is it safe in Rockford? (Chicago, Machesney Park: crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[epath13]

My family is planning to relocate to Rockford. I looked at the crime ratings, they are as bad as in Chicago. Are there any nice, family friendly neighborhoods with good schools in Rockford?

[Windy City John]

be sure and check it out before you move--see if you like it--

[vester72]

Some areas are very nice, some aren't - have a couple friends there and you can get a LOT of house for house for your money there (public schools are bad - really bad - but private schools are good). Property taxes are really low so if the kids go to private school you won't get screwed with high taxes on top of tuition.

But, lots of nice areas - check out the area by the country club, along the river. Friends own the Golf Shack/Store/Range so I have spent a lot of time there.

Loves Park area is not so nice - and there are some really bad areas in Rockford, but if you are smart, you can get a great house for virtually nothing.

[Havasu]

Check up towards Roscoe,Machesney Park,Rockton. If you buy a house be sure to have a home inspection done on it.

[FreezinIL]

Rockton and Roscoe have great school districts.

[tcs1366]

I too would look into one of the suburbs of Rockford...

for one, the property tax in Rockford is about 3% ... which is very high ... granted, houses are not as expensive as they are closer to Chicago .. but 3% is a lot.

I was looking out that way if we decide to get out of the Chicago 'burbs, but stay in IL.

[FormerStocktonian]

True, the land value is cheaper in Rockford than that of Chicago and the suburbs, Personally, being a Rockford Resident, I find that there is much more to do in the immediate Chicago area. Prices in the Chicago area are astronomical, but like they say, you get what you pay for. I am not at all saying that Rockford is a terrible place to live as there are some great family activities here as well.

As with any city with a population over 100,00 you are going to have crime and poverty. You just have to do your research and pick and choose to what your lifestyle is.

As far as the police foce, I believe it is a joke. It seems that the police here do not want to be bothered with anything and they take forever to respond to calls. I would rank the Rockford police as the worse in the state of Illinois. Maybe if they would care about their job, the crime in Rockford wouldn't be the way it is.

My advise, is stay East of the Rock River. Anything West of the Rock River is ghetto city. For instance, I went out to a club in Downtown Rockford and couldn't even get a cab to get home because they said that they don't travel to that part of town that late of night.

So, if you decide to move to Rockford stay as close to I-90 as possible. Even the towns of Machesney Park and Loves Park are really nice to live.

[Jazz Piano]

H*ll to the nawl!

[Homesinrockford]

I live in the city of Winnebago and they have great schools and low taxes.

[Rocky ILL]

Is it safe in Rockford?? Yay and Nay
It's bad but it ain't all that bad.