White Flight in Buffalo Grove (Chicago, Arlington Heights: for sale, real estate, mortgages)

[Pseudonym18123]

Hi all,
Earlier, I saw reading an article that called Buffalo Grove “a second generation white flight suburb,” with a comment saying that Buffalo Grove is like Skokie was, and Skokie was like Rogers Park way back when. So in your view, is Buffalo Grove going through white flight?
Now, wealth flight is what many suburbs went through in the past. Places like Harvey and Dolton were once middle class suburbs, but today are struggling underclass communities. But still, other places like Flossmoor have seen racial demographics change but socioeconomic demographics largely stay the same. So there clearly is a distinction between white flight and wealth flight.

With all that being said, there’s also a distinction between white flight and integration. Places like Oak Park saw white numbers dip over time, but home ownership rates remain stable amongst all races, as opposed to neighboring Berwyn, which underwent white flight that same time period.

So comes Buffalo Grove (and places like Vernon Hills, Arlington Heights, and other nearby communities). In your view, is Buffalo Grove undergoing actual white flight, in ways Skokie did earlier, or is it just diversifying?

[Greencheese]

Seems like an alright place, but straddling lakecook road certainly does nothing good for the suburb.

[Hiruko]

To me, white flight implies blockbusting and racial tension. There is no history of blockbusting or racial tension in Skokie. In Skokie and Buffalo Grove, you are talking about historically massive Jewish populations of recent immigrant lineage. Their families and offspring have grown more affluent over time and, anecdotally, seem to prefer buying into previously more exclusive lakefront suburban communities like Evanston, Wilmette, Glencoe, and Highland Park. Neither Buffalo Grove nor Skokie are in decline. They are simply changing demographically, much like the country at-large.

[ChicagoMeO]

Well i dont own a home but i go shopping in Buffalo Grove. When i read the topic, i thought of the old Chicago neighborhoods that had white flight and the thought of Buffalo Grove repeating that - i just dont see it nor sense it.

What would whites be fleeing? Because i dont see a lot of black people in the neighborhood. Maybe hispanics yes but thats the kind of population in the northwest suburbs, along with other groups. to me, it seems like a nice neighborhood.

go into the restaurants and stores and see what kind of population there is. I never get the feeling that whites are fleeing, as that seems to be the prevalent race in Buffalo Grove.

So as to who is buying or selling homes, i have no clue. I dont see any protests or anything either. Who gave you that info? Maybe they're scared of the hispanics or something. I have no clue.

[BOBNCHI]

Diversified yes, flight no.

[wjj]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

To me, white flight implies blockbusting and racial tension. There is no history of blockbusting or racial tension in Skokie. In Skokie and Buffalo Grove, you are talking about historically massive Jewish populations of recent immigrant lineage. Their families and offspring have grown more affluent over time and, anecdotally, seem to prefer buying into previously more exclusive lakefront suburban communities like Evanston, Wilmette, Glencoe, and Highland Park. Neither Buffalo Grove nor Skokie are in decline. They are simply changing demographically, much like the country at-large.

At least for the Lake County side of BG, this is spot on. Except that more recently, more people are leaving the state entirely rather than moving to Highland Park or Glencoe (which were the primary relocation destinations in the 1990s and 2000s). In the 1980s and 1990s mostly Jewish families were moving out and being replaced by younger Jewish and mixed religion families. Then in the late 1990s and 2000s there was a large influx of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants moving in to replace residents moving out. In the 2010s through today it is mostly Asian families moving in. Maybe 2/3 South Asian and 1/3 East Asian. And longer term residents moving out of state for various reasons other than just taxes.


If there were white, or any other kind of flight, you would see a lot of homes for sale and declining prices. That is just not the case. There is almost no inventory of resale homes on the market and when one goes on the market, it is gone in a week. There are increasingly more private sales that never hit the MLS. The interesting thing is that housing prices in BG have not fully recovered from the 2008-2010 market downturn. Prices are still not yet at the level they were in 2006, but are getting closer. This is due to sky high real estate taxes that make the cost of ownership prohibitive for many and more recently, many of the Asian families moving in offering cash deals and quick closings at slightly discounted prices. Longer term residents getting out of Illinois are happy to accept a slightly lower offer and quick close to avoid all of the hassle and unknowns of having to deal with bank appraisals that sometimes crater deals. We own two homes that are worth about the same amount, one in FL and the other in BG, neither with mortgages and both used year round. When we sell the BG house and spend all of our time in FL instead of 50% of it like now, we would take a low-hassle cash deal over a slightly higher financed deal, especially if there are contingencies on the financed deal. There is no racial tension in BG and a lot of money pouring into the community from new residents who are largely highly educated and professionals and who take pride in the ownership of their properties - more so than some who have moved out.


There is no doubt that the big draw for Asian families for Lake County BG are the schools (Stevenson HS and Districts 96 and 102). If an owner can stomach the real estate taxes, the price of housing in BG compares favorably to housing within comparable school districts like New Trier and Deerfield. More house for the dollar in BG. And BG recently being named the safest small city in the US does not hurt either (though I don't put much credence in those kinds of "awards" - but BG is very safe and BGPD does a great job).

[Logic87]

Definitely not white flight. As others have mentioned Buffalo Grove is one of the best values in the Chicagoland area if school system is your primary choice. Immigrant families (that are primary white-collar in this area) can get into some of the best school systems in IL at a lower price point and Buffalo Grove appears to have a larger inventory of townhomes that can provide further value for these families.

I looked at the area and put an offer on a home that I lost out to (home sold over value ofc.) The only complaints I have with Buffalo Grove it feels to sprawly and it's not directly near the tollways make it an inconvenience to commute into and out of Buffalo Grove. Otherwise it's a great suburb for any families looking for top-tier school systems.

Also on a side note, check out this video that highlights Stevenson High School:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffIllAVKxvA

This video doesn't quite seem to invoke the images I think of when I hear the words "White Flight".

[guidoLaMoto]

Originally Posted by Pseudonym18123

Hi all,
Earlier, I saw reading an article that called Buffalo Grove “a second generation white flight suburb,”....

Perhaps familiarize yourself with the (U of) Chicago School of Sociology concept of Concentric Rings of urban growth...It basically says that the more well-to-do people move progressively from older homes in the center of the city to newer, better homes a little further out. They are replaced by poorer folks as property values of the older homes fall....

This concept was derived yrs ago when the city was still growing. Eventually, the newest areas were too far from the business district to be desirable, so the new growth collapsed, so to speak, and we see gentrification/renewal of old, dilapidated, centrally located neighborhoods.

Human demographics seem too be self-organizing along the lines of ethnicity & economics.

https://geography.name/human-geograp...hicago-school/