Personal safety in Chicago?

[didu]

Hi guys,

I'm going to Chicago for a conference in July. Since I've never been to Chicago (or North America in general), I'm just wondering if you guys who live in America could give me some tips on how to stay safe.

My conference will be held in Hyatt Regency McCormick Place 2233 S. Martin Luther King Drive. I have two options for accommodation. The expensive accommodation is to stay at the Hyatt hotel, it will cost me $175 a night, and since the conference goes for about 5 days, it could get rather expensive. The cheaper option is to stay at the student residency hall at the University of Illinois, more specifically, at S. Halsted St. or W. Maxwell Street, both of which are about 3 miles from the conference venue, but they would cost me $65 a night.

I've been onto google and checked out the street views from the student residency hall to the conference place, and the streets (especially W Cermak street) look rather isolated. I know that there are buses between these two places, but I'm not sure how safe they are to ride in general, and at night.

I've also been to the Chicago police's website to check out the crimes around the student residency hall and the conference venue, and there were actually quite a few crimes in the past week.

So, I'm wondering if you guys could shed some light on the following questions:

* How safe are the neighborhoods around the student residency hall and the conference venue, especially at night?

* What are the major touristy spots in Chicago, and how safe are they during the day and night? What are the places that I should avoid?

* What are the safest public transport in Chicago other than taxi, and what are the hours that I should NOT travel on public transport?

* Would it be a safe thing to do if I want to go out from the student residency hall or the Hyatt at night, say at around 8-9pm?

I also plan to visit New York city, Washington DC, L.A., Vegas, and perhaps San Francisco, I'd be very grateful if you could also answer some of these questions regarding these cities.

Oh, I'll be traveling alone, and I'm 178cm in height, medium build, totally Asian looking (would this make me a prime target?).

Thanks a lot.

-D

[eos]

um....you went onto google to check out how the streets are?

anyway, the safest bet would be to stay on campus. the area around the hyatt is kinda iffy...close to the projects, definitely not a place you want to walk around at night. however, if you're in a big group, it's good cuz you can walk to chinatown.

be more specific about where on halsted please. because if it's where i'm thinking, then it will be relatively safe and full of things to do.

tourist spots: navy pier, downtown, gold coast, chinatown, the lakefront. navy pier is a POS. do NOT go there unless you like giant ferris wheels and being overrun with slow-moving tourists who act like they've never seen water before. good place to sit and watch people though.

have to continue this later. work awaits.

[didu]

um....you went onto google to check out how the streets are?

Yeah I did, and the streets looked a bit run down and deserted.


anyway, the safest bet would be to stay on campus. the area around the hyatt is kinda iffy...close to the projects, definitely not a place you want to walk around at night. however, if you're in a big group, it's good cuz you can walk to chinatown.

Well. I cannot spend much time on campus because the conference is at the Hyatt. I'm also supposed to help out at the conference because they waived the registration fee ($320) for me, so it is possible that I will have to get there a bit early and go home a bit late. I doubt I'd be in a big group, because I'm traveling alone ... um ... how much would the taxi cost?

What's there to see/do in Chinatown?


be more specific about where on halsted please. because if it's where i'm thinking, then it will be relatively safe and full of things to do.

One of the following two places:


Thomas Beckham Hall
1250 S. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60607
www.housing.uic.edu/halls/tbh.html

Marie Robinson Hall (MRH) (overflow)
811 W. Maxwell Street
Chicago, IL 60608
www.housing.uic.edu/halls/mrh.html



tourist spots: navy pier, downtown, gold coast, chinatown, the lakefront. navy pier is a POS. do NOT go there unless you like giant ferris wheels and being overrun with slow-moving tourists who act like they've never seen water before. good place to sit and watch people though.

Affirmative.


have to continue this later. work awaits.

Thanks a lot!

-D

[Craig]

I also plan to visit New York city, Washington DC, L.A., Vegas, and perhaps San Francisco, I'd be very grateful if you could also answer some of these questions regarding these cities.Chicago is much safer than all of those other metros you mentioned.
My conference will be held in Hyatt Regency McCormick Place 2233 S. Martin Luther King Drive.This is going to be very politically incorrect, ... but most of the time in most cities in America when you see the street named after "Martin Luther King" it's going to be in a less than desirable area.

[didu]

Chicago is much safer than all of those other metros you mentioned.

oh ... that's comforting. :frown:


This is going to be very politically incorrect, ... but most of the time in most cities in America when you see the street named after "Martin Luther King" it's going to be in a less than desirable area.

haha, I'd love to put that theory to test ... no, not really, I will take your word for it because I'd rather stay alive.

Thanks a lot for this invaluable piece of advice.

-D

[eos]

every street looks rundown and deserted on google. even mine, and i live in a really nice neighborhood.

so to continue: stay at the hyatt. and take the taxis. i'm assuming you can write these off as business expenses. (if not, what the hell kind of company do you work for?)

the CTA is definitely cheaper, at $2.00 a ride, but you'd have to go through the projects.

you seem to be a very paranoid person so i'd recommend sticking to cabs to go everywhere. no offense but everyone i know takes the cta and walks around by themselves, especially in the summer time when everyone takes advantage of the weather before we hibernate in the winter. plus, there's no real safe time for anything as things happen at every time of day. people get robbed and beat in broad daylight, in front of crowds, for crying out loud.

chinatown is only good for food, nothing else. that can be argued though, depending on who you ask.

i think that's all i have to add.

[cloudzero]

king drive? shit, i've never had a time where i WASNT asked for change when i was there. mostly asking me for a dollar for the cta or if i have a transfer

[didu]

every street looks rundown and deserted on google. even mine, and i live in a really nice neighborhood.

I feel better now.


so to continue: stay at the hyatt. and take the taxis. i'm assuming you can write these off as business expenses. (if not, what the hell kind of company do you work for?)

I cannot write those off as business expenses, I'm on a student budget, and I'm not working for any company at the moment (but that will change soon).


the CTA is definitely cheaper, at $2.00 a ride, but you'd have to go through the projects.

Is that the bus or the subway? Looking at google map, it seems that I can take the number 8 bus from S. Halsted street to W. Cermak street, then take the number 3/21 bus to the conference venue. Is this route through the projects too?


you seem to be a very paranoid person so i'd recommend sticking to cabs to go everywhere.

I know I come across that way, but I'm just exploring all possibilities and expecting the worst.


i think that's all i have to add.

Thanks a lot, so do you know much about the area around the residence hall?

[eos]

one fare on the CTA, $2.00. unless you do a transfer, which is i think $0.75, and lasts 2 hours. stick with 8 and 21. they are the more popular/populated buses. they both go through rundown areas, but then it gets nice, then yucky again. just don't sit in the back. people generally won't bother you if you don't bother them. just mind your own business and stare out the window, read, or listen to music.

i live east of the university, south of downtown, in an area known as south loop. the area around the whole university used to be crap and maxwell/halsted was the place to go for cheap socks (used to be called "jew town" and FULL of abandoned tenement buildings). now you can't even recognize it if you didn't have the pictures to prove it.

so all in all, you have nothing to worry about. follow my advice and you won't get assaulted or kidnapped. i'm still alive, aren't i?

[kimpossible]

didu, this sounds exactly like graduate student conference, budget and travel to me. i don't know if you're speaking or submitted a paper but since you're flying to USA that means your ticket can't be cheap. can you not convince your program to get enough to cover the Hyatt for five days? the conference organizers should have secured a group price for the cheaper rooms, unless $175 is the group discount price.

i'd suggest maybe finding another grad student to room with if you can and share the price of the room. yes, i know how much you guys hate it but if you're working the conference as well as presenting or doing university program work you need the convenience of lodging on site. that way you will also have access to the concierge and the hotel shuttle.

[deez nuts]

How come your department isn't paying for it or covering a portion of the costs? Even when I was a lowly med student, the med school or the department would split if not covered the costs of going to a conference. You Ph.D's have it rough.

I was gonna post something about flying back to NY and mugging you when you come to NY but knowing you have problems covering the costs of the trip, I would feel bad. Oh and general rule of thumb: avoid anything named after Martin Luther King here in the states unless you're looking to score some really good fried chicken or drugs.

[raacluse]

re: McCormick Place Hyatt Regency

that's where my conference was held, back in April. The conf. ctr. is actually across the street from the hotel.


re: bus lines 3 and 21

I took 'em both. Took the 21 to Chinatown and used the 3 (and 4) to commute from the Loop (where I was staying).

You can probably buy a multi-day transit pass at the airport mass transit station.

(BTW, I think the 3 stops running around midnight. At least, that was my experience.)


re: DC

Latest museum news: UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) on display at Air & Space; Newseum recently opened at its new location near the Canadian Embassy; Eero Saarinen exhibit just opened at the Nat'l. Bldg. Museum.

If you're a political wonk, then you might enjoy attending a congressional hearing or a think tank forum. Otherwise, check the entertainment listings in the free weekly tabloid, the Washington City Paper.

[didu]

@eos,

Thanks so much for the advice. I think I will stay at the residence hall and commute by bus. In the worst case scenario, I will take a cab.

@kimpossible & deez nuts

The conference I'm attending is AAAI-08, it is not just a graduate conference, but probably the biggest conference in computer science in North America, or the world. There are quite a few (graduate) student programs associated with the main conference including a doctoral forum, but I'm attending the main technical track to present a paper.

The whole trip is very expensive to me, especially since I'm flying in from Australia (that bloody big island in the middle of nowhere). The conference has kindly agreed to sponsor me for $400, and they will waiver the $320 conference registration fee. In exchange, I will help out at the conference as a volunteer. It's a good deal, $400 won't get me even 1/3 of the way across the pacific ocean, but I'm still glad that I got it. This conference is among the most prestigious in the field of computer science, therefore it attracts a rather large number of equally poor grad students. In fact, they have informed me that nobody got the full amount of what they asked for. So, I'm very grateful for what they've agreed to give me.

My department used to give its grad students AUS$1500 a year for traveling, but after the recent restructuring, it's gone. I have to jump through a few rather nasty hoops to get money from the faculty, and since I've missed the Apr deadline, I will have to foot the bill myself for now, and ask for an reimbursement later which should cover most of the plane ticket to the U.S.

The Hyatt hotel normally charges a lot more than $175 a night, but the conference has again provided some subsidies for its attendees. However, that's still too expensive, especially the conference goes for at least 4 days. I wish I could stay at the hotel, because it really is very convenient. Instead, I will stay at the student accommodation, sharing an apartment with 1 or 3 other students, and that's gonna cost me $65 a night. I hope that the conference would provide some free food. I'd like to share a room at the hotel, but the problem is that I don't know anyone who's going to the conference, and a 2-bed room is still about 80% more expensive than the residence hall for which I get my own bedroom.

@raacluse

Thanks a lot for the info on the bus, I won't stay at the conference venue after 9, as long as I don't have to.

I'm looking forward to going to D.C., I've heard a lot of nice things about it.

@ everyone

Thanks for the advice.

[kimpossible]

Well, congrats on presenting your paper. I know this is big. My husband is presenting next month at his industry's big conference. All I can say is I know how you have to make it work no matter how tight the budget. Are you in Melbourne by any chance?

[deez nuts]

@kimpossible & deez nuts

The conference I'm attending is AAAI-08, it is not just a graduate conference, but probably the biggest conference in computer science in North America, or the world. There are quite a few (graduate) student programs associated with the main conference including a doctoral forum, but I'm attending the main technical track to present a paper.

The whole trip is very expensive to me, especially since I'm flying in from Australia (that bloody big island in the middle of nowhere). The conference has kindly agreed to sponsor me for $400, and they will waiver the $320 conference registration fee. In exchange, I will help out at the conference as a volunteer. It's a good deal, $400 won't get me even 1/3 of the way across the pacific ocean, but I'm still glad that I got it. This conference is among the most prestigious in the field of computer science, therefore it attracts a rather large number of equally poor grad students. In fact, they have informed me that nobody got the full amount of what they asked for. So, I'm very grateful for what they've agreed to give me.

My department used to give its grad students AUS$1500 a year for traveling, but after the recent restructuring, it's gone. I have to jump through a few rather nasty hoops to get money from the faculty, and since I've missed the Apr deadline, I will have to foot the bill myself for now, and ask for an reimbursement later which should cover most of the plane ticket to the U.S.

The Hyatt hotel normally charges a lot more than $175 a night, but the conference has again provided some subsidies for its attendees. However, that's still too expensive, especially the conference goes for at least 4 days. I wish I could stay at the hotel, because it really is very convenient. Instead, I will stay at the student accommodation, sharing an apartment with 1 or 3 other students, and that's gonna cost me $65 a night. I hope that the conference would provide some free food. I'd like to share a room at the hotel, but the problem is that I don't know anyone who's going to the conference, and a 2-bed room is still about 80% more expensive than the residence hall for which I get my own bedroom.



That's rough. But, grats on your accomplishments.

I will also be presenting at two conferences later this year. The only fuss I made to the department was not being flown first class :biggrin:

[didu]

Thanks for the encouragement!

@ kimpossible

Yes, I'm in Melbourne. The alternative is to let my supervisor who may have the money to fly to America to do the presentation, but he's not sure about his funding either, and I don't want to miss a good excuse to travel to North America. Another alternative is to withdraw the paper ... it's really not an alternative at all.

@ deez nuts

I wished I had studies medicine like you ... but I'm not a fan of blood, so I'd have to do this PhD thing to get the title of doctor. :biggrin:

[deez nuts]

@ deez nuts

I wished I had studies medicine like you ... but I'm not a fan of blood, so I'd have to do this PhD thing to get the title of doctor. :biggrin:

I've always said Ph.D's are the most hardcore out of all the advanced degrees. Ph.D's in a legit field not like some bullshit like PhD in film studies.

[kimpossible]

@ kimpossible

Yes, I'm in Melbourne.


Heyyyyyy, you and I need to talk sometime.

[didu]

@ deez nuts

Thanks man, it feels very nice to be appreciated.

@ kimpossible

sure, feel free to PM/email me.

[Gunz]

Staying at the student lodging is probably the best deal.

Once you arrive and meet others at the conference, you can probably make better plans to travel as a group, and split the cost of the cabs, and get better directions of places to visit. Mingle and meet is the key to the conferences. Most Asians do not do enough of the networking and mingling. You get better leads and have more fun after you meet people at the conference who have done Chicago before.

Chicago is a big city, and has its ugly sides. The tourist spots like the Museums and Navy Pier are fine. Chinatown and such are typically stinky, and good for food, only. Nothing special about it. Lots of Asians around.

In America, any place near a Martin Luther King IS a high risk. Believe me, the MLK street in Chicago is not a place for you to be. The irony of America is MLK's legacy of racial pride, higher education, social equality, hard work, self dignity are all smeared by the drugs, gangs, crime, and decrepit neighborhoods bearing his name. It shows that a name alone cannot carry the vision and dreams for the denizens of the micropolis of destruction.

On a lighter note, Chicago is the centerpiece of commerce and history for America during the Westward expansion. Beautiful buildings, lovely lakeview along Lakeshore drive.