Is There Nicer Non-Student Rentals in Dekalb? (Chicago, Rockford: apartments, townhouses)

[spetko1]

I will be starting a job in Rockford soon and my wife works in Bolingbrook so we are looking for a place to live that's a halfway point. We were looking at the Dekalb / Sycamore area. I've been looking on the internet and it seems like most rentals in that area are geared for NIU students. Anyone know of any rental properties in the area (apartments/townhouses/duplex/single family homes) that are $1,000 or less and are not going to be full of crazy college kids? Also, we are looking for a nicer place that is either newer or has been updated. Any help would be appreciated.

[lakecountylifer]

Dekalb is not a Chicago Suburb. Repost in Illinois forum...

[Drover]

Look in Sycamore. The student population there is approximately zero, not to mention it's just an all-around nicer town.

[sgresident]

I would also suggest sycamore, maybe even cortland or maple park. should be able to find some single-family homes for rent. I would also say sugar grove, but that is making the trip to rockford a bit further. however, it is directly accessible to I88.

[lovetheice05]

actually, the south part of dekalb is very nice. It is very family oriented and removed from niu. Also, in terms of drive time, being close to I-88 would be a good thing for both your wife and you, you can take 88 to rt 39 then right up to Rockford. Interstate travel and speed would be much better than commuting from Sycamore or Cortland and way better than Maple Park or Sugar Grove ( only the added distance to Rockford from sg, it is nicely located on 88!) Also, many good rentals are available but not always listed on the internet.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Maple Park? Maybe it's my experiences and annoyances related to winter driving that are driving me to post this, but you shouldn't be looking that far away. The only towns I'd recommend looking outside of DeKalb for a residence would be in either Cortland or Sycamore. I wouldn't look at all outside of those 3 towns.

Of course I'll defer to local posters who live closer to DeKalb and/or nearby places, maybe the Kane County and DeKalb highway department does a better job shoveling the roads than I think, for all I know. But until one knows how decent of a shoveling job the local highway departments regularly do in the winter, I'd be disinclined to recommend you widen your search all the way to Maple Park.

[Drover]

The major state and county highways get cleared thoroughly and pretty promptly.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by Drover

The major state and county highways get cleared thoroughly and pretty promptly.

As long as the roads do get shoveled to Maple Park, only then would I recommend the OP widen his search to that far east. Course I've had limited driving experiences in that area, but've heard some horror stories about people driving through that area and seeing the roads around there not shoveled as well. Perhaps my friends had experiences that weren't the norm for how the local highway depts. tend to shovel roads after snowfalls(west Kane Cty./east DeKalb Cty.).

[Drover]

The problem isn't that the roads don't get cleared at all or get cleared haphazardly, but rather that there's absolutely nothing blocking the wind from picking up snow from vast open fields and drifting it across the highway. It's not for lack of effort or diligence that the roads aren't always 100% scraped and salted down to the pavement. The drive can be tough slogging within the first 12-24 hours of a major snowfall, but after that common sense will get you through the day just fine. When you see a drift, don't plow right through it at full speed. Slow down, proceed with caution, and once you're across it, resume speed. Even drifts are usually not a problem after 2 or 3 days by which time a crunchy layer will form on top of the snow and keep it from blowing around.