Thoughts on Montgomery, IL (Chicago, Aurora: crime, houses, purchasing)

[ijotto]

My husband and I are considering purchasing a home in Montgomery, IL, in the Blackberry Crossing West subdivision. We fell in love with a home but we don't know much about the town. Any thoughts from current residents or anyone at all?

[chet everett]

Well...

Not exactly sure what your total work / commute situation is but even for folks with jobs in Naperville the commute from the Blackberry area is often quite heavy.

The amenities of the greater Blackberry area include some nice parks as well the golf course, and the prices are mostly in the range where folks with "normal" incomes don't have to stretch too much. The taxes are no bargain but neither are they out of line for the mostly decent schools (Oswego D308...).

Not sure that there is anything particularly unique about most of the homes though I guess you do get more "bang for your buck" compared to similar developments in Naperville of the portions of Aurora served by D204, trade off is mostly distances one has to travel for not just work but even day-to-day errands and such -- the trends around older car centric development patterns certainly impact the relative "sprawl" that necessitates driving pretty much everywhere...

[doodlemagic]

I like Montgomery however it's pretty far out there, like Chet said even Naperville is quite a ride let alone if you have to commute further. If you do wind up moving there's a restaurant called the River View Diner that's one of my favorite places to eat in the entire Chicagoland area, awesome food nice people and its pretty affordable.

As far as the overall feel of Montgomery, you get some of the less desirable elements of Aurora spilling over and some dumpier areas ie rundown houses, cars in the front yard. It's a little bit more "country" for lack of a better word. I personally wouldn't mind living there if it wasn't so far out west but your average Naperville person probably would say its not as "desirable"

[prairiestate]

It's always seemed like an odd community, just in being so disconnected. It's a long, skinny town consisting of many annexations over the years, and they're mostly isolated from each other.

[doodlemagic]

One other thing about Montgomery, I would imagine some areas by the river flood so something to keep in mind when looking at houses ie making sure nothing is in a flood plain

[BigMan72]

It's a suburb basically in-between Aurora and Oswego. Don't know much about it

[westcoastforme]

Yorkville better. Montgomery to close to Aurora. Crime spills over into Montgomery

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by westcoastforme

Yorkville better. Montgomery to close to Aurora. Crime spills over into Montgomery

What is your basis for saying this?



The crime stats for Aurora have been decreasing for a long time. Further, the nicer areas that are technically inside Montgomery are not "spillover" distance from the rougher parts of Aurora.


Yorkville is a totally different kind of community. Still very much a rural / agricultural feel in large part...

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by chet everett

What is your basis for saying this?



The crime stats for Aurora have been decreasing for a long time. Further, the nicer areas that are technically inside Montgomery are not "spillover" distance from the rougher parts of Aurora.


Yorkville is a totally different kind of community. Still very much a rural / agricultural feel in large part...

I think Montgomery is a nice little town but the part bordering Aurora is pretty run down looking. I don't know that crime is that bad, just doesn't look that desirable

[aga412]

I’d pass on Montgomery because all of the surrounding options are pretty much more desirable that are comparable in price range, like Oswego, Sugar Grove, Yorkville or North Aurora farther up the way.