Middle class white flight in NW burbs- why is it still so prevalent? (Chicago: house, transfer)

[NorCal Dude]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

As a guy who graduated from high school in the early 90's, it's interesting to me to note that many of the towns my suburban white friends were from are now less desirable than they were when we were kids. Part of it is aging housing stock. People are still willing to move further out to get newer houses with all of the bells and whistles. But at some point this will have played itself out, and people are going to just have to learn to live with one another.

Exactly, I grew up in wheaton, I never would have believed you if you told me one day, naperville would be where all the hype is. Suburbs get newer and shiner and further out. But I really agree with your last statement. Times are changing and it is getting to the point to where if you want to live in an all white area you are going to have to move further out or move some where really expensive. The average joe's are going to have to learn to live amongst each other.

[middle-aged mom]

Dirt poor European settlers began populating the greater Chicago area in the early- mid 1800's. There were serious conflicts with the native populations.

Tremendous European immigration persisted well into the 1950's. There were serious conflicts across ethnic groups, Italian versus Irish versus Polish and so on.

U.S. Census Bureau projects white children in the U.S. will become a minority by 2023 and the overall population will follow in 2042.

There are presently 20 states in which Hispanics are the largest minority group. These states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

[NorCal Dude]

Illinois is getting to the point where hispanics will be the larget minority. Good evidence of this can be seen in the rate of children attending Illinois schools. Unless I am mistaken right now, hispanics have risen to 19% of all school aged children, while blacks are at 20%. Pretty soon given birth rates, hispanics will be the largest minority.

[promis1]

Originally Posted by Venom

Switch white with rich and switch minority with poor.

Remember back in the days when whites where lower to middle class?
They had violence too... mostly cus' they where immigrants.
They all propsered and after a generation or two made enough money to go to better neighborhoods.
Minorities are now starting to do the same.

Its sure taking them a little longer. After several years of affirmative action, black colleges and organizations, section 8 housing, diversity fairs, etc.- you would hope they finally prosper. Some have, but the majority are still lower class.

[promis1]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

I try not to make generalizations like this, you get a different perspective when you move to a different part of the country and once and while see the opposite being the case.

Very rare to see the opposite- the majority of violence happens in minority areas. Bottom line.

[gardener34]

When the gangs start moving in, no matter what racial makeup it is. People start leaving. No one wants to get caught in crossfire or have their kids in the gangs. It is tough to fight the gangs if they want in.

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

Illinois is getting to the point where hispanics will be the larget minority. Good evidence of this can be seen in the rate of children attending Illinois schools. Unless I am mistaken right now, hispanics have risen to 19% of all school aged children, while blacks are at 20%. Pretty soon given birth rates, hispanics will be the largest minority.

I expect by 2010 or the end of 2009, Hispanics will officially surpass blacks in the state. Hispanics make up 15%(technically 14.9%) and blacks 15% of Illinois. Mind you these stats come from 2007
Illinois QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

[Chicagoland60426]

Cook County overall is 45% white. Even Dupage County is getting more diverse with 72%(79% back in 2000) white and slowly declining as the county gain more Asians & Hispanics. From 2000-2008, Over 60% of Illinois population gain was from Hispanics, second highest are Asians. While on the other hand, the black pop. mostly stayed the same and Whites now make up 65% of the state. I agree with Lookout kid, people going to have to learn to live by one another. You can run but you can't hide.

[big daryle]

Originally Posted by DADASGIRL

1ST - let me say that I am NOT calling anybody racist or trying to start an uproar-I am truly curious. Historically white flight was due to basic prejudice and folks socialized against "mixing." Now with severe racism at a minimum, whats the excuse? More and more of my non-minority colleagues are expressing a desire to NOT live in certain burbs - specifically because THEIR child may be outnumbered by other ethnic groups.
In burbs where whites arent as saturated as they used to be there's ALOT of white flight. And this in turn causes whole areas to be looked upon negatively. For some reason, a high concentration of whites equate to desireable, higher valued property - so is the fleeing a result of poor tastes/bad habit or just responsible homeowners looking out for their property value?
And for those who think I'm off my rocker simply compare/contrast the diversity trends within such burbs as Elgin, Hanover Park, Carpentersville with the likes of South Elgin, St Charles & Bartlett. My point being that instead of fleeing why not stay to help ensure that the neighborhood doesnt turn into a war zone - surely thats what being vested in your community is all about !

It has been that way for a long time. The Skokie area was known as one of the most racist towns in the country at one point,

[Lookout Kid]

There's also a cultural component to this that goes beyond safety and gangs. People generally don't like to be a minority where they live. We self sort. For instance, Cupertino California has become majority-Asian, and it is still experiencing some white flight even though the schools have never done better and crime is very low. It hasn't hurt real estate values, though.