south suburbs? (Chicago, Joliet, Des Plaines: for sale, houses, neighborhoods)

[rc42085]

i will be moving to the south subrbs from iowa,and im wondering where a good area is aorund there? i have heard that the south suburbs of chicago can vary greatly...like a good area can go bad down the road? is this true and what subrb would be the best choice?

[nancy davidson]

The south suburbs are dicey. Some of them are nice; most of them are not.
My husband and I lived in Park Forest for 3 years about 15 years ago. When we moved there, it was a decent integrated suburb (it was one of the first integrated suburbs in Illinois); but, then it started getting bad in my opinon.

A nice suburb would be Frankfort; but, it is expensive depending on the type of housing you are looking for. Avoid suburbs like Dolton, Robbins, certain parts of Chicago Hts. and Matteson. Before someone calls me a bigot which a person had no right calling the other person, research the area thorough.
Nancy Davidson
Des Plaines, Illinois

[nitebird]

I guess the answer you are looking for would depend greatly on your individual situation. There are MANY nice areas in the south suburbs, but it depends where you are going to be working. There are some really nice rural communities such as Mazon, Dwight, Verona, Coal City etc..., but the key word is rural. These are small populated towns, you wont have a Walmart etc.., but they are very nice affordable and secure areas to live in. The more rural areas tend also to have better schooling, smaller classes and teachers who seem to really care about the kids that attend. There are other nice areas within reasonable driving distance, such as Morris, Ottawa and Peru which have all of the major stores, restaurants etc. Joliet, Minooka and Channahon has just exploded with population and housing, and in my opinion...problems. The best bet is to just pull up a map of Illinois, check out the area of proximity you are going to be working near and start searching demographics on the internet for the surrounding areas. Good Luck with your move and feel free to email if I can be of any assistance with questions. I was born and raised in the "South burbs" of Illinois.

[sachamay]

hi,

i live in bridgeview for 3 years and to me it is one of the best south suburbs. the houses are cheaper, the taxes are cheaper, and your kids will go to very good schools. shopping is very close and convenient. there is a lot of diversity. all kind of races. and it is safe there.

good luck

[crazylilkelly]

I think Mokena, Tinley Park, Orland Park, New Lenox & Manhattan are all really nice areas to live w/ very good public schools. It is, however, a bit pricey but I guess you pay for what you get. Manhattan may be a bit cheaper than the rest b/c it's further south from the city.

[chinab]

It sounds to me as if much of south suburbia is considered "bad" only because the are predominately black/hispanic communities. That is a fact-based opinion :-)

[azsk8fan]

I once lived in Bolingbrook, Ill. and it was called (back in the 70's) the 'armpit of the suburbs'.......understandably I left.

[ReGoddess]

Ive lived in palos heights, and area growing up and now I moved back here. Beautiful, but not cheap. Best subs for incomes over $80k are.
Palos Park, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Orland park, Tinley Park, Frankfort, Homer Glen, Lemont.
Anything else are working class subs and all that goes with it

[MarquettePark]

The south burbs whether your black or white rich or poor, are the best

Oak Forest: large lots, great prices, "a less busy tinley i would say"

Midlothian: large lots easily removed and or remodeled homes for sale, east of pulaski all black mini projects, and borders robbins the second poorest city and or village in the world

Crestwood, "a minature milwaukee" socialist communist mayor, who returns to you all unspent tax money every year........a legal way to buy votes.....pro business very pro business........shopping top notch.......borders Robbins as mentioned above

Alsip " a wannabee oak lawn" large lots, segregated neighborhoods, borders Chicago Mt Greenwood, aka "cop land south"


Dolton
Riverdale
Harvey
Posen
Chicago Heights
Markham
Olympia Fields
Richton Park

Be thankful you havent spent fifteen years of your home installation business, in these eight towns just above.....

Mokena, Frankfort, New Lenox Tinley Park,
most people who live there, either got scared to move there or are truly scared

Inflated taxes especially, overcrowding in their schools, or lack of school buildings large lots, lots of empty space, lots of cookie cutter Hartz homes,
closest major hospital is in joliet, or oaklawn, or Palos Comm Hospital, if you can afford that one..........Want to buy a car...........its one of the easiest things to do in these towns...................

Joliet, I dont think so...............

South Burbs are great to live in, just remember to pick the right one.........

[chinab]

And what is the problem with Olympia Fields?????? It is a very high-end suburb.