peoria ? (Chicago, Bloomington, Normal: crime rate, houses, neighborhood)

[ballm21]

thinkin about possible purchasing a home on 400 block of west fairholm which believe is on thee north side (dont quote me ) ny input about thee area crime etc schools would very helpful
fyi i was born on thee north side (evanston) and currently live palatine IL

[Napalm]

I will be honest with you I wouldn't want my worst enemy to live in that area. The crime rate is very high right now.

Right now there is a huge debate within District 150 (school system) about taking away all extra activities, IE music, library,.....

Your best bet would be to find a nice smaller town outside of Peoria to live.

[JerichoHW]

Originally Posted by ballm21

thinkin about possible purchasing a home on 400 block of west fairholm which believe is on thee north side (dont quote me ) ny input about thee area crime etc schools would very helpful
fyi i was born on thee north side (evanston) and currently live palatine IL

I have been to Peoria before, and based on past experience Im pretty sure thats not a great neighborhood. Alot of old decreped warehouses and factories and rather small houses. Have you considered the Suburb of Morton, Illinois. School Wise it is probably much better, bigger houses for less money.

[BUalumni]

That is more than likely an area of town that you are not going to want to move to. You would be within walking distance to downtown and the Riverfront, not to mention Glen Oak park, but that area is still below the War Memorial line, which is considered to be cut-off between "North Peoria" and "South Peoria" even though Fairholm is not considered to be deep within the bad parts of "South Peoria". I'm not sure about the schools, but I do know that the area you are looking into is not within the Richwoods HS area, and therefore is not going to be what you would be used to north of Chicago. If you are still set on that area, despite the schools, Peoria has some exceptional private instiutions that, while expensive, are VERY much worth your money. As far as crime goes, that areas shouldn't be too awful. The police are making every effort possible to keep the riff raff out of the dowtown area in order to increase buisness, and it seems to be working well. Like I said before, once you go south of War Memorial, your odds of getting into trouble increase.

[BUalumni]

Originally Posted by JerichoHW

I have been to Peoria before, and based on past experience Im pretty sure thats not a great neighborhood. Alot of old decreped warehouses and factories and rather small houses. Have you considered the Suburb of Morton, Illinois. School Wise it is probably much better, bigger houses for less money.

Yes, Morton is an excellent choice and/or alternative to living in either Peoria or Bloomington/Normal proper! School wise you are going to be getting a first rate education since the class sizes aren't huge, but funding is VERY high. Morton is considered by MANY to be one of the best places to live in the state, so use that for an indicator as to what kind of community it has become. But as far as getting a bigger house for less money, when compared to what you would find in a typical Peoria neighborhood, that is simply not the case. Morton housing prices tend to be up in the 300-400K range, and even then, there are few million dollar homes sitting amongst those. Even their trailer park, that sits on the East Peoria border, is the nicest that I have ever seen before in my life!

[linicx]

I'm curious to know why you want to move to Peoria when you currently live near Chicago?

[JerichoHW]

Originally Posted by BUalumni

Yes, Morton is an excellent choice and/or alternative to living in either Peoria or Bloomington/Normal proper! School wise you are going to be getting a first rate education since the class sizes aren't huge, but funding is VERY high. Morton is considered by MANY to be one of the best places to live in the state, so use that for an indicator as to what kind of community it has become. But as far as getting a bigger house for less money, when compared to what you would find in a typical Peoria neighborhood, that is simply not the case. Morton housing prices tend to be up in the 300-400K range, and even then, there are few million dollar homes sitting amongst those. Even their trailer park, that sits on the East Peoria border, is the nicest that I have ever seen before in my life!

I agree with you 100% and I have even thought about moving there.

[BUalumni]

Originally Posted by JerichoHW

I agree with you 100% and I have even thought about moving there.

When we moved back to the area we seriously took a look into the town as well. It has so much going for it right now. One of the few reasons that we bought in Dunlap over Morton, is the fact that Peoria's commercial growth is extending towards that area, which by itself is far more than what Morton has for the time being. While Morton has overall, much better positioning to both Peoria and B-N, it isn't really super close to the buisness or commercial districts in each of those towns. At least not as much as Dunlap or Edwards have to Peoria's north side. But I would venture to say that the residences of Morton would not welcome the commercial prospects that Dunlap now enjoys. I will say though that the Morton Wal-Mart is very nice when compared to the others in Washington and Pekin.

[JerichoHW]

Originally Posted by BUalumni

When we moved back to the area we seriously took a look into the town as well. It has so much going for it right now. One of the few reasons that we bought in Dunlap over Morton, is the fact that Peoria's commercial growth is extending towards that area, which by itself is far more than what Morton has for the time being. While Morton has overall, much better positioning to both Peoria and B-N, it isn't really super close to the buisness or commercial districts in each of those towns. At least not as much as Dunlap or Edwards have to Peoria's north side. But I would venture to say that the residences of Morton would not welcome the commercial prospects that Dunlap now enjoys. I will say though that the Morton Wal-Mart is very nice when compared to the others in Washington and Pekin.

Hey did they build a new mall by dunlap because last time I was on 6 there was a really nice looking shopping center.

[BUalumni]

Originally Posted by JerichoHW

Hey did they build a new mall by dunlap because last time I was on 6 there was a really nice looking shopping center.

Yes, it is called the Shoppes at Grand Prairie. It is considered an 'outdoor lifestyle center' and is really nice. They have a Holocaust memorial towards the center and some really nice store throughout. It is said to be the nicest shopping center downstate Illinois. They have interesting events that take place there all year round. You should check it out. It is a little more unique than Northwoods or Sheridan Village tend to be.