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Old 12-06-2014, 08:44 PM
 
4 posts, read 8,698 times
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My father owns a house in South Elgin that used to belong to my grandfather. It is completely paid off and my father would like to sign it over to me, the person who is currently renting it will be moving out by next Dec. I will be graduating from nursing school in a few months and was interested in maybe finding a job in the area so that I can move into the house. I do plan on remodeling it, as it is an older style ranch home built in the 60s. I have 2 kids, one in HS and the other in MS. Seems the schools got a pretty good 7/10 rating. But otherwise I know nothing about the area. My parents live in the Southwest US and I live in Missouri, therefore I am unfamiliar with Elgin or the surrounding area as far as if this is a good place to live, how the economy and the job prospects are, places to go and things to do, if it is a safe area and those sorts of things. I am in the St. Louis area now, so I would prefer to move to a place where I don't always have to watch my back, if you know what I mean. Seems the weather will not be to my liking, since I am not fond of snow and ice in the winter, and the housing taxes in Elgin are ridiculously high! But I suppose you can't beat a house with no mortgage. Any input will be helpful, thanks.
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Old 12-07-2014, 02:53 AM
 
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What is the nearest cross street? I'm assuming it is east of the river, correct? If that is the case it is the older part of town, as you mentioned.

South Elgin is a decent town and there isn't a lot of crime. They have a few bad areas, but most cities do these days. I believe South Elgin Police are pretty good and if you have any problems give them a call. You can't beat not having a mortgage!
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Old 12-07-2014, 11:30 AM
 
Location: Chicago
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I'd sell the house and buy something some place you want to live. I think South Elgin would be fairly boring for somebody your age with no friends in the area.
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Old 12-07-2014, 06:10 PM
 
Location: Chicago
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Originally Posted by knitgirl View Post
I'd sell the house and buy something some place you want to live. I think South Elgin would be fairly boring for somebody your age with no friends in the area.
The OP has children in middle and high school. She's not a typical 20-something graduate. I don't think South Elgin being boring is really a big issue.
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Old 12-07-2014, 07:46 PM
 
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[quote=westcoastforme;37547002]What is the nearest cross street? I'm assuming it is east of the river, correct? If that is the case it is the older part of town, as you mentioned.

Nearest cross street is N. Gilbert. I looked at the street view via Google maps and it does look like an older part of town.
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Old 12-07-2014, 07:52 PM
 
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Originally Posted by knitgirl View Post
I'd sell the house and buy something some place you want to live. I think South Elgin would be fairly boring for somebody your age with no friends in the area.
As the other person that posted replied, yes I do have teenage children and in my late 30s, so I don't mind boring--but I do enjoy going out with friends occasionally. It is not too far of a drive to Chicago for things to do, so I guess it wouldn't be too bad. I definitely will consider selling in a few years when my kids are out of school, but right now I would like to have no mortgage and save money for my dream move to Florida.
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Old 12-08-2014, 08:55 AM
 
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I have been told by someone who lives there that south elgin is nice. I am not familiar with it. That person happens to be thirty years old with two small children and is single. Chicago is quite a drive from there, not close enough to just pop over to do things frequently but there are other areas that are near to south elgin such as saint Charles and Geneva that are wonderful areas with plenty to do. Also places like Naperville or Batavia are not terribly far. I think you have a sound plan. My suggestion is to forge ahead with your plan and move there. You have plenty of time to see if you like it. You can always live there for a few years and find if it is not to your liking you can sell it and move somewhere else. By that time you will have enough familiarity with the area to see where you want to live.
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Old 12-08-2014, 09:29 AM
 
Location: Chicago
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In my limited experience, South Elgin has been pretty nice. I had a couple friends who lived there when I was in high school (in St. Charles). I'm pretty sure that most of South Elgin feeds into St. Charles schools, which are good schools.

As Toria mentioned, South Elgin itself isn't exactly booming with night life. But, there are tons of options in St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia and other surrounding suburbs. I wouldn't plan on being in Chicago every weekend, but it's certainly something you'll be able to do once in awhile. Taking the train from Elgin or Geneva will always be an option, as well.

If someone gave me a house with no mortgage I'd definitely move to South Elgin.
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Old 12-08-2014, 12:06 PM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,325,978 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nikitakolata View Post
I'm pretty sure that most of South Elgin feeds into St. Charles schools, which are good schools.
South Elgin has it's own schools, which actually fall under the larger Elgin SD U-46. South Elgin High School had a meet/exceed of 61% in 2014.
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Old 12-08-2014, 12:37 PM
 
Location: Chicago
2,884 posts, read 4,958,373 times
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Sorry, I saw the part where you'll be graduating from nursing school and just assumed you were early 20's. I still don't think it's a great idea to move just because there's no mortgage on the house. As you said, property taxes in IL aren't that cheap. How do your kids feel about potentially being uprooted? You aren't going to like the weather, U-46 is not one of the better school districts in the area and you you plan on moving to Florida in a few years. Have you sat down and figured out how much you're actually going to save? Moving expenses, property taxes, etc. I think you might be surprised.
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