Pilsen

We now live in civilized safe and neighbor respecting Bridgeport.

What attracted us to Pilsen 8 years ago?
Proximity to loop and lake.
Less crowded than north side areas.
Not as commercialized, small businesses.
Medium rent rates , not the case in 2016.

We have resided in 12 Chicago neighborhoods.
Pilsen experience was the worst

BEWARE OF LAW BREAKING CHEATING LANDLORDS
One landlord, 23 year Chicago Firefighter, was going to Mexico with a friend periodically and smuggling
people into the country.
18th St and Carpenter.
I do not care about his smuggling business but he was putting as many as 8 adults and babies at a time in a
2nd floor 400 sq ft apartment.
Then come winter ,we start getting insane gas heat bills.
Called Peoples Gas and they said "Nope yours is the only meter there"
Long story short he was heating the smuggler apt and the stairwell on our gas.
When we busted him and started to move out I made him cough up $1100.00 recompense or I file a police report.
He paid but we were threatened by his teenage sons until we left.
Also:
A criminal child sexual assault happened in the apartment upstairs
I reported the baby screaming when left alone with the 10 year old cousin.
DCFS came out and angrily told us "There is no problem"
6 months later and after we moved there was a news report.
The now 11 year old violent boy was arrested for repeated sexual assaults on his 3 year old cousin.
They were related to the landlord

We moved 2 blocks away to Miller Street.
Lived there 4 years, shootouts on a regular from a long time dope house next door that DIST 12 Police
and Detectives were 'friendly' with as we and neighbors witnessed time and time again.
Very stressful, our pets became ill at times from the loud drug house and constant shootings.

RIPPED off again for electricity..to the tune of $300 the first year.
Landlord had his workshop power and a heat fan for an apt downstairs on our line.
Over time the drunk and violent husband left and the wife was even more ambitious about stealing our electricity.
Before the husband left I confronted him about it.
He became very verbally violent.
The next morning my car had a $600 dent in a side panel from a pipe or some object.

Pilsen apartments are often DANGEROUSLY out of code.
Especially wiring. You are really taking a chance unless
the building is owned by a known realty company

12th District police are terrible.
More reserved handicapped parking spots than any area of Chicago.
Triple than most. Alderman CAN arrange for those in payment of favors.

Racist Mexicans.
Yes, Mexican hatred of Caucasians, Americans can be brutal at times.
They openly display this.
The most favorite way is spitting harshly as you walk by.
Sitting on the porch and 2 Mexican men are walking up the block and take the time
to spit in front on the sidewalk. That as on a regular basis.
It is a depressing and filthy neighborhood with high rates of domestic violence, gang violence and petty crime.
Trash stacked up outside of garbage cans in every alley. Go look.

Some areas have more educated homeowners and are less garaged up.
If you are thinking of moving to Pilsen:
Go ahead and take a drive/bike inspect areas several times before you decide.
I had no idea how depressed we had become about our environment in Pilsen until we
moved to a ward of people who care and tend to their neighborhood.
We have lived in 12 neighborhoods in Chicago. None high income .

18th St. My 'hood. Listen, if you want to experience Chicago for real, get your butt on the Pink Line and ride it to 18th St. Hop off and walk around near Harrison Park, Damen Ave, and relish in the fact that there exists a true to life complex racial mix that has learned to completely co inhabit in this city which is so often described as one of racial/ethnic separation. While yes the majority might be Mexican, Mexicans are open as long as you are. They are hard working Americans and to be god damn celebrated. Theres UIC nearby so young people, and parking easily, CTA Pink Line, buses, and this is where it is at in 2016. I don't mean to "blow it up" but truth be told, Pilsen is the best neighborhood in Chicago.

Close proximity to downtown is a plus for Pilsen.
Good grocery stores with low prices.
It is a good hood for people like us of low income jobs.
Rents are slowly increasing and for no good reason I can see.
Interesting mix of people.
Decent local library.
Alderman's assistant is good at replying to questions or issues
you may contact that office about.
Laid back neighborhood.
Lots of families and kids.


CONS
Lots of gang/macho culture.
Bike patrols where removed 3 years ago and yuo will rarely see a police cruiser
anymore either. We joke and say "Did u see that? A cruiser!"
We hear gunshots at 1 , 2 and 3 am in our gang heavy area near Morgan and Cullerton.
You will never see an area of the city with more\reserved handicapped spots.

If you rent an apartment in Pilsen beware of dangerous and faulty wiring/electricity
A building inspector was in place for years here who took bribes.
He was tossed out 5 years or ago and now you see legit permits are on display.
Many landlords refuse to abide by Chicago tenants rights laws and will enter
your apartment when you are gone whenever they feel like it.
Honestly there is a small portion of Mexican residents who don't take kindly
to Caucasian(life long Chicagoans) moving onto their block.
Choose your block carefully..
Many people of our ilk move in and then are gone 6 months alter??
We are middle aged working couple, residing in Pilsen for 7 years now.

I have lived in Pilsen for about three months as I was sort of priced out of Logan Square. I've had friends in Pilsen for years so I'd spent a decent amount of time in the area before I moved. The two biggest things i notice to be problematic are the cleanliness and the noise levels. My neighbors to both the right and left are huge buildings filled with kids and about 3 adults each. This makes for total chaos, trash wise and noise wise. It seems people suck it up and deal with the smells, mostly i am referring to the alleys, which accumulate an unfathomable amount of crazy trash. I know it's a city, it's supposed to be smelly and dirty...but this is crazy. I could write crazy stories about the stuff i find in my backyard. Summer is also tricky in Pilsen because the fireworks never stop. never. If you are sensitive to noise or can't just crank up the volume and mask it this could be really annoying. I personally would not find Pilsen quite as charming without all of it's loud block parties and jumpy castles. Sometimes i feel like i'm living in Sesame Street. As a girl who lives alone, i feel quite safe. I have classes late and have to come home late at night, and still feel pretty comfortable. Rent is cheap, and it's way closer to downtown than Logan Square. I do miss the boulevards though!


P.S. I also find this neighborhood's lack of trees to be a downer.