What's Carol Stream Really Like? (Naperville, Wheaton: homes, college, place to live)

[bsavi]

Originally Posted by Mr.CS lover

to steve-o i don't know if u actualy have experience in carol stream or not but i lived in 1 of the bad parts. i saw more fights in elementary school then in middle school. Drugs and gangs are present know more then ever. i used to know kids that would bring blades to school in thier shoes. Drugs are everywhere and taking over neighborhoods. Iknew gangs and thier signs before most kids in middle school did i saw grafitii all over walls ,my school,fences.I myself have seen gang members in carol stream and never want to encouter them ever again. i have seen the police up and down the streets treated everone as if we were scum. im proud to be raised and carol stream and be able to share with people that you know what i did go through some struggle growing up and know its all better. Alot of people also don't know how it feels to have a bestfriend that may have to move because his parents cant pay the bills anymore. ive lost to many friends becuase most just come and go.

Ha I have lived in Carol Stream my inter life and I find this very hard to believe. The police are very anal in the parts of town that are bad and yes they may not be the nicest in the world but when you deal with enough people you have to start looking out for number one. If you are talking about the areas around north and Schmale and even off of Gary just north of the police station then yes you are correct by saying they are not very nice areas but by no means are they bad... I have also lived in Stone Park and Melrose Park and it almost sounds like you are talking about those places. Carol Stream is an AMAZING place to live. The parks are nice and plentiful, I my self have gone threw the school systems and I thought they were amazing, they are not overcrowded and the teachers like there job. I run threw Armstrong Park every night and you may see a group of kids now and then causing mischief but all you need to do is pick up your phone and call the police and its guaranteed they will be there in minutes. There is a reason the homes cost so much in Carol Stream....

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by bsavi

I my self have gone threw the school systems and I thought they were amazing

You mean "myself" and "through"?

Just playing with ya...

[JanuaryGirl]

The talk of Carol Stream being some sort of dangerous hood is a bit ridiculous, imo. Maybe it's not as "safe" as neighboring areas like Wheaton or Glen Ellyn, but there's no reason to bad-mouth a place that is at least a somewhat more affordable area for people that don't have 700K to spend on a house. I doubt that gangs are more of a problem in Carol Stream than they are in, say, Naperville.

I grew up there, and my dad now lives in one of the "bad" apartment complexes that is partially public housing, and even there I feel totally safe. Kids play together outside, neighbors are friendly, it's actually rather idyllic though a bit run-down.

[BDJF]

Bsavi im not trying to come off like its the hood or something but unless uve lived in the parts who r u to judge if there good or bad i used to live off big horn trail and just this year a mans house was bombarded by the swat team and the first time it wass a man with a gun who ran out and the second time they took out a screaming cussing lady and another story my friends and i were sitting in a circle by the elementary school and saw 5 vs 5 little girls pounding on eachother because of dirty looks and the cops came again and just the other my friend was walking by the school and about 15 black and hispanic gang members asked him wat he claimed and he told them no repeatedly and they told him he was lucky and now there gang symbols are all over the school and play ground

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

You mean "myself" and "through"?

Just playing with ya...

I implies " myself". Who else would it imply? "myself" is redundant.

Just playing , too.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by DennyCrane

Wheaton I hear is pretty conservative. That won't suit me. Another issue I have is property taxes. I hear a lot of people bought houses in areas and priced out as taxes went up.

I hope you don't reckon the conservatism just stops at the Wheaton/Carol Stream border. This is DuPage County you're talking about. Conservatism is the order of the day. I gather you've probably figured that out by now, if you did end up settling in or near Carol Stream.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by BDJF

Bsavi im not trying to come off like its the hood or something but unless uve lived in the parts who r u to judge if there good or bad i used to live off big horn trail and just this year a mans house was bombarded by the swat team and the first time it wass a man with a gun who ran out and the second time they took out a screaming cussing lady and another story my friends and i were sitting in a circle by the elementary school and saw 5 vs 5 little girls pounding on eachother because of dirty looks and the cops came again and just the other my friend was walking by the school and about 15 black and hispanic gang members asked him wat he claimed and he told them no repeatedly and they told him he was lucky and now there gang symbols are all over the school and play ground

Crime must have gotten bad there if they stole all the punctuation keys off your keyboard.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Drover

Crime must have gotten bad there if they stole all the punctuation keys off your keyboard.

It doesn't even look like the English language.

[ElvisCat59]

Check the homes between Lies Rd & Gary Ave. for your price range, and homes west of Lies Road too. Pricier homes are west of Kuhn closer to the highschool. But you can still find homes off of Kuhn more south that are in your price range.
You are very close to Wheaton, Glen Ellyn so if you want downtown you can easily find that. We don't care about that so...
The taxes are much lower than Wheaton we know. you can visit www.carolstream.org for more info, take a look at the pages there, maybe this will help you more.

[pvande55]

I believe it was planned as a mixed residential/industrial/commercial city but ended up becoming an industrial suburb. You just don't find upscale housing in such places. Incidentally, I read that in the 50's Chicago spent about $16K per unit on public housing- and wanted to spend even more. But for less they could have moved many to a new home in Carol Stream. I realize I will get a bunch of negative comments on that one.