How are the west burbs in Chicago? (Aurora, Naperville: apartments, for rent)

[MrRudy3]

Me and my family are soon to be relocating from phoenix to that area of town, we were thinking Cicero.
But if you got ANY other suggestions on what side of town you'd recommend, feel free to.
Well what i mainly want to know is how Safe the west suburbs of chicago are? Hows housing, schooling, Crime?
Our price range is anywere from 700-1000
Anything would help.

Oh and i dont mind weather. For some reason weather is always brought up. I have lived in below freezing to about 125 degree weather so just anything but that. lol

Thanks to everyone who helps me

[noid_1985]

Depends how far west you are talking about- I consider western suburbs anything west of I 294. Cicero however is considered a near west suburb- it's about 15- 20min away from loop. Cicero in large is a very corrupt suburb including the police, officals, and some it's citizens, and for the price of $1000 a month I think there are some better burbs for that price depending on how many bedrooms you want. Other suburbs in the area to consider are Berwyn, North Riverside, Forest Park, and Oak Park.
Safe scale 1- 10 10 being the worse
Cicero (10) pop. 85000+

Berwyn (7) pop. 50000is Cicero's neighbor to the west (Austin blvd), largely Hispanic- decent housing stock, ok schools (high school: Morton West), but suffers from rising gang activity.

North Riverside (3) pop. 6000 is Berwyn's neighbor to the west (Harlem Ave.), majority Caucasian with a rising Hispanic population- good housing stock- good schools (high school: Riverside/ Brookfield) Most crime in this area happens at North Riverside Park Mall which is a favorite of high schoolers and gangs.

Forest Park (5) pop. 15000+ is Berwyn's Neighbor to the northwest (Harlem Ave.) and North Riverside's Neighbor to the north (22nd st. -16th st.) Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks are the groups of people mostly represented here. housing stock is ok, but Forest park is known to have high property taxes. The grammer schools in the area are better than Berwyn's but not by much. Also, citizens who live in Forest Park normally send their children to a private high school because the high school that serves the area (Proviso East) isn't known for its academic quality of teaching. Most of the crime is isolated at the neighborhood Wal-mart

Oak Park (5) pop.55000+ borders all of the neighborhoods mentioned except North Riverside. Oak Park is arguably one of the most diverse suburbs in Illinois and considered a favorite among many. Oak Park's housing stock is probably the best of the suburbs mentioned. Schools in the area considered good (high school: Oak Park- River Forest). Most of the crime in the area happens on Austin Ave because it borders one of Chicago's toughest neighborhoods

All of the burbs I named have apartments, but Oak Park's are probably on the higher end when in comes to cost.

[Steve-o]

Steer clear of Cicero if you can, it has issues. Its not the worst of places, but you can find queiter/nicer burbs than Cicero. And as noid_1985 mentioned, its not really a western suburb. I usually group western suburbs as those west of I-355. If you want a cheaper western suburb, you can look into Warrenville or St. Charles for renting. There are some older complexes in St. Charles (ie Charleston Park, Fox Run, Wessel Court, etc) that will fall in that budget. And overall, places like St. Charles and Warrenville are very safe, much more so than any near western burbs like Cicero.

[scotty40]

Jeeze- 15 years ago the phone book that covered Downers grove had it listed as the far western suburbs... What do you call everything east of 355 to the city border? I would consider the Fox valley area to be exurbs...

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by scotty40

Jeeze- 15 years ago the phone book that covered Downers grove had it listed as the far western suburbs... What do you call everything east of 355 to the city border? I would consider the Fox valley area to be exurbs...

How is the Fox Valley area considered exurbs? Places like Aurora, Geneva, St. Charles, Batavia, etc, have been inhabited for almost 100 years, and there are definitely towns way past the Fox Valley, too. I consider places like Yorkville, Sugar Grove, Elburn, etc, to be exurbs.

[scotty40]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

How is the Fox Valley area considered exurbs? Places like Aurora, Geneva, St. Charles, Batavia, etc, have been inhabited for almost 100 years, and there are definitely towns way past the Fox Valley, too. I consider places like Yorkville, Sugar Grove, Elburn, etc, to be exurbs.

I think that places like Geneva, St. Charles and Batavia have been around for a 100 years because of Aurora. I think they were considered suburbs of Aurora at one time (in Aurora's heyday). I would agree that things have evolved and that they may be considered suburbs of Chicago now.. I can't really find anyone ( at least in a quick google search) to define how far out you have to be to be considered an exurb- but I would venture that the 35-40 mile mark would have to start to qualify. Heres what the encyclopedia of Chicago has to say about Aurora-
"The city remains a self-sufficient community, independent of Chicago for its identity, but connected to it through the economic patterns that tie suburbs, edge cities, and central cities together. Aurora is frequently referred to as a Chicago suburb, most often by the nonlocal media or for promotional purposes. "

[Honeyberdy]

I live in Wheaton and it's a great place. Check it out sometime.

[mattywo85]

Well I'd suggest SW burbs like Bolingbrook, Naperville, Plainfield, Downers Grove, Joliet. Its less of a drive and much more affordable.

[noid_1985]

Originally Posted by mattywo85

Well I'd suggest SW burbs like Bolingbrook, Naperville, Plainfield, Downers Grove, Joliet. Its less of a drive and much more affordable.

it's less of a drive to where??

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by mattywo85

Well I'd suggest SW burbs like Bolingbrook, Naperville, Plainfield, Downers Grove, Joliet. Its less of a drive and much more affordable.

Naperville and Downers Grove are hardly "affordable" to most folks.