Moving To Joliet/Plainfield ? (Chicago, Troy: fit in, home, neighborhoods)

[isevilla]

Originally Posted by sbd78

I've never priced out private schools, but maybe you could look into that? I assume they are pricey, but moving is pricey too and with the housing market not the best at the moment, maybe it would be better to send your kids to private schools for a few years until the housing market picks up and you build some equity on your home and can move to a better school district? I agree that it stinks to pay such high taxes and not have good schools.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing about sending them to private school. I priced one not too far away and they are asking $7,000 or so for 2 kids a year plus a few hundred in other school fees per kid.

I am not sure what to do at this point but once school starts I will look into getting them transferred or something if not the only other alternative is the private school.

I would definately hate to move right now as I am not even unpacked yet from getting here. lol.

Is.

[DianaC]

Have you considered homeschooling?? There are several home school groups in the area. It's something that we're considering, although we still have a few years to decide on that.

[isevilla]

Originally Posted by DianaC

Have you considered homeschooling?? There are several home school groups in the area. It's something that we're considering, although we still have a few years to decide on that.

do you happen to have any info on the home schooling in the area?

[regibone04]

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"?

Preppy blacks are apart of the black elite(upper/upper middle class). This demographic is mostly hidden, as it is an insular group. Within the black elite there is old-money and new-money blacks. "True" black preps are considered old money, typically grow up in Jack & Jill of America, go to a prestigous black college such as Howard, Spelman, Morehouse, North Carolina Central, Hampton, or a prestigous white college(Ivies, Duke, MIT, Smith, Brandeis, etc.) summer in Nantucket, participate in cotillions and debutante balls, pledge in college (AKA, Delta, Alpha, Kappa, Omega), and are very studious. New-money blacks can be apart of the same things, yet they are somewhat shunned upon because of their lack of generational wealth. There are blacks that parallel the black elite as far as income, but they aren't really included if they aren't affiliated with this things. Oh yeah, members of the black elite are always professional people, not entertainers and athletes.
It's interesting to observe how the media fails to illuminate this old(I'm talking since 1700s), POWERFUL group of people. I hope your question was answered.

[Naperville77]

Joliet vs Plainfield is not even a contest. Though you're in tornado alley in Plainfield IMO.

I go to Joliet almost every other weekend and it's still a dump. They did do a good job with a few parts of downtown but otherwise it's still a dump. isevilla I'd probably move sooner rather than later.

[ManheimMadman]

Originally Posted by Naperville77

Joliet vs Plainfield is not even a contest. Though you're in tornado alley in Plainfield IMO.

I go to Joliet almost every other weekend and it's still a dump. They did do a good job with a few parts of downtown but otherwise it's still a dump. isevilla I'd probably move sooner rather than later.

Could you care to elaborate? Do you see most of the city as a dump, or just a certain section?

I'm a bit hurt by the overall reaction to Joliet in this thread. However, this is mostly due to the fact that I have LOTS vested in this community (I got my A.A. from Joliet Junior College, and I'm getting my B.A. from St. Francis next May). I happen to be a student teacher in the area as well, and can say yes- there is a lot to be desired with the public schools. My mom is 4 times divorced, so suffice to say- I've moved A LOT. We're from Bucktown, then moved to the near Northwest Side (hence my username!). However, I spent all 4 years of high school at Neuqua Valley High School. Yes, Naperville is FAR different than Joliet.

However, I wouldn't really call Joliet a dump. Parts of Downtown, leading to the East Side (near Washington Academy, Edna Keith elementary) leave some to be desired (my wife student taught at Keith, and these poor kids are in the middle of a lot of gang problems).

Also, Jefferson(52) & Larkin is near the hospital - not a bad area by any means. Old? Absolutely. Working/Middle Class? Absolutely. It's the same a couple of miles northeast by the university. Lots of old, beautiful brick homes in the historic ridge district that remind me of Mt. Greenwood in Chicago.

I guess I'm really shocked by the difference in culture and perspective.

As far as not being able to find a suitable school- I'm sorry. A majority of my classmates at St. Francis didn't graduate from the Joliet public schools- they came from Joliet Catholic, or surrounding communities (Mokena, Frankfort, New Lenox). However, I've worked with some excellent teachers who are trying very hard to cope with the changing demographics. Many are trying to find ways to reach kids who are in poverty, at-risk, and don't care. It's a challenge we're working on, please be patient.

[johnr1026]

I have to agree with Naperville77. I used to work for Joliet City Hall. In fact, I was in management, and I have to say it's a dump. I walked downtown everyday, and even the court house is upset with City Hall. Ask any judge about the parking situation, and City Hall has done nothing but make it worse. Let me remind you, that 95% of the business downtown rely on the courthouse. The lawyers, title companies, coffee shops that take care of the lawyers, the sandwich shops that take care of the jurors. The court house has already been threatening to leave. Joliet will be a bigger dump than it already is. Management at City Hall is run like the mob, and they run it like crap. They want to raise the prices of parking at the Metra station to $5, when everyone else charges no more than $2.

The fire chief got caught with a hooker, the fire chief a couple years ago was caught in a scandle involving stealing from an old woman, the mayor's son was caught fixing tickets, what else do you need?

Don't you think it's funny that the nicest parts of Joliet is actually called Plainfield. I live in Joliet, but I have a Plainfield address. My kids go to Plainfield schools, cause I don't want my kids going to Joliet. And Plainfield schools suck, so that is saying something.

True, I'm a bit jaded cause I worked for City Hall, but I have to say I don't see much positive things to say about Joliet. Especially since there are much nicer places to be.

And who the hell puts up a lifestyle mall at the corner of Theodore and RT 59 without widening RT59. Traffic is bad enough. And only a city like Joliet will zone for a gas station at the end of a runway of an airport and not be sensitive to the fact that someone might have a problem.

And the fact, that people like you think that Joliet is a nice place to live, is the reason why they get away with such things.

Hell, I can go on all day.

[law1013]

Originally Posted by sbd78

If you move to Joliet, I would make sure you are NOT in Joliet's school district. The very far west side of Joliet is very nice and much of it is not in Joliet's school district. Joliet schools rank very poorly and have a high percentage of low income students. We are currently building a new home in Joliet's far west side. (I believe it is land that Joliet annexed in, it is actually west of Shorewood and just South of Plainfield, not near the city of Joliet.) We will be in Minooka schools, which are excellent. Other parts of far west Joliet are in Plainfield schools, which are also excellent. Parts of far west Joliet are in Troy (Shorewood) elementary schools which are good but Troy schools go to Joliet for high school so you have to be careful about that. (Although maybe as Shorewood grows they will build their own high school, but for now, Joliet.) But far west Joliet is nice, new, growing rapidly and a world apart from the city of Joliet which doesn't have the best reputation. As long as you stay in this part of Joliet and out of Joliet schools, you should be happy.

Thanks for your reply. This sounds about exactly where we had our home built!! Maybe we're neighbors! We've got a big beautiful home, that didn't cost a boatload of money. Great schools, in a great area. We've been here about a year now, and we're loving it!

[Pebbs78]

I have relatives that live in Shorewood/Plainfield area, and have lived there for years - great schools, friendly community, etc. The best thing about that area is that it's unpretentious and easy to live. It's good to see more folks moving out to that area.

[law1013]

Originally Posted by Pebbs78

I have relatives that live in Shorewood/Plainfield area, and have lived there for years - great schools, friendly community, etc. The best thing about that area is that it's unpretentious and easy to live. It's good to see more folks moving out to that area.

Nice to hear more positive feedback on the area Pebbs, thanks!!