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My wife and I are looking to buy. We currently live in Des Plaines and have been set on living in Des Plaines or Mt. Prospect. Right now Des Plaines isn't looking too promising as flooding and sewer backups seem to plague the area. Additionally, it doesn't seem like you get much house for your money. Mt. Prospect is nice but we’re limited to the area by the Des Plaines border as my wife commutes to her job via the Rosemont blue line and isn’t interested in lengthening her commute any.
After a good deal of house hunting frustration, I turned my attention to the south suburbs, specifically Hickory Hills.
My question is what is with this town and what am I missing? My observations are: a safe community with well kept homes and reputable schools, taxes seem reasonable compared to some of the northern suburbs and it looks like you can get a really nice spacious 3 bed, 2 bath house for 180-210, 000 which is our price range sweet spot.
Looking at some recent home sales in Hickory Hills it seems like many of the above described homes have sold for as low as 140,000.
So what's up with this place? are my observations accurate? Am I missing something? (former toxic waste dump?, flood issues?, home of the gangster disciples?)
What about the surrounding towns, is this what is keeping real estate so reasonable?
I really appreciate everyone's input, buying a house is a pretty big/scary life decision, and I want to make sure I'm looking in a good place.
Lastly, what are the public transit options like? The biggest concern is for my wife who works at the VA hospital by UIC, I do a lot of work from home so it’s not so much an issue for me. It looks like it would be about a 30 minute drive on 55 without traffic, how is traffic on 55 at the standard commuting times? What about the L. I know there is an orange line station by Midway, but it seems like a bit of a drive to get to the orange line.
I've been in Hickory Hills going on three years. (I lived on the Northside for 30+ years, so I'm still new. The Southwest has definitely grown on me since I'm been here.) When we were looking, house prices were pretty comparable to surrounding suburbs.
My impression is that it's pretty similar to Oak Lawn and the Paloses overall (I'm not so sure about Justice...) Middle class, family oriented and moderately diverse. Mix of white collar and blue collar. There are a lot of foreign-born folks in the area, Polish and Arab being the most prominent.
No big issues, but it's not all that convenient to mass transit. It's about a 10 to 15 minute drive to a Metra station, then a 35 to 45 ride into Union Station dependng on which station you use- and that's preferable to the drive on 55 during rush hour.
A far as I know, the grammar schools are fine. I'm not sure how concerned you are with high schools, but most of Hickory is in District 230, which is pretty reputable. A small section, north of 87th Street, is in a less reputable district- I'm not sure which one off hand. A few parochial schools are within driving distance, like St. Lawrence and Queen of Peace.
Good Afternoon!
Just making a few quick notes about Hickory Hills... I believe the house market prices dropped and this would be the true reason for the lowered home prices however if you notice the really nice homes, since the owners know the real worth, they are in all their right to maintain the fairly acceptable prices of $210k-$250k. There is truly nothing wrong with Hickory Hills, quite the opposite, it is one of the most quiet and nice hidden neighborhoods around and I guess there isn't too much publicity on it to keep the bad from getting in. I think the main point for parents is that the school district is one of the highest rated in the surrounding area (9 out of 10) and it hold true throughout junior high, High Shcool might be a different story all together, I think it is a 7 out of 10. Finally, though it has a diverse population, it is a peaceful one and very welcoming. 294 is right off 95th and roberts and i55 can be accessed through lagrange and 87th in about 5minutes... Hopefully you do decide on it and don't be scared off by the pricing, it would only turn out to be a good investment if anything as the prices will go back up at some point =) Best of luck!!!
These posts set me looking into the school districts. It seems like you don't want to be on the side of the town that has to send its kids to schools in Summit. Not if you can help it anyways.
So, this brings up a number of questions.
Being a town that borders Summit, is there a lot of spill over of crime and people of questionable character in the surrounding communities?
I'm really loving Hickory Hills with its proximity to nature, nice neighborhoods, and quaint feel. I'm not loving its derelict neighbor to the North.
Should I be concerned living next to such and unstable community?
Forgive my straight forward questions. I worked in a s***hole school on the south side and would never want to live in or near such a community and would never want my kids (although I don't yet have any) to have to attend a similar school.
Overall, I really like the SW burbs, but still have concerns.
Can my wife jog in Hickory at any time of the day safely?
I love the proximity to the forest preserves, but do these get overrun by bangers and thugs on the weekends?
BTW live in Des Plaines, so besides passing through, have limited exposure to the SW burbs.
Anyone have info regarding 55 into the city around UIC at rush hour. Google maps says about 35 mins from UIC to Hickory on 55 at 5 p.m. Wishful thinking or accurate?
Thanks in advance for your responses and your help in deciding where we will buy our first house!
These posts set me looking into the school districts. It seems like you don't want to be on the side of the town that has to send its kids to schools in Summit. Not if you can help it anyways.
So, this brings up a number of questions.
Being a town that borders Summit, is there a lot of spill over of crime and people of questionable character in the surrounding communities?
I'm really loving Hickory Hills with its proximity to nature, nice neighborhoods, and quaint feel. I'm not loving its derelict neighbor to the North.
Should I be concerned living next to such and unstable community?
Forgive my straight forward questions. I worked in a s***hole school on the south side and would never want to live in or near such a community and would never want my kids (although I don't yet have any) to have to attend a similar school.
Overall, I really like the SW burbs, but still have concerns.
Can my wife jog in Hickory at any time of the day safely?
I love the proximity to the forest preserves, but do these get overrun by bangers and thugs on the weekends?
BTW live in Des Plaines, so besides passing through, have limited exposure to the SW burbs.
Anyone have info regarding 55 into the city around UIC at rush hour. Google maps says about 35 mins from UIC to Hickory on 55 at 5 p.m. Wishful thinking or accurate?
Thanks in advance for your responses and your help in deciding where we will buy our first house!
I was going to respond earlier but I wasn't sure if HH ended up in Summit district or not; it's been over 10 years since we left now.
My children attended Summit schools before the internet, however, they went to Walker Elementary in Bedford Park which at the time was a good school. We moved right after our oldest graduated from Graves Middle. There are some good people in Summit but the bad far outweigh the good. Definitely stay away from these schools; they have a heavy ESL program and that takes away from the education the native english students receive. No way were we going to let our kids attend Argo and we couldn't afford to move elsewhere so we left the state entirely.
As far as safety the further you are away from Summit the better but I drove through Summit on a daily basis and never had a problem personally in over 10 years.
5pm for travel time is good but look at 530 or 6 to see if there is any difference. One of us drove the Stevenson everyday to the near southside and 30 minutes to just below Summit sounds about right so to HH probably another 10 to 15 mins depending on where you settle. Please note I don't remember where exactly UIC is anymore.
These posts set me looking into the school districts. It seems like you don't want to be on the side of the town that has to send its kids to schools in Summit. Not if you can help it anyways.
So, this brings up a number of questions.
Being a town that borders Summit, is there a lot of spill over of crime and people of questionable character in the surrounding communities?
I'm really loving Hickory Hills with its proximity to nature, nice neighborhoods, and quaint feel. I'm not loving its derelict neighbor to the North.
Should I be concerned living next to such and unstable community?
Forgive my straight forward questions. I worked in a s***hole school on the south side and would never want to live in or near such a community and would never want my kids (although I don't yet have any) to have to attend a similar school.
Overall, I really like the SW burbs, but still have concerns.
Can my wife jog in Hickory at any time of the day safely?
I love the proximity to the forest preserves, but do these get overrun by bangers and thugs on the weekends?
BTW live in Des Plaines, so besides passing through, have limited exposure to the SW burbs.
Anyone have info regarding 55 into the city around UIC at rush hour. Google maps says about 35 mins from UIC to Hickory on 55 at 5 p.m. Wishful thinking or accurate?
Thanks in advance for your responses and your help in deciding where we will buy our first house!
Yes, your wife can safely jog in Hickory. Never really noticed any bangers and/or thugs in the forest preserves, weekend or weekday.
Proximity to Summit, that's a tough one. I left HH a couple years ago and it seemed that the clientele of the apartment buildings was starting to get sketchy. Not profiling a particular race, it seemed to be a little of everything. I do recall talking to someone once who lived in one of the questionable buildings and they said they moved from Summit. So take that for what you will.
Overall, HH is a good burb. I would say, avoid living anywhere near the apartment buildings (mostly concentrated on Roberts, between and on 87th & 95th) This is pretty much a problem everywhere though, gotta be careful about living too close to apartment buildings. Not that all are bad, but you never know which will be.
Yes, your wife can safely jog in Hickory. Never really noticed any bangers and/or thugs in the forest preserves, weekend or weekday.
Proximity to Summit, that's a tough one. I left HH a couple years ago and it seemed that the clientele of the apartment buildings was starting to get sketchy. Not profiling a particular race, it seemed to be a little of everything. I do recall talking to someone once who lived in one of the questionable buildings and they said they moved from Summit. So take that for what you will.
Overall, HH is a good burb. I would say, avoid living anywhere near the apartment buildings (mostly concentrated on Roberts, between and on 87th & 95th) This is pretty much a problem everywhere though, gotta be careful about living too close to apartment buildings. Not that all are bad, but you never know which will be.
Pride comes with being a homeowner. I've seen countless apartments trashed by those that rented them; however, that's not to say that every apartment dweller trashes their home. Homeowners can fall on rough times and ignore property maintenance and after a long absence of such they start looking trashy. As you're looking around OP pay attention to the cars in the neighborhood.
Hickory resident here, over 30 years, since i was 9,lol...like most above said, it's nice,decent, in the last 10+ years a lot of polish have moved in,and I'm glad, their for a while it was looking like a lot of Arabs were shopping Hickory, their not bad but have THEIR ways, so i was happy when i saw a lot more polish buying up what was on the market...like others have stated, avoid living by the apartments, just check any towns child molester registry with Ill state and their usually in apartments, sad but true...
their is what we have called old hickory'' it the little part of hickory north of 87th street, it goes to different schools like said, like Argo in summit, hickory doesn't butt up to summit, but it does to Justice which all go Argo in summit.. as for the rest of hickory.. the schools are decent, even won awards recently, and our high school is Amos Alonzo Stagg in palos =111th and Roberts road in palos which is also a decent town ..i have 2 little kids, and they are doing fine in our schools and park districts..same schools i went to many moon ago ...
as for crime'' times are tough..so yes their has been a good few day time break In's.. but its not just hickory.. it all around, i keep track of it..seams a lot of peeps from the east have a new sport, called lets go rob some homes while decent folks are at work...just got to keep your guard up, be aware, i see a lot of it happening up north to ...thanks to Daley tearing down the inner city projects, scattered them like roaches when the lights go on...most that have been caught are out of the city..ugh''
as for prices, yes they have come waaay down in some parts of Hickory and some parts (core)are rebounding pretty well..their is several reasons, banks have tightened the belt, harder for buyers to get loans, also their is a good few older residents, that just want to cash out, move on in their old age or have lost their spouse, their is a beautiful house on my block that i believe has a contract on it, the widow that lived their just passed before x-mass...so yes their is deals out their..
well hope i helped, if you want to chat, just hit me up..ok
Patrick.. PS i work down town in the loop.. but its not a bad jurny, several options .......
HH is a great community (lived here for 11 years). Living in between 91st and 87th is the best neighbourhood, especially between 84th ct and 86th ave. Glenn Oaks has become a powerhouse school in the last decade, and was in the top 256 schools in America. Try to aim for there. Conrady Jr. High is a different story. They need serious remodeling issues, but I believe they are getting them this summer. Stagg is good too, but is crowded.
Grocery Shopping: Super affordable. There's a Jewel Osco and a Fairplay, and there's good deals.
Gas: Cheaper than surrounding communities
Transit: Midway Orange Line commute is easy (Takes ~45 min to reach Loop from Roberts road
Saftey: Alleys along 95th and Roberts are sketchy, and 95th apartments are primarily trailer trash who couldn't afford a trailer. Artery streets (91, 93, 95) are all lit with sidewalks, while vein streets (84, 84, 85, 85 etc) aren't regularly lit or sidewalked, but also have less traffic. The heart (Roberts road) is safest you can be bar car accidents.
Public Works: Great, can arrive ~10 min after call. Better too as best worker Andy has returned from a back injury. Police good, probably have one car on every artery at some any point any day, one car doing a rundown of every vein probably hourly. The heart is policed regularly.
move here.
pls boss
pls
HH is a great community (lived here for 11 years). Living in between 91st and 87th is the best neighbourhood, especially between 84th ct and 86th ave. Glenn Oaks has become a powerhouse school in the last decade, and was in the top 256 schools in America. Try to aim for there. Conrady Jr. High is a different story. They need serious remodeling issues, but I believe they are getting them this summer. Stagg is good too, but is crowded.
Grocery Shopping: Super affordable. There's a Jewel Osco and a Fairplay, and there's good deals.
Gas: Cheaper than surrounding communities
Transit: Midway Orange Line commute is easy (Takes ~45 min to reach Loop from Roberts road
Saftey: Alleys along 95th and Roberts are sketchy, and 95th apartments are primarily trailer trash who couldn't afford a trailer. Artery streets (91, 93, 95) are all lit with sidewalks, while vein streets (84, 84, 85, 85 etc) aren't regularly lit or sidewalked, but also have less traffic. The heart (Roberts road) is safest you can be bar car accidents.
Public Works: Great, can arrive ~10 min after call. Better too as best worker Andy has returned from a back injury. Police good, probably have one car on every artery at some any point any day, one car doing a rundown of every vein probably hourly. The heart is policed regularly.
move here.
pls boss
pls
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