The Suburbs

[southsider2k5]

If you want some land, look at Indiana. It will be further, but worth it. It is much cheaper to live out here too.

[SoxAce]

If you want some land, look at Indiana. It will be further, but worth it. It is much cheaper to live out here too.

 

Or the south east side of Chicago.

[nitetrain8601]

Or the south east side of Chicago.

 

Hegewisch?

[SoxAce]

Hegewisch?

 

Pretty close to Hegewisch but not quite "Hog wash".

[Texsox]

I just went into sticker shock reading this thread. Holy crap at the house prices.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Look in Mt. Greenwood, Beverly/Morgan Park area.

 

The ride to the Cell is a hop skip and jump away and metra is right there.

 

The neighborhood/community atmosphere is pretty cool there as well.

 

Housing slump or not, $300K won't get you into anything worth inhabiting in Beverly. Totally depressng to know I'll never in my life be able to afford a house in the neighborhood I grew up in.

[SouthsideDon48]

To the OP, if you're looking to get something in the $300,000/below price range, then I would avoid the north and west suburbs. There's just too many snobby people living up there that I think you and your family might end up desiring to move again. You can also get more of a bang for your buck in the south suburbs.

 

I've lived in the south suburbs all my life, so I can give you a quick run-down on all the towns I'm familiar with:

 

South Suburbs to live in (all towns I'd live in:

Burbank: Nice town with older classic homes. Right near the south side of Chicago and very close to an EL stop at Midway airport.

Evergreen Park: one part is kind of run-down (near 87th and California), and another part has nice classic 1-flat style homes (near 95th and Sacremento/Cicero, etc). Located very close to Chicago, quick commute.

Bridgeview: lived here at different times of my life. Love this town. Big Arab population here with great mideasten food. Very close to Chicago, short drive to Midway airport's El stop, and also has access to I-294. You can get a nice older home here.

Justice: Nice diverse town with a lot of various homes. Not much in stores, etc, but very close to other towns. Quick drive to Midway airport El stop.

Hickory Hills: Nice diverse town as well, there's some very nice homes by Moraine Valley college and north near 95th street and Kean ave.

Summit: Mostly Hispanic, but it has a more of a city feel than any other suburbs I listed. very close to downtown.

Hometown: Nice small middle-class town hidden near Oak Lawn and Burbank. Lots of nice duplexes and small-scale cozy homes.

Chicago Ridge: nice town in good location. Has some nice homes and is very close to a lot of shopping places such as the former Chicago Ridge Mall.

Worth: lived in this town, still have relatives here, one of the towns I love. Lots of nice quaint homes near 111th and Harlem.

Oak Lawn: Some of my relatives lived here all my life. Has lots of nice classic homes. Has a older feel to it on 95th street, very close to the city with a quick drive to the El stop at Midway.

Alsip: nice middle-class town with good-sized homes.

Blue Island: nice diverse town with mostly hispanics and whites, has a beautiful downtown, still a quick 40 minute ride to downtown.

Midlothian: good location with reasonable homes. Has a little crime, but it's no biggie, I drive through here everyday and I always feel totally safe here.

Oak Forest: I'd live here, but has a little bit too much of a "foresty" feel to it. Some neighborhoods has no sidewalks, which I find annoying.

Orland Park: I've lived in the Tinley/Orland area all my life. It's big with a ton of shopping and a ton of homes. My only complaint is that too many rich people built their obnoxious "mini-mansions" here, which looks utterly ridiculous. Look into more of the blue collar areas.

Tinley Park: Lived here for 12 years, there's lots of nice middle-class homes, but our family can't afford to live here anymore cause too many rich people moved in and built their mini-mansions, which raised prices of all the other homes in the neightborhood. You can still get a nice classic Tinley Park home in the Brementowne subdivision near 159th st and 76th ave, and there's some nice older homes near Oak Park ave as well.

Orland Hills: Very small town, similar to Hometown. Consists of mostly residential homes, but located very close to all the shopping in Orland Park and Tinley Park.

South Holland: I love this town, it's nice and diverse with a lot of good-sized blue-collar homes. It's mostly older people who are retired living here, tho, but it's a quiet town.

Country Club Hills: I love this town. Nice and diverse, plus I always shop at the Walmart there and go to the movie theater there. Try and eat at Baba's some time, they have awesome milkshakes. There's also lots of nice middle-class homes here as well.

Homewood: I'd raise a kid here if I could. It's nice and diverse with a nice selection of older homes. There's a metra line near Western Ave.

Park Forest: I like this diverse town and I'd live here, but it's a little too far south for my taste, plus it has too much of a foresty feel.

Matteson: This is my favorite town in the south suburbs, I'd raise a kid here as well if I could. It's nice and diverse and there's lots of shopping near Cicero and Rt 30. Only drawback is that it might be a little far for working downtown, but I'm sure there's lots of people living here that works downtown.

 

 

South Suburbs to avoid:

Harvey: only drive here in the day if you can help it, but don't live here. Drugs, gangs, crooked police force, crooked mayor, boarded-up buildings, burned-out homes, this town makes me think of "the Wire" and "Oz". I have friends that live here, but I never felt safe in Harvey.

Ford Heights: the worst of the worst in the south suburbs. You got Englewood in Chicago, and the South Suburbs got Ford Heights... nuff said. Avoid at all costs.

Chicago Heights: there's good parts and bad parts, but it's going downhill.

Homer Glen: too many rich people, too many polish people, I work in this town and I HATE this town. There's nothing there either.

Dolton: kinda rough here, seem to be getting worse.

Riverdale: located in the middle of a couple bad towns.

Calumet City: this town has good and bad things about it, but the bad outweigh the good. Seems to be becoming a distressed area.

 

Other South Suburbs towns:

Robbins: I wouldn't live here, it's not as bad with crime as Harvey, but it might be some day.

Posen: kind of bad, but low-key. Similar to Robbins. Safe during the day.

Hazel Crest: I like this town, but there's not much there besides residential homes.

Palos Heights: too many rich people, kind of a blah town.

Markham: kind of so-so, but there's not much there.

Palos Hills: too many rich people, and too many houses hidden by a ton of trees.

Frankfort: never really liked this town, lacks diversity.

Mokena: kinda far, not enough diversity, has too much of a redneck town feel.

Lansing: located near the Illinois/Indiana border, has a small-town feel to it, but it just always feels disconnected from the rest of the south suburbs. Almost like the Australia of the south suburbs.

Too far for you:

Lockport: kind of far for working in Chicago.

Joliet: if you work in Chicago, too far, but nice and diverse.

New Lenox: too far out.

Crete/Monee/Steger/Sauk Village/Kankakee/Bradley/Borbonaise: this area and anything else is just the boonies, not really worth living out here.

 

Sorry for the long-winded post, but I know the south suburbs like the back of my hand. I think I will probably more than likely live my entire life in the south suburbs, I can't see myself ever moving to the north or western suburbs because I freaking hate towns like Bolingbrook, Oak Brook, Naperville, Downers Grove, Darien, Lemont, Arlington Heights, Mt. Prospect, Des Plaines, etc etc, there's way too many snobby rich people with elitist attitudes.

 

I also, like another person mentioned, recommend Northwest Indiana as well. There's plenty of places I'd live in in Northwest Indiana such as Hammond, Griffith, Dyer, Munster, etc etc. It's more cheaper there, too, I was shocked at how much more you can get in Indiana than in Illinois for the same amount of money.

Edited January 9, 2010 by SouthsideDon48

[knightni]

Hegewisch?

Does Harry Potter live there?

[knightni]

You can buy a pretty nice three bedroom home in my town for around 110k.

 

Of course, it's a 2 hour commute to USCF.

[nitetrain8601]

Housing slump or not, $300K won't get you into anything worth inhabiting in Beverly. Totally depressng to know I'll never in my life be able to afford a house in the neighborhood I grew up in.

 

Eh, I don't know about that. The house my mom bought in 2001 went for $175,000 and it's pretty big, has a huge lot(which sucks cutting the grass takes about 2 or 3 hours) and has trees and bushes galore. All the rooms are spacious(can fit two Queen size beds in each room and the master can fit probably like 5 or 6), it has a basement as well. Couple of downfalls though were one pink bathroom, roof needed to be redone, and the same with electrical.

[RockRaines]

I just went into sticker shock reading this thread. Holy crap at the house prices.

I live in 1400 Sq feet, its priced at about 400k. Money goes nowhere in Chicago.

[Pants Rowland]

Avoid the north and west suburbs. There's just too many snobby people.

Orland Park: My only complaint is that too many rich people built their obnoxious "mini-mansions" here, which looks utterly ridiculous.

Tinley Park: too many rich people moved in and built their mini-mansions, which raised prices of all the other homes in the neightborhood.

Homer Glen: too many rich people, too many polish people, I work in this town and I HATE this town.

Palos Heights: too many rich people, kind of a blah town.

Palos Hills: too many rich people, and too many houses hidden by a ton of trees.

I freaking hate towns like Bolingbrook, Oak Brook, Naperville, Downers Grove, Darien, Lemont, Arlington Heights, Mt. Prospect, Des Plaines, etc etc, there's way too many snobby rich people with elitist attitudes.

 

Awesome unintended rant. Generalize much?

[SoxFan1]

To the OP, if you're looking to get something in the $300,000/below price range, then I would avoid the north and west suburbs. There's just too many snobby people living up there that I think you and your family might end up desiring to move again. You can also get more of a bang for your buck in the south suburbs.

 

I've lived in the south suburbs all my life, so I can give you a quick run-down on all the towns I'm familiar with:

 

South Suburbs to live in (all towns I'd live in:

Burbank: Nice town with older classic homes. Right near the south side of Chicago and very close to an EL stop at Midway airport.

Evergreen Park: one part is kind of run-down (near 87th and California), and another part has nice classic 1-flat style homes (near 95th and Sacremento/Cicero, etc). Located very close to Chicago, quick commute.

Bridgeview: lived here at different times of my life. Love this town. Big Arab population here with great mideasten food. Very close to Chicago, short drive to Midway airport's El stop, and also has access to I-294. You can get a nice older home here.

Justice: Nice diverse town with a lot of various homes. Not much in stores, etc, but very close to other towns. Quick drive to Midway airport El stop.

Hickory Hills: Nice diverse town as well, there's some very nice homes by Moraine Valley college and north near 95th street and Kean ave.

Summit: Mostly Hispanic, but it has a more of a city feel than any other suburbs I listed. very close to downtown.

Hometown: Nice small middle-class town hidden near Oak Lawn and Burbank. Lots of nice duplexes and small-scale cozy homes.

Chicago Ridge: nice town in good location. Has some nice homes and is very close to a lot of shopping places such as the former Chicago Ridge Mall.

Worth: lived in this town, still have relatives here, one of the towns I love. Lots of nice quaint homes near 111th and Harlem.

Oak Lawn: Some of my relatives lived here all my life. Has lots of nice classic homes. Has a older feel to it on 95th street, very close to the city with a quick drive to the El stop at Midway.

Alsip: nice middle-class town with good-sized homes.

Blue Island: nice diverse town with mostly hispanics and whites, has a beautiful downtown, still a quick 40 minute ride to downtown.

Midlothian: good location with reasonable homes. Has a little crime, but it's no biggie, I drive through here everyday and I always feel totally safe here.

Oak Forest: I'd live here, but has a little bit too much of a "foresty" feel to it. Some neighborhoods has no sidewalks, which I find annoying.

Orland Park: I've lived in the Tinley/Orland area all my life. It's big with a ton of shopping and a ton of homes. My only complaint is that too many rich people built their obnoxious "mini-mansions" here, which looks utterly ridiculous. Look into more of the blue collar areas.

Tinley Park: Lived here for 12 years, there's lots of nice middle-class homes, but our family can't afford to live here anymore cause too many rich people moved in and built their mini-mansions, which raised prices of all the other homes in the neightborhood. You can still get a nice classic Tinley Park home in the Brementowne subdivision near 159th st and 76th ave, and there's some nice older homes near Oak Park ave as well.

Orland Hills: Very small town, similar to Hometown. Consists of mostly residential homes, but located very close to all the shopping in Orland Park and Tinley Park.

South Holland: I love this town, it's nice and diverse with a lot of good-sized blue-collar homes. It's mostly older people who are retired living here, tho, but it's a quiet town.

Country Club Hills: I love this town. Nice and diverse, plus I always shop at the Walmart there and go to the movie theater there. Try and eat at Baba's some time, they have awesome milkshakes. There's also lots of nice middle-class homes here as well.

Homewood: I'd raise a kid here if I could. It's nice and diverse with a nice selection of older homes. There's a metra line near Western Ave.

Park Forest: I like this diverse town and I'd live here, but it's a little too far south for my taste, plus it has too much of a foresty feel.

Matteson: This is my favorite town in the south suburbs, I'd raise a kid here as well if I could. It's nice and diverse and there's lots of shopping near Cicero and Rt 30. Only drawback is that it might be a little far for working downtown, but I'm sure there's lots of people living here that works downtown.

 

 

South Suburbs to avoid:

Harvey: only drive here in the day if you can help it, but don't live here. Drugs, gangs, crooked police force, crooked mayor, boarded-up buildings, burned-out homes, this town makes me think of "the Wire" and "Oz". I have friends that live here, but I never felt safe in Harvey.

Ford Heights: the worst of the worst in the south suburbs. You got Englewood in Chicago, and the South Suburbs got Ford Heights... nuff said. Avoid at all costs.

Chicago Heights: there's good parts and bad parts, but it's going downhill.

Homer Glen: too many rich people, too many polish people, I work in this town and I HATE this town. There's nothing there either.

Dolton: kinda rough here, seem to be getting worse.

Riverdale: located in the middle of a couple bad towns.

Calumet City: this town has good and bad things about it, but the bad outweigh the good. Seems to be becoming a distressed area.

 

Other South Suburbs towns:

Robbins: I wouldn't live here, it's not as bad with crime as Harvey, but it might be some day.

Posen: kind of bad, but low-key. Similar to Robbins. Safe during the day.

Hazel Crest: I like this town, but there's not much there besides residential homes.

Palos Heights: too many rich people, kind of a blah town.

Markham: kind of so-so, but there's not much there.

Palos Hills: too many rich people, and too many houses hidden by a ton of trees.

Frankfort: never really liked this town, lacks diversity.

Mokena: kinda far, not enough diversity, has too much of a redneck town feel.

Lansing: located near the Illinois/Indiana border, has a small-town feel to it, but it just always feels disconnected from the rest of the south suburbs. Almost like the Australia of the south suburbs.

Too far for you:

Lockport: kind of far for working in Chicago.

Joliet: if you work in Chicago, too far, but nice and diverse.

New Lenox: too far out.

Crete/Monee/Steger/Sauk Village/Kankakee/Bradley/Borbonaise: this area and anything else is just the boonies, not really worth living out here.

 

Sorry for the long-winded post, but I know the south suburbs like the back of my hand. I think I will probably more than likely live my entire life in the south suburbs, I can't see myself ever moving to the north or western suburbs because I freaking hate towns like Bolingbrook, Oak Brook, Naperville, Downers Grove, Darien, Lemont, Arlington Heights, Mt. Prospect, Des Plaines, etc etc, there's way too many snobby rich people with elitist attitudes.

 

I also, like another person mentioned, recommend Northwest Indiana as well. There's plenty of places I'd live in in Northwest Indiana such as Hammond, Griffith, Dyer, Munster, etc etc. It's more cheaper there, too, I was shocked at how much more you can get in Indiana than in Illinois for the same amount of money.

I've yet to see much good in Calumet City. But I also agree, living so close to NW Indiana, that Munster, Dyer, Griffith, and Highland have some beautiful areas.

 

[southsider2k5]

I live in 1400 Sq feet, its priced at about 400k. Money goes nowhere in Chicago.

 

I've got 1500sq ft in Michigan City for 80k

[RockRaines]

Awesome unintended rant. Generalize much?

Since when it too many rich people a bad thing? That means your property may actually appreciate.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Since when it too many rich people a bad thing? That means your property may actually appreciate.

 

I think that was Rowland's point, actually. I just which rich people didn't have to ask so. . . rich.

[Controlled Chaos]

To the OP, if you're looking to get something in the $300,000/below price range, then I would avoid the north and west suburbs. There's just too many snobby people living up there that I think you and your family might end up desiring to move again. You can also get more of a bang for your buck in the south suburbs.

 

I've lived in the south suburbs all my life, so I can give you a quick run-down on all the towns I'm familiar with:

 

South Suburbs to live in (all towns I'd live in:

Burbank: Nice town with older classic homes. Right near the south side of Chicago and very close to an EL stop at Midway airport.

Evergreen Park: one part is kind of run-down (near 87th and California), and another part has nice classic 1-flat style homes (near 95th and Sacremento/Cicero, etc). Located very close to Chicago, quick commute.

Bridgeview: lived here at different times of my life. Love this town. Big Arab population here with great mideasten food. Very close to Chicago, short drive to Midway airport's El stop, and also has access to I-294. You can get a nice older home here.

Justice: Nice diverse town with a lot of various homes. Not much in stores, etc, but very close to other towns. Quick drive to Midway airport El stop.

Hickory Hills: Nice diverse town as well, there's some very nice homes by Moraine Valley college and north near 95th street and Kean ave.

Summit: Mostly Hispanic, but it has a more of a city feel than any other suburbs I listed. very close to downtown.

Hometown: Nice small middle-class town hidden near Oak Lawn and Burbank. Lots of nice duplexes and small-scale cozy homes.

Chicago Ridge: nice town in good location. Has some nice homes and is very close to a lot of shopping places such as the former Chicago Ridge Mall.

Worth: lived in this town, still have relatives here, one of the towns I love. Lots of nice quaint homes near 111th and Harlem.

Oak Lawn: Some of my relatives lived here all my life. Has lots of nice classic homes. Has a older feel to it on 95th street, very close to the city with a quick drive to the El stop at Midway.

Alsip: nice middle-class town with good-sized homes.

Blue Island: nice diverse town with mostly hispanics and whites, has a beautiful downtown, still a quick 40 minute ride to downtown.

Midlothian: good location with reasonable homes. Has a little crime, but it's no biggie, I drive through here everyday and I always feel totally safe here.

Oak Forest: I'd live here, but has a little bit too much of a "foresty" feel to it. Some neighborhoods has no sidewalks, which I find annoying.

Orland Park: I've lived in the Tinley/Orland area all my life. It's big with a ton of shopping and a ton of homes. My only complaint is that too many rich people built their obnoxious "mini-mansions" here, which looks utterly ridiculous. Look into more of the blue collar areas.

Tinley Park: Lived here for 12 years, there's lots of nice middle-class homes, but our family can't afford to live here anymore cause too many rich people moved in and built their mini-mansions, which raised prices of all the other homes in the neightborhood. You can still get a nice classic Tinley Park home in the Brementowne subdivision near 159th st and 76th ave, and there's some nice older homes near Oak Park ave as well.

Orland Hills: Very small town, similar to Hometown. Consists of mostly residential homes, but located very close to all the shopping in Orland Park and Tinley Park.

South Holland: I love this town, it's nice and diverse with a lot of good-sized blue-collar homes. It's mostly older people who are retired living here, tho, but it's a quiet town.

Country Club Hills: I love this town. Nice and diverse, plus I always shop at the Walmart there and go to the movie theater there. Try and eat at Baba's some time, they have awesome milkshakes. There's also lots of nice middle-class homes here as well.

Homewood: I'd raise a kid here if I could. It's nice and diverse with a nice selection of older homes. There's a metra line near Western Ave.

Park Forest: I like this diverse town and I'd live here, but it's a little too far south for my taste, plus it has too much of a foresty feel.

Matteson: This is my favorite town in the south suburbs, I'd raise a kid here as well if I could. It's nice and diverse and there's lots of shopping near Cicero and Rt 30. Only drawback is that it might be a little far for working downtown, but I'm sure there's lots of people living here that works downtown.

 

 

South Suburbs to avoid:

Harvey: only drive here in the day if you can help it, but don't live here. Drugs, gangs, crooked police force, crooked mayor, boarded-up buildings, burned-out homes, this town makes me think of "the Wire" and "Oz". I have friends that live here, but I never felt safe in Harvey.

Ford Heights: the worst of the worst in the south suburbs. You got Englewood in Chicago, and the South Suburbs got Ford Heights... nuff said. Avoid at all costs.

Chicago Heights: there's good parts and bad parts, but it's going downhill.

Homer Glen: too many rich people, too many polish people, I work in this town and I HATE this town. There's nothing there either.

Dolton: kinda rough here, seem to be getting worse.

Riverdale: located in the middle of a couple bad towns.

Calumet City: this town has good and bad things about it, but the bad outweigh the good. Seems to be becoming a distressed area.

 

Other South Suburbs towns:

Robbins: I wouldn't live here, it's not as bad with crime as Harvey, but it might be some day.

Posen: kind of bad, but low-key. Similar to Robbins. Safe during the day.

Hazel Crest: I like this town, but there's not much there besides residential homes.

Palos Heights: too many rich people, kind of a blah town.

Markham: kind of so-so, but there's not much there.

Palos Hills: too many rich people, and too many houses hidden by a ton of trees.

Frankfort: never really liked this town, lacks diversity.

Mokena: kinda far, not enough diversity, has too much of a redneck town feel.

Lansing: located near the Illinois/Indiana border, has a small-town feel to it, but it just always feels disconnected from the rest of the south suburbs. Almost like the Australia of the south suburbs.

Too far for you:

Lockport: kind of far for working in Chicago.

Joliet: if you work in Chicago, too far, but nice and diverse.

New Lenox: too far out.

Crete/Monee/Steger/Sauk Village/Kankakee/Bradley/Borbonaise: this area and anything else is just the boonies, not really worth living out here.

 

Sorry for the long-winded post, but I know the south suburbs like the back of my hand. I think I will probably more than likely live my entire life in the south suburbs, I can't see myself ever moving to the north or western suburbs because I freaking hate towns like Bolingbrook, Oak Brook, Naperville, Downers Grove, Darien, Lemont, Arlington Heights, Mt. Prospect, Des Plaines, etc etc, there's way too many snobby rich people with elitist attitudes.

 

I also, like another person mentioned, recommend Northwest Indiana as well. There's plenty of places I'd live in in Northwest Indiana such as Hammond, Griffith, Dyer, Munster, etc etc. It's more cheaper there, too, I was shocked at how much more you can get in Indiana than in Illinois for the same amount of money.

 

Wow! That's a pretty narrow minded response.

[StrangeSox]

Anything along the BNSF line shouldn't be a bad Metra commute, but you do hit some pricey areas.

[RockRaines]

I think that was Rowland's point, actually. I just which rich people didn't have to ask so. . . rich.

I was agreeing with him on that. I am from Downers Grove and I never thought that the town was so rich and snobby. In fact there are probably only 5 or 6 towns in the Chicagoland area that fit that mold IMO. A few out west, a few up north and thats about it.

[SouthsideDon48]

Since when it too many rich people a bad thing? That means your property may actually appreciate.

Well, here's an example: my family moved to Tinley Park in 1987 when it was still cheap and affordable. But by the time we had to sell the house in 1999, everything in Tinley Park was too expensive for us, including the rediculous property taxes, because too many rich people came to Tinley Park and built ridiculously big homes (especially along 179th street behind Andrew High School, and the Bristol Park subdivision along 80th ave near 179th). Those big homes caused the prices of small dumpier homes to skyrocket to the point where poor people like me and my family can't afford it. So basically my family were here first, but ended up "forced out of the neighborhood" because of how expensive it got.

 

There seriously needs to be more advocacy for the erection of affordable housing such as modestly-sized single family homes, condos, townhomes, apartments, and even land set aside for a mobile home park in every suburb instead of letting developers run amok and build all these obnoxiously-big homes in a socially-irresponsible fashion that would cause the eventual displacement of those who are less fortunate.

[knightni]

Awesome unintended rant. Generalize much?

 

 

Since when it too many rich people a bad thing? That means your property may actually appreciate.

Yes. You should be thankful that you know your place, serf.

[Texsox]

Well, here's an example: my family moved to Tinley Park in 1987 when it was still cheap and affordable. But by the time we had to sell the house in 1999, everything in Tinley Park was too expensive for us, including the rediculous property taxes, because too many rich people came to Tinley Park and built ridiculously big homes (especially along 179th street behind Andrew High School, and the Bristol Park subdivision along 80th ave near 179th). Those big homes caused the prices of small dumpier homes to skyrocket to the point where poor people like me and my family can't afford it. So basically my family were here first, but ended up "forced out of the neighborhood" because of how expensive it got.

 

There seriously needs to be more advocacy for the erection of affordable housing such as modestly-sized single family homes, condos, townhomes, apartments, and even land set aside for a mobile home park in every suburb instead of letting developers run amok and build all these obnoxiously-big homes in a socially-irresponsible fashion that would cause the eventual displacement of those who are less fortunate.

 

Wasn't it a good thing that your family's house went up in value? You buy a cheap house and watch it double or triple in value. Seems like a good thing to me.

[RockRaines]

Well, here's an example: my family moved to Tinley Park in 1987 when it was still cheap and affordable. But by the time we had to sell the house in 1999, everything in Tinley Park was too expensive for us, including the rediculous property taxes, because too many rich people came to Tinley Park and built ridiculously big homes (especially along 179th street behind Andrew High School, and the Bristol Park subdivision along 80th ave near 179th). Those big homes caused the prices of small dumpier homes to skyrocket to the point where poor people like me and my family can't afford it. So basically my family were here first, but ended up "forced out of the neighborhood" because of how expensive it got.

 

There seriously needs to be more advocacy for the erection of affordable housing such as modestly-sized single family homes, condos, townhomes, apartments, and even land set aside for a mobile home park in every suburb instead of letting developers run amok and build all these obnoxiously-big homes in a socially-irresponsible fashion that would cause the eventual displacement of those who are less fortunate.

Thats usually a good thing, you can then make money on your home after you put in some equity. As far as affordable housing, you will find a certain percentage set aside, but putting mobile home parks in every community would be a terrible idea. First of all it crushes property value, and even if its insensitive to say, those types of communities bring alot more than s***ty home prices to an area, think degradation of schools, more crime, etc. There have been some really great programs for affordable nice housing in the City at least that I know of. For example, when they build large condo buildings in my area, usually a percentage like 20 has been set aside at a fixed price for lower income housing. In that situation, the family gets a much nicer home and the area doest depreciate because of a housing project or something of the sort.

[SouthsideDon48]

Wasn't it a good thing that your family's house went up in value? You buy a cheap house and watch it double or triple in value. Seems like a good thing to me.

Thats usually a good thing, you can then make money on your home after you put in some equity. As far as affordable housing, you will find a certain percentage set aside, but putting mobile home parks in every community would be a terrible idea. First of all it crushes property value, and even if its insensitive to say, those types of communities bring alot more than s***ty home prices to an area, think degradation of schools, more crime, etc. There have been some really great programs for affordable nice housing in the City at least that I know of. For example, when they build large condo buildings in my area, usually a percentage like 20 has been set aside at a fixed price for lower income housing. In that situation, the family gets a much nicer home and the area doest depreciate because of a housing project or something of the sort.

Actually, we had to come down in price so we can sell the house quick before we lost it to foreclosure. So after paying off the difference in the rest of the mortgage, we were left with only a few grand and we were still left in a bad position where we couldn't afford anything above 150k.

[SouthsideDon48]

Thats usually a good thing, you can then make money on your home after you put in some equity. As far as affordable housing, you will find a certain percentage set aside, but putting mobile home parks in every community would be a terrible idea. First of all it crushes property value, and even if its insensitive to say, those types of communities bring alot more than s***ty home prices to an area, think degradation of schools, more crime, etc. There have been some really great programs for affordable nice housing in the City at least that I know of. For example, when they build large condo buildings in my area, usually a percentage like 20 has been set aside at a fixed price for lower income housing. In that situation, the family gets a much nicer home and the area doest depreciate because of a housing project or something of the sort.

Also, I've lived in a mobile home park for a year in that 5 year period where I moved 5 times. I didn't see anything negative about living there, either. The only reason we didn't stay long was because we had 5 people living in a 2-bedroom mobile home, with me sleeping on the couch in the living room. Not all mobile home parks have seedy people living there, some do, but not all.