my neighborhood is crazy!!!

I just moved into a suburb of Chicago and it is nuts here!!! But I swear it's more hectic than the city. I mean, there aren't people out and about like in the city, but my neighbors are something else.

Right now, I'm listening to a woman cursing someone out - at least it sounds like she is, but she's not screaming in English, so I don't really know. This is a common occurence here - there is always someone screaming about something or making a lot of noise somewhere. And at all hours of the night!!! :rolleyes:

Where do you all live and what's your 'hood like?

Yikes moon! That does sound crazy! I was born in a suburb of Chicago (Park Ridge)...but I don't really remember anything about it. All of my mom and dad's family is still in Chicago though.

My hood is pretty boring. I live in North Raleigh...pretty much on the outskirts of town. It's quiet here...even though we live right next to a highway. (You can't tell...cuz we're higher than the road...and there's tons of trees here) We live in an apt. building...on one side they play a lot of music that we can hear...and on the other side...there was a note on the door from the Sheriff's dept. demanding that the apt. be vacated. Sometimes we'll see uniformed dudes knocking on the door over there. Which is strange to me...cuz we don't live in the ghetto!! We have a really nice apt.

Nadine.

I don't currently live in ANY neighborhood. Moved out to the country to a lil old half 1800s half 1970s farmhouse on an acre by a railroad. LOVE IT. But, I've got no neighbors.

But, before I moved out here, I lived in "da hood" in an MS-13 ridden Northern VA neighborhood and it was a lot like you described.

When I first moved there, it wasn't so bad... just a very close knit lil hood where people knew everybody, but the families started selling and moving in the last 2 years I was there when the apartments behind us became overrun by MS-13 members and the homes were selling to immigrant extended families (ie. 10+ spanish speaking groups of people in tiny little 1500 sq foot or less town homes). Now, mind you, these families who moved into the hood turned out to be GREAT neighbors, even if their homes were ridiculously overcrowded) but the whole MS-13 thing got bad. Friends would come to visit and have their cars "tagged" (spray painted with MS-13), fights would break out in the backyard area and they were LOUD nasty drunken brawls.

When my ex dumped me, I was very happy to get out of there and move out here. My commute sucks, but man its a blessing having NO neighbors. But, the drive by paintballings kinda suck... guess that's what you get for living a 1/2 mile from a high school in the country with a ton of bored teeners... LOL

~phos

I have a very different living condition. The only remotely close neighbors I have are in a hotel, a church, or truckers sleeping in their rig. I can crank music as loud as I want and I won't bother anyone. I have 16 acres that I can run around on with the dog. I pay $125 for a two bedroom house w/ garage. The only negative part is I live about 20 yards from my work. Here's a pic...I live in the smaller building in front...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v312/allprorock/sheltonFireworks.jpg

I used to live in Canarsie Brooklyn...I started looking to get out of there right about the time I saw this 16 year old kid get the back of his skull blown off on Thanksgiving Eve 2001. It was hard with the rent prices in NYC and all. I ended up meeting my OM, and with his half, I had the first months, last months and deposit for an awesome place, 1st floor of a brownstone in Carroll Gardens Brooklyn (off the corner of President and Clinton, LOL)

My only problem with the neighborhood is these kids two buildings down. They drink and party all night in the street. And they are LOUD! No matter how many times we call the cops, no matter how many times anyone else calls the cops, the cops don't do anything. The building trades union guy done the block laid a bunch of them out one night cuz they messed with his wife. They're always hopped up on crack, and one is always strung out on smack...so I think they are like CIs or something. I sat on my stoop this summer for 10 minutes, one time, talking my buddy through directions, he was just getting out of the tunnel...and he come the po po to give me a summons. Total bullshit. I seriously hope some pissed off dealer wastes that whole crew.

My neighbourhood is not much of a 'hood at all. I live way out in the country....but it's perfect for me. I have 24 acres I live on, which backs onto more parkland - so the doggies get to run around and I get peace and quiet. Summers are great and things liven up around here. I know all my neighbours and have known many of them since I was a kid. One of them puts on an outdoor concert or two every summer, and there's also a marina down the road that opens up a great little cafe in the summer. The only part that sucks is the commute into town - it takes at least an hour. I bus most of the way though and that gives me time to either sleep or catch up on work.

I live in Los Angeles County where the rent is ridicules (no rent control). Supposedly my city is the most divers, but the only diversity I see is in the way the city is sectioned off. There is a clear difference where one race live. My neighbors are good; family oriented. The only problems I have at the moment are bored teenagers who believe being in a gang is “cool.” I don’t like getting up at 5 AM to get ready for work and come outside to a tag on my wall and spend 20 minutes painting over the tag. I don’t appreciate this because I live across the street from an elementary school and it doesn’t help for one gang to claim a territory and some other gang to drive past and dislike the tag and begin to start a stupid gang war again. All in all, my neighborhood is okay. Looking for another place at the moment though; I want a backyard cause I want to add a dog to my family. Some people have kids; I have animals.

Some people have kids; I have animals.

Amen times 938394.

I would LOVE to live in the country somewhere... Or in the mountains here, but that's crazy expensive and even the mountains seem to be filling up.

Denver is way too packed. There's no open space left... we live in a condo right now... if we buy a house, we'll be 3 feet from our neighbors. Our condos are LOUD and OBNOXIOUS... the people, that is. Right now the one next to us is empty... but we used to be able to hear them having sex as if they were in OUR room... not, that's NOT hot when it wakes you up at 11:30pm and you go to work at 1:30am!

I've done the metro thing, I'm okay with the suburb thing, but I think I could REALLY get used to the country thing... If I could make a living! Right now I'm in a cramped suburb and I'm about 18 miles from work in downtown Denver.

I've done the metro thing, I'm okay with the suburb thing, but I think I could REALLY get used to the country thing... If I could make a living! Right now I'm in a cramped suburb and I'm about 18 miles from work in downtown Denver.

I can completely understand THAT. I made the move despite the lack of funds. :D LOL. Bought a sweet old house out in the country 50 feet off a railroad track for a song... well, a song compared to the $500k STARTING base price for the mini-McMansion's they're building right now right on the OTHER side of the tracks. :eek:

BUT... my commute ROTS. 120 miles a day, round trip with two kids in the car the entire way. (I work in town, they home school at my Moms). WWWEEEEE.... are we having fun yet?

Actually, commuting isn't so bad. It's usually down time to listen to tunes REALLY loud and sing or make up crazy songs with the chillin's.

~phos

ACK that IS quite a commute.

Down the road, if my boyfriend can start making a good living at home from his video production, I would consider it... but right now, with gas prices still high, I don't know if I could do that kind of commute! I'd have to leave for work at like midnight!

Well, there are payoffs. Like... having no neighbors! And more space! *shrug* And then there are downsides if you get a "fixer-upper" and you're NEVER home! :eek:

I get up at 5:30, am out the door by 6:45 at the latest (I'm slow to actually get OUT of bed ~ LOL) and am at work by 8:30. Back on the road at 4, and home by around 5:30 if traffic is forgiving. Then I gotta run the lil ballerina/gymnist off to her classes twice a week. AND do laundry, make food, clean and RENOVATE.

Sometimes I just wanna shoot myself in the foot. Twice.

BUT, the alternative was a cramped lil 2 bedroom condo in MS-13 ridden HOOD for slightly MORE than I'm spending now and no one would have privacy (as in, my kids sharing a room... LAME), no yard, no pets and no JAMMING. I love my drums. Condo neighbors wouldn't. LOL They might have been justified to put a cap in my ass for keepin' them up nights. :eek:

~phos

and don't forget you can roller blade in the house....


Fossy's house is sweet....

Thanks, Nessa! You're so right.. we can rollerblade in the house. LOL. And dance like maniacs. That darn great room is what FORCED me to buy this house. Who can pass up a giant 25 x 25 room??? Even if it WAS butt ugly before we redid it... its ENORMOUS! JOY.
~phos

I would LOVE to live in the country somewhere... Or in the mountains here, but that's crazy expensive and even the mountains seem to be filling up.

Denver is way too packed. There's no open space left... we live in a condo right now... if we buy a house, we'll be 3 feet from our neighbors. Our condos are LOUD and OBNOXIOUS... the people, that is. Right now the one next to us is empty... but we used to be able to hear them having sex as if they were in OUR room... not, that's NOT hot when it wakes you up at 11:30pm and you go to work at 1:30am!

I've done the metro thing, I'm okay with the suburb thing, but I think I could REALLY get used to the country thing... If I could make a living! Right now I'm in a cramped suburb and I'm about 18 miles from work in downtown Denver.
I agree SkiBunny..I live about 25 miles away from lodo, and we live in a really nice neighborhood, but...our houses are practically on top of eachother. I really liked the apartment my boyfriend and I had...(we couldn't hear anyone else having sex, but i'm sure they heard us!! :o ) We were actually looking at houses in the Highlands Ranch area... (TOTALLY crowded, but really cute) so...we'll see how that goes.

Highlands Ranch is nice... as is Littleton (I live in Littleton and like it cuz we're right in the foothills and can ride our bikes from our doorstep right up to red rocks and back in about an hour). And, for the sake of being close to the mountains, I like Morrisson and Golden too.

But since I am from the NE, I just never appeciated what was up there... houses on LAND... not for a million dollars... and the colonial style of homes. New homes here (as much as I wouldnt complain if I could afford one!) are all modern, california style homes.. I'm getting sick of them!

My boyfriend grew up here, he was born here in the early 60's, so I constantly hear how much it's changed and become "californiaized"

It WOULD be nice to be closer to downtown... just since I have to get to work every day.

Sometimes I think I would like to live in the country because I love being in nature. But then I find that when ever I am out in the country (on vaca) I can't wait to get back to the city. I start to feel too isolated. I love to be able to walk to everything (work, errands, etc.) and you just can't seem to do that when everything is miles away.

I think my ideal would be to live in a small city that is surrounded by beautiful land, mountains, trees, water, all that good stuff. Chicago lacks that (but I love it anyway).