What areas should I avoid in Chicago?

I don't think the guy above me has a clue what he's talking about. If Streets 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 actually made any sense at all the addresses would still be in downtown Chicago, right in the middle of the Loop which is a safe business district. In downtown Chicago it's actually pretty difficult to walk into an area you wouldn't want to be in, so don't worry about that.

The neighborhoods around ORD are just fine, but you want to stay east of the Kennedy once you hit Irving Park. There are some okay neighborhoods like Logan Square & Wicker Park, but overall it's not worth it.

The South Side is actually fine to visit.

There are some sketchy areas from downtown south to say Sox Park/US Cellular Field and may as far down as Hyde Park (Museum of Science & Industry). There's nothing south of Hyde Park to visit anyhow.

The neighborhoods you have to worry about are Englewood which is south of Hyde Park, and Garfield Park which is pretty far west of downtown just before you get to Oak Park.

Overall you have nothing to worry about in Chicago. It's fairly obvious when you're in a crappy neighborhood, and really there's nothing in those neighborhoods in the first place...

Areas I would avoid totally:

1. Englewood

2. Austin

3. Garfield Park

4. Lawndale

5. Roseland

6. Chicago Lawn

7. Woodlawn

So-So or Changing neighborhoods, that I would personally not visit often. Nothing to offer, either.

1. West Lawn

2. West Elsdon

3. Gage Park

4. Marquette Park (just moved-Thank God!)

5. Scottsdale

6. Ashburn/Gresham

7. Chatham

8. Avalon Park

9. Bridgeport/Canaryville (some parts OK)

10. Back of the Yards

11. Brighton Park

12. Morgan Park

13. Little Village

14. Pilsen

15. South Shore (actually an OK one, but if you're white, you just might stick out a bit if you mind that. I don't mean to be steotypical, but great chicken places here! For reall...)

Top areas to visit

The Loop

Lincoln Park (good bar scene)

Near North side

Visit some museums, please. Museum of Science and Industry is my favorite in Hyde Park.

There is no where in Chicago that is safe. Anyone encouraging you to go to Lincoln Park assumes you are a yuppie, frat boy that only wants to drink overpriced beer and look at Sportscenter.

Perhaps this is your first time in a big city or maybe you've had some bad experiences before, but I don't think you have to worry about your personal safety. Just use common sense, don't drink too much to not know what is going on around you, and don't "avoid" neighborhoods that anyone here is warning you about. They've never been there and have no idea what these neighborhoods offer. All of them, even those on the South side have something that you might like.

Here's a good rule of thumb: most of the "bad" neighborhoods don't have any reason for you to go there in the first place. There aren't any museums, hot clubs, etc. in the "bad" areas so why would anyone go there in the first place? In fact, I'd say you were in more trouble in the so-called "good" areas, the ones with all of the hot clubs. The thugs and bad guys know that there are drunk people coming out at night with lots of money, so guess what? They wait around there. There are incidents every summer about a shooting or a robber near the club areas. Forget about the "bad" neighborhoods, worry about partying ANYWHERE at night. Bad stuff happens near the bars in Wrigleyville all the time, and that's one of the "good" areas. Figure out what you want to do, then come back and ask what the surrounding neighborhood is like.

As far as the neighborhood of O'Hare, there really isn't any. The closest place to hang out near O'Hare is the Rosemont area and most of the places there are hotel bars. Boring. And downtown can be fun, but the later it gets, the more the thugs come out. Homeless guys have been known to confront people there late at night who refuse to give them a buck (http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/aug/28/loc...

Again, don't worry about the "bad" neighborhoods. People telling you to avoid places like Englewood fail to realize that you'd have no reason to go there anyway.

Chicago is a great big city to visit. My family goes there often and we feel the most safe on the north side near the lake, Lincoln Park and Old Town etc.

Avoid pretty much all of the Southside with the exception of Beverly and Mt Greenwood. Parts of the North side are bad too butthat's kind of hit or miss.

u should aviod like the south side where the streets are 1,2,3,4,5,. alot of the north side is safe and ohare nothin really happens downtown to much traffic