Well, Wicker Park is “trendy” and “hip”, but if you walk 2 blocks south you’re at the projects, and if you walk a little ways east on North Ave, you’ll see crack whores plying their trade. The “hip” area is really about 1 block in any direction around the train station and even then I’d get out by sundown.
Yeah, I made a wrong turn and got lost over in that area years ago. Yikes!