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Have't heard anything about orland park becoming more sketchy yet. Although it has it's share of incidences just like anywhere else. Bad characters live in just about every community. Orland park is no exception. Orland has it's fair share of drug and prostitution activity. There was a very unfortunate incident that I heard happened last week. A 20 year old young lady who was offering herself sexually was contacted by a 61 year orland park resident who is also a school teacher. They apparently met up for sex at the 61 year old man's home in orland park. An argument later ensued about payment which led to a physical altercation. During the physical altercation, the 20 year old ended up stabbing the 61 year old man who later died. Very unfortunate. I hope all the facts come out.
Have't heard anything about orland park becoming more sketchy yet. Although it has it's share of incidences just like anywhere else. Bad characters live in just about every community. Orland park is no exception. Orland has it's fair share of drug and prostitution activity. There was a very unfortunate incident that I heard happened last week. A 20 year old young lady who was offering herself sexually was contacted by a 61 year orland park resident who is also a school teacher. They apparently met up for sex at the 61 year old man's home in orland park. An argument later ensued about payment which led to a physical altercation. During the physical altercation, the 20 year old ended up stabbing the 61 year old man who later died. Very unfortunate. I hope all the facts come out.
Orland Park hasn't had it's "fair share" of prostitution activity. That incident made the news because it was news (man bites dog). Hookers in Harvey or Chicago Heights rarely make the news.
Every community in America has illegal drugs. The scary thing is when there's open air drug dealing. Orland Park is definitely not the hood so this isn't something to worry about.
While I agree with urza about why this incident made the news I do think that there is something valuable here to consider -- the demographic trends and development patterns in some areas are bit more likely to make "the creepy factor" something that folks should give at least some thought to when making decisions about where to live.
Don't get me wrong, I doubt that Orland Park is any hot bed of old guys calling up murderous hookers but the general mix of folks that are getting older, the relative isolation / lack of nightlife and nothing that would appeal not just to younger single people like the OP but also anything that would be a 'draw' even to younger couples / families starting out make not just Orland Park but a whole lot of towns hard to recommend.
The converse, of the handful of towns that do have some appealing features for younger singles / couples / families make them far easier to recommend -- whether one is talking about the nightlife in Forest Park or the nice restaurants, shops, casual neighborhood bars and top quality schools that exist along the core of towns that line the BNSF or even the architectural charm of places along the North Shore or Oak Park all of these areas have things that are largely lacking in not just Orland Park or Tinley Park but too many towns and that helps to explain why so many posters that never venture out of Chicago dismiss all suburbs...
To be sure there are undoubtedly no shortage of creepy old men calling prostitutes out to Dunning, Belmont Cragin, or West Lawn but since none of the posters here spend any time in those unappealing areas they escape having a bad reputation...
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but the general mix of folks that are getting older, the relative isolation / lack of nightlife and nothing that would appeal not just to younger single people like the OP but also anything that would be a 'draw' even to younger couples / families starting out make not just Orland Park but a whole lot of towns hard to recommend.
The converse, of the handful of towns that do have some appealing features for younger singles / couples / families make them far easier to recommend -- whether one is talking about the nightlife in Forest Park or the nice restaurants, shops, casual neighborhood bars and top quality schools that exist along the core of towns that line the BNSF or even the architectural charm of places along the North Shore or Oak Park all of these areas have things that are largely lacking in not just Orland Park or Tinley Park but too many towns and that helps to explain why so many posters that never venture out of Chicago dismiss all suburbs...
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Well, I break Orland into two sections. The older part, let's say north of 159th St east of 104th Ave; and the newer part, generally south and west of there and stretching to (and could just as well be to include) Mokena, Homer Glen and Frankfort.
I have looked on the Internet at homes listed in the older part. Most are looking out-of-date, confirming a) the sellers are probably older folks who lived there for a long time, and b) these mid 20th century, middle-of-the-road homes are difficult to update into something like what buyers today want. The homes in this area, which could include most of Palos as well, are surprisingly cheap (especially considering low taxes) when considering "on paper" advantages of good schools, proximity to highways, safety and convenience to shopping. The low prices suggest the demand is in fact low, particularly to the young couples and families that buy so many homes. I think part of the reason these homes are fairly cheap is exactly what Chet cites. I think another part is the bias and habit in this area to move to new construction homes and areas.
All of the action is in the newer parts of town. The people with more money to spend, and younger families that have settled on the area and can swing it, are moving here. I think they are drawn to the larger homes and lots, the new homes that have what today's buyers want, and the quiet (lack of traffic as yet), and many wouldn't consider the older areas of Orland where the homes are out of date, or the older areas of Tinley where as someone mentioned there is some subtle decline (schools are iffy if nothing else).
So the newer parts of Orland are definitely in demand for young families and some young couples. Particularly people who originally grew up in the south or southwest suburbs. The "on paper" amenities of safe streets, good schools, desirable housing stock and lowish costs are there, and the "vibe" of relative affluence and quiet with large lots and low traffic work for them.
The downsides of old Orland are easy for these folks to see, but the downsides of newer Orland are perhaps: higher property taxes, poor location to job centers, poor access to rail, and a fourth thing. The future appeal of the community. The possibility that maybe new Orland's brand new homes will be just as tired looking, and its blocks just as crammed with old empty nesters, in 30 years as in old Orland.
But these things just don't matter to the people buying in new Orland. These are people working somewhere south or southwest. There aren't any major job centers down there, but there are jobs scattered around, and these people have a decent commute to wherever they work. And it just doesn't matter to them how far it is to downtown or Oak Brook or Schaumburg. These people are delighted with all the kids around that are about the same age as their kids, because in the new subdivisions all the homes were built at the same time and all the buyers were about the same age. As to the long-term appeal of new Orland, this also is not important to many of the people living there. Don't get me wrong, these people do indeed invest in the community, they will get involved in their child's school, etc. But in that part of town, people are content to just move to the next community of brand-new homes, further south or west, later on when the time comes. And why not? All their friends will be moving that way too.
Orland Park hasn't had it's "fair share" of prostitution activity. That incident made the news because it was news (man bites dog). Hookers in Harvey or Chicago Heights rarely make the news.
Every community in America has illegal drugs. The scary thing is when there's open air drug dealing. Orland Park is definitely not the hood so this isn't something to worry about.
I wasn't saying orland is a totally sketchy area like harvey. I was saying there are plenty of pin heads with bad character that live everywhere. Even in high socio economic suburbs like orland. Something about that story just caught my attention. Chet pointed out the sad, lonely aspect of living in an isolated burb like orland . I kinda agree with that, but not really. I just think this unfortunate incident goes to show people of bad character create unfortunate situations for themselves. No matter where they live. I mean this guy was 61 years old and a well respected educator. He goes out of his way to seek out a 20 year old who obviously is having a hard time. In my opinion, it takes a certain type of individual to seek gratification from someone so young who is in such a desperate situation. It sucks that the police and news coverage immediately seemed to make this guy out to be an innocent victim just because he is a well respected educator and it happened in a nice community. It seemed more important to have a suspect in custody no matter what the actuall circumstances were. He has to be at least partially responsible for his own unfortunate circumstance. That sort of arrangement has a lot of unknowns involved and is a very dangerous situation for a 20 year old girl to be involved in. When you are willing to entice desperate young girls with your money into those type of situations. Only to argue about not wanting to pay afterwards. Bad things are bound to happen.
Thanks for all the input. Ok... for clarification can you simplify the pros and cons for old Orland Park and the new Orland Park?
It's all a long term risk, that's what Chet Everett is saying anyway. I agree with him. People there won't react well if disadvantaged minorities start moving in due to their basic nature, and eventually the population will grow old. Today's younger home buyers are favoring more built up areas closer to downtown.
I wasn't saying orland is a totally sketchy area like harvey. I was saying there are plenty of pin heads with bad character that live everywhere. Even in high socio economic suburbs like orland. Something about that story just caught my attention. Chet pointed out the sad, lonely aspect of living in an isolated burb like orland . I kinda agree with that, but not really. I just think this unfortunate incident goes to show people of bad character create unfortunate situations for themselves. No matter where they live. I mean this guy was 61 years old and a well respected educator. He goes out of his way to seek out a 20 year old who obviously is having a hard time. In my opinion, it takes a certain type of individual to seek gratification from someone so young who is in such a desperate situation. It sucks that the police and news coverage immediately seemed to make this guy out to be an innocent victim just because he is a well respected educator and it happened in a nice community. It seemed more important to have a suspect in custody no matter what the actuall circumstances were. He has to be at least partially responsible for his own unfortunate circumstance. That sort of arrangement has a lot of unknowns involved and is a very dangerous situation for a 20 year old girl to be involved in. When you are willing to entice desperate young girls with your money into those type of situations. Only to argue about not wanting to pay afterwards. Bad things are bound to happen.
Most communities get ripped up pretty good when bad things happen in them, so why should Orland be different?
While I agree with urza about why this incident made the news I do think that there is something valuable here to consider -- the demographic trends and development patterns in some areas are bit more likely to make "the creepy factor" something that folks should give at least some thought to when making decisions about where to live.
Don't get me wrong, I doubt that Orland Park is any hot bed of old guys calling up murderous hookers but the general mix of folks that are getting older, the relative isolation / lack of nightlife and nothing that would appeal not just to younger single people like the OP but also anything that would be a 'draw' even to younger couples / families starting out make not just Orland Park but a whole lot of towns hard to recommend.
The converse, of the handful of towns that do have some appealing features for younger singles / couples / families make them far easier to recommend -- whether one is talking about the nightlife in Forest Park or the nice restaurants, shops, casual neighborhood bars and top quality schools that exist along the core of towns that line the BNSF or even the architectural charm of places along the North Shore or Oak Park all of these areas have things that are largely lacking in not just Orland Park or Tinley Park but too many towns and that helps to explain why so many posters that never venture out of Chicago dismiss all suburbs...
To be sure there are undoubtedly no shortage of creepy old men calling prostitutes out to Dunning, Belmont Cragin, or West Lawn but since none of the posters here spend any time in those unappealing areas they escape having a bad reputation...
Orland Park has a books store cafe - One of the few places that still do. I love it. Nearby Frankfort has a comic books store... Where there's a comic book store, there isn't just comic books but a gaming community. Also, I personally would rather hang out at someone's house than a bar (not that I don't go to bars too). And you can definitely get a more spacious place to live and invite friends in the south suburbs than the north side of Chicago. The only places in the city to see a good IMAX movie (as in hollywood blockbusters), you got to pre-order your ticket on opening night if you want to see it... I'm always hearing about local rock shows in NWI.
I agree thus far, Tinley is more of a mixed bag... go for Orland...
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