Roseland

I grew up in Roseland in the 50s-60s. Great place at the time, like Mayberry RFD. Visiting Chicago in the past few years, I've taken the train from the far south area through Roseland. It makes me very sad to see what Roseland has become. (From the safety of the train window.) Being a retired police officer, I would not even drive through that area without being armed. Of course, I've seen much more in my career than most people.

Not my favorite neighborhood – the landscape/architecture in the area is sparse and banal, and even if legend has it that improvements are being made, Roseland is still a neighborhood of few opportunities. The crime rate has stayed high, and someone with better options is better off not moving in – or even visiting.

There isn’t much out here by way of commercial activity – just a lot of run-down residences. It’s not a place that I consider safe, worth visiting, or even worth driving through. There is some debate as to whether Roseland is actually one of the worse-off neighborhoods in Chicago (Englewood is definitely on that list), but I’m putting it on my list. Lately there has been a lot of stuff in the news about how neighborhoods like this see a lot more murders (mostly due to gang violence) during summer weekends – a scary fact to have to face.

If you can avoid Roseland at all (and you should be able to do so), please do. You’ll be that much safer.

Roseland is on the far South Side of Chicago, and I’d have to say that it’s on the lower end of neighborhoods in the city. There are too many boarded up houses for my tastes. There are a fair number of houses that aren’t boarded up, but really, one or two on a street make the whole row of houses look bad.
Crime is pretty high in the area, and while I don’t know that it’s the worst in Chicago, Roseland has it’s share of problems. There are some nice looking parks in the area, but you get a little closer, and start thinking about going for a walk, and you get a bad feeling.
The prices on many of the homes are very reasonable, and maybe if you want a home to clean up and make livable, it’s the area for you. There are some really cheap places to live, but then there’s a reason. I wouldn’t want to live next to a house that’s boarded up. You never know what might be in there. There could easily be something illegal going on.
There are a handful of decent places to eat, all of them being fairly casual affairs. You won’t find any of the upscale restaurants, or even great specialty places that Chicago is known for.
Nightlife is similarly sparse, without any fun bars or clubs that you’d want to have some fun at. There are some low key bars where you might be happy to be a regular just looking for a drink and to get out of the house, but I wouldn’t bring a date.
You can go shopping on Michigan Ave., and while the really good shopping is North of Roseland, there are stores to be had for those so inclined.
I mostly think of Roseland as a place where if I was driving through the neighborhood with my mom, she’d put her purse on the floor of the car just in case. I don’t think it’s that bad, but it has that affect on people.