top 3 areas to avoid in nw suburbs (Chicago, Naperville: middle-class, section 8)

[Kmanshouse]

In my experience, and this is due to seeing the quality of the high schools in my time there.

Streamwood
some parts of West Chicago (though that's more straight west not NW)

[ChicagoMeO]

Originally Posted by G in MP

Yeh $11 mill or whatever, those are estates in Barrington Hills or maybe South Barrington. By us, a regular house sitting on maybe a couple acres, around $550k. $400k and under for a standard suburban lot.

Hi, i rewatched that show that i was telling you about.. I must have been half asleep watching it.. so i looked for the house that i thought was $11,000,, it was not that high. it was about $2.5 million in Hinsdale, so i got that right,, but the apartment on North Michigan Ave by Oak Street Beach, that was $11 million. then they showed a couple properties for several million, and then they showed the $2.5 million homes.

In any case, i was trying to say, you could live downtown in a small condo, or you can live in the suburbs for a huge estate and you get more for your money and costs less.

((then later in the show, they showed some estates in Beverly Hills, CA, and Greenwich, CT and wow... spectacular, 8 bathrooms!! the price was like $32 million for that.

[G in MP]

Hey ChicagoMeO, as I'm sure you yourself noticed, IL takes a lot heat on this for forum for the high property/sales taxes, mismanagement on all sorts of levels and all that, and all deservingly so. But, Chicago suburbs are awesome, I gotta say. You get a lot for your money out here compared to other major metro area burbs. As for living in the city, nah.

[Sunbiz1]

Originally Posted by G in MP

But, Chicago suburbs are awesome, I gotta say. You get a lot for your money out here compared to other major metro area burbs.

How do you know this?

[ChicagoMeO]

Originally Posted by G in MP

Hey ChicagoMeO, as I'm sure you yourself noticed, IL takes a lot heat on this for forum for the high property/sales taxes, mismanagement on all sorts of levels and all that, and all deservingly so. But, Chicago suburbs are awesome, I gotta say. You get a lot for your money out here compared to other major metro area burbs. As for living in the city, nah.

Exactly!!! why i moved from the city to the suburbs. the environment is totally different on maybe 8 different things (traffic, congestion, crime, greenery, parking meters).

however, me as a renter see the rents are not necessarily less, though you do seem to get more for your money, i.e. an apartment in East Lakeview which are pretty crummy are more expensive than a 1 bedroom apartment in Dupage county or even the Cook County suburbs. the rents are average $1300 and up here. Even look at Planned Property apartments in Chicago,
they are more expensive last time i looked, (maybe up to $1500 for a 1 bedroom) than a suburban cook county apartment. Suburbs used to be less expensive but are going up. I am afraid rents are going to go up even more. Depends on what you want. You can live in a plain boxy apartment with not much amenities for $1100 out here. I've been looking at the ones up to $1400, then i peek at the ones over that and they are very beautiful. But i don't want to pay over that.

In any case, i pick suburbs over Chicago any day. I am so sad to see the once safe parts of chicago now turned into a riot zone, looter zone and mobs of idiots storming a store and running out with merchandise that they will resell. I'm speaking of North Michigan Ave and the Loop. I do not consider those areas desirable any more.

[G in MP]

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

Exactly!!! why i moved from the city to the suburbs. the environment is totally different on maybe 8 different things (traffic, congestion, crime, greenery, parking meters).

however, me as a renter see the rents are not necessarily less, though you do seem to get more for your money, i.e. an apartment in East Lakeview which are pretty crummy are more expensive than a 1 bedroom apartment in Dupage county or even the Cook County suburbs. the rents are average $1300 and up here. Even look at Planned Property apartments in Chicago,
they are more expensive last time i looked, (maybe up to $1500 for a 1 bedroom) than a suburban cook county apartment. Suburbs used to be less expensive but are going up. I am afraid rents are going to go up even more. Depends on what you want. You can live in a plain boxy apartment with not much amenities for $1100 out here. I've been looking at the ones up to $1400, then i peek at the ones over that and they are very beautiful. But i don't want to pay over that.

In any case, i pick suburbs over Chicago any day. I am so sad to see the once safe parts of chicago now turned into a riot zone, looter zone and mobs of idiots storming a store and running out with merchandise that they will resell. I'm speaking of North Michigan Ave and the Loop. I do not consider those areas desirable any more.

Yup, all those things you mentioned. Chicago is great though, I really enjoyed living in various neighborhoods as a kid and a young adult. The city has its draws, and suburbia its. It's nice to have such varied choices within one metro area.

And leaping on that, to answer Sunbiz....I'm in unicorp Barrington, yet I could make it to the Ohio St exit within 45 min (if I time it right, of course). Compare that to a similar burb in NYC, Boston, LA, whatever. Good luck with that. 45min out from those places, anything affordable will be what we consider starter homes in Chicagoland.

[Pseudonym18123]

There are no places to “avoid” in the NW suburbs like there are in the city or south suburbs. Every place I can think of here is perfectly safe to drive through, and even walk through so long as you’re being careful. In all honesty, places like Long Grove and the Barringtons are going to be places I would not recommend an average young person to search for…because they’re insanely expensive and quite boring.

If you’re asking for the “worst” area, the answer is probably not that interesting: Elgin and some parts of Streamwood. And even then, these aren’t “bad” areas, they’re just areas I would probably not advise someone live[/i] in because of schools not being the best. Honestly though, there are bad apartments everywhere, from Elgin to Wheeling to Arlington Heights to Vernon Hills that I would avoid living in for a variety of reasons, from poor maintenance to loud neighbors. If you’re asking to avoid SPECIFICALLY because of crime, the answer is Eastern Elgin, Hanover Park, parts of Prospect Heights south of Palwaukee, and Streamwood. But even here the crime is the “lock your car and doors” kinda crime, not the “board up your home and wear Kevlar” kind.

You’ll be fine, no matter where you go if you’re careful. Just follow safety precautions.

[Master Jay]

Pseudonym18123, good morning.

RIGHT?!? Thinking about the areas in places like Vernon Hills (or Libertyville) to avoid?!?

I mean, if people are put off my an apartment complex here and there, they might want to go live in an Amish community!!

[G in MP]

Originally Posted by Pseudonym18123

There are no places to “avoid” in the NW suburbs like there are in the city or south suburbs. Every place I can think of here is perfectly safe to drive through, and even walk through so long as you’re being careful. In all honesty, places like Long Grove and the Barringtons are going to be places I would not recommend an average young person to search for…because they’re insanely expensive and quite boring.

If you’re asking for the “worst” area, the answer is probably not that interesting: Elgin and some parts of Streamwood. And even then, these aren’t “bad” areas, they’re just areas I would probably not advise someone live[/i] in because of schools not being the best. Honestly though, there are bad apartments everywhere, from Elgin to Wheeling to Arlington Heights to Vernon Hills that I would avoid living in for a variety of reasons, from poor maintenance to loud neighbors. If you’re asking to avoid SPECIFICALLY because of crime, the answer is Eastern Elgin, Hanover Park, parts of Prospect Heights south of Palwaukee, and Streamwood. But even here the crime is the “lock your car and doors” kinda crime, not the “board up your home and wear Kevlar” kind.

You’ll be fine, no matter where you go if you’re careful. Just follow safety precautions.

There was a house on Cuba Rd that sold last year, not to far from us. We went to look at it just for fun, old little farm house, sitting on 5 acres but it's mostly floodplain. It sold for like $250k or something. Anyways, young couple bought it, tilled the side yard, going at it as a little hobby farm. Now they got a sign up, selling produce and flowers.

[Pseudonym18123]

Originally Posted by Master Jay

Pseudonym18123, good morning.

RIGHT?!? Thinking about the areas in places like Vernon Hills (or Libertyville) to avoid?!?

I mean, if people are put off my an apartment complex here and there, they might want to go live in an Amish community!!

Exactly, lol.

Apartments by nature aren’t going to be as nice as single family homes. In the NW suburbs if you don’t like an apartment at first glance, don’t rent. If you like one and the area, consider renting. There are apartments you might now want to move into that another person would. All perspective.