Is Elmwood Park worth moving to? (Chicago, Elmhurst: sales, foreclosure, how much)

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by CityToBurbs75

Thanks for your input. Chet, can you give me a link for rankings of Chicago area schools? We know the schools in EP aren't going to be Naperville quality, but better than CPS. Do any of you give EP a fighting chance of becoming a city commuter suburb, and not relying so much on job market in immediate area?

If we went a little further out, would you recommend any of these: River Grove, Franklin Park, Addison? We're looking at Elmhurst and Brookfield. Oak Lawn is nice, but further south than we'd like to go. We've seen a lot of pretty houses in Berwyn, is it pretty bad down there or alright?

As a resident, I'd definitely recommend Berwyn for a first house. It's a good, safe and affordable community less than 20 minutes from the Loop by train (Metra on the south side and the Blue Line on the north side). Also beneficial is the fact that it's located right between two major expressways (I-290/I-88 and I-55). Do a search, as there have been plenty of threads on it.

[Trollblaster]

I would look into Niles.

Examples in your price range:

7307 Conrad Street Niles IL - Real Estate for Sale and Homes for Sale - MLS #07662399 - Realtor.com®

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...072?source=web

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...248?source=web

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...230?source=web

[Peer79]

Perhaps, Elmwood Park is getting worse, by Elmwood Park's standards. However, a shooting is not the norm, and a weekly review of the police blotter in the Elm Leaves mostly discusses a couple of DUI's, petty theft, vandalism, minor things of that nature.

By Chicago, or Chicagoland standards, Elmwood Park is still a safe town.

[Johnny Northside]

Originally Posted by chet everett

EP is far from the most horrible suburb in the region, it is just that I having seen towns change over the decades I would not be keen on investing my hard earned money in a town that will almost certainly continue to decline. The. Lack of architectural charm by itself would be enough to have me looking elsewhere, combined with good deals in other nearby towns it really does nit strike me as worth the risk. The other towns I put links to , for homes in the same price range, are a much better bet ...

Chet, I don't disagree with most of what you're saying about EP, but your comment about lack of architectural charm makes me want to look at everything you've stated a little closer.

The southwest portion of EP, River Forest Manor, is architecturally phenomenal. Great assortment of postwar Georgians, Colonials, Cape Cods, etc. on large lots and many wide, tree-lined streets. If that isn't attractive or affordable (which it now is more than ever), the northwest section of EP includes the Westwood bungalow subdivision that's close to the quality of Berwyn's bungalow district.

There are some ugly blocks on the east side of EP, but architecture is hardly worth mentioning as an EP drawback overall.

[CityToBurbs75]

Originally Posted by Peer79

Perhaps, Elmwood Park is getting worse, by Elmwood Park's standards. However, a shooting is not the norm, and a weekly review of the police blotter in the Elm Leaves mostly discusses a couple of DUI's, petty theft, vandalism, minor things of that nature.

By Chicago, or Chicagoland standards, Elmwood Park is still a safe town.

What worries me is several posters have indicated that the EP police dept. and newspaper are not forthcoming with criminal stats. There's a post that mentions a drive-by shooting that was not reported in Elm Leaves, and on another thread a woman posted(pp) "Elmwood Park is a fake...the cops deliberately distort the crime stats so nice families will move there."

I could find the specific posts, but my point is, do any of you think EP authorities are concealing criminal activity? Several posters have implied that, and that idea worries me.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by CityToBurbs75

What worries me is several posters have indicated that the EP police dept. and newspaper are not forthcoming with criminal stats. There's a post that mentions a drive-by shooting that was not reported in Elm Leaves, and on another thread a woman posted(pp) "Elmwood Park is a fake...the cops deliberately distort the crime stats so nice families will move there."

I could find the specific posts, but my point is, do any of you think EP authorities are concealing criminal activity? Several posters have implied that, and that idea worries me.

Americans as a whole have an absolutely tremendous fear of crime. It has caused them to move to far flung communities, sometimes gated ones which are more like compounds than neighborhoods, and endure ridiculously long commutes to work. It has pushed them into the driver's seats of huge SUVs which make them feel safe and protected on the roads. It has caused them to tolerate increasing intrusions on their civil liberties in the name of national security. And it has made generations of realtors in Chicagoland and developers of far western farming communities very, very rich.

These fears tend to be particularly strong among working class Caucasian populations in close in Chicagoland suburbs, particularly those experiencing demographic changes. I think there is a propensity in these communities to think police and local governments are "hiding" things -- hiding the boogeymen who are surely being pushed out of gentrifying Chicago neighborhoods by selfish yuppies. These animals will destroy their peaceful (and of course wonderful) way of life if not dealt with harshly by hundreds of police officers.

This is why I try to rely more on objective data like the Illinois State Police's uniform crime reporting statistics than word of mouth at the grocery store. Many communities also have interactive crime maps that are useful in seeing what's really going on crimewise. Here is a good example of one...

Community Policing & Neighborhood Crime Statistics | CrimeReports.com

Very useful. Lets you break down crimes by type, area, etc.

[Peer79]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Americans as a whole have an absolutely tremendous fear of crime. It has caused them to move to far flung communities, sometimes gated ones which are more like compounds than neighborhoods, and endure ridiculously long commutes to work. It has pushed them into the driver's seats of huge SUVs which make them feel safe and protected on the roads. It has caused them to tolerate increasing intrusions on their civil liberties in the name of national security. And it has made generations of realtors in Chicagoland and developers of far western farming communities very, very rich.

These fears tend to be particularly strong among working class Caucasian populations in close in Chicagoland suburbs, particularly those experiencing demographic changes. I think there is a propensity in these communities to think police and local governments are "hiding" things -- hiding the boogeymen who are surely being pushed out of gentrifying Chicago neighborhoods by selfish yuppies. These animals will destroy their peaceful (and of course wonderful) way of life if not dealt with harshly by hundreds of police officers.

This is why I try to rely more on objective data like the Illinois State Police's uniform crime reporting statistics than word of mouth at the grocery store. Many communities also have interactive crime maps that are useful in seeing what's really going on crimewise. Here is a good example of one...

Community Policing & Neighborhood Crime Statistics | CrimeReports.com

Very useful. Lets you break down crimes by type, area, etc.

Agreed 100%. I cannot put much stock into unsubstantiated statements on an Internet forum, such as those about the "crime wave" and non-reporting in EP.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Johnny Northside

Chet, I don't disagree with most of what you're saying about EP, but your comment about lack of architectural charm makes me want to look at everything you've stated a little closer.

The southwest portion of EP, River Forest Manor, is architecturally phenomenal. Great assortment of postwar Georgians, Colonials, Cape Cods, etc. on large lots and many wide, tree-lined streets. If that isn't attractive or affordable (which it now is more than ever), the northwest section of EP includes the Westwood bungalow subdivision that's close to the quality of Berwyn's bungalow district.

There are some ugly blocks on the east side of EP, but architecture is hardly worth mentioning as an EP drawback overall.

Diversity of "styles" is not the same as true "charm" nor does the mere presence of homes whose exteriors fit the "Chicago Bungalow" vernacular. Even if those factors are present, they won't make for other negatives.

Truth be told there are a handful of stunningly attractive homes in even towns like Maywood, but the crime and crummy schools means that even the folks crazy enough to invest those homes will never get their investment back.

Heck, the same kind of thing can be said for dozens of Chicago neighbors.

The kind of "charm" that a town like even Forest Park manages to play up / manufacture has a lot to do with borrowing from the truly world class examples of architecture in Oak Park (and the traffic it generates) as well as pulling from the "sports bars" and such of Lakeview. These things are still not enough for me recommend Forest Park, as the extreme negative of Proviso is basically impossible to overcome...

At the other end of the "charm" spectrum it does not take a degree from the Sorbonne to understand the differences between Riverside and its lovely but barely functional downtown and someplace like LaGrange where despite having a designated truck route plow right through the heart of downtown it is far more active and vibrant...

Ultimately the various efforts of "builders" to manufacture a range of housing styles is never enough to overcome lack of well thought-out planning that includes public safety, commercial zoning, schools and the "whole enchilada"...

[Hatchetman]

Get a great house in south Elmwood Park. Send your kids to one of the many nearby Catholic schools. Problem solved.

[allen2323]

Well, I flip homes alot. And when looking at comparables in suburbs that have two different school district boundaries within the same suburb. One high school better than the other. There usually isn't a noticeable difference in home sales prices per square footage from the part of town with the best school boundary to the part of town with the least favorable school boundary. Only if the homes happen to be smaller on that part of town will home prices be noticeably lower.

As much as some people talk about it on city data, in the real world market school performance has little effect on real estate values. I find that the number of foreclosures on the market in an area, median household incomes, and local regional area home sales trends have more of an affect on home prices.

What usually happens is the market corrects those kind of inbalances between nearby areas. Nearby neighborhoods that attract the same income bracket of residents but have better schools attract more of the families with school age kids. But, most suburban households do not have school age children living in the home. The higher up you go in the housing market the lower the number of families with school age kids gets. Oak BRook has 3,345 households. But, only 749 of those households have school age children under 18 living in the home. The median age in oak brook is 53 years of age. Suburban demographics have changed and the more established suburbs are now alot more age diverse.

I live in south suburban olympia fields. In olympia fields there are 1,777 households. And, only 373 of those households have school age children under 18 living in the home. The median age in olympia fields is 50.1 years of age.

And I find that many folks (even alot with kids of there own) prefer to live in a more established, age diverse suburb. That isn't just filled with mostly families with young school age kids. And there's always private school. Private schools located near suburban areas that have large attendance rates tend to have just as much of a community feel as the public schools.