Mundelein neighbor hood report (Waukegan, Libertyville: apartment, to rent, crime)

[sizzler]

I'm planning to move to Mundelein, diamond lake area,near the lake. Is that area good, neighbor hood?Is anyone living/lived there?

[FB1977]

Well I work in Mundelein and my boss is about to have a huge expensive home built on Diamond Lake. I think most of the area is nice, but some parts not so much.

[J Randolph]

What are you looking for-- Is it close to your employment--plenty of great neighborhoods to chose from-- start thinking about commute times...

[IllinoiZ]

Mundelein is changing a lot. Mexican population has moved into a lot of the older neighborhoods. Some of the apartment buildings in Mundelein have gotten bad. I work close to that area and I have family who lives there.

However, it doesn't have tons of Mexican gangs like Waukegan (yet) It's mostly families moving into Mundelein with young children.

It's an older town and it's starting to look it in some areas. But it is still more affordable then Libertyville or Vernon Hills overall.

[outsider1]

There's a lot of contrast there. The newer(last 5~10 years) development is average(at least 250K for a townhouse) to nice(at least 300K for a townhouse). But nearby are old neighborhoods that used to have summer vacation homes. Now these homes are occupied by year-round residents. There's an evidence of criminal element there, nothing too drastic though.

If you plan to rent in this area, then anything deemed "affordable" would equal "undesirabe".

[S. Lee-Scott]

Mundelein is a great place to live! I've spent the better part of my life living in Mundelein, our son grew up here, went through the public school system, and Mundelein High School. He's an Eagle Scout. He's in the Army now, in Iraq. We have several active scout organizations for boys and girls. We have a Rainbow Organization for young women, and Art in the Schools programs.

There are many live and participating Church Communities. If you're afraid your children might have friends who speak Spanish as their first language, this is not the place for you. We have Spanish Speakers, as well as Russians, Polish, Asian and Italian people, and some very neighborly African American families.

If you want your kids to grow up in a real world, where there is ethnic variety, we're the place for you. If you're looking for WASPS, we aren't . Kids from our High school and the local Catholic High school move on to college or careers. some leave, many stay and build their lives here. Crime is low, gang activity is confined to a few poorer neighborhoods, the Mundelein Police have an absolute No Tolerance Policy on gang activity. We don't have gang wars. We had a car stolen once, our son's car. It was recovered and someone from outside our town was arrested driving it.

The neighborhoods, for the most part, are quiet and tree lined streets, we have many parks, from toddler lots to Park District programs that include swimming, a fully equipped health club, walking paths, bicycle paths, and an active Senior Center.

We have some very nice restaurants, all the standard junk food places. If you want seriously fancy fare, you can drive the three miles to Libertyville or Vernon Hills.

Our library is second to none, with a new, in the last few years, building, Prairie Architecture design. The collection boggles the mind. children & teens love the place, and so do the rest of us. Our children all use the library together.

Big box shopping is comfortable driving distance, with a full spectrum of services in town as well. For entertainment, we have several Multiplex theaters close by. Great America is close by, and all the young adults and kids love it there. There is ice skating, a Bowling alley and a very nice Golf Course. There is a local theatre company The Kirk Players, and Marriott live dinner/theatre just down the Avenue a bit,

As seen above, we have some racism to contend with, but there are always some people afraid of anyone who is different from them. Xenophobia is everywhere. You are most welcome to visit. We have a nice Bed and Breakfast, and some very respectable hotels!

[nick75035]

How is the "downtown" area near the Metra station? I see they have some developement slated for the area.

[cdc3217]

S Lee --

Good description. I have a few follow-up questions.

How is traffic?

Does part of Mundelein feed into Stevenson HS? Where are the school splits?

Are there neighborhoods where you can walk to a video store, WhiteHen/grocery and a walgreens/drugstore?