Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-31-2011, 06:16 PM
 
18 posts, read 57,541 times
Reputation: 12

Advertisements

Hey all. My wife and I have been looking for a single family home in the burbs of chicago around the elk grove village area and came across a really nice rehabbed home in Addison. It is a very nice neighborhood. My question, is Addison a good town to live in? Schools are of course important. The elementary school near the home we're looking at is a 5 star school. fwiw.
I've seen addison getting a bad rap from some but what is the real story? Is it safe?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-31-2011, 06:38 PM
 
1,096 posts, read 4,525,639 times
Reputation: 1097
Quote:
Originally Posted by needtopractice View Post
Hey all. My wife and I have been looking for a single family home in the burbs of chicago around the elk grove village area and came across a really nice rehabbed home in Addison. It is a very nice neighborhood. My question, is Addison a good town to live in? Schools are of course important. The elementary school near the home we're looking at is a 5 star school. fwiw.
I've seen addison getting a bad rap from some but what is the real story? Is it safe?
I don't know all that much about addison so take what I sasy with a grain of salt but I think they have a pretty bad gang problem in addison.

Obviously many towns have great parts and crappy parts but I also remember a few years back a large apartment building where literally the whole entire apartment complex pretty much was involved in large scale drug dealing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2011, 06:39 PM
 
4,152 posts, read 7,934,805 times
Reputation: 2727
I think it generally is safe enough but there are pockets of low income type housing. There are also areas of nice housing too. I personally do not like it much and would not live there. In my humble opinion, there are much better places in dupage county to live than Addison. If you have a specific connection to Addison such as job or family maybe its okay. JMHO
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2011, 06:43 PM
 
18 posts, read 57,541 times
Reputation: 12
We're not SET on it as a town but rather enjoy the home we found there, and it is centrally located geographically with work and our family's.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2011, 07:40 PM
 
408 posts, read 997,033 times
Reputation: 318
I agree with ToriaT. Having been in Addison a billion times, and knowing many people from there, I would say it's decent, but I wouldn't move there. Why?

  • Addison Trail High School is, frankly, trash (though nicely renovated)
  • There are pockets of "bad" that spill over to other areas (petty crime)*
  • There are better neighborhoods in the immediate vicinity

* - While petty crime is common everywhere, I feel this is accentuated in Addison due to the large wealth disparity within the town, which has high-income housing with low-income housing (which is where the crime concentrates). Let's face it, if you're buying a house in Addison for a tidy sum, you should not expect this happening in your very own town on a semi-consistent basis. (off the top of my head: shooting in Portillo's, homeless man lying in the middle of Army Trail passed out with numerous cops around him, drug dealing near North Ave and behind Jewel, increasing pregnancy rates at ATHS)

The main problem, however, can be seen in the public school there, which by the time my friends had left (mid-2000s) was heading toward a lower level than previously maintained (academics, pregnancies, drugs, and so forth).

However, please do not think Addison is a ghetto, it's decent and livable.
I just would not live there, and would not recommend it either. I feel there are better suburbs that neighbor it that, in the long-run, you will appreciate more.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2011, 07:46 PM
 
18 posts, read 57,541 times
Reputation: 12
This is a little disconcerting...
Thanks for the info.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2011, 07:51 PM
 
408 posts, read 997,033 times
Reputation: 318
Quote:
Originally Posted by needtopractice View Post
This is a little disconcerting...
Thanks for the info.
What are you looking for, in particular? Besides the neighborhood, what else has attracted you to Addison?

You may like it after all, and who knows, Addison can become better. The town has improved its library, as well as renovated several commercial blocks along Lake. Lake St. was also recently improved. For the price, the town has a great location along two highways and an airport.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2011, 07:55 PM
 
18 posts, read 57,541 times
Reputation: 12
I'm looking for the town to be safe and have good schools. The house we are looking at there is in a charming little division that looks like a suburban haven were families would thrive.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2011, 09:13 PM
 
28,455 posts, read 85,332,804 times
Reputation: 18728
Default Hate to "pick on" a new poster, but perhaps this will be a useful starting point..

It is EXACTLY for reasons like this that I tell people to IGNORE the ratings of web sites that allow for any random Joe or Jane to "rate" schools. It is a JOKE to call any school in Addison "5 Star" as such a rating conjures up images of a "luxury resort" when the FACTS from the OBJECTIVELY BASED Illinois Interactive Report Card as hosted by Northern Illinois University clearly shows that of the 7 rated schools in the District that serves Addison only two made adequate progress and even the best school is ranked around 700 out of 2100 on the relatively weak Illinois required tests 2011 Illinois School Report Cards - Chicago Sun-Times
http://iirc.niu.edu/SearchResult.aspx?type=CITY&searchText=$ADDISON$

Beyond the schools I agree that the Addison has some negatives. The relative level of (albeit minor) trouble that mostly comes down to under supervised kids tends to scare off the kind of families that would be mostly likely actively involved in seeking out the best for their kids and instead you get folks that just are not as clued in.

Prices in Addison are lower than in neighboring Elmhurst, which has done much more to improve its far more desirable schools / commercial districts, but also Villa Park, which is telling as the high school is shared with Willowbrook in Villa Park. The better performance of York High School and Willowbrook is a textbook example of how real estate values are driven by school performance. Disappointingly Addison no longer even has a private high school as Driscoll, the local Catholic high school, was unable to continue operating.


Quote:
Originally Posted by needtopractice View Post
Hey all. My wife and I have been looking for a single family home in the burbs of chicago around the elk grove village area and came across a really nice rehabbed home in Addison. It is a very nice neighborhood. My question, is Addison a good town to live in? Schools are of course important. The elementary school near the home we're looking at is a 5 star school. fwiw.
I've seen addison getting a bad rap from some but what is the real story? Is it safe?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2011, 10:25 PM
 
Location: Chicago
3,569 posts, read 7,194,814 times
Reputation: 2637
Addison is heaven compared to any REAL crime ridden suburb.

Don't listen to these sheltered pansies. Addison is fine.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top