is it safe in Rockford? (Belvidere, Machesney Park: real estate, budget, house)

[jon_hpr]

were moving to Machesney Park.The woman were renting from says they've never had a break in or anything for over 20 years.Apparently the big crime wave is ciggarette and cd theft from vehicles........

[maxandmisty]

I have lived in Rockford for over 20 years and have never had any problems. Rockford is a major city so of course there are parts of the city that aren't as safe as others. We have many very nice areas to live. Rockford is a family friendly community with many parks, golf courses and swimming pools. Rockford has a great YMCA in fact two now. We have a wonderful symphony, great theater, and lots of school choices. We have an airport that flies direct to certain destinations and the parking is free with no hassles. Housing is half what it costs in the suburbs....

[OgleCo]

Rockford is not as bad as people make it sound on this blog.

Every city has it's... "ugly" section.

However; I would not say Rockford is a good city when it comes to crime.

I would give Rockford a C- for crime.

I would not move to inner-city Rockford, I would consider suburbs to the

--North: Roscoe, Machesney Park, Loves Park, South Beloit, Beloit
--South: Byron, Stillman Valley, New Milford, Davis Junction, possibly Oregon.
--East: Cherry Valley, Belvedere, Genoa, Kingston
--West: Pecatonica, Winnebago, rural Winnebago County towns.

[JerichoHW]

I don't think Rockford is that bad, the residents on this forum don't tend to think that.

[phl76]

Any opinions on Poplar Grove or Candlewick Lake?

Considering a couple places in those areas.

Originally Posted by OgleCo

Rockford is not as bad as people make it sound on this blog.

Every city has it's... "ugly" section.

However; I would not say Rockford is a good city when it comes to crime.

I would give Rockford a C- for crime.

I would not move to inner-city Rockford, I would consider suburbs to the

--North: Roscoe, Machesney Park, Loves Park, South Beloit, Beloit
--South: Byron, Stillman Valley, New Milford, Davis Junction, possibly Oregon.
--East: Cherry Valley, Belvedere, Genoa, Kingston
--West: Pecatonica, Winnebago, rural Winnebago County towns.

[maxandmisty]

Poplar Grove is pretty small--IMHO--not alot going on there--you would probably be driving to Rockford for everything.....Not so familiar with Candlewick....

[Jeff Hill]

I live in Poplar Grove (outside of Candlewick) and I love it. Of course, I love it because there's not much around here. I grew up in the city and this is a wonderful change of pace.
The Village itself is a little behind the times but they are slowly coming to speed. There are plenty of things we could complain about but why? Some people just complain no matter where they are.

Candlewick.....you either love it or hate it. There are stringent association rules that keep everything (and everybody) in check. You will hear horror story after horror story but just keep in mind that those stories are from the people that cant follow rules. My suggestion is to take a ride there yourself to check it out.

[formerrockfordian]

Just be sure to stay on the east side of rockford, its not as bad as everyone is making it out to be. Machesney Park and Loves Park are good and so is cherry valley...it all depends on how long you want to commute and where they will be working. Janesville WI may be an option for you, its only about 15 miles from the Border.

[cookiie monster]

okay well sex at a early age drugseven worse at private schools and u cant keep your child from anything in rockford and crime rates very high... but now 2 people got shot on motorcyccles and who knows whats going on and taxes keep going up up up and up!!! so does gas but i think that is almost anywhere

[woodsg]

I live in East St.Louis, but have spent a lot of time in Rockford and other northern Illinois cities. Here is my take:

For a city with over 100,000 people, Rockford is not that bad. There are worse cities in the state with even less people. The majority of the crime is theft and drugs, and you can sleep easy knowing that you probably won't be murdered or raped.

The East side is just as safe as any other city in northern Illinois, and the west side still isn't that bad. You aren't going to see things like 12 year old kids standing in the middle of the road selling crack, nor are you going to see things like rape on the side of the road.

Long story short, if you are LOOKING for trouble you'll probably find it, but with a little common sense you can avoid probably 99.9% of problems in the city. I know I would definetley take Rockford over my city any day.