Chicago’s neighborhoods are just like people: there are a lot of them and almost all of them are annoying in their own ways. But any area is only as irritating as the people who inhabit it, and according to a new study conducted by Digital Third Coast, Old Town is filled with folks you probably don't want to live on the same block as.
The new study compiled 3-1-1 complaints from the the 30 most densely populated neighborhoods in the city and then categorized the grousing as one of three types—noise, garbage and dog poop. Of course, this methodology is far from perfect. For one, the study's focus on only 30 densely populated areas means that the majority of Chicago's neighbors got off easy—who's to say that the people in Pullman or Portage Park are always a pleasure to live next to? There are also many other types of complaints (public intoxication and illegal parking, to name a few) that weren't considered, as well as some that might never warrant a 3-1-1 call (snide looks, passive aggressive notes, refusal to buzz in the UPS guy).
According to the numbers that Digital Third Coast pulled from the city's Data Portal, Old Town was first in garbage complaints and fourth in noise complaints, Hermosa was number one for errant dog poop, while the Gold Coast was at the top for noise.
If the study is to be believed, the North Side is where annoying neighbors want to live, while folks in Old Town, Bucktown, Wicker Park and Lincoln Park also rack up a lot of 3-1-1 complaints. The Near West Side (which includes the area surrounding the United Center, according to the boundaries of the study) ranked as the least annoying, so congrats to those Chicagoans for being decent human beings.
See if your neighborhood made the list by checking out the infographic below—and let's all pick up our dog's poop, put garbage where it belongs and try to get along with each other.
Illustration: Digital Third Coast