Moving To Joliet/Plainfield ? (Chicago, Naperville: section 8, high crime, new home)

[gardener]

always loved the area. Where you are describing,west end, is really nice. You would like it there.Don't have much else to add.

[pmoracco]

Plainfield schools are very good. The area is nice and growing! The Joliet and Plainfield area is large. If you'd like more information on the specific area you're considering, please feel free to contact me directly.

[waiting42]

Plainfield schools are really good. Try going Northeast Plainfield...it's the best. We lived there and would go back in a heartbeat!

[jlc267]

The area you are moving to is a great area. There are some really nice subdivisions. The plainfield schools are great my son goes to one and they are the biggest help to him. There is also alot to do in that area if you are near RT.59. You will have lots of parks for kids and lots of stores nearby. Good luck, any more questions just ask.

[Sharebear26]

We currently live in Chicago and will be moving to next year. I have heard alot of good things about PLainfield and Romeoville. I also heard there was a horrible tornado years ago and that Will county has really bad weather. Being from Chicago we never really had to worry about tornados. I have 4 kids that are very scared of the thought of tornados. How is the weather and has there been severe storms since the one that killed many people 16 years ago?
Any info you can share is appreciated.

[law1013]

Thanks for all the input. We've moved and so far it's been great. To calm my fears a little bit; one of my neighbors is on the Joliet police force, and another is a state trooper.

Thanks again!

[isevilla]

Hello everyone I happen to come across your posts via a google search and would like to ask a few questions of the persons who responded about the Joliet area. I apologize in advance for the long post but didnt know where to turn for advice.

I have just moved to the Joliet area (Jefferson & Larkin) cross streets to be exact. I have been visiting the Joliet area for about 10 years to a relative living in the area (by the small plane airport) and Ive always been wanting to move out here.

I had a problem with my credit and was not allowed to get a large amount for a home even though i could afford it in the farther western part or shorewood and happen to find this home for a decent price and I think its a fairly nice area as well until today.

My children were always brought up in upper middle class areas and we have never had any problems. They also have like seen one black person in their life. Well we moved here and the block or surrounding blocks we live on seem to be older/elderly white couples. We are in our thirties and are hispanic but brought up in white neiborhoods all our lives.

So I go to enroll the kids in the school that is 3 blocks away or so and find that almost all the kids walking around are black and I dont mean preppy blacks I mean ghetto blacks. The teachers and staff for the most part were white and or hispanic. My kids totally freaked out and were starting to feel and act weird. After school when my husband and I went to pick them up I would say 90% of the kids were black. My kids came home and said that they were 1 in 5 white/non black kids in their class and that the rest were black and that they werent good black kids. This really freaked me out.

I am freaked out because my oldest who is 12 knows right from wrong and the difference between ghetto people and preppy people etc and for him to come home and say that the kids were bad and ghetto scared me. My kids were always in schools that were all white and we never had problems with anything. He also said that they betted that no one had a real football jersey and when he said he did they all got mad at him and started to dislike him.

I dont want my kids to be seen as "rich" or "well off" compared to the other kids. I saw on the school's web site that 70% of the kids are on some type of welfare.

Any advice anyone? Should I take them out of the school if its possible or look to move again? I dont know where they come from or if they get bused there or what?

[law1013]

Wow!! Isevilla - I have so much I could say to that, but as to not cause an "uproar" I'll simply ask, why didn't you check out the schools BEFORE you bought the house? Being a parent myself, I know that the type of school my children attend is very important. When we began looking for a home in the area, the very first thing I did was to make sure any home we considered buying was in a good school district. Then after looking at several houses, and when we actually found a home we liked, I started researching the area. That's why I started this thread. I wanted to get all the information I could so we could make a decision as to how safe the area was, and how good the schools were. By the way . . . prior to this I didn't know anything about Joliet, but everyone we asked told us that the Jefferson/Larkin area isn't the best. Personally I really don't know anything about that side (or any side to be quite hinest), but from what they say that isn't a "well-off" area, so those kids probably don't live as far away as you might think.
Anyway . . . I wasn't trying to step on your toes, and hopefully I didn't, but if this is a major concern of yours I think you might want to consider a private school. Really that's the only other option besides moving again, and I don't know how willing you are to do that.

Just my two cents.

P.S. I just have to ask (again hopeing not to offend), but what are "preppy blacks"?

[KCWKEN]

If you're worried about schools, I've found an excellent website at www.greatschools.net that rates schools based on the %age of kids scoring at or above the state average on standardized tests and also gives information on demographics such as %age of kids considered "low income" etc. and has a place where you can read parent reviews of the schools. I've found it to be extremely helpful, and probably would have helped folks like Isevilla pick the right school district for them.

[isevilla]

Originally Posted by law1013

Wow!! Isevilla - I have so much I could say to that, but as to not cause an "uproar" I'll simply ask, why didn't you check out the schools BEFORE you bought the house? Being a parent myself, I know that the type of school my children attend is very important. When we began looking for a home in the area, the very first thing I did was to make sure any home we considered buying was in a good school district. Then after looking at several houses, and when we actually found a home we liked, I started researching the area. That's why I started this thread. I wanted to get all the information I could so we could make a decision as to how safe the area was, and how good the schools were. By the way . . . prior to this I didn't know anything about Joliet, but everyone we asked told us that the Jefferson/Larkin area isn't the best. Personally I really don't know anything about that side (or any side to be quite hinest), but from what they say that isn't a "well-off" area, so those kids probably don't live as far away as you might think.
Anyway . . . I wasn't trying to step on your toes, and hopefully I didn't, but if this is a major concern of yours I think you might want to consider a private school. Really that's the only other option besides moving again, and I don't know how willing you are to do that.

Just my two cents.

P.S. I just have to ask (again hopeing not to offend), but what are "preppy blacks"?

I did check out the school and according to their web site it stated it was 25% white, 25% black, and 25% other so i was like oh ok its pretty mixed up so maybe it would be ok for the kids to be around kids from different cultures. Well it turned out to be inaccurate and also it failed to mention that the district for this school is very large and thats why kids from farther over east get bused in.

Well I do have to say that my kids are adjusting well and have no problems with the kids so that is a good thing.

I am still feeling out the neighborhood and talking to neighbors etc and so far its ok. Its just not what I am used to and that is upper middle class suburban areas. Who knows it may be a place that we will grow into and then again it may not. I always have the option to sell and buy somewhere else if it doesnt work out. I am however willing to give it a chance.

To answer your question: Preppy blacks are black people who are upper middle class or what others would call "white washed".

And just to make a point: There are bad people of all races and there are good people in all races. It doesnt matter what race you are its how you live and what you accomplish in life.