Western or NW burbs like Flossmoor

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink

You may very well be correct about the north and near-south sides, I'm not nearly as familiar with them. But the far south and southwest sides of the city? Marquette Park, for instance, was once a very safe area, from Holy Cross Hospital all the way to the city borders, containing thousands of decent-paying factory jobs that provided an economic engine for the residents. Chicago Lawn as well. Today? Not so much. And, in 1980, was the city talking about bankruptcy? If so, I never heard about it, that was a New York City thing.

There was a story today in the "Patch" newspapers that talked about "Rich Flight" occurring in downtown, with residents moving to north and north-western suburbs in droves - the writers were trying to contrast it to the "White Flight" of the 1960's and '70's. Whether that becomes a real trend, or becomes permanent remains to be seen, I guess, but it's definitely something that should cause concern in City Hall.

The far south and southwest sides are definitely worse off than in 1980, agreed. I think Marquette Park was very dicey by 1980; maybe it was OK in 1965.

Bankruptcy has to do with underfunded public pensions and *only* underfunded public pensions. There are plenty of rich and middle-class taxpayers in the city. In 1980 you could invest in Treasury bonds and get 15%. Now the interest rate on 30-year bonds, the kind that pension funds buy, is 1.4%. That, and the fact that public employment, especially in the schools, has ballooned and it's easier to pay public-sector workers with your grandchildren's money than with your own, is the read for Chicago being close to bankruptcy.

I'm sure that if you can work from home, you think there will be less police protection, and you need good public schools, you'd move to the suburbs. But I live in Wilmette and I haven't seen 30 people bidding on one medium-priced house, like you see in New York.

[leroy217]

Originally Posted by mwj119

The more I look, the more I feel like Flossmoor is an anomaly.

The median SFH is actually well below the Chicagoland median, but the schools are strong, it's diverse, and it's neighborhoods have the aesthetic I'd associate with higher end towns... Older homes, diverse architecture, well kept.

Even in my past life living in Chicago, I never really knew much about Flossmoor. But what am I missing? Why is it so affordable? The median income is $100k+, adults with a bachelors degree is 60%+. In fact, Flossmoor has very similar median income/educational attainment as towns like La Grange and Elmhurst, but it's 50%+ cheaper.

Is it just a hyper local market with low demand?

There are other underlying factors(race and proximity to other south suburban towns) and the poor reputation of the south suburbs hurt how people view Homewood/Flossmoor.