Are African Americans welcome in St.Charles, Batavia, Geneva (Chicago: low income, for sale)

[jackie53]

My husband and I have kids in Elementary and Middle school. We are currently in the market for a property ($400,000 max). We are drawn in by the allure of "better" schools in St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia but from statistics, it seems there are very few African Americans in these places. We have seen some nice homes that fit our budget but we are a bit hesitant to move ahead, we are wondering why these places are not diverse in the first place and if the lack of diversity could translate to a somewhat uncomfortable ambiance for our family especially the kids. Please any opinion will be highly appreciated, thanks!

[chet everett]

The statistics on racial make-up are somewhat discouraging, with Geneva having about 1% students who identify in the state category of "black", St. Charles North at 1.1%, St. Charles East at 1.9%, and Batavia at 2.9%. The trend in the broader region is not really all that different with West Chicago, which is now a majority Hispanic high school, only having 1.7% students who identify in the black category, and West Aurora which is also majority Hispanic being at 11.5%. Even East Aurora, a school known for performance problems and now 87% Hispanic only has 7.7% black students. The school demographics are easy enough to look-up: https://www.illinoisreportcard.com/Default.aspx

I have many friends in the greater Fox Valley area and there are a wide range of housing options in the $400K range. The areas where those homes might be most plentiful / value priced would include the portions of St. Charles / Campton Hills / South Elgin that are served by St. Charles high schools. Existing homes that are quite spacious can be found -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/St-Charles.../home/16997023 . Taxes are not yet too outrageous, over 2% but not yet 3%...

As far as the social interactions that I personally have had with folks of various races in the area it is clear that folks with professional backgrounds and a desire for their kids to do well will have much in common with their neighbors. The relative degree of overt discrimination one encounters generally decreases among folks who are well educated and unthreatened by the loss of low skill employment.

Depending on where you are moving from and other factors related to employment / commute distance this could be a good strategy. Additional info you care to share will help those on the forum add suggestions.

[aga412]

As someone who grew up in the area, it's true, it's not a diverse area but never did I witness any discrimination.

[damba]

Originally Posted by jackie53

My husband and I have kids in Elementary and Middle school. We are currently in the market for a property ($400,000 max). We are drawn in by the allure of "better" schools in St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia but from statistics, it seems there are very few African Americans in these places. We have seen some nice homes that fit our budget but we are a bit hesitant to move ahead, we are wondering why these places are not diverse in the first place and if the lack of diversity could translate to a somewhat uncomfortable ambiance for our family especially the kids. Please any opinion will be highly appreciated, thanks!

Tough call for sure. From hearing experiences of an AA friend (w/ 8 siblings) who grew up in the city (area surrounding Hyde park), I acknowledge that's a significant concern. Some of his family members have thrived away from familiar city trappings but others took awhile to find a niche for their kids, etc. I wouldn't however say necessarily that the fact suburban areas you are looking at aren't yet diverse implies that they would be undesirable. Bottom line though is you want the best for your kids and that's what matters the most. Hopefully you will find the right spot that works well and falls in your comfort zone.

Your comment/question as to why these areas aren't diverse in the first place reminded me of an article I read @ Vox. There was an interesting chart inside regarding lack of familiarity being one component of why areas tend to be broken down the way they are. It's hard to move somewhere [with relatively affordable housing, etc.] when you don't even know about it(!)

chart:
https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_A-6...7825543/24.png

Continues from research done here:
Racial Blind Spots: Black-White-Latino Differences in Community Knowledge on JSTOR

[jackie53]

Chet Everett, Aga412, Damba, thanks so much for your responses and attached links, they are very discerning, insightful and thought provoking.

My husband's office is in Wheaton.

[Viking121]

I have worked for one of the districts at the middle school level in that area for two years (I won't name it, but tri-city area). It is not very diverse at all. There are very few African Americans. I did have one of my African American students tell me that he felt like the only black student in the school. There was one instance of racist comments made by a student that I dealt with (over the course of 2 years). I will say the teachers all seem very accepting of all students. So, I think it depends on if your kids would feel isolated likely being the only African American in their class. In my school, there are less than 10 black students with well over 500 students attending the school. I also can't think of a single African American staff member in the district.

I can't speak too much for the community in general other than the low percentages of minorities. I know they were trying to pass low income housing in the Campana building in Batavia (but Geneva schools I believe) and many community members were outraged. If you read through the threads (there's many public threads on FB if you search), you might get a sense some people were scared of the diversity it might bring...

With that being said, diversity is good for areas and the only way to make them more diverse is to move in!!

Another area worth looking at is the Oswego School District (308). They have some schools in Aurora that wouldn't be too bad of a commute to Wheaton. Some of their schools perform just as high as the Tri-City area and have a higher percentage of minorities.

My kids go to West Aurora 129 (Jewel Middle School) and we enjoy it. If you go based on test scores, it doesn't look like the best district, but we only have good things to say. I think the district is around 10% African American. A good neighborhood to look into with your price range would be Tanner Trails in North Aurora.

Good luck on your search

[fusillirob1983]

Why not just look in Wheaton if your husband works there?

[damba]

Great suggestion- there are some beautiful homes for sale there now.

[Caglee]

Originally Posted by Viking121

I can't speak too much for the community in general other than the low percentages of minorities. I know they were trying to pass low income housing in the Campana building in Batavia (but Geneva schools I believe) and many community members were outraged. If you read through the threads (there's many public threads on FB if you search), you might get a sense some people were scared of the diversity it might bring...

I can't imagine why anyone would be upset about a low-income housing complex being placed right in the middle of a nice residential area that wasn't even planned to serve residents from the tri-cities, but in fact the Aurora or Elgin areas.

Low-income complexes bring crime, gangs, drugs, quality of life issues, and the residents who pay good money to live in those areas deserve to have a say in if they want that in their communities. If "diversity" is high on your list for moving somewhere, and there are plenty of options for diverse communities, why would you pick one of the least diverse communities and then complain about it? It reminds me of the people who move to Florida and then complain about how hot it is.

[Viking121]

Originally Posted by Caglee

I can't imagine why anyone would be upset about a low-income housing complex being placed right in the middle of a nice residential area that wasn't even planned to serve residents from the tri-cities, but in fact the Aurora or Elgin areas.

Low-income complexes bring crime, gangs, drugs, quality of life issues, and the residents who pay good money to live in those areas deserve to have a say in if they want that in their communities. If "diversity" is high on your list for moving somewhere, and there are plenty of options for diverse communities, why would you pick one of the least diverse communities and then complain about it? It reminds me of the people who move to Florida and then complain about how hot it is.

Maybe because their parents want to enroll their children in highly rated schools? Or is that something only people who make "good money" deserve?

Also - who moved there and is complaining about it? The OP is considering moving there.