Anything North of 12th street should be pretty decent depending how far west you go. I think 1000 and polk would be a pretty close/good spot. In general I would try to stay northeast of 18th street and Ashland. The school's "main" address is around 18th and polk so imagine how close 1000 (10th) and polk would be. I'd try google mapping most places first to see what the area looks like outside of the apartment. Chicago is EXTREMELY patchy in general. In other words, the physical street might be nice but you might not want to walk around at night 3 blocks over. Many areas are like this including the south loop where I live, which is starting to be a very expensive area. I feel perfectly fine in like a 4 block radius of my house but I am still about 5 minutes driving from a couple projects and section 8 housing so you just have to be careful.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask about locations. I live downtown and just put a deposit down in the west loop by the river. I'm sure there are a couple people that know the downtown and UIC area well enough to help you out.
Good luck! Trust me it's stressful for us that are even already in the city and know the city well.
Patchy is a really great adjective. I've found islands of beautiful rental property surrounded by boarded up housing. Also, mybubbles, we crossed paths! I was at the 2nd UMed interview as well. Friday won't come soon enough!
The area around around campus is as safe as most other areas of Chicago and no particular street off Taylor is a more shady area than the next. That being said, I'm on the UIC Crime Alert listserv and its hampering my ability to look at the Tri-Taylor area objectively. For example, today's crime alert message was near a property I was looking at. Its one of the more intense alerts than the more often heard 'grab your backpack and run' crimes. I've pasted the alert below:
On May 24, before 11:30 p.m., two female UIC students were victims of an attempted armed robbery off-campus in the 1300 block of West Lexington.
The victims stated that five male subjects had walked past them when one offender doubled back from behind. He grabbed one victim's book bag as the other victim fled. The first victim clung to her pack, and the offender produced a handgun and pointed it at her face. When the victim screamed, the offender fled the scene without the pack. Both victims returned to their apartment and, because they were distressed, delayed reporting this incident for over 15 minutes. They did not suffer physical injury.
***UIC Police strongly recommend COMPLYING with an armed offender whose intent appears to be property or valuables. UIC Police also recommend REPORTING CRIME PROMPTLY to police.***
Other security tips:
--be aware of your surroundings
--try to travel in groups when possible, particularly after dark
--use well-lit walkways
--on campus, look for the location of the nearest emergency call box (there are more than 1,500 across campus)
--the emergency number for UIC Police is 5-5555 or 312-355-5555, which should be set on speed-dial on your cell phone
The main offender was described as a black male in his 20's, 5-11, 160 pounds, of medium complexion, with black hair. He was wearing a gray hoodie and in possession of a black semi-automatic handgun. His cohorts were described as two to five black males, all in their 20's.
The crime will be investigated by UIC Police/CPD Joint Robbery Task Force. Anyone with information is asked to call UIC Police at (312) 996-2830.
