Which is the better suburb Cresthill, bolingbrook, north chicago, or oak park? (Naperville: low income)

[Indigosblue]

Which is the better suburb Cresthill, bolingbrook, north chicago, or oak park? I'm looking for somewhere diverse yet safe. How are the colleges, and are there things to do around town? Which has the highest population of african americans? Is housing afordable? How is the shopping?

[chet everett]

Quite a curious collections of towns over an unusually wide geographic area.

Oak Park is head and shoulders more preferred by the majority of potential home owners. It is convenient for folks who work in Chicago or other close in suburbs to the west of the city.

Much different when you head well out to the southwest -- completely different mix of commuting options. Folks who might work in Bolingbrook or the many logistics facilities that are along the Stevenson expressway are scattered between pockets of newish subdivisions. There are portions of Bolingbrook that are quite nice, particularly the areas served by schools in Naperville.
Close by Cresthill has some parts that are quite nice and a good value, but as large parts of town are dedicated to corrections it is not likely to appeal to the sorts of buyers who would shop Oak Park housing.

Heading to the opposite corner of the metropolitian region North Chicago is a rather bleak town that is mostly sandwiched between the very large Great Lake Naval facility and industrial parks, the troubled finances are well knows and a huge cause for concern. Second domino falls in Illinois: North Chicago revenues garnished for pensions
Hard to recommend anyone really shopping for a home there...

Do have employment lined up?

[masil78]

I don't know anything about Crest Hill or north chicago. Oak Park is considered pretty prestigious and very historic. Property taxes are very high there, and you'll pay the same price for a 2 bedroom condo with no central heat or A/C as you will for a 4 bedroom home in Bolingbrook. Oak Park has a very nice downtown and is also super close to Chicago. In certain parts of OaK Park you will drive past rows and rows of million dollar homes.

Bolingbrook is a newer suburb so the home are from the 1960s and newer There isn't an historic area like in Oak Park and in my opinion it doesn't have as much character. However, homes are very affordable in Bolingbrook so that's a plus. I don't live in Bolingbrook but I live nearby for this reason - it was cheaper. It will take you about 45 minutes or more to get downtown in decent traffic. There isn't as much to do in Bolingbrook as Oak Park but it isn't the middle of nowhere by any means. There are plenty of shops and restaurants still, though you will find more unique shops and cafes in Oak Park, in my opinion.

According to the internet, both towns are made up of about 20% African Americans. My impression of Oak Park is that is very diverse, but Bolingbrook seems more segregated to me. It seems like there are "black" areas and "white" areas in Bolingbrook whereas there is less of that sort of segregation in Oak Park. This is just my impression of both towns. I don't have any solid numbers to back this up.

[ToriaT]

Those suburbs have nothing in common with Oak Park. Many are low or lower income, Oak Park is very very expensive unless you are renting an older apartment there.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

Those suburbs have nothing in common with Oak Park. Many are low or lower income, Oak Park is very very expensive unless you are renting an older apartment there.

I honestly am in shock that North Chicago would be mentioned with any of them.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

Those suburbs have nothing in common with Oak Park. Many are low or lower income, Oak Park is very very expensive unless you are renting an older apartment there.

Pretty true, although as chet mentioned, there's nicer areas of Bolingbrook, specifically those feeding into Naperville schools. You may also find some decent homes feeding into Plainfield or Bolingbrook schools in Bolingbrook. Thinking long-term, it would probably make the most sense to buy into the Naperville district over the other two.

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by Indigosblue

Which is the better suburb Cresthill, bolingbrook, north chicago, or oak park? I'm looking for somewhere diverse yet safe. How are the colleges, and are there things to do around town? Which has the highest population of african americans? Is housing afordable? How is the shopping?

Your picking some very very very different suburbs both in terms of general area/location as well as the character of each burb. I don't know that much about Crest Hill, it doesn't strike me as being super desirable, housing prices are probably fairly low compared to other areas.

Bolingbrook is a great burb, has awesome parks, more diversity than some surrounding burbs, and while schools aren't the best htey aren't horrible.

Oak Park is very nice, more walkable, more urban feel, housing prices are high, more petty crime and city issues, parking is horrible, property taxes are high, very liberal and diverse

North Chicago is pretty far North nowhere near the other places you mentioned, I know very little about it.

No offense if this is a legit post but we see these posts every week or two and they almost strike me as jokes or troll posts because I wonder how does anyone not familiar with the area decide hey I wanna live in North Chicago or hey I wanna live in Cresthill, its just not something you pick out of the blue. Also some are what most would consider dumpier and the geographic areas as wlel as types of towns have next to nothing in common. Seems very random and odd

[ToriaT]

Yes it is suspicious because of the places lumped together that are like apples and oranges. Bolingbrook has some nice places but at one time it was considered low income, or maybe just not as nice as the surrounding areas.

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

Yes it is suspicious because of the places lumped together that are like apples and oranges. Bolingbrook has some nice places but at one time it was considered low income, or maybe just not as nice as the surrounding areas.

Bolingbrook gets a bad rap IMHO. Sure it's not Naperville, it's not as nice, schools aren't as good, etc. Parts of Bolingbrook near Naper Plainfield Road up to about 95th street along Boughton go to Naperville schools, I believe Neuqua Valley. Bolingbrook used to be pretty bad over near lily cache and 55 and there's some dumpy apartments along lilly cache but Bolingbrook has kind of upped their game the past couple years, they built the promenade mall, they have been voted on some lists for having a really nice park system. Granted it's probably not the first place I would choose to live but I would say it's safe, schools aren't' horrible and its not a bad place to live but it does get kind of a bad rap