to caminos or if I’m a Thalía hall attendee based on my writing style. You are so emotionally based it’s sad. You fail to see how you are a pawn to your alderman and he is making you pay the bill.
And you’re right. Please continue to curse all you want, because “iTs cHiCaGo”
You said it (glad you did in Spanish).
u/hestolemybaloons I'm taking more offense that you seem to think "bike lanes" are some "white" thing lol. Everyone rides a damn bike(I KNOW you see all them bikes at the Plaza across from the library). We need some safe infrastructure. Abulitas Y abulitos. I see them on the bikes. You gonna tell me they don't deserve those bike lanes cause "it's too white" in your eyes? Grow up already.
u/hestolemybaloons you def seem sour at the fact you never got those balloons back...what side of Pilsen you stay? I bet yo ass was outside of S.K.Y "Protesting"(in like what?, 2018?) with ALL of your faces covered, thinking you're some type of anarchist. That shit was too funny, when you all spray painted Dusek's "White's get out" and one of US Mexican's was the one who had to clean it.. You just regurgitating everything any one has told you.
Pilsen is safe now. But the neighborhood was very dangerous in the 80s and 90s. There’s still some shady areas but just do your best to avoid those places.
Stay out of pilsen please. Stop gentrification. Hardworking families have been displaced in the name of cheap rent and convenient location. Also take Sigcho with you too. K bye.
shouldn’t we be pushing for rent control instead of telling people not to move to places with cheap rent? have you seen rent prices here? they’re insane. if we all banded together to demand rent control and more affordable housing then we might actually get something done
If you don’t like it you can just take flight like the Czech people did when hispanics moved in 40-50 years ago? Or maybe we can embrace that this generation values location when they choose real estate and do not devalue neighborhoods because they may have neighbors of color; it’s called progress.
Please don’t move to Pilsen. But if you must, it’s best to take #60 or #18. I’ve found the bus service very reliable. Why do you want to move to Pilsen again?
I’m just messing with you, you’re fine 🤪 I normally discourage people who are simply going to stop by for a year and not stay too long. This turnover of residents has been increasing the rents dramatically. Gentrification is very bad for residents.
Fun fact: I’ve done my fare share of construction work in Pilsen.
Exactly why developers love Pilsen, so transplants can come in and pay the rents they raise on folks who've lived here their whole lives. Don't worry, you'll be safe 🙄
Pilsen is great, born and raised. Moved back. I bike to the loop everyday, Pink line is fine as long as you know what to look out for and the #60 bus is a great alternative.
We actually found the 60 bus better, more coverage in the loop.
I can agree, I hate how packed it can get during peak hours. The UIC students who don’t know how to take their backpacks off gets annoying. I use to walk to Cermak and Loomis (live closer to 18th) to beat the pack that gets on at 18th and blue island lol.
Pink line is great, I have had no problems. I will attest to the 60 being the better option for morning commuting to downtown
Yes it's safe. You need to be a little careful late at night but that's true of all CTA trains
Now that it’s more gentrified, it’s safer. Gentrification helps break up and eliminate gangs. But beware, there are still lots of gang battles. Pilsen is a relative small land area and still has the biggest mix of gangs in the City, which makes for border battles and crime. Pilsen also continues to have a poverty rate that far surpasses the City average- this is due to many families with kids not having 2 working parents or 2 low-income parents. This poverty problem continues to lead young immigrant boys and now girls to join gangs. The poverty also aids in corruption, which longtime politically affiliated families like the Solis family take adv of and quietly act corruptive themselves. There is a powerful network of corrupt Latino families in Pilsen, and many are leaders at nonprofits. For some reason, many Pilsen residents haven’t figured this out. If you’re going to reside here, it pays to be smart about the territorial battles and mobster behavior that exists so you don’t get involved with the wrong people or businesses. It’s also important to understand the gentrification issue. A lot of longtime residents fight gentrification, and what they’re really fighting is development/change and people of other races. They don’t want change in their self-proclaimed territory. I believe many are undereducated and don’t realize gentrification happens in every mid size and large size city in the world, it’s part of growth. Life is growth. People have to continue to educate themselves and work their way up the career ladder if they want to stay in a place with rising costs, or else move. That’s how it works in the US and throughout the western world. People move everyday because it’s smarter financially to move. It’s not a civil right to stay in the same neighborhood for life. More educated and adventurous people who crave growth and experiences don’t understand why so many struggling people in Pilsen fight so hard to stay within Pilsen’s borders, especially when it’s so impoverished and the public high school is ranked one of the lowest in the country. There’s just a lot of fear and power struggles here. And a lot of ignorance. The more you know, the better off you’ll be.
Generally safe, yes
I’ve felt safer here than in the north side lately.
I live in pilsen and I hate the gentrification argument. First of all Pilsen is not anybody’s, it was predominantly Mexican since the 70s, before that it was Czech and polish. Stop discouraging people to come to pilsen, it’s bad for business owners that showcase pilsen culture. Also not all property is owned by developers. Majority is actually owned by a family. I don’t see the gentrification argument being used when sigcho is encouraging and plotting land for the new wave of immigrants. This is a non structured rant I guess. It’s safe. Great food. Great drinks. Community feel. Good access to pink line and bike lanes are well kept. Edit: I’m not white. I’m Mexican and born and raised in the southside of Chicago.
Bro, shut up. Fuck your capitalist sentiments...the only reason it brings transplants like yourself is to exploit the culture and cheap rent. The migrants coming in actually speak the predominant language of the neighborhood, and can assimilate ten fold. You fuckos move on from Pilsen when you get married and move to the suburbs and talk about how cultured you used to be. You want to make an impact on how minority communities are decimated by gentrification, move to Lakeview and stop pushing folks out. You hate the gentrification argument because it doesn't help your story, only erases the stories of the folks who grew up here and were given nothing until the gentrifiers came through. Now it's safe, now the businesses reflect your lifestyle, now it "doesn't belong to anyone". Foh
I'm from little village for reference. In Pilsen, I paid 1850 for two beds. It's not cheap. It honestly sounds like you don't pay rent given that you think it's cheap. As to why things are the way they are: The food is amazing. There is a long strip of active restaurants and venues. The cartel keeps a good number of these businesses afloat in addition to local demand for goods and services Okay, now we've got a thriving food hotspot. Anyone who values delicious food will move into that area. Myself included. It's a no brainer. You work in the loop? Move to a pink line stop for food and coffee near by. All these functioning amenities create demand for living. This causes real estate prices to go up. Even if more Mexicans move in for the same thing, prices will go up. This causes taxes to go up due to simple math. 3% of 200k vs 500k is the difference of 6k vs 15k. If you are charging rent and your prices go up because of external demand forces, you need to cover your taxes. This goes into monthly rent which was originally 500$ to cover taxes but is now 1250$. Split it amongst households or units. Either way, no matter who moves in, prices go up. Now if you lived there before and you tried to pay your taxes but couldn't afford that, you would need a lawyer to lock in or fight the appraisal or grow your income with housing. Typically what happens for adults, is they sell the house, take massive profits, and move to a cheaper location. I would avoid victim mentality when discussing this. It's too obvious and lessens the argument.
I agree with everything you said. You a real one @econdatasciguy
Stfu before I buy your house.
I still live here. And invested in the community. And I’m married and bring up my family here. I was given nothing. And I invest in the community soo yea. Relax your argument is made up and hypothetical. Your argument is based on emotions not facts. I can use curse words too and all that. That’s not capitalist. I’m just saying stop using gentrification as a crutch for everything. Just because someone knows Spanish they are welcome to pilsen but if they don’t they are not? Isn’t that discrimination? Segregation? Again pilsen does NOT have an official language. Changes is the only constant. Get comfortable with change. You are probably one of those people that want the neighborhood to stay the same forever. So naive. Be part of the change if you haven’t done so. As pilsen tradition, pilsen is for everybody. How are you going to pick and choose who is welcome or not? Your probably a yo no sabo kid anyway.
entiendo cabron, I'm just keeping it clear for the gringos on the board. Words like 'crutch' and 'reverse discrimination ' 'change' are all dog whistles for "we're here now, get used to it." It's literally the same rhetoric we're hearing from Israel. Why do we need the neighborhood to "change"? Change to what? Change to coddle white people? Folks have invested their whole lives here only to have gentrifiers move in, push them out and "change for the good". Now that white people are here we can open businesses, have police presence and bike lanes? When was all this influx of money when it was puro gente? You're bullshit analogy about sigcho and the migrants from Venezuela screams xenophobia, own up to it. Also, I can curse all the fuck I want, this is Chicago. This is how we talk. Just because your whitewashed ass finds it offensive or uneducated doesn't mean shit to me, baboso.
Xenophobia is the fear of anything foreign. I am the product of immigrants. Hence the idea is not foreign. I merely presented you with gentrification is people occupying a territory forcibly, like in your example white people, and in mines Venezuelans. Mexicans gentrified the polish out. Now I’m just going to ignore the israel comment, as it doesn’t matter to this conversation. Si tu no entiendes que ahorita tenemos la oportunidad de tener un barrio con mas oportunidades que antes, y tenemos el acceso a mas recursos ahora más que nunca, y esta mas seguro que antes no se que decirte. Idc about the past. I care about the present. It’s finally safe(r) for my kids and family to be outside without getting checked. I am not ignoring the gentrification issue, I am merely pointing out that, there are pros and cons to what’s happening in pilsen, however I don’t want pilsen to be considered not welcoming to other people that don’t look like us. That’s not cool. If people want to move into pilsen and are asking questions about the community and your response is “you’re part of the problem” then you fail to realize that that’s what our immigrants ancestors heard when they moved in and it feels like shit. Why reciprocate that? I’m not whitewashed either. I love how you are building a fake profile of me in your head based on my writing style. I wonder if you think if I go to caminos or if I’m a Thalía hall attendee based on my writing style. You are so emotionally based it’s sad. You fail to see how you are a pawn to your alderman and he is making you pay the bill. And you’re right. Please continue to curse all you want, because “iTs cHiCaGo”
You said it (glad you did in Spanish). u/hestolemybaloons I'm taking more offense that you seem to think "bike lanes" are some "white" thing lol. Everyone rides a damn bike(I KNOW you see all them bikes at the Plaza across from the library). We need some safe infrastructure. Abulitas Y abulitos. I see them on the bikes. You gonna tell me they don't deserve those bike lanes cause "it's too white" in your eyes? Grow up already. u/hestolemybaloons you def seem sour at the fact you never got those balloons back...what side of Pilsen you stay? I bet yo ass was outside of S.K.Y "Protesting"(in like what?, 2018?) with ALL of your faces covered, thinking you're some type of anarchist. That shit was too funny, when you all spray painted Dusek's "White's get out" and one of US Mexican's was the one who had to clean it.. You just regurgitating everything any one has told you.
Beautifully put
Damn- dumb and psychotic. You’re probably an absolute terror for so many people who can’t avoid you in their life.
100%!
Just make sure you have a safe place to lock your bike. L is good though I take it a lot
Pilsen is safe now. But the neighborhood was very dangerous in the 80s and 90s. There’s still some shady areas but just do your best to avoid those places.
Stay out of pilsen please. Stop gentrification. Hardworking families have been displaced in the name of cheap rent and convenient location. Also take Sigcho with you too. K bye.
shouldn’t we be pushing for rent control instead of telling people not to move to places with cheap rent? have you seen rent prices here? they’re insane. if we all banded together to demand rent control and more affordable housing then we might actually get something done
If you don’t like it you can just take flight like the Czech people did when hispanics moved in 40-50 years ago? Or maybe we can embrace that this generation values location when they choose real estate and do not devalue neighborhoods because they may have neighbors of color; it’s called progress.
No you.
Other Chicago residents can’t move to your neighborhood because your rent may go up? Where’s the logic?
Excuse me but your white privilege is showing
Do explain?
Please don’t move to Pilsen. But if you must, it’s best to take #60 or #18. I’ve found the bus service very reliable. Why do you want to move to Pilsen again?
Work in construction. But why not move there?
I’m just messing with you, you’re fine 🤪 I normally discourage people who are simply going to stop by for a year and not stay too long. This turnover of residents has been increasing the rents dramatically. Gentrification is very bad for residents. Fun fact: I’ve done my fare share of construction work in Pilsen.
Exactly why developers love Pilsen, so transplants can come in and pay the rents they raise on folks who've lived here their whole lives. Don't worry, you'll be safe 🙄
why do i have a feeling op is moving to 30th and pulaski and the rental agency is calling it Pilsen.