Top 5 Suburbs and Bottom 5 Suburbs (Chicago, Orland Park: private schools, living, price)

[chitown85]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Good point. BUT, I comment on areas I have seen with my own eyes. Could be I have driven through them many times during my 44 years in the area, could be I have spent time working/making sales calls in these areas or I have lived in these areas. So I'm not going into the "hearsay" comments. All based on personal observation. So yes I have explored Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, Highland Park and to a lesser degree the other towns I mentioned. I worked in Winnetka and Glencoe. Now its been a while, but I used to make frequent sales calls to all the schools in the Cook Co. parts of Western Suburbs. To my pasty a** suburban eyes, Maywood has some rough sections. So does Ford Heights. Honestly, I spend far more time in the nicer areas than the not nice areas. Call it personal preference.
So many of us do get out from behind the computer screen from time to time.

I am required to go to certain areas that are not as wealthy as the NS. I've seen most of Chicagoland, including what you describe as the worst areas. We all know what the areas are, so what is the point of consistently beating them into the ground. It isn't right. If an out of towner asks where to avoid, then bring it up. Another poster commented saying that you never know who is behind the computer and where they are....therefore there is no reason to belittle these communities that YOU as a resident of AH do not live in.

[At1WithNature]

5 Worst (since I live around them I know):

1) Ford Heights- the pits, no police department because they're so crooked
2) Harvey - The mayor is a criminal leader and the police department gives protection to pimps working in strip clubs as well as cocaine shipments as evidenced by the news clippings. It's a gang bangers/morally corrupt trash's fantasy land.
3) Chicago Heights - a strong italian background with some strong private schools, such as Marian, keep this town from being the worst. the rest is filled with a plethora of gang bangers, drugs sales, prostitutes, boarded up/burned down/abandoned houses, liquor stores with people lining up at 6am, etc. terrible town with crappy roads to boot (especially at rt. 30 and state st.)
4) Calumet City - a city of despair. nothing progressive goes on in this town. property is neglected as well as children. this town died 30 years ago but still lives on in infamy.
5) Robbins - It's so small it often goes unnoticed but the same problems that plague Harvey and Calumet City plague Robbins as well.

Dishonorable Mention: Park Forest, East Hazel Crest, Country Club Hills and Lansing

My top 3 are locked into stone and can not be changed. There is no denying how terrible those 3 really are.

[At1WithNature]

5 Best (i imagine from what i've read and seen little of as i've seen, in person, all the bad ones about 10x as much due to proximity of working and living places)

1) Hinsdale
2) Deerfield
3) Lake Forest
4) Winnetka
5) Orland Park

Money, low crime, great education, respectful, non-spiteful neighbors...what more could one ask for?!

[ajolotl]

Orland Park would be middle-of-the-road if it were on the north side. It is new and spiffy but far from prestigious.

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

5 Best (i imagine from what i've read and seen little of as i've seen, in person, all the bad ones about 10x as much due to proximity of working and living places)

1) Hinsdale
2) Deerfield
3) Lake Forest
4) Winnetka
5) Orland Park

Money, low crime, great education, respectful, non-spiteful neighbors...what more could one ask for?!

[At1WithNature]

You're right about that. Let me sub it out with Wilmette or Highland Park then.

[Anthera]

You know these threads get done over and over agiain, but I still think they're interesting because people have different perceptions about the different areas.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

5 Best (i imagine from what i've read and seen little of as i've seen, in person, all the bad ones about 10x as much due to proximity of working and living places)

1) Hinsdale
2) Deerfield
3) Lake Forest
4) Winnetka
5) Orland Park

Money, low crime, great education, respectful, non-spiteful neighbors...what more could one ask for?!

All are definitely really good places to live but Hinsdale has destroyed too much of its historic character, IMHO, to qualify for the list. If I were looking for a megabuck home, I'd pick Riverside, River Forest, La Grange, central Elmhurst, northwest Oak Park before Hinsdale.

Orland Park makes your list look like a "which one is least like the others" multiple choice test question. OP is nice, but very new and middle class compared to the other 4. I'm more than a bit leery of whether it will withstand the test of time like the other suburbs on your list have, given its surroundings and the demographic shifts going on in its region. If it's like it is today 20 years from now, call me. Otherwise, it hasn't earned a spot on the Top 5 suburbs list yet. Nice, yes. Top 5, different story.

[Sunday1]

Originally Posted by BRU67

All are definitely really good places to live but Hinsdale has destroyed too much of its historic character, IMHO, to qualify for the list. If I were looking for a megabuck home, I'd pick Riverside, River Forest, La Grange, central Elmhurst, northwest Oak Park before Hinsdale.

Orland Park makes your list look like a "which one is least like the others" multiple choice test question. OP is nice, but very new and middle class compared to the other 4. I'm more than a bit leery of whether it will withstand the test of time like the other suburbs on your list have, given its surroundings and the demographic shifts going on in its region. If it's like it is today 20 years from now, call me. Otherwise, it hasn't earned a spot on the Top 5 suburbs list yet. Nice, yes. Top 5, different story.

I agree and I live in Hinsdale.

[Steve-o]

Hinsdale, old houses or new, is VERY prestigious, and its in a gorgeous setting, too.

1. Lake Forest
2. Winnetka
3. Kenilworth
4. Hinsdale
5. Barrington Hills

[Paige65]

If we're talking prestige, I'd say a good place to start would be these suburbs, which all have single family homes listed now at $5,000,000 and above (in no particular order):

1. Lake Bluff (highest that I found at $15,000,000)
2. Lake Forest
3. Highland Park
4. Glencoe
5. Winnetka
6. Kenilworth
7. Wilmette
8. Inverness
9. Barrington area
10. Hinsdale
11. Oak Brook

I'd also probably include Wayne.

If I had to keep it at five that most people not from the area would know and say, it would probably be Kenilworth, Glencoe, Winnetka, Lake Forest, and Hinsdale.

If we're not talking prestige, there are about a dozen more that I'd add to the list as the "best suburbs to live in". As for the worst, I wouldn't hazard a guess.