Rockford IL good or bad (Freeport, Belvidere: real estate, property taxes, housing)

[fulflej]

Originally Posted by tasham76

Thamk you very much for pointing out that not all areas of Rockford are bad. I am moving back to Rockford after living in Chicago for 11 years. I am bringing my husband and our 2 kids. There are good schools and there are bad schools everywhere in this whole area. I am one of the rare ones that went looking on the west side because that is where I feel comfortable at . There are little pockets that are great. My husband is black and I am white and Chicago is worse as far as racism.Rockford is mucxh better where race is concerned.I don't know your race but if that is an issue Rockford in my opinion is much better than Chicago.

I thought I was alone in thinking like that. I grew up in Rockford and while there was always east side / west side rivalry (which I basically equated to poor vs. rich, although that is very vague), I really never saw racism. I grew up on the northwest side and went to public schools, all on the west side, also during the horrid lawsuit. There was very little racism, my schools were mostly black and had bad reputations (I was in a special program so we changes schools a lot), but everyone got along (all the crime was mostly retarded kids pretending they were in gangs). When I moved to Chicago I was so shocked at how racist and segregated it is... it still shocks me to this day even though I have been here for 7 years now. It is one of the few things I really miss about Rockford, it sort of felt like everyone was in it together and there was no need for extra tension. It has also been a big factor in wanting to move out of Chicago, it makes me uncomfortable that I can not live in certain parts of town because I am white.

[GoHogsGo]

Stay Away from West Side High in Rockford if at all possible

Hell, Freeport's safer than West Side High alone...

Oregon is an Excellent Community. so is Rochelle, south of Rockford on IL 251. Ashton and Franklin Grove are nice too, but a little farther from RFD. Byron is good, despite the Nuclear Power Plant (it's not as dangerous as everybody thinks it is)

Gas in Wisconsin is Extremely High, as are the taxes, but you'll notice the road quality when you hit the WI/IL line (wisconsin's roads are like gliding on air, Illinois roads have tar stripping and pot holes every other yard)

[tasham76]

Freeport is soo racist, I lived there and there was probably 5 black kids in the whole school.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by tasham76

Freeport is soo racist, I lived there and there was probably 5 black kids in the whole school.

Wow, that's a huge leap from the premise to the conclusion. Do you have specific anecdotes or evidence of racism in Freeport? Are black families chased out of town? Denied jobs? harassed by the police?

[Steve-o]

tasham76, thats rediculous. Just because there were only 5 black kids in school is NOT premises to call the town racist!!!! How absurd!

[tasham76]

It's not racist it just isn't diverse enough for my tastes. I prefer a town that has all races and a good mix.There are not alot of interracial couples at all because it is not accepted.

[Monegain]

The entire subdivision is in Winnebago School District as well as Eagle
Meadows, Morris Hills and Stormont Highlands.




Mike Reinders
Winnebago School District #323
Transportation Director
302 E. McNair Rd
Winnebago, IL 61088
(815) 335-2903 ext 121
Fax (815) 335-7574


>>> RENEE MONEGAIN <mrsibuy2@yahoo.com> 5/3/2007 11:47 PM >>>
I am thinking of purchasing a home in the Kelly Meadows subdivision in
Rockford and homes are listed there as Winnebago schools. Is there any
way you can tell me if that entire subdivision isn't in the Rockford
School District or how I can find out that information.
These new home subdivisions are located off of bypass 20 and
Montague Rd. ...
Thank you, Renee Monegain

[Doug Bergren]

Originally Posted by concerned1

Hello All,
I am considering buying a new home in the Kelly Meadows subdivision through Conty Builders or Maplecrest which is located off of Montaque Rd and bypass 20. I was told that the kids in that area go to Winnebago schools and not Rockford. Some people say it is good others say it a mistake. The new homes are a great price. Can someone please give advice?

Just be aware of the poorly built in some of these subdivisions. There is one builder in Rockford (whose last name begins with C) who is having whole subdivisions suing him for such poor quality. As far as new homes are concerned, I wouldn't live in anything built after WWII. But if you have to buy a new chipboard and vinyl house, be sure to move before it starts to fall apart.

[Doug Bergren]

Originally Posted by schroeg

Rockford is very bad place to live.. Discrimination Lawsuits have destoyed the public school system..Private schools are therefore much more costly than other towns..Janesville is ok, much cheaper housing,schools have to be better

I used to live in Rockford during the school lawsuit years, and had to move because my property taxes went up so fast I couldn't afford to stay there. Rockford is a great place to live if you can afford it. It has a great symphony and a fabulous park system. If you can afford to send your kid to a public school, I wouldn't hesitate. Maybe it was just me, but all the time I lived there, I spoke to my next door neighbor a half dozen times, and I was there 6 years! People seem to be so busy, they don't have the time to relax a bit and be friendly. Not their fault I guess, but it just seemed odd that my wife and I didn't really have any friends in Rockford. After we moved to a much smaller town, it was incredible the number of friends we've made, and we can actually meet downtown and have lunch rather often. Also be careful as Rockford has an obscene number of taxing bodies, and I noticed that everyone of them had their hand out. Also the city services don't perform as well as they could, considering you're the customer. If possible, you may want to consider Pecatonica, Winnebago, Roscoe (although real estate is expensive), or Rockton (same). It just seems that Rockford is one of those towns that will expand and develop at any cost. I'm glad I left.

[rica73]

Rockton is a great community been up here for 3 years now our builders did a great job.. No complaints and schools are great..We moved up here from Rockford because the public schools were not what we wanted for our kids, we had are kids in private and the school was great but would end up sucking us dry of funds eventually so did a move and are very happy.