Is Elgin safe place to live? (Chicago, St. Charles: environment, for sale, travel)

[epath13]

My family currently searching for a new place in Chicago area. We've seen a lot of houses for sale in Elgin but I personally have some concerns about the place. Crime ratings don't seem to be that good in comparison with some other nearby towns. We have 2 years old and planning to have more kids, so we'd like to find the best place from what we can afford. Are there certain areas in Elgin that should be avoided and how is the town in general, crime wise?

[Steve-o]

How much can you spend on a house? Where will you be working? How far are you willing to travel to work? Are schools of any importance? What are you looking for in the town? Is nightlife important? Dining? Shopping? Outdoor recreation?

Here is a thread on Elgin from yesterday that you might find helpful:
Mrstaylo

IMO, there are many way better towns in the area, but Id need you to answer the questions I asked, it makes it easier to pinpoint a town as many towns around here are rediculously expensive.

[BUalumni]

Elgin is a dump! There are nice areas, but the majority of the town is a waste of money. Poor schools, high crime, nasty downtown, and large urban problems. Sorry to be so straightforward, but trust me, Elgin is not what you are looking for. Some parts of the city may look like a good deal, but they are not, and you will not get the same return to be sure. There are plenty of towns around it that are good, but many of them filter into the Elgin school district, which is far less than high performing.

[epath13]

We're 1st time buyers. We're not sure yet how much we're willing to spend on a house. But it's definitely not more than 200 000. Job is in Elk Grove village and we wouldn't want to spend more that 30min (40 max) on travel. Schools are important, nightlife - not that much. The priority is safe family friendly environment. Anyway, after reading all those messages I'm not sure that Elgin is a good place for us. What about Lake in the Hills?

[tcs1366]

lake in the hilss would be a much better choice, I know some people who live there.... but 30 min to EGV, not sure about.
an old friend of mine -- her brother and family lives there and he commutes to EVG/Itasca for work -- i do think he's farther west and takes I90 in off of Randall rd.

once when i drove out there, I think i wound through 176 off of 12, and it seemed like a really long ride.

but I think housing is reasonable... though I know in the past decade, they had a housing boom with everyone trying to get "more for their money" and heading out of the suburbs.

Hope this helps

[Windy City John]

CRIME Zipcode 60120The Crime Index suggests the risk of certain types of crime occurring in this community as compared to the national average. The national average for each type of crime equals a score of 100, so a score of 200 would represent twice the risk as the national average, and a score of 50 would represent half the risk of the national average. National Average
TotalPersonalMurderRapeRobberyAssaultPropertyBurgl aryLarcenyMV TheftCompare this to neighboring St. Charles zip code 60174

CRIME (FAQ)The Crime Index suggests the risk of certain types of crime occurring in this community as compared to the national average. The national average for each type of crime equals a score of 100, so a score of 200 would represent twice the risk as the national average, and a score of 50 would represent half the risk of the national average. National Average
TotalPersonalMurderRapeRobberyAssaultPropertyBurgl aryLarcenyMV Theft

[staylor]

For the most part Elgin isn't a good choice, BUT there are some nice and safe neighborhoods around Randall Road and Route 20. There are homes worth over a million in that area and some new developments. The only downfall purchasing in that area is that you still have an Elgin address but if you are in the area of Route 20 & Randall, it is in the Burlington School District, not Elgin so you wouldn't have to worry about that. Also, South Elgin has a lot of newer neighborhoods and may be a better option, pretty much anything along Randall Road is nice.

[Windy City John]

Here is the state police crime report for 2006

http://www.isp.state.il.us/docs/cii/...g27_to_198.pdf

[Don Vito]

Elgin has always been a dumpy powdunk town. The only thing going for it is the fact that the suburban sprawl has now engulfed eastern kane county.

[ShinjukuRaver]

Elgin is preferably good not to move into.

- Gang activity is widespread and there are a high number of gangs.
- Crime rates vary each year of course, but it is fairly high for a growing city.


Elgin usually has some locations that, at least from what I've seen, should be avoided. Though I won't say these locations because all the locations are not extreme high crime-rate zones.

Although, along Randall Road and areas the surrounding, the homes are usually excellent (but pricey) and have little to no crime rate. Where I live, the crime rate is nothing.

Elgin usually has spotty gang territories, but it usually isn't always at one spot. :/