Moving to DeKalb- what to expect? (Chicago, Sycamore: car rental, rental, crime)

[sonjabossart12]

So I am a student Nurse, and a single mom of one boy (8 years old). I am moving to DeKalb to finish up Nursing school at NIU. I've never been to Dekalb. I've only been Chicago a few times ( I do love Chicago, who doesn't?).
I'm wondering what to expect when I get there? the size of the town? Public transportation since I won't have a car when I get there? So far, it looks like I'll be living really close to campus for convenience sake. I live in KY now - no I am NOT from here, I just came here for school and we live in a small town so I can walk most places- I enjoy the walking actually because I like activity. I won't be moving until summer of 2012, but I'm trying to plan now and prepare myself and my son. I don't know a soul in DeKalb...I have a few friends in Chicago and that's it. So I am really starting from scratch here (no discouraging comments please) - I have done this before, the starting over in a new place scenario - so I know I can do it, I'm a tough woman.

Any random info, advice or tips or whatever...I would really appreciate it!
thanks!

[linicx]

Dekalb is about 44,000 population. You are moving to an area of nearly 10 MILLION people. I would not move your child until you have a good understand of the safety issues in the area you intend to live and whether or not you will need a car to buy groceries, or take your child to school or to a doctor. Do you really want to walk to work in ice and snow when the temperatures is minus 40 and colder?

What emergency plans do you have in place when there is an 18" snowfall when you are at school/work, there is no transportation and your son is at home? I do not believe he is old enough to stay alone except for short periods and if certain conditions are met... from the Dekalb PD.

Chicago is nothing like small town rural America in any way. You need to learn a lot more about DeKalb before you ever move. DeKalb has 8 elementary schools. NIU is between two of the school districts. .

City of DeKalb

I talked to the Dekalb Police Dept.. The good news is NIU provides a door to door bus service after 10pm -6am. It also provides service to doctor, hospital, shopping. Huskie Bus Line

I do not know that there is or is not train service into Chicago. There may be a day car rental sin Dekalb. The taxi service is in Sycamoer, IL.. The PD says they are NOT very reliable.

The BAD news is there is an area North of NIU that is NOT safe nor walkable. The police department stated that you should CALL them before you decide to move.1- 815-748-8400. Based on what I heard I think it is a very good idea.

I am going to move this to the Chicago Suburbs forum.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by sonjabossart12

Moving to DeKalb- what to expect?

Not much. There just isn't a lot happening in DeKalb.

To answer your questions more specifically...

There is a bare-bones bus service that serves DeKalb and to a lesser extent neighboring Sycamore. More information can be found by clicking here.

DeKalb proper is about 45K, DeKalb and adjacent Sycamore combined are about 60K.

To answer linicx's question... the emergency plan if there is 18" of snow is, you go about your business. We are well prepared for major snow events up here. School closures are rare -- maybe 1 or 2 days a year if that. When they know a snowfall that big is coming, the snow plow fleet will be out and working the minute flakes start falling from the sky. If the roads are impassible enough that your kid can't get to school, you probably shouldn't and won't be going anywhere yourself unless you're an emergency worker. If you're already at work and they know a snowfall of that magnitude is coming, reasonable and sane employers let their employers go home early.

[linicx]

Chicago is not Dekalb. All the snowplows in the world cannot always keep O'Hare open. It is very diffcult to walk far very in snow that is a foot and a half deep especially when you cannot see sidewalks, curbs and gutters. You need waterproof boots that come nearly to your knees with flat soles. According to the police department the Husky Bus serves NIU students like you.

[Drover]

O'Hare? What?? We're talking about DeKalb.

I've lived in this area nearly my whole life. We have very little difficulty keeping the streets clear even during major snow events. That goes for Chicago and DeKalb.

[sgresident]

Dekalb is a college town, on the very far western fringe of the chicago area. transportation without a car will be very limited. you will need a car!

[yousah]

Some of the posts here are from people who don't have the foggiest idea of what they are talking about. DeKalb is a nice town and, depending on where you live, has a lot of things within walking distances. It's maybe 55 miles west of Chicago and there's never been 40 degree below temperatures in northern Illinois.

There are a variety of areas of the town from the older downtown section to the west section that is mostly student housing and rental properties. There are also some higher end housing areas scattered about. The town grew quite a bit during the booms times in the last 10 years and there are some nice shopping areas located in between DeKalb and Sycamore.

The typical Chicago suburbs are located about 30 miles to the east for which anything you need can be obtained there.

I'm not familiar with the specifics of local transportation in DeKalb, but being a college town, there's at least bus service.

DeKalb is a small town and a cheap car could get you around pretty easily without having to put a lot of miles on it.

DeKalb is known to be a safe town. I'm not sure what this area is 'north of town' that you are talking about, but it's nothing like Chicago. I'm really curious part of Dekalb you are talking about. So much of Dekalb consists of transient student housing that you rarely have the same people living in one place for a long time.

[sonjabossart12]

Thanks all you guys... and to the one poster, who I felt was rude, after I specifically said "NO discouraging or negative remarks"... as I said, I've done this before, getting by without a car. Believe it or not, many people do it everyday. As a working/student/mom, I just don't have the cash for a vehicle yet, that will change within a year at least I'm sure. Anyways... I don't know why this poster kept going on about Chicago - I said I was moving to Dekalb, not Chicago! And the whole point of me posting here was to learn more about DeKalb, preferably from people who live there or have lived there.... I can read the town's statistics all day long on various websites but that doesn't give me a genuine opinion about daily living in Dekalb. Anywho, thanks to all you posters for your advice and info!

[linicx]

I understand that Cook County is perfect and the police in Dekalb have no idea what they are talking about.

[yousah]

Here are crime stats for Dekalb. DeKalb Crime Map - Showing Crime in Northern Illinois University, IL - Crime Statistics - Crime Alerts - Crime Stops Here This is a site that provides details for some of the crimes. You'll find the majority of major personal crimes such as assault generally are ocurring inside the student housing buildings rather than someone being assaulted in the street. A number of those assaults are also between people who know each other such as many of the cases of sexual assault.

I don't see any sort of obviously worse areas north of town. North of the University is comprised of a lot of the student high-rise housing and will generate most of the police activity because more people are living in a small area, and a lot of the reported crime occurs from within those buildings as opposed to on the streets.

Also, with theft, the police will sometimes report the theft based upon the address of the person who was stolen from if they aren't sure where the theft occurred. So that means that the areas of higher population density, such as the student housing areas, will generally have the appearance of having more crime on a per capita basis. That's why the police will be familiar with that area because they'll be interviewing people from those areas on a more regular basis.

I'm not defending Dekalb for any particular reason (live about 40 miles from there) but wanted you to know that the general reputation is one of a safe city.