Originally posted by @Matthew Olszak:
@Joe Splitrock Such stunning statistics...a less than 0.0003 chance of being shot. People in countries like Germany @ 0.7 homicides caused by guns per 100k persons likely look at ALL of us in the USA, you great folks in Sioux Falls included, and wonder how you/we survive with 3.43 firearm deaths per 100k persons here in the USA as a whole. Do you think that's a fair analysis of where you live?
Here in Chicago, demographics are extremely segregated and violence along with it, enough so that I'm surprised the federal gov't hasn't made more of an issue of the segregation (but that's a soap box for me to stand on in a different thread). Even within our neighborhoods, the violence is concentrated to certain areas/blocks of certain bad neighborhoods. I can understand how an outsider may view Chicago based on the sensationalist media reports, but I can tell you as a resident and broker who works throughout a number of the "war zones", these stats and stories you read about are extremely concentrated to certain areas while the rest of the neighborhoods flourish.
I'm not trying to paint a daisy-field picture and ignore the violence, but rather to put the stories you receive via the media into perspective. I'm also certainly not desensitized, but am rather unaffected, having not been shot along with roughly 2,717,045 other people here, assuming your and @Erica Rodriguez's numbers are accurate.
In both cases - in the neighborhoods that flourish and in those that are challenged - there are opportunities to invest based upon your goals. And that's one of the things I love about Chicago, we've got some great places to dump money into for the long-term appreciation, and just a couple miles away you can pick up a place and hope to double your money in a few years just on rents.
People aren't fleeing the violence like asylum-seekers from Syria. For most of us nothing has changed, the bad areas have just gotten worse. I'd chock up this ever small decrease in population to the natural cycle of folks moving to and from the suburbs, and even then question the accuracy depending on what this data was based upon.
Thank you for your optimism and for sticking up for our beautiful city. It is very encouraging.
After reading everyones posts I'm becoming less concerned with population decline. As I said, I'm a young investor trying to see the bigger picture.
I see so much potential in the challenged areas and hope to cash in on the long term appreciation you speak of. I grew up in Cicero, so I'm a bit desensitized to gang violence. I know I have the stomach to go into or near the "war zones" (as does my husband) to not only invest but proactively transform the neighborhood. Podcast 008 with Al Williamson has some creative ideas about how to do this in inner cities.
I hope more investors will take a closer look at 60624 and 60623 areas so we slowly can make these communities more safe and desirable.
I know the area around the Garfield Park Conservatory is going to transform back into its former glory. It my take 5, 10 or even 15 years but it will happen.
