Oak Forest (Cicero, Orland Park, Tinley Park: section 8, for sale, real estate)

[citygrl707]

Tell me how it is to live there? Any problems . thank you

[sbragen]

heard it was on the lower end.

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by sbragen

heard it was on the lower end.

Lower end compared to what? Hinsdale? Kenilworth? Not low end at all. Oak Forest is very middle of the road with the higher end homes being along Ridgeland and that area over there. There is also a very nice pocket of homes that is near Central off 163rd Street that border the forest preserve. These homes now by no means are like those that you would find in areas like Palos Park or Hinsdale, but are nice little starter homes and can range in price from $180K to about $600K.

Oak Forest Homes for Sale. Real Estate in Oak Forest, Illinois

Crime in the town is very low with the higher crime being focused more right near the 159th and Cicero areas.

[pearl1961]

Oak Forest is a nice middle class community. Starter homes in the Fieldcrest and Gingerwood neighborhoods, and higher end homes on the west side of town. We have lived here for 20 years and I love it. The park district is top notch and police and fire departments are high rated. There are some pockets of Oak forest i would be a little concerned about living near such as the apartments near the train station on 159th street. Most of the neighborhoods have a neighborhood watch program in affect. Depending on the area you live in depends on the school district. Most of oak forest is in the Arbor park school district for grade school. Be aware that the Fieldcrest section of towns students are in the Markham district #144 for grade school. But when the kids in this area reach high school they go to Tinley Park high school. I would ask your realtor what schools the children will attend before buying and check them out.

[oak999]

I have lived in Oak Forest for over 15 years and we are leaving. I am going to give it to you plain and simple. This town is going down hill fast and if I where you I would avoid it. Crime is on the rise and so is corruption. The fire dept had a person convicted of DUI which it then tried to cover up for and hide a few months later the fire Chief was found to have mis-placed money for the dept while the firefighters where taking tools home.

Mayor Kelly has forced annex parts into the town making many very angry and the government is rude and ignorant. The only people more rude are the people at its City Hall that treat you like dirt when you have to go up there.

My opinion-- AVOID OAK FOREST!! Look into Tinley Park, Orland Park, Mokena, Lemont. Stay away from Oak Forest, Midlothian, Harvey, Markham.

[birdsis]

I agree with oak999 and when people say it has nice pockets of homes here and there but avoid these places I wouldn't want to live in a town like that. Just recently I heard a car dealership is pulling out of town and moving to Tinley (only better for Tinley's taxes). I've heard Oak Forest park district is awful not as much to offer as Tinley and Orland and the taxes are actually pretty high because there isn't as many businesses as Tinley and Orland. Price of houses are nicely priced there but it is for a reason, you can find homes for the same price in Tinley and Orland they maybe a little smaller but the towns are way more desired.

[kaedebonsai]

Oak forest is not a bad community by any stretch, as for the corruption that was talked about, things like happen in even the riches communities, however I am not condoning the behavoir by any means.
If you look at homes around the high school (OFHS) that neighborhood is very nice and crime is extremely low. The homes in that area range from 220k to over 750k if you live in the 'landings' area along 151st between central and oak park ave.
There are two sketchy areas; fieldcrest...only one way in and out of the subdivision. Its at the FAR end of oak forest and if you lived in nicer part of OF you would have no contact with that part unless driving past it.
And also, the area with the apartments on 159th near the train are kinda rough too. Although, like fieldcrest, if you live near the HS you are more than safe. The two sketchy sections of OF make up less than %3 of the total area of oak forest as a whole. Can you really base an entire community off such a low percentage?
I live in Orland and prefer the area myself over OF but that is because I grew up here.
The community is mostly hard working blue collar folks that pride themselves in their community and the quality football team the local high school has had for years.
Acedemics are also excellent considering; it was rated as a top 50 overall best High Schools in the U.S. last year and the standarized testing scores came in 3nd among more than 50 local surrounding high schools. Lincoln Way and Sanburg got 1st and 2nd.
Its not growing, its not shrinking...Its never going to be a rich community and it will never be a poor one. Its making strides in an excellent direction.
If someone thinks by moving to the town next door (like orland where I live) is going to change their lives, they're delusional.

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by kaedebonsai

Oak forest is not a bad community by any stretch, as for the corruption that was talked about, things like happen in even the riches communities, however I am not condoning the behavoir by any means.
If you look at homes around the high school (OFHS) that neighborhood is very nice and crime is extremely low. The homes in that area range from 220k to over 750k if you live in the 'landings' area along 151st between central and oak park ave.
There are two sketchy areas; fieldcrest...only one way in and out of the subdivision. Its at the FAR end of oak forest and if you lived in nicer part of OF you would have no contact with that part unless driving past it.
And also, the area with the apartments on 159th near the train are kinda rough too. Although, like fieldcrest, if you live near the HS you are more than safe. The two sketchy sections of OF make up less than %3 of the total area of oak forest as a whole. Can you really base an entire community off such a low percentage?
I live in Orland and prefer the area myself over OF but that is because I grew up here.
The community is mostly hard working blue collar folks that pride themselves in their community and the quality football team the local high school has had for years.
Acedemics are also excellent considering; it was rated as a top 50 overall best High Schools in the U.S. last year and the standarized testing scores came in 3nd among more than 50 local surrounding high schools. Lincoln Way and Sanburg got 1st and 2nd.
Its not growing, its not shrinking...Its never going to be a rich community and it will never be a poor one. Its making strides in an excellent direction.
If someone thinks by moving to the town next door (like orland where I live) is going to change their lives, they're delusional.

It WILL change their lives; they'll pay nearly twice as much to live in the same house, pay slightly more in taxes, get to be stuck in traffic nearly everywhere they go in Orland burning more gas, have kids the get to go to a school loaded with stuck up little brats who must have only the most expensive of clothes, shoes, cars, etc. meaning your kids will want the same to keep up with their friends/peers, etc. So yes, your life will be drastically different... Your wallet will be much lighter! LOL!

[cdc3217]

From the outside looking in - I have heard good and bad about Oak Forest. I have heard the High School is OK, but Tinley Park looks down its nose at it - there is a big rivalry there. I have heard horror stories from one family about the Jr High, because of a few tenured teachers (but that's true in many schools, I guess.) It seems like a very solid middle class/working class town, I would guess a lot of families that have been there for multiple generations. It is affordable, it has awesome access to forest preserves/ trails, it is a buffer town between some areas that are less desirable and more desirable. I don't know much about its park district, but the fact that neighboring towns have better ones would just make me pay a few extra bucks to sign up across the street instead of pay way more for an in-district address. My impression of the village is that its trying to upgrade but maybe it has a way to go.

[kaedebonsai]

The high school is much more than ok, its excellent.
And Tinley is not a big rival, but rather bremen in midlothian. Tinley hasn't rivaled OF in terms of sports in over a decade.

And moving to Orland will not change that much of your life because although housing is more, its not that much. A similiar house in OF say for 250k would be 280-300k in orland park. Taxes are very similiar, infact they are more in OF than in Tinley park. And if OP's are more, its by an insignificant amount.
Lumping all of OP's children as stuck up like you did is ignorant because much of orland park is blue collar and middle management white collar. There are very nice sections yes, but certianly its not an 'All Rich' town like what you found in some northern burbs.

If you look at the highschools orland feeds into; Andrew and Sandburg. Andrew is not full of rich kids, however not poor either. Orland hills feeds into this high school also, along with its section 8 community.
Sandburg is known as a wealthier school and in the same district, however many of the students that go there with great family wealth come from Palos and Palos Park. Those are some areas with the some old money and very deep pockets.