Your Favorite Suburb And Why (Chicago, Melrose Park: living in, gangs, suburbs)

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Yvonne1207

What do you like about AH? (we are in the "thinking stages" of relocating and I'm just browsing here )

Well, asking me what suburbs I like is kind of like asking me about my favorite dental procedure. Most of them represent some sort of compromise as far as I'm concerned. I gave Arlington Heights a "honorable mention" because they have made efforts to develop a "downtown" around the Metra stop, and there are at least a few walkable tree-lined streets with housing stock I consider nice looking. The parks are great, the schools are good, and there are plenty of things to do.

[NorCal Dude]

Its really weird with Arlington that downtown like many had been left for dead by the early 90's. But they really made efforts to redevelop that south end and it seems nice and vibrant now. But north end still seems to struggle a bit, a lot of those coffee shops and drycleaners and cafes seem to pop up disappear and than pop up again. But yea Arlington is very charming a lot of pre 1980's development that does not seem as say "run of the mill" with areas further down the northwest rail line/hwy.

[Paige65]

Too many to pick just one.

Wilmette
Kenilworth
Winnetka
Glencoe
Highland Park
Lake Forest
Lake Bluff
LaGrange
Hinsdale
Wheaton
Glen Ellyn
Geneva

honorable mention:
Barrington proper
Evanston
Park Ridge
Elmhurst
River Forest
Western Springs
Downers Grove
Arlington Heights


THere are probably many more that are nice, but I don't know enough about them.

[joseph107]

Oak Park and Evantson are the most liberal and open minded. That's why I like them

[todd00]

Originally Posted by otters21

you have hit that right on the nail. I agree with you 100%. There needs to be ZERO tolerance for the trash that that ruins hardworking blue collar communities. Packing up and fleeing further out is not the answer. Because of increased dependence on the car, loss of farmland and other resources , no wonder prices skyrocket and and it is getting unaffordable for everyone except for the rich to live. It also seems that this ghetto thug lifestyle is glorified by the media " Its cool to be a gangsta" and our youth is eating that up. It has to come to a point where blue collar Joe is going to say"enough's enough " and finally stand up and do something about keeping the communities intact and safe. He needs to realize that packing and fleeing is going to empty out his wallet faster, because prices are high and they are not going to stop rising.

thats all well and good, but takes more than a few to stand up and do any good. if the group in question is a minority, then joe and his neighbors are labeled racists. and the self appointed minority leaders, that usually live in some rich burb, show up to get some media attention and make pple more divided. i think it would take a well planned coordinated effort of the good pple of all colors living an a specific area to run out the trash. and i cant see that happening any time soon. yes, the rappers are getting rich selling this thug lifestyle, and the sheep follow what is perceived to be cool. the decent person thinks its easier to find peace somewhere else than stay and fight it alone. very sad nice neighborhoods are lost forever because of a few.

[dcisive]

Indeed it has very little to do with what color or nationality you are. It has EVERYTHING to do with your upbringing, your concept of pride in what you have and wish to keep it nice. Your consideration for OTHERS not just yourself, and above all if you have kids teaching them the same from day ONE. Otherwise you end up with others in your family that promote the decay of your property and your wellbeing as well as those around them. This is how neighborhoods decay. Someone there isn't reading off the same page, and things get worse. Gangs, crime, unkept properties etc. This is why so many of the North Shore communities are as nice as they are. They have not only the funds to support this mentality, but the education level as well. In addition there are ordinances which ARE enforced by the city which simply don't allow for this poor behavior. If you don't like it......MOVE. That simple. IN lessor neighborhoods they don't have such luxuries.

Either law enforcement has no teeth or ordinances in place to carry out, which will promote order. Many take offense to loss of their so called "personal freedoms". I say it must conform to the greater good or it's NO good. I'm talking clean well maintained properties, low to no noise especially after 10pm, no junk or old beat up autos kept in sight on properties, kids IN schools getting an education not roaming the streets etc. This is what used to make the U.S. good. Now it's all but gone to trash as we no longer adhere to these principles. I"m glad I can at least remember when we did...and it was sweet.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by dcisive

Indeed it has very little to do with what color or nationality you are. It has EVERYTHING to do with your upbringing, your concept of pride in what you have and wish to keep it nice. Your consideration for OTHERS not just yourself, and above all if you have kids teaching them the same from day ONE. Otherwise you end up with others in your family that promote the decay of your property and your wellbeing as well as those around them. This is how neighborhoods decay. Someone there isn't reading off the same page, and things get worse. Gangs, crime, unkept properties etc. This is why so many of the North Shore communities are as nice as they are. They have not only the funds to support this mentality, but the education level as well. In addition there are ordinances which ARE enforced by the city which simply don't allow for this poor behavior. If you don't like it......MOVE. That simple. IN lessor neighborhoods they don't have such luxuries.

Either law enforcement has no teeth or ordinances in place to carry out, which will promote order. Many take offense to loss of their so called "personal freedoms". I say it must conform to the greater good or it's NO good. I'm talking clean well maintained properties, low to no noise especially after 10pm, no junk or old beat up autos kept in sight on properties, kids IN schools getting an education not roaming the streets etc. This is what used to make the U.S. good. Now it's all but gone to trash as we no longer adhere to these principles. I"m glad I can at least remember when we did...and it was sweet.

Very well said. I have seen majority white neighborhoods that were run-down and trashy. I think it does have more to do with upbringing, education and personal pride than skin color, ethnicity or religion.

[deechee]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Very well said. I have seen majority white neighborhoods that were run-down and trashy. I think it does have more to do with upbringing, education and personal pride than skin color, ethnicity or religion.

Very true. I've been scared to ride those neighborhoods just as much as I have going through minority poverty-stricken, crime-ridden neighborhoods. Crime and poverty is all the same, regardless of skin color. If a white man commits a crime, it is no less or more than a black man committing the same crime.


Now, for a favorite suburb, I will have to add Oak Forest to the list. I was visiting and went shopping over there, and I felt very safe and it was a really nice neighborhood.

[Milwaukee City]

I'm more of a Elmwood Park, Melrose Park kind if guy. If I had to Chose one it would be Elmwood Park.

[dcisive]

I don't mean to digress too much, but feel it should be said. A neighborhood is only as nice or as good as those that make up the constituents. This was never more evident than the beloved neighborhood I grew up in until age 13. The Jeffrey Manor area (basically 95th to 100th Street North to South and Jeffery Ave. on the West to Yates Ave on the East. Back from 1953-1967 when I lived there it was an ideal place to be raised and have a life. It was nearly crime free, and had a reasonably wide cross section of Americana living there (although I'd admit it was all non AA). You had Jews, Catholics, Presbyterians, Greek Orthodox...you name it. All coexisting nicely. The public school was excellent and fostered many successful people now grown. It was a rather tightly knit community which standards that were not breached. Those things I mentioned earlier in a post above were absent, and everyone maintained their property as if it was their gem. Almost everyone in the community was at the very least middle class, and some a bit above, but NOBODY flaunted it. I knew who the lawyers, doctors, accountant parents were, but it had NO effect on how they treated you nor how they were treated.

You could ride your bike at all hours of the day or night there, as well as walk around without any fear of being mugged or other issues. Shopping was within walking distance, and I as a kid even took the CTA bus downtown for a day of fun. Alas those days came to an end as the 60's wound down, and racial tensions came into the picture. The neighborhood experienced "White Flight" which is well documented in several well compiled books in publication.

Back then you either moved South (to some places like Homewood-Flossoor) or North to Wilmette, Glencoe, Northbrook and Highland Park. We moved to HIghland Park. The High School was academically excellent, the town devoid of crime and very clean indeed. It remains so today as they have had and maintained high standards for the city. Many cities do. I admit freely I am NOT a city lover, so having moved from Chicago for me was a good thing. I love the country and open spaces. Of course most of those even in these outlying areas are gone now. But it still is a great area to live.

For a number of years I was a commuter on the train from Highland Park to Chicago's Loop. For me it was a drag as I mentioned I'm not a city lover. But having access to some of the greatest restaurants and shows is also nice as well. Looking now at some of the YouTube videos taken in "The Manor" which are easily viewed by anyone on the internet, it is an emotion akin to rape, when I see these "thugs" and "loser gangta's" do their rap, and I can do is view in disgust what has been laid upon my former neighborhood I grew up in. This kind of thing is rampant. But I have to say either due to poor resources or lack of desire, the law enforcement community has looked the other way on the entire culture of gangs and those that would involve themselves in a criminal life.

If it were possible (and it appears it's not) that they would simply crack down on them and take them OUT of society alltogether in an unrelenting fashion we would all benefit. There's no other way to say it....they are scum and have NO business in this world alive. They are like a virus. We need more antiviruses to be distributed and wipe them out. Then and only then can we rightfully expect to have decent neighborhoods for ALL.