what are the bad south suburbs of chicago (Oak Lawn, Park Forest: property taxes, new home)

[bobsmith319]

Dolton
Chicago Heights
Ford Heights
Cicero (More of a Western subarb)
Summit
Any town near Indiana is bad.
Most near Midway airport are not the greatest.
Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge, Alsip, Burbank, Oak Forest, Orland Park are good places to check out.

[giftsgalore60534]

Ummm yeah do you live in Markham??? BTW what PART of Markham are you refering to??? because I have lived here for almost a year now and have yet to see a gang symbol being thrown up, never seen grafiti (sp?), and I have yet to see more than kids playing football in the street, riding bikes and gossiping on their way home from school... I live off of Country Air Blvd and I have found Markham to be a WONDERFUL area to live in and have already suggested it to several people within my family as a place to consider moving and I am now even more convinced that I have researched my son's new school and found it to have a 7 out of 10 rating for testing...

BTW why would Blue Island be a place to move considering the CHILD who was beat to death not too long ago over there and dumped in the river!!! yeah that sure isn't a crime... thats just a tragedy!!!!

Calumet City does have it's bad parts but I have witnessed it's good side too when house hunting... but I got more property for less funds here in Markham... although we do pay the price when it comes to water & taxes... it is MUCH more worth it here...

Originally Posted by NSH

Gangs, corruption and high crime can be found in
Harvey
Riverdale
Dolton
Robbins
Markham
Calumet City

Good places to check out would be
Blue Island
Crestwood
Alsip
Evergreen Park
Oak Lawn
Midlothian
Oak Forest

Do you have a particular area you wanted to be around?

[giftsgalore60534]

To say that ANY town near Indiana is bad is a pretty broad spectrum I do wonder if you have been to EVERY SINGLE town near Indiana...

Yes Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge, Burbank, Alsip, Oak Forest, Orland & Tinley Park are all great places but prices on property plus taxes there are INSANE... I ought to know considering I know people that live in each of those towns

Originally Posted by bobsmith319

Dolton
Chicago Heights
Ford Heights
Cicero (More of a Western suburb)
Summit
Any town near Indiana is bad.
Most near Midway airport are not the greatest.
Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge, Alsip, Burbank, Oak Forest, Orland Park are good places to check out.

[giftsgalore60534]

I have to agree with you as I drive through Blue Island on a regular basis since I LIVE in Markham and go to the city often and HATE taking 57 to the Dan Ryan Parking Lot... EVERYTIME I go through Blue Island it looks like a slightly cleaned up version of Harvey (Which is REALLY RUN DOWN AND MANY BOARDED UP PROPERTIES!!!) I have seen along 147th in Blue Island STARTING to improve with the adding of stores but other than that I have yet to see much happening...

Originally Posted by nanannie

The last time I was in BLue Island,it was down right scary,ugly,crime ridden and the Cal-sag was a sewer. I vowed never to return.HOWEVER-You say it has improved,--marina?walking paths?thats GREAT! Love to hear it and hope the "hot hot hot" spreads to some of those neighboring communities as well.Always like to hear about the positives when a town greatly improves,you should be very proud

[giftsgalore60534]

LOL you read my sentiments exactly IF you have children.

Now should you NOT have school aged children Lyons is a decent place to live... I used to live there the only down fall is that there is minimal public transportation so for anyone without a car not a good thing!!!

Originally Posted by bobsmith319

The subarbs you should stay way from are: Maywood, Riverdale, Harvey, Dolton, Cicero, Lyons, and Melrose Park.

[giftsgalore60534]

Yes Lyons is a great place to stay the only thing is that sometimes the cops can be jerks and I would stay away from The Lyons Den too many "close minded" people go in there... The McDonald's on Odgen is awesome my husband and I used to work there and the one night manager Louis is GREAT the saying that EVERYONE who knows him is "Everyone loves Loui!!!" If your there on a Saturday night take a drive east on Odgen to Michael Anthony's Pizza Place for some of the best pizza in the area & starting at 10:30-11pm Karaoke starts and even the kids can stick around till midnight... I still go ALL the way back up to Berwyn for my karaoke since I have YET to find a team of regulars that compares to the great guys & ladies at Michael Anthony's and don't forget to say hi to Mary Anne the KJ she is a sweetie...

Originally Posted by Rita1969

I was just wondering why you should stay away from Lyons. We are going to vacation in Chicago soon and have reserved a room in Lyons for a week. What should I know about Lyons? Is it safe to stay?

[giftsgalore60534]

Perhaps it is because prices ARE cheaper while still being close enough to the city to access everything INCLUDING Brookfield Zoo which is ONLY a 5 minute drive from Lyons!!!

Originally Posted by prairiestate

Yes, though I can't imagine why you would choose a cheap independent motel that rents rooms by the hour, in the suburbs yet, for a family vacation to Chicago. There is a large and growing Hispanic population in the area, most likely that's why a previous poster deemed it unsafe. You'll be fine, though.

[giftsgalore60534]

Originally Posted by Rita1969

Not knowing the areas well, I chose one with the right price. Apparently that was a bad decision. During our vacation we plan to be travelling alot between the Lake Shore Drive area (Navy Pier, museums, etc) and Lockport, Il. As well, we have family that lives in Lagrange that we will be visiting. Thus the central location. Any comments on Burr Ridge, Lombard or Westmont. These have reasonable hotels as well, and now that I need to find a new one, comments would be helpful.

Hun Lyons is perfectly safe this people are idiots I lived in Lyons for 5 years if you want info on it please feel free to call me I can tell you which hotels are better than others and what places are great to stop by...

send me a message at Trejo_Home@yahoo.com if you would like my #

[Sohotrust]

I can add another vote for Homewood/Flossmoor. Still has a old neighborhood kind of character, great trees, many affordable homes within walking distance to the train. For food it's got an award winning brew pub, two sushi joints, tons of great pizza and enough bars to keep it fun but not rowdy. The high school is ranked 15th or 16th in the state and climbing.

Blue Island has caught my eye recently though and I can see it being hot and up and coming. I would have done that if schools were of no concern for me.

Tinley and Orland? I have family there, and it works for them, but it's not my thing. If you need a new house, to be close to the mall, chains and big boxes go Tinley/Orland. If you like older homes with character and the mom and pop stores with personality, and if walk-ability is important to you go HF.

Munster is cheating, that's Indiana...

[partyman94]

Dolton
Chicago Heights
Riverdale
Calumet city
Harvey
Dixmoor
Robbins
Richton park