<p>I've never been to U of Chicago, or Chicago. Still, judging by the pictures I've seen, U of Chicago's campus looks absolutely marvelous. However.... I've heard that the campus is located in an absolutely awful, crime-ridden neighborhood where they have those emergency boxes at every corner. is that true?? I hear its not safe to walk around the campus at night or dusk cuz people around the area might mug you! </p>
<p>I heard this from my friends father.</p>
<p>The area around the campus requires some street smarts. However, the danger is over rated...Hyde Park has a lot of restored Victorian homes that go for $$$$...and you don't find that phenomenon in dangerous neighborhoods. It's true that I think you'll want to take a bus or something up to downtown for a lot of more social stuff. The same issues come up for lots of urban campuses: NYU, Columbia/Barnard, Penn, USC.... That said, there are some neighborhoods near U/Chicago where I wouldn't go wandering around alone after dark.</p>
<p>Bear in mind that a lot of people start freaking out any time they see an area where white people are a minority, regardless of whether it's crime-ridden or not.</p>
<p>It's supposed to be a lot better than it was 20 years ago. A LOT better. There are emergency boxes at every corner but that's a reflection of the safeness of the school, not the high crime rate. The area isn't crime free, of course. If you drive a mile away you'll see some bad neighborhoods, but I wouldn't worry too much about the danger of campus. Buses are there always, you can call for a ride from a place if you feel unsafe, hell you can get a police car to follow you home. Police are actually bored there is what I was told, so the area is safe, especially immediately in or around the campus.</p>
<p>I spoke to an alumnus today, coincidentally, about the safety issue. Back in the 80s and early 90s, it was apparently quite dangerous in some neighborhoods, esp. across the mid-way past Burton Judson and the Law School, but never the campus proper itself. However, even since the mid-nineties the neighborhood has improved amazingly. Having been there twice, both late at night and in daylight, and I'm a caucasian female, I have to report that I felt absolutely safe. I have female and male friends currently at UChicago who don't hesitate to move around the campus neighborhood. There are less secure neighborhoods both farther north and south of Hyde Park, however Hyde Park, and to a large extent Kenwood, are pretty safe. Obviously, it's an urban neighborhood. You probably don't want to walk around too late alone. Never go down a street where you see no other people at night etc.. However, to sum, the safety issue at Chicago has really been worked on over time, and seriously, by the school. And also remember that if the safety factor were so incredibly overwhelming, the school could never be as successful as it is. It's as safe as an inner city neighborhood is going to get--as long as you use common sense.</p>
<p>the school definitely goes out of its way to make everyone feel comfortable. as long as you arent behaving in a way that is just asking for someone to take advantage of you, you'll be fine.</p>
<p>also, here's a link to the chicago maroon that talks about this issue. <a href="http://maroon.uchicago.edu/news/articles/2003/02/14/secc_reports_crime_d.php%5B/url%5D">http://maroon.uchicago.edu/news/articles/2003/02/14/secc_reports_crime_d.php</a></p>
<p>The neighborhood is really not that bad. I went to Chicago this summer, and I thought that University of Chicago was in an okay neighborhood. Hyde Park is really an interesting place to be with a lot of exotic sights. Furthermore, there are a lot of rich/famous people who live there.</p>
<p>Hyde park is a great neighborhood (as well as kenwood)</p>
<p>Jackson park borders up on hyde park and isnt the greatest but hey you dont have to go there.</p>
<p>Bad neighborhood? Go see Yale (New Haven),Johns Hopkins (Baltimore) and UPenn (Philly). That will show you bad. Play safe, be smart, alert, and don't walk alone at 1:00 a.m. You should be fine.</p>
<p>The area around University of Chicago is fine. Hyde Park is great; loads of cool museums and stuff. Ditto the area around Yale; New Haven has been getting a lot better over the past two decades, and the area around Yale is particularly cosmopolitan. I've been to both campuses, and did not feel unsafe at either.</p>