What's so bad about Bolingbrook IL? (Chicago, Naperville: big house, buyer, private school)

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

There are much worse outskirt ring burbs than bollingbrook.

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by LakeShoreSoxGo

There are much worse outskirt ring burbs than bollingbrook.

Where beside Eastside Joliet? Which is basically the worst part in Will County.

[YoursTruly101]

Originally Posted by SAYWOOD

...it is up to the people who live there to do their part...

This is very true. On another post I mentioned what my wife & I saw in the past 3 years here, and maybe we're just being picky, but there are MANY worse places to live in my opinion. People will mention the bad things and those are the things that stick out in your mind over the 98% good status that prevails.

For example, about 1 1/2 years ago the cops chased some nitwit down and stopped them, then had to do a search in the dark of the parkways back up the street to see if there was a gun tossed out the window. (I don't know if they found it or not.)

And this is the first time we've had a mailbox on the street (not attached to the house)... FYI - you don't put up the red flag when you want your mail picked up around here, someone stole our outgoing mail and took our bank info from it, which basically was a whole identity theft incident.

Jerks that do this kind of krap are concentrated over here but overall if you're careful then trouble doesn't come knocking on your door. By the way, in the investigation into the mail thieves it turns out the cops were onto that address where they lived as a 'drug house,' and they got taken down not too long after that. Which proves the point, I guess they ARE doing their jobs. We just don't see the day-to-day stuff other than what makes the police blotter.

[Chickster]

I have two friends with homes in Bolingbrook that they're trying to sell and they can't seem to give them away. And, this was before the economy went down in flames. There are too many other places to live to take a chance on a place with such an iffy reputation.

Originally Posted by Midrash

Hi, everytime my partner and I mention that we are considering Bolingbrook as the place to buy our home, we are given the "Oh ... you don't want to live in Bolingbrook" response over and over again.

We don't have kids so school district is not an issue for now. However, even if we were to have kids soon, from what I can tell, the Bolingbrook elementary schools (Builta or Pioneer - I am looking in the western part of Bolingbrook, west of Weber road) are more than satisfactory.

We don't have the biggest budget, and the value you get in Bolingbrook is fantastic. We are happy to commute, so I'm racking my brain to figure out why it gets such a bad reputation. Is it just because of Drew Peterson?

We've been told about gangs in the area, but I wonder if there is any truth to that or if its just hearsay. How is the crime rate?

As far as I can tell, it seems just fine to me, is there something I'm missing?

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Chickster

I have two friends with homes in Bolingbrook that they're trying to sell and they can't seem to give them away. And, this was before the economy went down in flames. There are too many other places to live to take a chance on a place with such an iffy reputation.

I think at this point Bolingbrook is sufficiently large and diverse that it OUGHT to have a significant number of "internal movers" -- people who want to stay in the area (for school, friends , work) but get a nicer house OR downsize.

The very unstable house price situation that has been caused by the financial mess makes this MUCH harder. People with less than stellar credit are kinda frozen out, or at least unable to borrow enough to make a move worth the trouble.

From what I see of the transportation related employment in Bolingbrook and the broad SW corridor it appears to have weathered the worst of the storm much better than other areas.

Bolingbrook made a deliberate move to shift away from "first time buyers" with zoning and deals with developers and that means there are probably towns with newer and cheaper options, while right now the "new buyer's credit" is the best thing that could happen to that part of the market.

Long term / big picture Bolingbrook might need to get something to spark either local employment (to offset long commutes) or try and leverage public transit links to get more people into / out of more traditional employment hubs.

[Carantini]

whats bad about Bolingbrook is its name, "bolingbrook".

[tb4000]

I must have missed that meeting a couple years back when it was decided that diverse population equates to undesirable city.

[rccastner]

well heres what i have to say. i live in naperville, right near the "bad" part of bolingbrook (53 and lilly cache). first off, some of you are really exagerating naperville... yeah its richer than most other places, but its not all stuck up rich millionares.... actually, 2 blocks away from me thers 2 subsidized apartment complexes. some parts are richer than others. second, the "bad part" of bolingbrook isnt even that bad. really. i go there and nothing seems any differant, just some more black people. but ive been through bad areas of aurora that are actually legitimedly bad. not this bs bolingbrook bad. so bolingbrook in my opinion, is just below average. a bad city is aurora or harvey.

[rccastner]

Originally Posted by lordinfamous

Well You may not have to worry about the Elementary Schools, but BHS is awful. It is full of crime, fights and gangs. Constant rivalrys from Folk and People Nation Gangs in Bolingbrook. And if your thinking about having kids, chances are in Middle school they might be considered being recruited.

...except not really.... i know several people from there and who went there, they say its not that bad, and the crime stats say the same thing. i dont know what it is with some people and over-exxagerating bolingbrook, it gets annoying

[cubssoxfan]

Bolingbrook is not SO bad. There are worse areas BUT there are areas that are better. When it comes to real estate & where to live, I am picky and will focus on location, location, location!