Wheeling, IL voted in top ten towns in US??

[mstengle]

I agree-thought is was anywhere suburbia as well. Must be the $2million in "pocket parks." Whatever those are!!

[SheriffMarge]

Originally Posted by mstengle

Family Circle August 2008, lists Wheeling as one of the best 10 towns in the United States, I am looking to purchase real estate; while the location of Wheeling would work, I never knew it was such a hot location. Anyone else feeling this?

In my opinion, high marks for Wheeling would be based on Restaurant Row, the new Westin Hotel and their community revitalization plan.

Restaurant Row is out of my price range - I'm a casual diner and the restaurants there are more upscale. But that's not a criticism, just an observation.

The Westin brings much-needed revenue to the community and puts Wheeling on the map for tourism. The much-talked-about casino that isn't going into Rosemont will probably end up somewhere in the vicinity, which makes the Westin well-positioned for more business travelers looking for something to do in the off hours.

The Community Revitalization plan really is well detailed. They've been buying up pieces of property and have begun on the new Village Hall. It's a sliding 10-year plan but in another 5 years, I predict the area will be on its way to a very desirable neighborhood.

Housing runs the gamut from low income to upscale; Good mix of condos, townhomes, apartments and single family homes. The original part of town was built not long after the end of WW2 so there are lots of tract houses.

The down side is that Wheeling also has a gang problem. There are efforts to clean it up, but there's plenty of work to do. The Police and Fire Departments get top marks in my book (I come from a police family so I pay attention to this stuff).

There is currently no retail area, so there's nothing to bring people into the village yet. But it's not far to Arlington Heights, Palatine and Buffalo Grove for specialty shopping. The nearest mall is Randhurst, the first enclosed mall in Illinois. It's struggling now and most people head to Woodfield or Hawthorne. But there you go.

I don't have kids so I can't speak about the schools, but the library is very good. If they don't have a book you'd like to read, you can ask them to order it. They're pretty generous about adding to the collection.

There are ample choices for places to worship. Ditto doctors and dentists. Palwaukee Airport is nearby handling corporate jets, helicopters and we even got a blimp once.

Wheeling was a good town for me when I was looking to buy my first place. I love the ethnic diversity, of which there is PLENTY! But the Cook County taxes are very high, gas prices stink (and that's not the word I'd like to use) and I think the village board could do a bit better in community projects to bring the neighbors out (they need a changing of the guard).

[NeedPeace]

Wheeling is an extremely dangerous are to live in in some parts. In cedar run where I live there are gangmembers out in numbers ever hour of the day usually armed with bats they throw in bushes when the police come. Everyday I hear new gunshots, I am getting out of here as soon as I can, if you move to wheeling make sure you get a safe place because some of the places here are as dangerous as living in the inner city

[Drover]

Originally Posted by NeedPeace

Wheeling is an extremely dangerous are to live in in some parts. In cedar run where I live there are gangmembers out in numbers ever hour of the day usually armed with bats they throw in bushes when the police come. Everyday I hear new gunshots, I am getting out of here as soon as I can, if you move to wheeling make sure you get a safe place because some of the places here are as dangerous as living in the inner city

This is hilarious.

[cubssoxfan]

Actually there are a few pockets of Wheeling I would not live in. However, there are MANY safe neighborhoods with very affordable (by NW suburban standards) areas and good schools.