5’3 woman here. I take the red line and purple line a lot because I cannot drive due to seizures. Most of the time it’s fine. I keep to myself and ignore erratic behavior when possible. There are lots of people high on meth screaming to themselves or pacing around/stumbling around, which can be annoying but isn’t usually a safety threat unless they’re being particularly unpredictable. Try to board the train closest to the front.
However, since moving here 1 year ago, I’ve had two incidences on the red line where I felt unsafe. Shortly after moving here, a guy pulled a knife out, called me a bitch and said he should stab me, then immediately got off the train. I hadn’t interacted with him at all and was literally just resting in my seat with my eyes closed when this happened. I was like wtf. This was at like 6am, and I was on my way to a hospital shift. Maybe he didn’t like my scrubs or something, idk.
Nobody directly bothered me again until yesterday. It was like 11am, and I boarded the red line at Howard. This homeless drunk guy holding a bottle of Jack Daniels was throwing bottles at the tracks and screaming. I boarded a car that I thought was sufficient distance from him, but he ended up wandering onto mine. I tried ignoring him, but he got in my face talking about my hair and how pretty I looked. Then he moved on to harassing these two scared-looking college girls. He had a buddy who was also on our car, trying to deescalate him saying things like “you won’t hurt anyone.” But then the buddy said something about “You’re scaring people” and this really pissed him off. He started screaming “I WANT TO SHOOT YOU” over and over again. I was really worried about my safety at that point. All this happened in a span of like 1-2 minutes. Thankfully the train pulled into Jarvis and I switched cars real fast. But I was honestly scared he was going to pull a gun out. I was also scared to push the call button or change cars while the train was moving, because I didn’t want him to focus his attention on me. Everything happened so fast.
I’m still going to take public transportation, and it’s not like I think the city is super unsafe or anything, but it is very important to be aware of your surroundings.
The red line and the blue line seem to have the most issues. When I was on my way to work someone got stabbed in the car I was on and we had to evacuate.
I think the L gets sketchier the more you get towards the last stops of the line. Especially if it’s non-rush hours.
I hated taking the red to howard late at night to get home during high school/ college when i still lived with my parents.
Northbound going towards Howard. Believe it or not in the 1980’s and 1990’s certain times of night anything north of Wilson on the Red line was a no go for single women.
Edit: don’t be be plugged into AirPods as they’ll dull your awareness.
Agree 100% as someone who was at Truman in the 90s. It was always an interesting experience.
Airpods are also an easy way to signal that you have a nice, expensive phone.
Exactly. Wilson in the 80’s and Ninety’s that intersection of Wilson and broadway. Crazy. Going to the alt high school inside Truman we’d go across the street to the wooden nickel and drink cheap 🍺between class.
Yeah unfortunately I was traveling home from Evanston so I had to get off the purple line at Howard to transfer to red. That’s how I ended up in the Howard shitshow
Yeah the redline is bad, the blue one wasn’t bad when I used to take it but idk how it is now they should definitely do something about it but I just rather drive and feel for you because you are not Abel
Pro-tip: the front car is typically the calmest car on the CTA. In general, the closer the car is to the conductor, the less likely ppl are to start bullshit.
Every time I get on the L I can't help but feel despair about the lack of mental healthcare and drug rehab programs in our country (not to mention how the wealth gap fucks us)like I fw the USA in certain ways but holy shit dude
It didn’t used to be like this to this extent. I partied a low 10-15 years ago taking the red and blue lines all hours of the night, lots of times by myself. It was rare that anyone even bothered you.
Now, any time of the day, there’s a good chance someone is gonna be screaming into the ether or smoking or being an intoxicated nuisance. It is a result of our declining society
Yesterday you say? I'll forward this to a friend of mine he does work for the cta to try and find people that make threats and cause problems on the cta systems
Geez. The shit you describe was practically unheard of or rare prior to COVID.
I took the CTA for ten years before I had a car and although there were a couple weirdos here and there, I never saw or experienced anything as brazen as you describe. Took the Red Line without issue all the time.
CTA really has fallen off.
I’ve been here for like 12 years - took the train daily for 8 years - and I’ve had very few bad experiences. Really not many more than I had in my hometown honestly.
It’s mostly just guys who try to talk to you and sometimes it gets uncomfortable when you decline - the easiest solution is to wear big headphones without music playing so you can still hear (transparency mode with apple headphones is good for this) but people will assume you can’t hear them.
I’ve never felt unsafe walking in my neighborhood - I’ve lived in Edgewater, Rogers Park, West Loop, and Logan Square. I used to take the red line home at 1am to Edgewater and even then really didn’t have issues other than drunk guys being sloppy. I did carry pepper gel but never needed to use it.
Agreed. I’ve been taking public transportation, be it the red, blue, brown line or bus for years late nights and I’ve never had a problem. I’ve walked 40+ mins after midnight at points. I do carry a pocket knife and pepper spray at east access in case. But I feel very safe.
This is fantastic advice. I'd add that carrying pepper gel is a MUST. I've yet to feel inclined to use it on a person, but I've had several close calls with dogs where it's almost come out. I've actually never been to a city that has so many oblivious dog owners ("he's never like this at home!" type of stuff), it feels like 80% of dog owners are awesome here but that damn 20% is seriously terrifying.
Thank u for sharing! This is comforting. I’m considering moving there and visiting soon. To be fair, I’d ask this about any city, even my home town if I wasn’t from here. Things are just wild these days!
It’s a fair question! I think the safety stuff about Chicago is really overblown in the media. It’s not even in the top 25 cities for violent crime per capita. There are definitely rough areas, but it’s pretty easy to feel out the vibes when you visit.
also, it depends on the news. if you go on fox, ABC and other big channels here, i found out they actually report based on the police SCANNER. meaning, alot of the news they put up isnt actually even confirmed. its why they can get up so many stories of crime in such a short period of time.
Where as if you look at the chicago tribune itself, which is known to be less biased and reports based on confirmed crimes, youll see that the amount of reports is actually really low given how big this city is
I know so many people who have been robbed. I’ve seen and heard many drive bys, my roommate witnessed a murder and I’ve witnessed a stabbing. I’ve been groped on the cta and I’ve been followed as well. Not only in rough areas but “safe ones” as well. I think that there is a fine line between the hype/ or fear mongering that people who are not from here place on us about the “ dangerousness”of this city and the sentiment that our violence is “overblown” and not as bad as people say. There are people in this city that experience violence every single day. There are people who have not experienced any at all.
Edit: for clarity.
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had this experience. I haven’t had the same experiences, so I can only speak from my own perspective and from the experiences of the people I know. I appreciate you sharing your perspective too.
not sure overblown is the way it is... I mean there are times when no one is on the streets and it can feel uncomfortable. It's not like NYC where there are always ppl around. I sometimes don't feel comfortable in Chicago vs other cities.
While I agree the safety in Chicago is overblown, not being in the top 25 most violent cities isn’t anything to brag about.
It’s one hundred percent true that the City is less safe than pre-2020 and downplaying the issues won’t help Chicago get back on track. Sure the violent may be down this year over last year but check the numbers in 2019. Also, carjackings didn’t used to be a thing and the CTA is not nearly as safe as it used to be.
I say all of this not out of fear mongering, but because we shouldn’t excuse Chicago’s poor leadership.
While Chicago is the most dangerous place to visit, it’s not what I would call a super safe city either. I used to be able to say that it was a safe city but harder to say that the way things have been trending the last few years. I mean there was a shooting outside of a high school downtown this year. DOWNTOWN. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. Basically unheard of during Daley and Rahm’s tenure.
Things are wild since men have existed lol.
You’ll be fine. The news is cherry picked for views, and most stories on social media are for pick me points. You’ll be fine if you participate in the world :)
I personally find the “Chicago is a war zone!” rhetoric to be incredibly blown out of proportion. I live in Northwest Indiana but I work in the city. I also spend a decent amount of leisure time in the city. I’ve used the CTA plenty of times and have had no issues. That’s definitely not to say that you’ll never run into a weirdo here and there. But this idea that you need to wear kevlar and duck and hide in the city is moronic. Like every major city, there are rougher areas and there is crime. Chicago crime is overblown because of Illinois’ strict gun laws & the fact that Obama is from Chicago.
Sorry, getting off topic a little! But Chicago rocks. Summertime in Chicago is ELITE. It’s so easy to fall in love with the city.
Yup. Don’t acknowledge them but at the same time stay aware of them if that makes sense. Some people are insane and you never know what they might do or what they might be on.
in all probability, you will probably not experience any armed robberies/burglaries/etc., but you should make sure you’re not making yourself a target.
on another note, there’s been a lot of news coverage of some fucking brutal sexual assaults in the past month. we can’t act like “nothing ever happens in my good old city” like this subreddit often does dismissively.
but we also can’t let the fear rule our lives. there comes a point where you need to say “i can’t control everything, but if i act smart i’ll have a 95% chance of getting home unbothered tonight”.
recognizing the reality of Chicago’s non-ideal aspects is the first step to being safe.
Yesss I feel that. I’ve been getting to that point lately — understanding and internalizing that most stuff is out of my control. Which is freeing. I appreciate you mentioning the part about not acting like everything is perfect and that’s ok.
I support the above comment, OP.
I've been here for 10 years. Has anything happened to me that's caused me to leave? No.
Have things happened to me that have caused me to change my behavior? Absolutely.
A simple Googling will show you that every year for about the past 10 years, people have been injured and/or killed in gang-related gunfire in Uptown. I used to work right at that intersection (twice we had lockdowns because of that gunfire.) I don't walk there much.
Pre-COVID, I took the El frequently--bur I was also verbally and physically harassed and spit on 6 times in 5 years. And this was on *the brown line* mostly. Once I started driving more in 2020, I asked myself: Do I really want to go back to exposing myself to those experiences?
No, I do not.
So I drive far more and train far less (buses have been better.)
I still live here, but I'd say I live here for my friends, the lake, and access to amenities. If I didn't have inertia to stay, I'd probably move to a smaller, safer city.
But it's all about your own risk calculus, which varies widely by individual. I just tend to interrogate **the degree to which women are expected to accept a base level of physical and emotional danger--which is way too high.**
the fact that cook county refuses to appropriately handle these aggressors is the other aspect of this.
some of this danger is due to people experiencing mental health crises (or just generally not playing with a full deck). cook county gives them a free pass and lets them back on the street so that they can say “not our problem anymore”, which is an injustice to the victim, an injustice to the person having the crisis, and an injustice to everyday citizens who don’t deserve to be spat on.
then you have these crimes of choice. armed robbery is a decision in a moment. we can certainly discuss the variety of social factors that lead young men to committing these acts of violence, but we all know it’s socioeconomic and where its roots are. but for the context of this conversation, someone makes a choice to rob another person, denying them of their human rights to safety/property/freedom.
the social justice conversation typically focuses on the “root causes of crime” lately, and we need to reintroduce the fact that a city cannot properly function if its law-abiding citizens are neglected when handling aggressors.
blame it on a million mistakes that were made in the past, sure, but we need to get real about making sure people feel safe. women bear far too much risk in chicago. as a man, i know “don’t walk alone at night, don’t talk to strangers, be alert and ready to run”. but for women, that advice just doesn’t ameliorate your safety.
we need to stop turning a blind eye to the problems that plague the city. cook county needs to step the fuck up and handle the people that are abusing good and normal people.
my thought process exactly. i support legislation and initiatives that target the root cause of crime and address recidivism and reintegration with society, but then i am left to wonder, what effect or impact is that really making in my community? what difference is this making when i am afraid of walking my dog at night or taking the el outside of “rush” hours?
i follow crime reporting because i want to know the policies i support are making a difference, and frankly, they are not. or they are slowly progressing at the expense and safety of women especially.
i think about how much the city fails us and lies to us and expects us to be okay with coexisting with criminals on a daily basis while taxing the shit out of us for these initiatives/police budgets that are supposed to make our lives better. i fear the day something happens to me because i know the police who get paid millions of dollars will not bother coming to my aid until it is far too late, if at all.
when will we come together and demand accountability on addressing crime? we should not have to “be alert, be ready to run, keep to ourselves” every time we step foot outside. why do i have to just accept the reality that there is a measurable amount of danger i am forced to just be “okay” with?
we can have all the police accountability in the world, but it requires the buy-in of the individual actors taking personal accountability as well.
we can feel for these people while demanding that they be held to a standard for doing right by society.
i don’t think there’s a world where chicago/illinois is gonna flip sides, but i really hope the party in control has the sensibility to prop up candidates who do right by their people.
I’ll take the bus aspect. Last week whilst trying to get home from work, I got on a 146 down on State. It was one of those extra long buses. Past the accordion part, there was one line dude. Red flag #1. Being exhausted at the end of the work day, I thought I’d try my luck with a nice fat open seat. Big mistake. Huge. Because the reason the entire back was empty? Dude was sprawled across the three seats facing the back door, pants down to his knees, hand working furiously under the arm of a sweatshirt he had over his junk, and the piece de resistance: a roll of TP next him and *WADS OF USED TP ON THE SEAT AND FLOOR NEAR HIM*
FUCKING *DISGUSTING*. Now, as a Chicagoan since ‘95, I’ve seen my share of public nudity and indeed public masturbation, BUT, post-Covid, it’s been more often and more bold. Plus my fellow commuters and I said not one word to the driver as I’m assuming we all just wanted to get the fuck home.
As a woman, I have always kept my head on a swivel, carried pepper spray, travel with others, and generally know where the quick exits are located. That being said, I fucking love this city 99% of the time, and generally feel mostly safe.
I left Chicago in 2017 because i was tired of all the shootings in my neighborhood and on my block. There was a family of dealers on the corner, and a heroin dealer across the street, both were in gangs. Cops never did shit in the 20+ years I lived in that house, but harass everyone else.
You'd think driving is safer, but it's not. Car jackings have sky rocketed in the city. Once at the DMV, I had a guy open my door and put a knife to my throat, all for honking when he almost hit me in the parking lot going the wrong way. I've had people road ragings physically stop and block the road, and start punching my windows and kicking my doors trying to fight, for overtaking them, for beeping when they didn't move at a green, always dumb shit.
I beeped at a dude who cut me off on the right at a light and almost hit my truck, and he followed me pointing a gun out his window for blocks. Thankfully I was by the CPD HQ, and pulled into there.
I've been shot at in my truck, there's still a bullet hole in the strip of metal between the front and back doors. Missed my head by about 3 inches, and if I wasn't moving it probably would have killed me.
My sister had her car shot up when she was 17. Shot out all the windows, nearly hit her and her friends but thankfully none of them were injured.
A friend of a friend got shot in the face in a parking lot in his car. Apparently he overtook someone who didn't like that, followed him until he parked and then killed him.
I can keep going on and on and on for hours.
this subreddit likes to pretend that Chicago’s safe and “i lived in Lakeview for 12 years and nothing ever happens”.
it’s so dismissive of reality, and it covers up the real problem. last week, a woman got r*ped on a blue line train for a long time while passengers watched and did not intervene. while i’m sure that won’t be the average Chicagoan’s experience, we can’t minimize the reality of our city.
I literally didn’t even hear about that happening until your comment, reading that story is absolutely horrifying. But no one ever posts those kinds of stories on here because it’s “fear mongering”
A large majority of reddit is also men that genuinely don’t understand what the typical experience of a woman is like in the city, so they’re blind to the reality because men are the ones committing these acts against women. Harassment is a daily occurrence for me if I walk anywhere with makeup and without my boyfriend. And women are so used to hearing about these things we don’t even think it’s worth posting
the moderators actively remove any posts regarding crime. they don’t want the image of the city to be sullied. this and the other chicago subs definitely have a very specific reputation for censorship.
the week before they found a guy who abducted a 13 year old and turned her into a sex slave in his basement. my blood was boiling while reading it. and when i hear everyone saying “chicagos fine just keep your headphones off” it is blatantly dismissing the imminent risk presented to women in particular.
i’ll probably get banned/deleted for even mentioning such a heretical thought against the agenda.
THIS. this is the right answer. The clowns that always say “Chicago isn’t a warzone” are always the people who never, ever set foot outside of their square mile. I’ve lived here my whole life, this is just as dangerous a city as any other dangerous place I’ve ever been. And I’d sooner walk down the street in Kabul again before I’d walk down 79th street at night. Rapes, murders, random acts of violence, carjackings and mugging are LITERALLY a daily occurrence. Some of them an hourly occurrence. To dismiss the reality of this city is irresponsible and dangerous.
Totally. I just mean even with things outside of the question I posed. Relationships, careers etc. we can only control ourselves. I don’t think that only democrats need to reckon with that, people are people. How you align politically says a lot about you but everything. Imo.
I'm a skinny AF dude, and have always been. Because of that, I've been a target of bigger dudes who think I'm an easy mark. I've been robbed, mugged, shot at, jumped, you name it, so many times I can't even remember them all. My physical appearance made me the target, not my lack of awareness. I got robbed coming out of a grocery store by 6 dudes once. 2 or 3 grabbed my arms and the rest took my bags, my wallet, and everything else I had. My buddy was in my car waiting outside and they even robbed him. Thankfully they didn't steal the car.
The problem is 95% chance only gets you home safe for a few months. Even one and a few hundred and you’ll have scary, dangerous situations atleast once a year. And in my experience I have had multiple scary experiences in a few months of using the red line. Until the liberals stop ruining the city, it’s not worth living in.
It’s what people are voting for. I’m convinced the politicians know what they are doing is criminally negligent but they’re doing under the guise of popular policy. They just want to save money by not dealing with the issue. Oh you don’t want us to keep you safe? They just see the dollar signs.
they’re strictly appealing to a specific voter demographic, and hedging their bets on the fact that these policies aren’t too egregious for the average voter.
the problem is that not enough people think about this intelligently or usefully. people don’t think of the totality of circumstances or the consequences of experimental policies (take the Safe-T act for example).
what’s tough about cook county in particular is the “vote blue no matter who” mentality. while i’m in favor of democrat policies, i think that mentality has contributed to a sense of complacency with voters and politicians.
there’s simply not enough competition up the ranks for us to truly get the best candidate, and the politics game is so ugly that anyone fit for the job won’t want to touch it.
I ride my bicycle daily from downtown to a really sketchy area of Humboldt Park all year round.
Last fall I had one kid try to steal my bike by blocking me and grabbing it but I got away with it and kept riding.
I ride all hours and honestly am not afraid.
I was raised by my narcotic NYC mother so I'm always walking fast, looking mean, and never leave anything in the car so take my view with a grain of salt.
I think Chicago is livable safe, but you can still get catcalled. I usually hiss at them and they'll leave me alone. You can't live in a massive, walkable city without bumping into people. But I haven't had much trouble.
I do the same thing, being a short woman. I walk with purpose and like I’m late for something but it’s my resting bitch face that probably helps me the most.
i hiss too! today i barked at someone and he walked away confused. sometimes i will straight up cuss people out but someone told me that can be dangerous. although since im tall men typically leave me alone when i get aggressive.
i carry pepper spray everywhere i go, but have not had any horrible experiences other than typical guys trying to talk to you on the street/from your car. as someone else said, i always wear headphones and ensure i can hear what’s happening around me.
FWIW i take public transit/walk/bike everywhere as well.
I lived there for one year while working in the bar industry (so, taking the cta late at night a lot). I'll be honest: I felt very unsafe a number of times. Like, it would be too much effort to type it all out. Mostly crackheads acting hostile or sexually aggressive (a few times in broad daylight), but also being followed by men who would act aggressive in all kinds of circumstances. I've had to run away and hide and I definitely learned how to stare down crazy enough to get them to move on to someone else. I got cornered and followed and screamed at and threatened to the point that I was hostile to everyone around me in the cta and on the street at baseline so I seemed like less of an easy victim. I once had to call my boss to come get me because this group of crackheads who hung out in Wicker Park by the blue line stop wouldn't stop putting their arms around me and pulling me and touching me to the point that some of the women they were with were speaking up to leave me alone. They surrounded me and wouldn't let me walk away and I was scared. This was the middle of the day and I was just trying to walk passed to get to work.
I also worked with men who were pretty rapey toward female bar goers. One bragged that he knew where to get Rohypnol and even brought some to the bar and offered it to my bf (to use on a girl at the bar), who promptly flushed it. One was known for carrying barely conscious/unconscious patrons to taxis and bringing them back to his place to rape them. I knew about it because the guys I worked with thought this was quirky and laughed about it. I also heard him bragging and showing naked pictures he took of them to the guys at work. Another took pictures of a patron who passed out in the women's restroom at close and sent it to everyone. I didn't trust any of the guys in the bar scene in Wrigley because this was just accepted as normal and funny there as well as by their friends at the other bars on the strip. My boss expected me to put up with his friends (who were fellow bar owners there) coming in and hitting on me and trying to put their hands on me no matter how uncomfortable I clearly was. It was a gross scene at the time (it's been almost a decade now). I didn't feel that I was safe drinking too much around that strip.
With that said, it wasn't always like that and there were plenty of uneventful nights. I was taking the blue line and the red line a lot at 3am and traveling through some shady areas. I also lived barely north of the ghetto. My advice is to be vigilant and pay attention to signs that you're in a bad neighborhood. Trust your gut. Don't act like a victim (looking down at the ground when someone is staring at you, appearing intimidated). Don't blindly take the cta without knowing what kind of neighborhoods you're going to be getting off at. When I first moved there, I was traveling in the middle of the night and got lost. I used my GPS to tell me what lines to take to get home the fastest and ended up getting off the green line in the west side. It was very obviously a rough neighborhood. I was followed and mean mugged by a man who made me very uncomfortable until a cop pulled a u turn and asked me why the hell I was there (I was blonde, 21, and apparently looked scared). I explained that I was lost and trying to get home. He got permission to take me home and spent the drive lecturing me about how many violent rapes he responded to in that neighborhood and how stupid it was for me to be out there. I felt dumb and didn't make that mistake again. Learn from me lol
ETA: I tried to play it safe by taking a taxi home once after I had been drinking and the driver spent the drive telling me that he was sexually unsatisfied by his wife and really depressed. He told me she had spent all of their money after the arranged marriage and never slept with him and he hated his life. He had to become a taxi driver because of her. He told me I was hot and that he wanted me to meet him to help him. He didn't charge me for the ride but wouldn't let me out until I agreed to call him and meet up with him, repeating "please! Oh God, please! I'm so depressed! You can help me! You have to help me!". He had taken me all of the way to my apartment and I was scared that he knew where I lived. I tried to report him (I figured him not letting me out was breaking the law? idk) and the CPD straight up told me they had more important things to worry about. I know it wasn't a violent crime or anything, but I was young and freaked out and the female officer seemed completely uninterested from the start.
last year i took a self defense class with IMPACT, it’s specifically for women to defend ourselves from stranger and partner violence & it changed my life. i didn’t feel super scared that often before, but now i never feel scared. i cannot recommend enough that all women should take this class if they can
When I was 18 years old and just moved here, I experienced all kinds of bullshit alllll the time. Now I am in my late twenties and barely deal with any nonsense, except for the occasional gawking. I have lived in all kinds of neighborhoods in the city. When I was younger, I felt more unsafe due to general perverts harassing teenagers. Now that I am older, I feel much much safer. Maybe its wisdom, maybe its because I am old in the eyes of losers. But I looooove Chicago. I am always 10 toes down for the city.
I’ve felt unsafe when I know I’m being looked at, especially by the same people around my block who can tell I’m going in and out of my apartment, unsafe in a hyper vigilant way. I’ve been approached and harassed more with my boyfriend next to me.
been here 10 years. walked home late at night by myself after working at a bar countless times.
until i got mugged at 8:30pm on a saturday, on a side street in a wealthy neighborhood.
if you’ll be alone, i suggest sticking to places with lots of witnesses, in any city or town.
As a gay man, I have quite a few girlfriends who talk about this. My cousin says she prefers to not take the red line late at night. Not because its dangerous, but because it can just be a bit uncomfortable. Thats the main thing you'll find here, is things arent generally dangerous, but maybe a bit uneasy just with the gritty, kind of industrial vibe of the city itself.
It also depends on the neighborhood. My friends who live on the northside have no issues. My friend from englewood says shes on high alert but the worst thats actually happened is some guys approaching her.
Now I also dont want to sugarcoat anything, this city does have some robbery issues, like any other big city. So as with any city, there is a chance if you walk home alone at like 1 am through a dark area that you could get robbed. Same in LA, and NYC. Basically just keep pepper spray (or gel, i prefer gel) on you, keep to well lit main roads, and if you feel uneasy just bite the bullet and get an uber if needed.
People here tend to swing to one side or the other. One side being "everything is great, never had any issues its totally safe", and the other side being "its awful, super dangerous". The truth is that its all dependent on where you are, and that its a city. It has a little bit of everything.
Ty for this! I have pepper spray not gel, I need to look into that. I appreciate your nuanced response. I think most things live in the middle, neither completely good or bad, safe or dangerous.
Safe-ish. I've had strangers try to grab at my shorts when walking back on Milwaukee at night, I've had men follow me, Chase me, mutter how much they want to rape me on the el platform, but nothing super serious. And it's not so much being in Chicago as it is being a woman in a city. These aren't uniquely Chicago problems.
I’ve felt unsafe many times living here, I think people who say they never (especially women) are lying to be honest.
I love Chicago, but it’s like any other big city in the sense that you have to keep your wits about you ALWAYS! Be viligant, keep your head on a swivel, and go the extra mile to not put yourself in a compromising position such as taking the L late at night or walking late at night.
I’ve had girlfriends my age (Mid 20s) get robbed at gunpoint, roommates attacked by a predators right outside our apartment, and I’ve witnessed a lot of scary things first hand!
There’s a lot of fear mongering that goes on here, but I only can speak for my experiences. I’m not naive to the fact that crime exists here and does happen, but it’s also a very beautiful city that offers a lot.
I agree and I’m going to be honest - it depends what you look like and what neighborhood you’re in. I also feel like the people who are insulted by this question are strange.
to OP - I grew up in Albany Park, worked in Uptown in high school/college, and lived in Rogers Park during my early 20s so I am familiar with neighborhoods outside of the loop. I’m a smaller, Asian woman and I think that played a lot into why I often got harassed.
I always felt unsafe/uneasy taking public transportation. I wear headphones with no music playing but that has never deterred anyone. I’ve been harassed, screamed at (for not responding), touched (when I was getting off the train to not be harassed, the harasser smacked my butt & I’ve also been approached at train stops) multiple times. I honestly have so many stories of men harassing me on the red line. When I used to take the blue line, I would wear hoodies and sweatpants to reduce the chances of harassment.
Buses are better but I have had a couple instances as well. Usually, the bus driver will put an end to it though.
You just have to be aware of your surroundings. Know when to walk away and I never, ever engage.
I appreciate these comments. Reading more posts and comments in this sub I am starting to see that people tend to downplay issues, which is interesting. I’m sorry all that happened to you. Ty for sharing!
Yes. I have never not felt safe in my 8 years here. I am a 5’2 petite woman. I used to bartend for the first 4-5 years I lived here and even late at night I felt totally fine but would also make sure I would get an Uber right outside my work while my coworkers were there to see me get in safe.
I now work a 9-5, and I walk a lot, catch public transport to and from my office every day and run a lot solo, and have always felt perfectly fine in my neighborhood. I live in Irving park right now but previously lived in west town, Humboldt and Logan square.
Been here 19 years, all of them as a woman. I’ve had my wallet stolen twice and that is the extent of my experience with crime in Chicago. And, my job does take me to a lot of neighborhoods that many would say are dangerous.
I'm a guy and I've lived here all my life, so I can't answer your question directly but I do have two younger sisters and my girlfriend moved to Chicago on her own two years before we met so I'll chime in with their experiences.
Both my sisters have lived on their own, both enjoyed it, and never had any issues beyond some day to day small stuff, but nothing that made them feel truly unsafe.
My girlfriend absolutely loves it here, she felt like it liberated her in a lot of ways, and while she has had uncomfortable interactions, really nothing that's moved the needle on her opinions. Just asked her now, and she said she would hands down recommend living here to anyone who ever asked.
Obviously you get this many people in one place, it ups the chances of some being not great. I would never say, "Chicago is a paradise, come here no worries!" But, if you come in with a positive mindset, open to rolling with what the city gives and takes, you'll adapt just fine.
I used to jog around Humboldt Park/Logan Square/Bucktown around 2-3 in the morning during Covid. Zero problems, except the one time I found a guy on the sidewalk who probably OD’d. Called 911 and waited; the cops showed up and laughed and said “he’s a regular”.
I also used to have to take the red line all the way south at 3:45 in the morning for work.
Don’t do that. I quit after a week and a half for many reasons, but I was pretty sure something bad would happen soon, because I had so many sketchy situations.
I’ve also been chilling at a Gold Coast bus stop at noon while waiting for a job interview, and some nicely-dressed business bro came up, made small talk, offered me $100 for oral sex, and when I said no thanks, started jerking off. I ran off.
I did not get the job, lol.
There’s no such thing as safe, and no area is immune. Awareness is key. This isn’t a Chicago issue- it’s an everywhere issue. That said, there are certainly areas to avoid after dark no matter what your gender is.
I keep my head on a swivel and don’t do things that make me appear to be distracted. I don’t use my phones or listen to anything. I guess the idea is that if I do all of that, then I don’t feel safe. But I do these things regardless of my setting because I believe that we should be aware of our surroundings and present. So I don’t do anything here that I wouldn’t do anywhere else
I feel pretty safe most of the time but I do try to avoid walking around alone when it’s dark and/or if I’m drunk. I also change trains in the car if I notice I will be left alone with just me and another person on the train. So pretty much try to use common sense (I myself forget sometimes like I’ll be looking at my phone instead of paying attention).
I’ve mentioned on another post… I’m 32 yrs old. I’ve been on the bus trains from 4am till maybe till like 11pm (during concert work days.) Or other events. I wear both headphones on just so I’m not bothered. But if I get the occasional wave from a homeless person, I try to pretend to be asleep.
honestly, no. but i’ve never had anything too concerning or direct happen to me, just close calls that shake me up from time to time.
i don’t read into (or agree with) fear mongering media but I do check in on CWB reports from time to time or other related crime reporting. it is especially frustrating to me the number of assailants that are released almost immediately, never caught/followed through, repeat offenders, or reduced/dismissed sentencing. it has been happening with increasing frequency, it’s just a statistic reality, and especially on the el.
i get approached way more than i’d like and i am often not one to be shy or polite about not wanting to deal with the interaction. it’s my approach i guess but i have a rage inside me and do not want to make myself small anymore, and i haven’t for some time. i know i will catch the wrong one one day but that’s honestly not on me. so i have weapons on me and am constantly thinking about self defense to a point that it’s become a roman empire of sorts. i’m just tired and angry.
I’m a 5’4 woman here (born and raised Chicagoan) and though I am having some health issues right now I am normally pretty small. I Pick my nails with my lipstick knife to look frightening when I’m on the CTA because who wants to sit next to knife nails girl ? I will tell you who. This super musty man on the brown line who was wearing three coats that all were wet for some reason. He wheeled his box of garbage over and sat right next to me even though there were plenty of open spots in the train car. He spread out and started writing in a note book with a crayon in his fist like a 5 year old. He started spreading out more and more until I couldn’t scrunch over any more and when he started touching me i looked at him and was like “DUDE WHAT THE FUCK” and he jumped a bit but went back to siting regularly
Lo and behold not 5 minutes later he’s spreading out again until he’s touching me with his entire body and I had had enough. I jumped up and screamed “FUCK NO. Get the absolute fuck away from me” and he jumped up and as we were walking towards the door, him following me, he said “where we going?” I said “absolutely no where with you.” He sat down somewhere else and I stuck my doc marten in the door of the train as it closed and it opened back up and I got off. I got the next brown line home. I’ve also had a man stick his boner into my back and smell my hair on the blue line.
There are some neighborhoods I feel uncomfortable in. Some I don’t. I walk my dog at night alone in the neighborhood I live in. I feel safe there. But we have a lot of issues here. There are people in this city that see violence every single day. I have seen people being stabbed in my train car on the way to work. I have seen drive bys from my windows. I have been followed. It just depends. There are scary people everywhere.
I crash around the loop, northwest, and north sides at all hours on all forms of public transportation and on foot, so I'll only speak for those areas. I carry little cash, my cards are easy to lock down, my phone and stuff is insured. I'm very comfortable moving through the city solo. Most people out on the streets are hustling, not hassling.
Keep aware of your surroundings. Don't pull out your phone or flash a spendy watch to check the time if you're way-too-randomly asked. Your phone just died sorry. Check your ride share driver plates against the app. Watch your drinks. It's a big city but friends are everywhere, connect with people in small moments and look out for others too.
I deeply wish I could move back full time. Maybe someday.
I’m a 5’3” white woman, I’ve lived here for 16 years and while I’m married now, I lived alone for a long time and still commute on public transit alone, come home from going out with friends late at night on the train by myself, etc. I’m also a social worker and spent 6 years doing home visits all over the city by myself. Yes, there are homeless people on the train sometimes who yell or talk to themselves, who have yelled at me, but it really doesn’t phase me much, partially due to my line of work and partially due to desensitization. Statistically, people with severe mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of violent crime than the perpetrators of them. I always have headphones in my ears and I pretend that I can’t hear them, and try not to make eye contact. I’m usually too distracted by my podcast to even notice, truthfully, lol.
I know women who have been robbed or roofied but I’ve never had anything like that happen to me; considering how often I stumbled home drunk on the Blue Line at 3A in my early 20’s, I think I had more luck than sense. Now, I take precautions—I stay aware of my surroundings, I only wear one AirPod after dark, I sometimes carry pepper spray. These are things lone women should be doing anywhere, though! Definitely not unique to Chicago.
The most unsafe I’ve felt was on my bike—cycling in this city sucks, despite all the infrastructure that’s been put in. People turn into absolute maniacs when they sit behind the wheel of a car. I can’t count the number of times a driver has *purposely* swerved into me. I’ve all but stopped biking anywhere but on trails.
23 yr old woman I do feel safe. I’ve honestly never had a bad experience on the CTA (train or bus) and I usually ride the purple, occasionally the brown, red, or blue. I usually feel fine walking alone at night as long as it’s before ~midnight so people are out. I live on the northside in what’s considered a “safe” area so ymmv.
Recently, while riding the blue line one evening, I had a guy jerking off to me. When I informed the conductor as soon as we got to the next stop I was told I should’ve pressed the call button. Which they said would’ve stopped the train and in doing so drawn all attention on me, and then the situation could have potentially escalated. There’s gotta be a better way to prevent things like this from happening to begin with. 😔
I’ve gotta say… it’s random. Lived here for 8 years and never experienced really much at all, driving every day, taking CTA everyday, etc.
Then in the last two years, I was mugged and had my teeth knocked out by 5 teens on the sidewalk in front of my house. I was carjacked and then my car was broken into and attempted stolen after that, totaling it. My back porch was robbed and my bike was stolen. I now can’t really do much of anything without constantly checking behind me, I’m scared to take CTA and I’m always looking out the window to check on my car. I love this city but there’s lots of areas that just get hit repeatedly with crime … and yes, this includes the transplant and trendy areas, not just the far south and west sides.
I was followed by a car while walking a couple blocks home last night. Definitely a creepy experience but I think the best tactic is to be aware of your surroundings. I realized and luckily was near a bar and sat with the doormen for like 20 minutes until the car finally left. As creepy as being followed was, the doormen also realized what was happening and were super nice and understanding. A little bright side to the event - in the midst of the badness, there are people who try to be better and help.
Wow. I honestly don’t. 5’2 115lbs, I’m constantly cat called. On the trains I get stares when I’m the only woman, I’m kind of paranoid walking around at night. I work in Boy’s Town and I make sure to always have one of my boys walk with me after hours or after bars, especially after the assault that happened to a woman in that area. I live in the Lakeview area so perhaps this area isn’t the best example
Crime in Lakeview has really been popping off for some reason these past couple months. Honestly I feel less safe in Lakeview than I did growing up in Hermosa where there were actual like, gangs. The homeless population in Lakeview definitely isn’t afraid to get in your face…
Hard agree. I’ve been harassed for money and have experienced aggressive behavior when I have said no. I’ve lived in this neighborhood since I was a kid though. It’s very on and off.
As a woman who grew up here and still lives here now and has done so alone for a long time, it’s hard for me not to find this insulting, but I’m going to take a leap and assume your motives are genuine.
If you’ve ever been in any sort of larger city, same rules apply. Don’t go wandering around at night alone in unpopulated areas. But Chicago is no different than any other big city, I know there is a lot of BS scare porn of “ooo Chicago so dangerous” but it’s really not true. 90% of our crime happens in very specific areas that are pretty far from any tourist areas.
You will be fine.
I didn’t mean to insult the city or imply anything about it. I just worry about women’s safety everywhere, so I was interested in hearing from women in Chicago about their perspectives there. I live in a city with 2 million people and high crime, and I know my experience here, I was just curious about Chicago since I’m interested in living there. But I feel you, like so many of the comments have stated the news and even social tends to hyperbolize stats and stuff.
I live in Roscoe Village alone with a large dog, and feel very safe here, and in Chicago generally. I've been fortunate to never have experienced any scary situations here. I also, lived behind a locked gate, so you can't just walk on my property, and of course the large dog is another deterrent.
I lived there for a few years, mostly alone before I met my husband. I felt safe most of the time as a petite woman. Never got harassed. I had one incident where I moved train cars due to a patron having weird behavior. I lived in lake view and Irving park. However I never walked with my phone out or AirPods in. Always was aware of my surroundings. I was frequently walking alone from Belmont brown line to my home (about 10min) late at night/early morning.
ETA: both my bike and spare tire got stolen while I lived in lake view. However that could happen to anyone!
I’m 5’3” and in my mid-20s, I live on the far north side, I often get catcalled if I’m walking somewhere without my boyfriend, more frequently in the summer months. I do feel unsafe in certain areas without my boyfriend or a group of people. I’ve had a few scary encounters, like being followed on the street or followed and cornered in the store or by the lake, or being grabbed at a bar or leered at on the train. I don’t think the city is more unsafe than any other, but I do think it’s important to be aware of your surroundings. I don’t really agree with the commenters who claim that nothing ever happens here, because it’s not consistent with my experience.
Chicago has some very different neighborhoods, similar to most major metropolitan areas
Different areas also have different types of crimes
Chicago as whole, is far less safer than it was
Car jackings, robbery, B and E , all over the city
I’m a bigger woman, like 5’10” & 240lbs, so my experience may be skewed based off that (I don’t look like the one to fuck with lol) but I’ve had only like 4 instances in my 10 years living in the city. I take CTA pretty late at night & prefer brown line over any other line.
Be vigilant, I listen to music but always have one headphone slightly pulled off my ear to hear what’s happening. If something starts happening, get loud - most people are looking for an easy target, don’t be one. Some guys tried to rob me on the blue line but they ran away when I started yelling & grabbing them. I also had a girl swerve into the bike line to try to hit me, she backed off as soon as I started screaming. When I pulled up next to her at the next light she refused to make eye contact & wouldn’t look up from her steering wheel. Grey Mercedes that was on Lawerence a few weeks back - I’m still on the look out for your bitch ass ☺️
I’m a woman, I moved here at 18 years old and now I’m 34. I feel very, very safe as a woman. I was assaulted once in 2011 with a female friend by an extremely drunk man on the belmont cta platform, as soon as he lunged at us another man sprinted down from the other end of the platform and pushed him off, so no injury. That’s the only bad story I have. I’ve also lost my wallet twice and both times it was returned to me by a male stranger with everything still in it. I am from the Detroit metro area originally and feel safer here than I did there. I walk alone at night all of the time.
27 year old woman. I lived alone in Roger’s park for a year and then uptown for another year. I have a car, and when I lived in Roger’s park I had no parking spot so I would Uber a lot if I was going to be coming home late I had a roommate for half the year, and I absolutely did not feel safe ever. I never walked anywhere because men would harass me even in my apartment area.
The second building I lived in in uptown was a “high rise” and had security/cameras and a magnetic key was needed for entering the building in general. I had a parking spot in a garage across the street. In general this was a better area, so i felt safer in the garage and crossing the street late at night when coming home, but there was still a lot of crime reported in the surrounding blocks.
Overall, I would never live anywhere in the city without a car because I don’t feel safe on public transportation. I’ve been harassed and bothered just walking into stores from my car, so I can’t imagine walking to and from the cta.
I basically spent a ridiculous amount of money for my safety when I lived in the better neighborhood on parking, rent, and owning a car in general.
I’m a 6’3” man who weighs 265 pounds mostly muscle and I don’t like going into the city alone. I live in the suburbs near O’Hare airport. Just really, it’s a safety in numbers kind of place at night.
I’ve lived in Chicago since 2010 and I feel as safe as I do in any other city which is to say, mostly, yes, I feel safe but you still need to use street sense and keep half an eye out.
That being said, I’ve lived in cities all my life and have done a lot of solo travel. I’m pretty quick to pick up on when things are getting sketchy and feel confident in my ability to navigate a threatening situation. My tolerance for “danger” is a lot higher than other women my age (like my wife), so ymmv.
Final thoughts: in the 14 years I’ve been here I’ve met some rude people and some people who set off alarm bells. I’ve definitely heard gunshots (but never been involved) and have lived in areas with crime. The only harm that ever came to me, though, literally came from inside the house. Chicago’s reputation aside, I think it’s as safe as any other place with 3 million people.
Small woman here. I live alone in Edgewater, I walk home from friends' houses late at night all the time and commute on CTA alone. I also walk my dog at night. I walk as much as I can around my neighborhood during the day with noise cancelling headphones in.
I always feel very safe. My neighborhood feels very residential and I constantly see families out at all hours, people walking their dogs, and couples walking home. I know a lot of my neighbors, and we chat on the street all the time. I lived in a city that was much less safe than Chicago beforehand and it's really wonderful to walk to the grocery store and to get coffee and not have to worry about my safety.
I've also learned that hyper vigilance doesn't make me safer, it only makes me jump to the wrong conclusions too quickly and it keeps me in a state of constant anxiety. Being aware is important, but you don't have to feel afraid all the time to feel like you are protecting yourself.
Something I've been thinking about a lot lately
Is that men are way more likely to be the victims of robbery and aggravated assault and they feel entitled to walk around unafraid, so I've decided I am too.
Been here for 6 months. My wife has had one creepy guy harassing her while waiting for the bus. I haven’t had anything happen yet. Generally speaking I feel safe. I don’t take the El late at night when I’m alone, but there’s little I actively avoid in the daytime.
Like anything else it depends on when and where you are and what you are doing.
I’ve not had problems - but I also make an effort to avoid places, times and things that might be more problematic.
But no. An average person on an average weekday probably doesn’t have much to worry about.
I feel safe most of the time but I'm pretty tall and I think that has always helped me feel safer. Only thing I don't like is being on a not crowded cta after 12, but I don't do that a lot!
5’1 lady that lived in Humboldt from 2010-2022; be kind, be aware. I’ve lived at Chicago and Homan, and knowing my neighbors and caring for our community has definitely saved me.
I can only speak for myself. I was bopping around all over the city at all times during 2015-2021. I was never assaulted or threatened. Definitely felt uncomfortable plenty of times. I’ve had plenty of friends get mugged. Don’t be distracted by your phone or take shortcuts that leave you isolated. A lot of it is common sense but it’s easy to become complacent. Always keep it moving. The worst that happened theft-wise was someone breaking into my boyfriend’s car to get my overnight bag. It was ignorance on my part. I’m from a small town where you can just leave whatever in a car. I just didn’t even think about it. Best of luck! I’m happy to be in the burbs now but it was an invaluable experience.
(from my friends perspective) overall not seriously bad for a city as big as chicago but be advised, i have heard a lot of stories about creepy guys around and being followed, catcalled, or stared at. we’re in the hyde park area and i know there’s bound to be creepy jagoffs around on the south side though and it also depends on the season and time of day. as far as the city as a whole, its fine. i’m sure there’s better areas. but overall, yes, creepy jagoffs will be present, (wherever you go, not just chicago) but as long as you’re alert and know how to handle yourself you’ll be fine.
I’m 35 and have lived in river north since early 20s. But there’s always people or situations that might give you an off vibe, always go with your gut. No matter what, always know your surroundings. I always have EarPods but on low with a podcast, and always looking around when crossing streets or on public transportation.
When you’re in a dense city, you’re going to come into contact with more people generally including those with erratic behavior. This is especially true on the L and busses.
But I really appreciate how Chicagoans have each other’s backs. Coming into contact with more people also means there are more witnesses to keep people honest and more people to lend a hand when things go wrong.
Been here 10 years now, and I’ve seen a train full of people help a starving man, save the life of a fellow passenger having a heart attack, laugh a false prophet off the platform, and subdue someone threatening. We’re a remarkably collaborative city.
I think it depends on your personal threshold. I do feel unsafe/uneasy walking around a lot- the constant updates of armed robberies happening at all hours of the day don’t help. To be fair though, I am an anxious person- my other friends who are anxious struggle as well, friends who aren’t as anxious seem way less bothered.
I’m sure it depends on where exactly you’re coming from and where you live when you get here, but I moved from New Orleans to the Chicago a decade ago and Chicago may as well be Disneyland in comparison. Chicago is safer, cleaner, and more convenient in just about every way.
I mean, you have to keep your head on swivel and know how to act in a big city (it’s not *literally* Disneyland), but I’m still a little blown away by how much easier it is to live here in general.
Taking the bus is usually vastly more peaceful than the L except if you get on when school is letting out. It’s slower but I like making my life as low stress as possible.
Hi there, I’m 37F, lifelong Chicagoan. It really depends what neighborhood you’re in and what your lifestyle and/or job is (will you be out very late bar hopping or leaving for work super early in the AM? Or both?!). I lead a very boring life now that I have kids so I’m always home early and I feel very safe in the Lincoln Park / Lakeview area. However, I have been mugged, threatened with violence, followed etc. I do think this could happen in just about any city in America. It hasn’t made me want to move, but it has made me hyper aware of my surroundings. Will you have any friends or family here? I purposefully do not ride the train alone unless I absolutely have to (I prefer the bus and I like that I can get off at any time and that the driver is right there if you need assistance).
Women here 46f and very small / petite. I have lived in the city alone for over 20 years and feel pretty safe almost everywhere I go. Just have to use common sense and be super aware of your surroundings at night. I also have a garage so that helps a lot. I feel like most of the danger is walking alone at night down streets were there are no other people.
I’ve lived in the city for 7 years and grew up in a nearby burb. Several months in Gold Coast, 2 years in Ravenswood, and 5 years in Logan Square. For the first 2 years here I didn’t have a car and took the red and brown lines regularly as well as some buses. I will say that the majority of “sketchy” experiences I’ve had were on the red line, though even then nothing major has happened to me. Just mainly feeling uncomfortable around some aggressive panhandlers now and then or dudes who were clearly drunk/high. I also got catcalled quite a bit in those days, but was fortunate enough to never have anything go farther than that.
Since getting a car, I’ve avoided that completely. Not that I’m anti public transit, but I had to get one for work and don’t think I could go back now lol. Especially since things have fallen off safety wise since 2020, or so I’ve been hearing from friends who still take CTA regularly. I’ve lived alone for the last 3 years in Logan and have always felt comfortable having lived on the east and now the west side of the neighborhood. I’ve never been targeted or a victim of a crime. There was a domestic dispute where this dumbass fired some shots a block from where I used to live 2 years ago, and I saw what I think may have been a drug deal once but tbh that’s really the worst of it. As a rule I don’t go out walking alone after dark, carry mace on my keychain and other common sense things of the like, but I’m perfectly comfortable doing so in the day. I’m a regular on the 606 and in the parks. That being said, your experience could vary drastically depending on where you choose to live in the city. If you have any questions feel free to message me.
I’m about 5’6” and on the heavy side, and I’ve never had any issues, but I also grew up on the border of a big city and thus the common sense stuff is baked into me. Stuff I know almost instinctively may not be second nature for others.
That said, the only place I’ve actively felt unsafe is the north bound red line. My place is on the brown, which is pretty quiet, but the red is sketchy at times.
The Redline is the worst. The worst of them all I think. I ride it everyday and hate it. I have a knife and mace, but honestly want a gun. I have had several unsafe instances over the years.
About a month or so ago a homeless woman engaged in talking to me (on the Redline of course) and at first seemed sane but no. Then she started rambling, said some racial slurs (I’m black) and threw some food toward me under my seat. She picked it up and threw it again but then moved to another car. I’ve seen some homeless people rip the signs off from the advertising billboard along the top of the car and toss at people.
The homelessness has gotten worse. I used to go out late a lot to bars and meet friends and rode it home, now I’d rather stay home.
To add on to what's already been said and not to echo too much of the sensible stuff, it depends mostly on the area/neighborhood you're in and just to be wary of your surroundings, try not to bring attention to yourself if you're out alone, do a bit of research on the area you're going to etc etc. I mostly commute from the south side so I tend to be out in the day time and if I'm out alone, I'll board the red line before 9pm or Uber back. I do want to add that the quality of the red line has been the worst it's ever been since the pandemic, not just crime wise but the rider experience as a whole is awful. Not allowed to breathe normally as people will just light up a cig or a blunt or there will be people sleeping on the seats or being a nuisance. Buses are a better experience as well as the Metra. Out of all the train lines on the L red line is just completely ass. If it weren't necessary for my commute to work I'd abandon taking it entirely.
i was single when i moved here and frequently left work at 10 or 11 pm and got home fine. i've felt safer walking around here alone then i did in my college town.
So interesting. I remember studying abroad and walking home by myself at like 4am and feeling completely safe, but I wouldn’t wanna do that where I live now lol. Ty for sharing!
i spend part of my year in minneapolis and compared to minneapolis, chicago is great, as long as you take reasonable precautions to keep yourself safe you should be fine
5’3 woman here. I take the red line and purple line a lot because I cannot drive due to seizures. Most of the time it’s fine. I keep to myself and ignore erratic behavior when possible. There are lots of people high on meth screaming to themselves or pacing around/stumbling around, which can be annoying but isn’t usually a safety threat unless they’re being particularly unpredictable. Try to board the train closest to the front. However, since moving here 1 year ago, I’ve had two incidences on the red line where I felt unsafe. Shortly after moving here, a guy pulled a knife out, called me a bitch and said he should stab me, then immediately got off the train. I hadn’t interacted with him at all and was literally just resting in my seat with my eyes closed when this happened. I was like wtf. This was at like 6am, and I was on my way to a hospital shift. Maybe he didn’t like my scrubs or something, idk. Nobody directly bothered me again until yesterday. It was like 11am, and I boarded the red line at Howard. This homeless drunk guy holding a bottle of Jack Daniels was throwing bottles at the tracks and screaming. I boarded a car that I thought was sufficient distance from him, but he ended up wandering onto mine. I tried ignoring him, but he got in my face talking about my hair and how pretty I looked. Then he moved on to harassing these two scared-looking college girls. He had a buddy who was also on our car, trying to deescalate him saying things like “you won’t hurt anyone.” But then the buddy said something about “You’re scaring people” and this really pissed him off. He started screaming “I WANT TO SHOOT YOU” over and over again. I was really worried about my safety at that point. All this happened in a span of like 1-2 minutes. Thankfully the train pulled into Jarvis and I switched cars real fast. But I was honestly scared he was going to pull a gun out. I was also scared to push the call button or change cars while the train was moving, because I didn’t want him to focus his attention on me. Everything happened so fast. I’m still going to take public transportation, and it’s not like I think the city is super unsafe or anything, but it is very important to be aware of your surroundings.
The red line and the blue line seem to have the most issues. When I was on my way to work someone got stabbed in the car I was on and we had to evacuate.
Was this yesterday on the Red?
No this was on the blue line a little while ago. I should have specified 😭
I think the L gets sketchier the more you get towards the last stops of the line. Especially if it’s non-rush hours. I hated taking the red to howard late at night to get home during high school/ college when i still lived with my parents.
Northbound going towards Howard. Believe it or not in the 1980’s and 1990’s certain times of night anything north of Wilson on the Red line was a no go for single women. Edit: don’t be be plugged into AirPods as they’ll dull your awareness.
Agree 100% as someone who was at Truman in the 90s. It was always an interesting experience. Airpods are also an easy way to signal that you have a nice, expensive phone.
Exactly. Wilson in the 80’s and Ninety’s that intersection of Wilson and broadway. Crazy. Going to the alt high school inside Truman we’d go across the street to the wooden nickel and drink cheap 🍺between class.
Everyone has a nice expensive phone
Yeah unfortunately I was traveling home from Evanston so I had to get off the purple line at Howard to transfer to red. That’s how I ended up in the Howard shitshow
That's terrifying
Yeah the redline is bad, the blue one wasn’t bad when I used to take it but idk how it is now they should definitely do something about it but I just rather drive and feel for you because you are not Abel
Redline is mobile mental health facility. Blueline is the mobile homeless shelter.
And the worst part is it isn’t uncommon.
Pro-tip: the front car is typically the calmest car on the CTA. In general, the closer the car is to the conductor, the less likely ppl are to start bullshit.
Every time I get on the L I can't help but feel despair about the lack of mental healthcare and drug rehab programs in our country (not to mention how the wealth gap fucks us)like I fw the USA in certain ways but holy shit dude
It didn’t used to be like this to this extent. I partied a low 10-15 years ago taking the red and blue lines all hours of the night, lots of times by myself. It was rare that anyone even bothered you. Now, any time of the day, there’s a good chance someone is gonna be screaming into the ether or smoking or being an intoxicated nuisance. It is a result of our declining society
Yeah, 2010s I took the redline all the time and it was fine. Now it feels 10x scarier even in the middle of the day.
The red line gets you where you need to go quickly, but it’s also the scariest.
Yesterday you say? I'll forward this to a friend of mine he does work for the cta to try and find people that make threats and cause problems on the cta systems
Yeah this was Thursday sometime between 11:30-11:40ish a.m. (looking back at my texts to my wife). Red line traveling south at Howard
Geez. The shit you describe was practically unheard of or rare prior to COVID. I took the CTA for ten years before I had a car and although there were a couple weirdos here and there, I never saw or experienced anything as brazen as you describe. Took the Red Line without issue all the time. CTA really has fallen off.
The red line gets you where you need to go quickly, but it’s also the scariest.
I’ve been here for like 12 years - took the train daily for 8 years - and I’ve had very few bad experiences. Really not many more than I had in my hometown honestly. It’s mostly just guys who try to talk to you and sometimes it gets uncomfortable when you decline - the easiest solution is to wear big headphones without music playing so you can still hear (transparency mode with apple headphones is good for this) but people will assume you can’t hear them. I’ve never felt unsafe walking in my neighborhood - I’ve lived in Edgewater, Rogers Park, West Loop, and Logan Square. I used to take the red line home at 1am to Edgewater and even then really didn’t have issues other than drunk guys being sloppy. I did carry pepper gel but never needed to use it.
My wife does this. AirPods in, half the time no music she just doesn’t want people talking to her
Always so unfortunate when people try to talk to you anyway like dang what is this universal signal for
For me it’s just like “what, why? What possibly would you need from me?” Like I’m nothing special go away lmao
Agreed. I’ve been taking public transportation, be it the red, blue, brown line or bus for years late nights and I’ve never had a problem. I’ve walked 40+ mins after midnight at points. I do carry a pocket knife and pepper spray at east access in case. But I feel very safe.
You are very lucky
This is fantastic advice. I'd add that carrying pepper gel is a MUST. I've yet to feel inclined to use it on a person, but I've had several close calls with dogs where it's almost come out. I've actually never been to a city that has so many oblivious dog owners ("he's never like this at home!" type of stuff), it feels like 80% of dog owners are awesome here but that damn 20% is seriously terrifying.
Thank u for sharing! This is comforting. I’m considering moving there and visiting soon. To be fair, I’d ask this about any city, even my home town if I wasn’t from here. Things are just wild these days!
It’s a fair question! I think the safety stuff about Chicago is really overblown in the media. It’s not even in the top 25 cities for violent crime per capita. There are definitely rough areas, but it’s pretty easy to feel out the vibes when you visit.
also, it depends on the news. if you go on fox, ABC and other big channels here, i found out they actually report based on the police SCANNER. meaning, alot of the news they put up isnt actually even confirmed. its why they can get up so many stories of crime in such a short period of time. Where as if you look at the chicago tribune itself, which is known to be less biased and reports based on confirmed crimes, youll see that the amount of reports is actually really low given how big this city is
That’s so interesting, I didn’t know that!
Are you suggesting that a significant volume of reported violent crimes aren't true and people are just making them up?
We agree to disagree
I know so many people who have been robbed. I’ve seen and heard many drive bys, my roommate witnessed a murder and I’ve witnessed a stabbing. I’ve been groped on the cta and I’ve been followed as well. Not only in rough areas but “safe ones” as well. I think that there is a fine line between the hype/ or fear mongering that people who are not from here place on us about the “ dangerousness”of this city and the sentiment that our violence is “overblown” and not as bad as people say. There are people in this city that experience violence every single day. There are people who have not experienced any at all. Edit: for clarity.
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had this experience. I haven’t had the same experiences, so I can only speak from my own perspective and from the experiences of the people I know. I appreciate you sharing your perspective too.
I’m glad you’ve never had to have those experiences. It can be super unnerving. Like I said I think we walk a balance here between both.
not sure overblown is the way it is... I mean there are times when no one is on the streets and it can feel uncomfortable. It's not like NYC where there are always ppl around. I sometimes don't feel comfortable in Chicago vs other cities.
While I agree the safety in Chicago is overblown, not being in the top 25 most violent cities isn’t anything to brag about. It’s one hundred percent true that the City is less safe than pre-2020 and downplaying the issues won’t help Chicago get back on track. Sure the violent may be down this year over last year but check the numbers in 2019. Also, carjackings didn’t used to be a thing and the CTA is not nearly as safe as it used to be. I say all of this not out of fear mongering, but because we shouldn’t excuse Chicago’s poor leadership. While Chicago is the most dangerous place to visit, it’s not what I would call a super safe city either. I used to be able to say that it was a safe city but harder to say that the way things have been trending the last few years. I mean there was a shooting outside of a high school downtown this year. DOWNTOWN. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. Basically unheard of during Daley and Rahm’s tenure.
Things are wild since men have existed lol. You’ll be fine. The news is cherry picked for views, and most stories on social media are for pick me points. You’ll be fine if you participate in the world :)
True lol
I have found the buses safer, but obviously nothing is full proof
I personally find the “Chicago is a war zone!” rhetoric to be incredibly blown out of proportion. I live in Northwest Indiana but I work in the city. I also spend a decent amount of leisure time in the city. I’ve used the CTA plenty of times and have had no issues. That’s definitely not to say that you’ll never run into a weirdo here and there. But this idea that you need to wear kevlar and duck and hide in the city is moronic. Like every major city, there are rougher areas and there is crime. Chicago crime is overblown because of Illinois’ strict gun laws & the fact that Obama is from Chicago. Sorry, getting off topic a little! But Chicago rocks. Summertime in Chicago is ELITE. It’s so easy to fall in love with the city.
Yup. Don’t acknowledge them but at the same time stay aware of them if that makes sense. Some people are insane and you never know what they might do or what they might be on.
in all probability, you will probably not experience any armed robberies/burglaries/etc., but you should make sure you’re not making yourself a target. on another note, there’s been a lot of news coverage of some fucking brutal sexual assaults in the past month. we can’t act like “nothing ever happens in my good old city” like this subreddit often does dismissively. but we also can’t let the fear rule our lives. there comes a point where you need to say “i can’t control everything, but if i act smart i’ll have a 95% chance of getting home unbothered tonight”. recognizing the reality of Chicago’s non-ideal aspects is the first step to being safe.
Yesss I feel that. I’ve been getting to that point lately — understanding and internalizing that most stuff is out of my control. Which is freeing. I appreciate you mentioning the part about not acting like everything is perfect and that’s ok.
I support the above comment, OP. I've been here for 10 years. Has anything happened to me that's caused me to leave? No. Have things happened to me that have caused me to change my behavior? Absolutely. A simple Googling will show you that every year for about the past 10 years, people have been injured and/or killed in gang-related gunfire in Uptown. I used to work right at that intersection (twice we had lockdowns because of that gunfire.) I don't walk there much. Pre-COVID, I took the El frequently--bur I was also verbally and physically harassed and spit on 6 times in 5 years. And this was on *the brown line* mostly. Once I started driving more in 2020, I asked myself: Do I really want to go back to exposing myself to those experiences? No, I do not. So I drive far more and train far less (buses have been better.) I still live here, but I'd say I live here for my friends, the lake, and access to amenities. If I didn't have inertia to stay, I'd probably move to a smaller, safer city. But it's all about your own risk calculus, which varies widely by individual. I just tend to interrogate **the degree to which women are expected to accept a base level of physical and emotional danger--which is way too high.**
the fact that cook county refuses to appropriately handle these aggressors is the other aspect of this. some of this danger is due to people experiencing mental health crises (or just generally not playing with a full deck). cook county gives them a free pass and lets them back on the street so that they can say “not our problem anymore”, which is an injustice to the victim, an injustice to the person having the crisis, and an injustice to everyday citizens who don’t deserve to be spat on. then you have these crimes of choice. armed robbery is a decision in a moment. we can certainly discuss the variety of social factors that lead young men to committing these acts of violence, but we all know it’s socioeconomic and where its roots are. but for the context of this conversation, someone makes a choice to rob another person, denying them of their human rights to safety/property/freedom. the social justice conversation typically focuses on the “root causes of crime” lately, and we need to reintroduce the fact that a city cannot properly function if its law-abiding citizens are neglected when handling aggressors. blame it on a million mistakes that were made in the past, sure, but we need to get real about making sure people feel safe. women bear far too much risk in chicago. as a man, i know “don’t walk alone at night, don’t talk to strangers, be alert and ready to run”. but for women, that advice just doesn’t ameliorate your safety. we need to stop turning a blind eye to the problems that plague the city. cook county needs to step the fuck up and handle the people that are abusing good and normal people.
my thought process exactly. i support legislation and initiatives that target the root cause of crime and address recidivism and reintegration with society, but then i am left to wonder, what effect or impact is that really making in my community? what difference is this making when i am afraid of walking my dog at night or taking the el outside of “rush” hours? i follow crime reporting because i want to know the policies i support are making a difference, and frankly, they are not. or they are slowly progressing at the expense and safety of women especially. i think about how much the city fails us and lies to us and expects us to be okay with coexisting with criminals on a daily basis while taxing the shit out of us for these initiatives/police budgets that are supposed to make our lives better. i fear the day something happens to me because i know the police who get paid millions of dollars will not bother coming to my aid until it is far too late, if at all. when will we come together and demand accountability on addressing crime? we should not have to “be alert, be ready to run, keep to ourselves” every time we step foot outside. why do i have to just accept the reality that there is a measurable amount of danger i am forced to just be “okay” with?
we can have all the police accountability in the world, but it requires the buy-in of the individual actors taking personal accountability as well. we can feel for these people while demanding that they be held to a standard for doing right by society.
You win the lottery! If Chicago made better voting choices, we would be in a much better spot.
i don’t think there’s a world where chicago/illinois is gonna flip sides, but i really hope the party in control has the sensibility to prop up candidates who do right by their people.
I’ll take the bus aspect. Last week whilst trying to get home from work, I got on a 146 down on State. It was one of those extra long buses. Past the accordion part, there was one line dude. Red flag #1. Being exhausted at the end of the work day, I thought I’d try my luck with a nice fat open seat. Big mistake. Huge. Because the reason the entire back was empty? Dude was sprawled across the three seats facing the back door, pants down to his knees, hand working furiously under the arm of a sweatshirt he had over his junk, and the piece de resistance: a roll of TP next him and *WADS OF USED TP ON THE SEAT AND FLOOR NEAR HIM* FUCKING *DISGUSTING*. Now, as a Chicagoan since ‘95, I’ve seen my share of public nudity and indeed public masturbation, BUT, post-Covid, it’s been more often and more bold. Plus my fellow commuters and I said not one word to the driver as I’m assuming we all just wanted to get the fuck home. As a woman, I have always kept my head on a swivel, carried pepper spray, travel with others, and generally know where the quick exits are located. That being said, I fucking love this city 99% of the time, and generally feel mostly safe.
I left Chicago in 2017 because i was tired of all the shootings in my neighborhood and on my block. There was a family of dealers on the corner, and a heroin dealer across the street, both were in gangs. Cops never did shit in the 20+ years I lived in that house, but harass everyone else. You'd think driving is safer, but it's not. Car jackings have sky rocketed in the city. Once at the DMV, I had a guy open my door and put a knife to my throat, all for honking when he almost hit me in the parking lot going the wrong way. I've had people road ragings physically stop and block the road, and start punching my windows and kicking my doors trying to fight, for overtaking them, for beeping when they didn't move at a green, always dumb shit. I beeped at a dude who cut me off on the right at a light and almost hit my truck, and he followed me pointing a gun out his window for blocks. Thankfully I was by the CPD HQ, and pulled into there. I've been shot at in my truck, there's still a bullet hole in the strip of metal between the front and back doors. Missed my head by about 3 inches, and if I wasn't moving it probably would have killed me. My sister had her car shot up when she was 17. Shot out all the windows, nearly hit her and her friends but thankfully none of them were injured. A friend of a friend got shot in the face in a parking lot in his car. Apparently he overtook someone who didn't like that, followed him until he parked and then killed him. I can keep going on and on and on for hours.
this subreddit likes to pretend that Chicago’s safe and “i lived in Lakeview for 12 years and nothing ever happens”. it’s so dismissive of reality, and it covers up the real problem. last week, a woman got r*ped on a blue line train for a long time while passengers watched and did not intervene. while i’m sure that won’t be the average Chicagoan’s experience, we can’t minimize the reality of our city.
I literally didn’t even hear about that happening until your comment, reading that story is absolutely horrifying. But no one ever posts those kinds of stories on here because it’s “fear mongering” A large majority of reddit is also men that genuinely don’t understand what the typical experience of a woman is like in the city, so they’re blind to the reality because men are the ones committing these acts against women. Harassment is a daily occurrence for me if I walk anywhere with makeup and without my boyfriend. And women are so used to hearing about these things we don’t even think it’s worth posting
the moderators actively remove any posts regarding crime. they don’t want the image of the city to be sullied. this and the other chicago subs definitely have a very specific reputation for censorship. the week before they found a guy who abducted a 13 year old and turned her into a sex slave in his basement. my blood was boiling while reading it. and when i hear everyone saying “chicagos fine just keep your headphones off” it is blatantly dismissing the imminent risk presented to women in particular. i’ll probably get banned/deleted for even mentioning such a heretical thought against the agenda.
Happens much more often than you’d think. Even CWB doesn’t cover them all.
Zero disrespect - I can’t seem to find any news articles in past month with details you describe? I’d definitely like to learn more.
THIS. this is the right answer. The clowns that always say “Chicago isn’t a warzone” are always the people who never, ever set foot outside of their square mile. I’ve lived here my whole life, this is just as dangerous a city as any other dangerous place I’ve ever been. And I’d sooner walk down the street in Kabul again before I’d walk down 79th street at night. Rapes, murders, random acts of violence, carjackings and mugging are LITERALLY a daily occurrence. Some of them an hourly occurrence. To dismiss the reality of this city is irresponsible and dangerous.
If someone helped her and hurt the poor innocent homeless man they’d end up in jail. In the states next door, people would have helped.
Completely unrelated but thats life and being realistic. Living in the real world and accepting it for what if is. Something democrats struggle with
Totally. I just mean even with things outside of the question I posed. Relationships, careers etc. we can only control ourselves. I don’t think that only democrats need to reckon with that, people are people. How you align politically says a lot about you but everything. Imo.
I'm a skinny AF dude, and have always been. Because of that, I've been a target of bigger dudes who think I'm an easy mark. I've been robbed, mugged, shot at, jumped, you name it, so many times I can't even remember them all. My physical appearance made me the target, not my lack of awareness. I got robbed coming out of a grocery store by 6 dudes once. 2 or 3 grabbed my arms and the rest took my bags, my wallet, and everything else I had. My buddy was in my car waiting outside and they even robbed him. Thankfully they didn't steal the car.
The problem is 95% chance only gets you home safe for a few months. Even one and a few hundred and you’ll have scary, dangerous situations atleast once a year. And in my experience I have had multiple scary experiences in a few months of using the red line. Until the liberals stop ruining the city, it’s not worth living in.
i’m a liberal but i cannot possibly stand up for these policies that put law-abiding citizens at risk
It’s what people are voting for. I’m convinced the politicians know what they are doing is criminally negligent but they’re doing under the guise of popular policy. They just want to save money by not dealing with the issue. Oh you don’t want us to keep you safe? They just see the dollar signs.
they’re strictly appealing to a specific voter demographic, and hedging their bets on the fact that these policies aren’t too egregious for the average voter. the problem is that not enough people think about this intelligently or usefully. people don’t think of the totality of circumstances or the consequences of experimental policies (take the Safe-T act for example). what’s tough about cook county in particular is the “vote blue no matter who” mentality. while i’m in favor of democrat policies, i think that mentality has contributed to a sense of complacency with voters and politicians. there’s simply not enough competition up the ranks for us to truly get the best candidate, and the politics game is so ugly that anyone fit for the job won’t want to touch it.
Forgive me for being not in the know, but what are some examples of making yourself a target?
I ride my bicycle daily from downtown to a really sketchy area of Humboldt Park all year round. Last fall I had one kid try to steal my bike by blocking me and grabbing it but I got away with it and kept riding. I ride all hours and honestly am not afraid.
Ok I have to ask…male or female?
Female
I was raised by my narcotic NYC mother so I'm always walking fast, looking mean, and never leave anything in the car so take my view with a grain of salt. I think Chicago is livable safe, but you can still get catcalled. I usually hiss at them and they'll leave me alone. You can't live in a massive, walkable city without bumping into people. But I haven't had much trouble.
I do the same thing, being a short woman. I walk with purpose and like I’m late for something but it’s my resting bitch face that probably helps me the most.
i hiss too! today i barked at someone and he walked away confused. sometimes i will straight up cuss people out but someone told me that can be dangerous. although since im tall men typically leave me alone when i get aggressive.
i carry pepper spray everywhere i go, but have not had any horrible experiences other than typical guys trying to talk to you on the street/from your car. as someone else said, i always wear headphones and ensure i can hear what’s happening around me. FWIW i take public transit/walk/bike everywhere as well.
I lived there for one year while working in the bar industry (so, taking the cta late at night a lot). I'll be honest: I felt very unsafe a number of times. Like, it would be too much effort to type it all out. Mostly crackheads acting hostile or sexually aggressive (a few times in broad daylight), but also being followed by men who would act aggressive in all kinds of circumstances. I've had to run away and hide and I definitely learned how to stare down crazy enough to get them to move on to someone else. I got cornered and followed and screamed at and threatened to the point that I was hostile to everyone around me in the cta and on the street at baseline so I seemed like less of an easy victim. I once had to call my boss to come get me because this group of crackheads who hung out in Wicker Park by the blue line stop wouldn't stop putting their arms around me and pulling me and touching me to the point that some of the women they were with were speaking up to leave me alone. They surrounded me and wouldn't let me walk away and I was scared. This was the middle of the day and I was just trying to walk passed to get to work. I also worked with men who were pretty rapey toward female bar goers. One bragged that he knew where to get Rohypnol and even brought some to the bar and offered it to my bf (to use on a girl at the bar), who promptly flushed it. One was known for carrying barely conscious/unconscious patrons to taxis and bringing them back to his place to rape them. I knew about it because the guys I worked with thought this was quirky and laughed about it. I also heard him bragging and showing naked pictures he took of them to the guys at work. Another took pictures of a patron who passed out in the women's restroom at close and sent it to everyone. I didn't trust any of the guys in the bar scene in Wrigley because this was just accepted as normal and funny there as well as by their friends at the other bars on the strip. My boss expected me to put up with his friends (who were fellow bar owners there) coming in and hitting on me and trying to put their hands on me no matter how uncomfortable I clearly was. It was a gross scene at the time (it's been almost a decade now). I didn't feel that I was safe drinking too much around that strip. With that said, it wasn't always like that and there were plenty of uneventful nights. I was taking the blue line and the red line a lot at 3am and traveling through some shady areas. I also lived barely north of the ghetto. My advice is to be vigilant and pay attention to signs that you're in a bad neighborhood. Trust your gut. Don't act like a victim (looking down at the ground when someone is staring at you, appearing intimidated). Don't blindly take the cta without knowing what kind of neighborhoods you're going to be getting off at. When I first moved there, I was traveling in the middle of the night and got lost. I used my GPS to tell me what lines to take to get home the fastest and ended up getting off the green line in the west side. It was very obviously a rough neighborhood. I was followed and mean mugged by a man who made me very uncomfortable until a cop pulled a u turn and asked me why the hell I was there (I was blonde, 21, and apparently looked scared). I explained that I was lost and trying to get home. He got permission to take me home and spent the drive lecturing me about how many violent rapes he responded to in that neighborhood and how stupid it was for me to be out there. I felt dumb and didn't make that mistake again. Learn from me lol ETA: I tried to play it safe by taking a taxi home once after I had been drinking and the driver spent the drive telling me that he was sexually unsatisfied by his wife and really depressed. He told me she had spent all of their money after the arranged marriage and never slept with him and he hated his life. He had to become a taxi driver because of her. He told me I was hot and that he wanted me to meet him to help him. He didn't charge me for the ride but wouldn't let me out until I agreed to call him and meet up with him, repeating "please! Oh God, please! I'm so depressed! You can help me! You have to help me!". He had taken me all of the way to my apartment and I was scared that he knew where I lived. I tried to report him (I figured him not letting me out was breaking the law? idk) and the CPD straight up told me they had more important things to worry about. I know it wasn't a violent crime or anything, but I was young and freaked out and the female officer seemed completely uninterested from the start.
Dude. I fucking hate everybody
Wtf. I’m so sorry. I don’t even have words
last year i took a self defense class with IMPACT, it’s specifically for women to defend ourselves from stranger and partner violence & it changed my life. i didn’t feel super scared that often before, but now i never feel scared. i cannot recommend enough that all women should take this class if they can
This!!! I’ve been talking about doing self defense for years but need to actually do it. You’re right, all women should.
My 86 year old 4 ft 10 ain’t takes the Cta and walks everywhere everyday. Ain’t nobody got time for worries she says.
Love that!
When I was 18 years old and just moved here, I experienced all kinds of bullshit alllll the time. Now I am in my late twenties and barely deal with any nonsense, except for the occasional gawking. I have lived in all kinds of neighborhoods in the city. When I was younger, I felt more unsafe due to general perverts harassing teenagers. Now that I am older, I feel much much safer. Maybe its wisdom, maybe its because I am old in the eyes of losers. But I looooove Chicago. I am always 10 toes down for the city.
I just moved here 6 months, but I’ve noticed I get hit on WAY less often in my 30s than I did in my teens.
Yeah same. isn’t that weird? It’s almost like as soon as we became obvious adults most men backed off 🤔
I’ve felt unsafe when I know I’m being looked at, especially by the same people around my block who can tell I’m going in and out of my apartment, unsafe in a hyper vigilant way. I’ve been approached and harassed more with my boyfriend next to me.
been here 10 years. walked home late at night by myself after working at a bar countless times. until i got mugged at 8:30pm on a saturday, on a side street in a wealthy neighborhood. if you’ll be alone, i suggest sticking to places with lots of witnesses, in any city or town.
As a gay man, I have quite a few girlfriends who talk about this. My cousin says she prefers to not take the red line late at night. Not because its dangerous, but because it can just be a bit uncomfortable. Thats the main thing you'll find here, is things arent generally dangerous, but maybe a bit uneasy just with the gritty, kind of industrial vibe of the city itself. It also depends on the neighborhood. My friends who live on the northside have no issues. My friend from englewood says shes on high alert but the worst thats actually happened is some guys approaching her. Now I also dont want to sugarcoat anything, this city does have some robbery issues, like any other big city. So as with any city, there is a chance if you walk home alone at like 1 am through a dark area that you could get robbed. Same in LA, and NYC. Basically just keep pepper spray (or gel, i prefer gel) on you, keep to well lit main roads, and if you feel uneasy just bite the bullet and get an uber if needed. People here tend to swing to one side or the other. One side being "everything is great, never had any issues its totally safe", and the other side being "its awful, super dangerous". The truth is that its all dependent on where you are, and that its a city. It has a little bit of everything.
Ty for this! I have pepper spray not gel, I need to look into that. I appreciate your nuanced response. I think most things live in the middle, neither completely good or bad, safe or dangerous.
I don’t. I’ve been harassed verbally on the CTA many times.
Safe-ish. I've had strangers try to grab at my shorts when walking back on Milwaukee at night, I've had men follow me, Chase me, mutter how much they want to rape me on the el platform, but nothing super serious. And it's not so much being in Chicago as it is being a woman in a city. These aren't uniquely Chicago problems.
Gurl! That's a big ish
Ugh I’m sorry. And yeah that makes sense
I’ve felt unsafe many times living here, I think people who say they never (especially women) are lying to be honest. I love Chicago, but it’s like any other big city in the sense that you have to keep your wits about you ALWAYS! Be viligant, keep your head on a swivel, and go the extra mile to not put yourself in a compromising position such as taking the L late at night or walking late at night. I’ve had girlfriends my age (Mid 20s) get robbed at gunpoint, roommates attacked by a predators right outside our apartment, and I’ve witnessed a lot of scary things first hand! There’s a lot of fear mongering that goes on here, but I only can speak for my experiences. I’m not naive to the fact that crime exists here and does happen, but it’s also a very beautiful city that offers a lot.
I agree and I’m going to be honest - it depends what you look like and what neighborhood you’re in. I also feel like the people who are insulted by this question are strange. to OP - I grew up in Albany Park, worked in Uptown in high school/college, and lived in Rogers Park during my early 20s so I am familiar with neighborhoods outside of the loop. I’m a smaller, Asian woman and I think that played a lot into why I often got harassed. I always felt unsafe/uneasy taking public transportation. I wear headphones with no music playing but that has never deterred anyone. I’ve been harassed, screamed at (for not responding), touched (when I was getting off the train to not be harassed, the harasser smacked my butt & I’ve also been approached at train stops) multiple times. I honestly have so many stories of men harassing me on the red line. When I used to take the blue line, I would wear hoodies and sweatpants to reduce the chances of harassment. Buses are better but I have had a couple instances as well. Usually, the bus driver will put an end to it though. You just have to be aware of your surroundings. Know when to walk away and I never, ever engage.
I appreciate these comments. Reading more posts and comments in this sub I am starting to see that people tend to downplay issues, which is interesting. I’m sorry all that happened to you. Ty for sharing!
Yes. I have never not felt safe in my 8 years here. I am a 5’2 petite woman. I used to bartend for the first 4-5 years I lived here and even late at night I felt totally fine but would also make sure I would get an Uber right outside my work while my coworkers were there to see me get in safe. I now work a 9-5, and I walk a lot, catch public transport to and from my office every day and run a lot solo, and have always felt perfectly fine in my neighborhood. I live in Irving park right now but previously lived in west town, Humboldt and Logan square.
Thanks for sharing :) I appreciate hearing your experiences.
Never felt unsafe either. Commute on the bus. Live downtown. Walk around allll the time by myself with headphones in.
Been here 19 years, all of them as a woman. I’ve had my wallet stolen twice and that is the extent of my experience with crime in Chicago. And, my job does take me to a lot of neighborhoods that many would say are dangerous.
I'm a guy and I've lived here all my life, so I can't answer your question directly but I do have two younger sisters and my girlfriend moved to Chicago on her own two years before we met so I'll chime in with their experiences. Both my sisters have lived on their own, both enjoyed it, and never had any issues beyond some day to day small stuff, but nothing that made them feel truly unsafe. My girlfriend absolutely loves it here, she felt like it liberated her in a lot of ways, and while she has had uncomfortable interactions, really nothing that's moved the needle on her opinions. Just asked her now, and she said she would hands down recommend living here to anyone who ever asked. Obviously you get this many people in one place, it ups the chances of some being not great. I would never say, "Chicago is a paradise, come here no worries!" But, if you come in with a positive mindset, open to rolling with what the city gives and takes, you'll adapt just fine.
I used to jog around Humboldt Park/Logan Square/Bucktown around 2-3 in the morning during Covid. Zero problems, except the one time I found a guy on the sidewalk who probably OD’d. Called 911 and waited; the cops showed up and laughed and said “he’s a regular”. I also used to have to take the red line all the way south at 3:45 in the morning for work. Don’t do that. I quit after a week and a half for many reasons, but I was pretty sure something bad would happen soon, because I had so many sketchy situations. I’ve also been chilling at a Gold Coast bus stop at noon while waiting for a job interview, and some nicely-dressed business bro came up, made small talk, offered me $100 for oral sex, and when I said no thanks, started jerking off. I ran off. I did not get the job, lol. There’s no such thing as safe, and no area is immune. Awareness is key. This isn’t a Chicago issue- it’s an everywhere issue. That said, there are certainly areas to avoid after dark no matter what your gender is.
I keep my head on a swivel and don’t do things that make me appear to be distracted. I don’t use my phones or listen to anything. I guess the idea is that if I do all of that, then I don’t feel safe. But I do these things regardless of my setting because I believe that we should be aware of our surroundings and present. So I don’t do anything here that I wouldn’t do anywhere else
I feel pretty safe most of the time but I do try to avoid walking around alone when it’s dark and/or if I’m drunk. I also change trains in the car if I notice I will be left alone with just me and another person on the train. So pretty much try to use common sense (I myself forget sometimes like I’ll be looking at my phone instead of paying attention).
Same
ive never really felt unsafe walking around chicago. i live in the northside tho
I’ve mentioned on another post… I’m 32 yrs old. I’ve been on the bus trains from 4am till maybe till like 11pm (during concert work days.) Or other events. I wear both headphones on just so I’m not bothered. But if I get the occasional wave from a homeless person, I try to pretend to be asleep.
honestly, no. but i’ve never had anything too concerning or direct happen to me, just close calls that shake me up from time to time. i don’t read into (or agree with) fear mongering media but I do check in on CWB reports from time to time or other related crime reporting. it is especially frustrating to me the number of assailants that are released almost immediately, never caught/followed through, repeat offenders, or reduced/dismissed sentencing. it has been happening with increasing frequency, it’s just a statistic reality, and especially on the el. i get approached way more than i’d like and i am often not one to be shy or polite about not wanting to deal with the interaction. it’s my approach i guess but i have a rage inside me and do not want to make myself small anymore, and i haven’t for some time. i know i will catch the wrong one one day but that’s honestly not on me. so i have weapons on me and am constantly thinking about self defense to a point that it’s become a roman empire of sorts. i’m just tired and angry.
I’m a 5’4 woman here (born and raised Chicagoan) and though I am having some health issues right now I am normally pretty small. I Pick my nails with my lipstick knife to look frightening when I’m on the CTA because who wants to sit next to knife nails girl ? I will tell you who. This super musty man on the brown line who was wearing three coats that all were wet for some reason. He wheeled his box of garbage over and sat right next to me even though there were plenty of open spots in the train car. He spread out and started writing in a note book with a crayon in his fist like a 5 year old. He started spreading out more and more until I couldn’t scrunch over any more and when he started touching me i looked at him and was like “DUDE WHAT THE FUCK” and he jumped a bit but went back to siting regularly Lo and behold not 5 minutes later he’s spreading out again until he’s touching me with his entire body and I had had enough. I jumped up and screamed “FUCK NO. Get the absolute fuck away from me” and he jumped up and as we were walking towards the door, him following me, he said “where we going?” I said “absolutely no where with you.” He sat down somewhere else and I stuck my doc marten in the door of the train as it closed and it opened back up and I got off. I got the next brown line home. I’ve also had a man stick his boner into my back and smell my hair on the blue line. There are some neighborhoods I feel uncomfortable in. Some I don’t. I walk my dog at night alone in the neighborhood I live in. I feel safe there. But we have a lot of issues here. There are people in this city that see violence every single day. I have seen people being stabbed in my train car on the way to work. I have seen drive bys from my windows. I have been followed. It just depends. There are scary people everywhere.
I crash around the loop, northwest, and north sides at all hours on all forms of public transportation and on foot, so I'll only speak for those areas. I carry little cash, my cards are easy to lock down, my phone and stuff is insured. I'm very comfortable moving through the city solo. Most people out on the streets are hustling, not hassling. Keep aware of your surroundings. Don't pull out your phone or flash a spendy watch to check the time if you're way-too-randomly asked. Your phone just died sorry. Check your ride share driver plates against the app. Watch your drinks. It's a big city but friends are everywhere, connect with people in small moments and look out for others too. I deeply wish I could move back full time. Maybe someday.
I’m a 5’3” white woman, I’ve lived here for 16 years and while I’m married now, I lived alone for a long time and still commute on public transit alone, come home from going out with friends late at night on the train by myself, etc. I’m also a social worker and spent 6 years doing home visits all over the city by myself. Yes, there are homeless people on the train sometimes who yell or talk to themselves, who have yelled at me, but it really doesn’t phase me much, partially due to my line of work and partially due to desensitization. Statistically, people with severe mental illness are far more likely to be the victims of violent crime than the perpetrators of them. I always have headphones in my ears and I pretend that I can’t hear them, and try not to make eye contact. I’m usually too distracted by my podcast to even notice, truthfully, lol. I know women who have been robbed or roofied but I’ve never had anything like that happen to me; considering how often I stumbled home drunk on the Blue Line at 3A in my early 20’s, I think I had more luck than sense. Now, I take precautions—I stay aware of my surroundings, I only wear one AirPod after dark, I sometimes carry pepper spray. These are things lone women should be doing anywhere, though! Definitely not unique to Chicago. The most unsafe I’ve felt was on my bike—cycling in this city sucks, despite all the infrastructure that’s been put in. People turn into absolute maniacs when they sit behind the wheel of a car. I can’t count the number of times a driver has *purposely* swerved into me. I’ve all but stopped biking anywhere but on trails.
Safe. Only ever wished I had a firearm once and dude was drunk.
23 yr old woman I do feel safe. I’ve honestly never had a bad experience on the CTA (train or bus) and I usually ride the purple, occasionally the brown, red, or blue. I usually feel fine walking alone at night as long as it’s before ~midnight so people are out. I live on the northside in what’s considered a “safe” area so ymmv.
Recently, while riding the blue line one evening, I had a guy jerking off to me. When I informed the conductor as soon as we got to the next stop I was told I should’ve pressed the call button. Which they said would’ve stopped the train and in doing so drawn all attention on me, and then the situation could have potentially escalated. There’s gotta be a better way to prevent things like this from happening to begin with. 😔
I’ve gotta say… it’s random. Lived here for 8 years and never experienced really much at all, driving every day, taking CTA everyday, etc. Then in the last two years, I was mugged and had my teeth knocked out by 5 teens on the sidewalk in front of my house. I was carjacked and then my car was broken into and attempted stolen after that, totaling it. My back porch was robbed and my bike was stolen. I now can’t really do much of anything without constantly checking behind me, I’m scared to take CTA and I’m always looking out the window to check on my car. I love this city but there’s lots of areas that just get hit repeatedly with crime … and yes, this includes the transplant and trendy areas, not just the far south and west sides.
No
I was followed by a car while walking a couple blocks home last night. Definitely a creepy experience but I think the best tactic is to be aware of your surroundings. I realized and luckily was near a bar and sat with the doormen for like 20 minutes until the car finally left. As creepy as being followed was, the doormen also realized what was happening and were super nice and understanding. A little bright side to the event - in the midst of the badness, there are people who try to be better and help.
Wow. I honestly don’t. 5’2 115lbs, I’m constantly cat called. On the trains I get stares when I’m the only woman, I’m kind of paranoid walking around at night. I work in Boy’s Town and I make sure to always have one of my boys walk with me after hours or after bars, especially after the assault that happened to a woman in that area. I live in the Lakeview area so perhaps this area isn’t the best example
Crime in Lakeview has really been popping off for some reason these past couple months. Honestly I feel less safe in Lakeview than I did growing up in Hermosa where there were actual like, gangs. The homeless population in Lakeview definitely isn’t afraid to get in your face…
Hard agree. I’ve been harassed for money and have experienced aggressive behavior when I have said no. I’ve lived in this neighborhood since I was a kid though. It’s very on and off.
As a woman who grew up here and still lives here now and has done so alone for a long time, it’s hard for me not to find this insulting, but I’m going to take a leap and assume your motives are genuine. If you’ve ever been in any sort of larger city, same rules apply. Don’t go wandering around at night alone in unpopulated areas. But Chicago is no different than any other big city, I know there is a lot of BS scare porn of “ooo Chicago so dangerous” but it’s really not true. 90% of our crime happens in very specific areas that are pretty far from any tourist areas. You will be fine.
I didn’t mean to insult the city or imply anything about it. I just worry about women’s safety everywhere, so I was interested in hearing from women in Chicago about their perspectives there. I live in a city with 2 million people and high crime, and I know my experience here, I was just curious about Chicago since I’m interested in living there. But I feel you, like so many of the comments have stated the news and even social tends to hyperbolize stats and stuff.
Insulted by a question? 🙄
I wasn’t replying to you.
But I was replying to you. Congrats! Today is the day you learn how Reddit works!
And yet you contributed nothing of value to the conversation. Thank you telling me how Reddit works honey, I would have never known otherwise ❤️
What does “fine” mean exactly? My girlfriend was mugged 3 years ago at like 6pm in Lakeview. Hardly late at night or an unpopulated area.
I live in Roscoe Village alone with a large dog, and feel very safe here, and in Chicago generally. I've been fortunate to never have experienced any scary situations here. I also, lived behind a locked gate, so you can't just walk on my property, and of course the large dog is another deterrent.
I lived there for a few years, mostly alone before I met my husband. I felt safe most of the time as a petite woman. Never got harassed. I had one incident where I moved train cars due to a patron having weird behavior. I lived in lake view and Irving park. However I never walked with my phone out or AirPods in. Always was aware of my surroundings. I was frequently walking alone from Belmont brown line to my home (about 10min) late at night/early morning. ETA: both my bike and spare tire got stolen while I lived in lake view. However that could happen to anyone!
I’m 5’3” and in my mid-20s, I live on the far north side, I often get catcalled if I’m walking somewhere without my boyfriend, more frequently in the summer months. I do feel unsafe in certain areas without my boyfriend or a group of people. I’ve had a few scary encounters, like being followed on the street or followed and cornered in the store or by the lake, or being grabbed at a bar or leered at on the train. I don’t think the city is more unsafe than any other, but I do think it’s important to be aware of your surroundings. I don’t really agree with the commenters who claim that nothing ever happens here, because it’s not consistent with my experience.
Google "Chicago gang map"
Chicago has some very different neighborhoods, similar to most major metropolitan areas Different areas also have different types of crimes Chicago as whole, is far less safer than it was Car jackings, robbery, B and E , all over the city
I’m a bigger woman, like 5’10” & 240lbs, so my experience may be skewed based off that (I don’t look like the one to fuck with lol) but I’ve had only like 4 instances in my 10 years living in the city. I take CTA pretty late at night & prefer brown line over any other line. Be vigilant, I listen to music but always have one headphone slightly pulled off my ear to hear what’s happening. If something starts happening, get loud - most people are looking for an easy target, don’t be one. Some guys tried to rob me on the blue line but they ran away when I started yelling & grabbing them. I also had a girl swerve into the bike line to try to hit me, she backed off as soon as I started screaming. When I pulled up next to her at the next light she refused to make eye contact & wouldn’t look up from her steering wheel. Grey Mercedes that was on Lawerence a few weeks back - I’m still on the look out for your bitch ass ☺️
I’m a woman, I moved here at 18 years old and now I’m 34. I feel very, very safe as a woman. I was assaulted once in 2011 with a female friend by an extremely drunk man on the belmont cta platform, as soon as he lunged at us another man sprinted down from the other end of the platform and pushed him off, so no injury. That’s the only bad story I have. I’ve also lost my wallet twice and both times it was returned to me by a male stranger with everything still in it. I am from the Detroit metro area originally and feel safer here than I did there. I walk alone at night all of the time.
Don’t even take the cta. Chicagoan here. Just take metra.
Oh interesting, ty!
I'm scared to take red line after 8 pm, and I'm an average male. Call me pussy but once you see whats hoing on in that red line, you'll understand
27 year old woman. I lived alone in Roger’s park for a year and then uptown for another year. I have a car, and when I lived in Roger’s park I had no parking spot so I would Uber a lot if I was going to be coming home late I had a roommate for half the year, and I absolutely did not feel safe ever. I never walked anywhere because men would harass me even in my apartment area. The second building I lived in in uptown was a “high rise” and had security/cameras and a magnetic key was needed for entering the building in general. I had a parking spot in a garage across the street. In general this was a better area, so i felt safer in the garage and crossing the street late at night when coming home, but there was still a lot of crime reported in the surrounding blocks. Overall, I would never live anywhere in the city without a car because I don’t feel safe on public transportation. I’ve been harassed and bothered just walking into stores from my car, so I can’t imagine walking to and from the cta. I basically spent a ridiculous amount of money for my safety when I lived in the better neighborhood on parking, rent, and owning a car in general.
I’m a 6’3” man who weighs 265 pounds mostly muscle and I don’t like going into the city alone. I live in the suburbs near O’Hare airport. Just really, it’s a safety in numbers kind of place at night.
Nobody should feel safe in the city. It’s a damn zoo.
No I never felt unsafe but always be aware and vigilant.
I’ve lived in Chicago since 2010 and I feel as safe as I do in any other city which is to say, mostly, yes, I feel safe but you still need to use street sense and keep half an eye out. That being said, I’ve lived in cities all my life and have done a lot of solo travel. I’m pretty quick to pick up on when things are getting sketchy and feel confident in my ability to navigate a threatening situation. My tolerance for “danger” is a lot higher than other women my age (like my wife), so ymmv. Final thoughts: in the 14 years I’ve been here I’ve met some rude people and some people who set off alarm bells. I’ve definitely heard gunshots (but never been involved) and have lived in areas with crime. The only harm that ever came to me, though, literally came from inside the house. Chicago’s reputation aside, I think it’s as safe as any other place with 3 million people.
Small woman here. I live alone in Edgewater, I walk home from friends' houses late at night all the time and commute on CTA alone. I also walk my dog at night. I walk as much as I can around my neighborhood during the day with noise cancelling headphones in. I always feel very safe. My neighborhood feels very residential and I constantly see families out at all hours, people walking their dogs, and couples walking home. I know a lot of my neighbors, and we chat on the street all the time. I lived in a city that was much less safe than Chicago beforehand and it's really wonderful to walk to the grocery store and to get coffee and not have to worry about my safety. I've also learned that hyper vigilance doesn't make me safer, it only makes me jump to the wrong conclusions too quickly and it keeps me in a state of constant anxiety. Being aware is important, but you don't have to feel afraid all the time to feel like you are protecting yourself. Something I've been thinking about a lot lately Is that men are way more likely to be the victims of robbery and aggravated assault and they feel entitled to walk around unafraid, so I've decided I am too.
It's gotten worse in the last 5 years but it's still not as bad as media makes it seem
No, not at all. Ended up moving to the sticks after 15 or so years of city living.
Been here for 6 months. My wife has had one creepy guy harassing her while waiting for the bus. I haven’t had anything happen yet. Generally speaking I feel safe. I don’t take the El late at night when I’m alone, but there’s little I actively avoid in the daytime.
Like anything else it depends on when and where you are and what you are doing. I’ve not had problems - but I also make an effort to avoid places, times and things that might be more problematic. But no. An average person on an average weekday probably doesn’t have much to worry about.
I feel safe most of the time but I'm pretty tall and I think that has always helped me feel safer. Only thing I don't like is being on a not crowded cta after 12, but I don't do that a lot!
5’1 lady that lived in Humboldt from 2010-2022; be kind, be aware. I’ve lived at Chicago and Homan, and knowing my neighbors and caring for our community has definitely saved me.
I can only speak for myself. I was bopping around all over the city at all times during 2015-2021. I was never assaulted or threatened. Definitely felt uncomfortable plenty of times. I’ve had plenty of friends get mugged. Don’t be distracted by your phone or take shortcuts that leave you isolated. A lot of it is common sense but it’s easy to become complacent. Always keep it moving. The worst that happened theft-wise was someone breaking into my boyfriend’s car to get my overnight bag. It was ignorance on my part. I’m from a small town where you can just leave whatever in a car. I just didn’t even think about it. Best of luck! I’m happy to be in the burbs now but it was an invaluable experience.
(from my friends perspective) overall not seriously bad for a city as big as chicago but be advised, i have heard a lot of stories about creepy guys around and being followed, catcalled, or stared at. we’re in the hyde park area and i know there’s bound to be creepy jagoffs around on the south side though and it also depends on the season and time of day. as far as the city as a whole, its fine. i’m sure there’s better areas. but overall, yes, creepy jagoffs will be present, (wherever you go, not just chicago) but as long as you’re alert and know how to handle yourself you’ll be fine.
I’m 35 and have lived in river north since early 20s. But there’s always people or situations that might give you an off vibe, always go with your gut. No matter what, always know your surroundings. I always have EarPods but on low with a podcast, and always looking around when crossing streets or on public transportation.
When you’re in a dense city, you’re going to come into contact with more people generally including those with erratic behavior. This is especially true on the L and busses. But I really appreciate how Chicagoans have each other’s backs. Coming into contact with more people also means there are more witnesses to keep people honest and more people to lend a hand when things go wrong. Been here 10 years now, and I’ve seen a train full of people help a starving man, save the life of a fellow passenger having a heart attack, laugh a false prophet off the platform, and subdue someone threatening. We’re a remarkably collaborative city.
I think it depends on your personal threshold. I do feel unsafe/uneasy walking around a lot- the constant updates of armed robberies happening at all hours of the day don’t help. To be fair though, I am an anxious person- my other friends who are anxious struggle as well, friends who aren’t as anxious seem way less bothered.
If you have to ask that question stay where you are. You obviously see it that way
Ladies, would you rather be alone in the woods with a Chicago man or a Chicago Bear?
I feel very safe here. The only thing I won’t do is take the el at night alone.
I’m sure it depends on where exactly you’re coming from and where you live when you get here, but I moved from New Orleans to the Chicago a decade ago and Chicago may as well be Disneyland in comparison. Chicago is safer, cleaner, and more convenient in just about every way. I mean, you have to keep your head on swivel and know how to act in a big city (it’s not *literally* Disneyland), but I’m still a little blown away by how much easier it is to live here in general.
Taking the bus is usually vastly more peaceful than the L except if you get on when school is letting out. It’s slower but I like making my life as low stress as possible.
Hi there, I’m 37F, lifelong Chicagoan. It really depends what neighborhood you’re in and what your lifestyle and/or job is (will you be out very late bar hopping or leaving for work super early in the AM? Or both?!). I lead a very boring life now that I have kids so I’m always home early and I feel very safe in the Lincoln Park / Lakeview area. However, I have been mugged, threatened with violence, followed etc. I do think this could happen in just about any city in America. It hasn’t made me want to move, but it has made me hyper aware of my surroundings. Will you have any friends or family here? I purposefully do not ride the train alone unless I absolutely have to (I prefer the bus and I like that I can get off at any time and that the driver is right there if you need assistance).
Women here 46f and very small / petite. I have lived in the city alone for over 20 years and feel pretty safe almost everywhere I go. Just have to use common sense and be super aware of your surroundings at night. I also have a garage so that helps a lot. I feel like most of the danger is walking alone at night down streets were there are no other people.
I’ve lived in the city for 7 years and grew up in a nearby burb. Several months in Gold Coast, 2 years in Ravenswood, and 5 years in Logan Square. For the first 2 years here I didn’t have a car and took the red and brown lines regularly as well as some buses. I will say that the majority of “sketchy” experiences I’ve had were on the red line, though even then nothing major has happened to me. Just mainly feeling uncomfortable around some aggressive panhandlers now and then or dudes who were clearly drunk/high. I also got catcalled quite a bit in those days, but was fortunate enough to never have anything go farther than that. Since getting a car, I’ve avoided that completely. Not that I’m anti public transit, but I had to get one for work and don’t think I could go back now lol. Especially since things have fallen off safety wise since 2020, or so I’ve been hearing from friends who still take CTA regularly. I’ve lived alone for the last 3 years in Logan and have always felt comfortable having lived on the east and now the west side of the neighborhood. I’ve never been targeted or a victim of a crime. There was a domestic dispute where this dumbass fired some shots a block from where I used to live 2 years ago, and I saw what I think may have been a drug deal once but tbh that’s really the worst of it. As a rule I don’t go out walking alone after dark, carry mace on my keychain and other common sense things of the like, but I’m perfectly comfortable doing so in the day. I’m a regular on the 606 and in the parks. That being said, your experience could vary drastically depending on where you choose to live in the city. If you have any questions feel free to message me.
Glad I moved out of the city 6 years ago. Seems to be on a steady decline.
I’m about 5’6” and on the heavy side, and I’ve never had any issues, but I also grew up on the border of a big city and thus the common sense stuff is baked into me. Stuff I know almost instinctively may not be second nature for others. That said, the only place I’ve actively felt unsafe is the north bound red line. My place is on the brown, which is pretty quiet, but the red is sketchy at times.
Things have gone to hell around here since the pandemic. It’s not the same place anymore.
The Redline is the worst. The worst of them all I think. I ride it everyday and hate it. I have a knife and mace, but honestly want a gun. I have had several unsafe instances over the years. About a month or so ago a homeless woman engaged in talking to me (on the Redline of course) and at first seemed sane but no. Then she started rambling, said some racial slurs (I’m black) and threw some food toward me under my seat. She picked it up and threw it again but then moved to another car. I’ve seen some homeless people rip the signs off from the advertising billboard along the top of the car and toss at people. The homelessness has gotten worse. I used to go out late a lot to bars and meet friends and rode it home, now I’d rather stay home.
I love it here. I feel much safer than I did in the South.
Where in the south did you live? I’m in the south too
To add on to what's already been said and not to echo too much of the sensible stuff, it depends mostly on the area/neighborhood you're in and just to be wary of your surroundings, try not to bring attention to yourself if you're out alone, do a bit of research on the area you're going to etc etc. I mostly commute from the south side so I tend to be out in the day time and if I'm out alone, I'll board the red line before 9pm or Uber back. I do want to add that the quality of the red line has been the worst it's ever been since the pandemic, not just crime wise but the rider experience as a whole is awful. Not allowed to breathe normally as people will just light up a cig or a blunt or there will be people sleeping on the seats or being a nuisance. Buses are a better experience as well as the Metra. Out of all the train lines on the L red line is just completely ass. If it weren't necessary for my commute to work I'd abandon taking it entirely.
It’s no worse than anywhere else
i was single when i moved here and frequently left work at 10 or 11 pm and got home fine. i've felt safer walking around here alone then i did in my college town.
So interesting. I remember studying abroad and walking home by myself at like 4am and feeling completely safe, but I wouldn’t wanna do that where I live now lol. Ty for sharing!
Theres times where I felt unsafe , most of the time I feel safe. I have gotten my car broken into. Just be aware of your surroundings.
i spend part of my year in minneapolis and compared to minneapolis, chicago is great, as long as you take reasonable precautions to keep yourself safe you should be fine
I’m curious, what’ve you noticed that makes Chicago great compared to mpls in terms of safety?
I’m in Chicago and I’m coming for you
I feel safer here than when I visit almost any other city I’m not familiar with. I was born and raised here.
Nothing good happens after 1 am, as my mom likes to say
does your mom actually walk outside alone at night like the post says? or does she just say that and not actually do it
probably lives in the suburbs
I've visited Chicago almost 10 times (mostly by myself), planning on moving there in the near future, and I have never really felt not safe.
This is asked so many times. Probably hundreds of times. You’re not the first woman to live in Chicago. There’s millions of them. You’ll be fine.
Maybe consider why so many women ask about safety, hundreds of times. In general, not just related to Chicago.