Where Cook Co. residents come from (Chicago, Naperville: mover, crime rates, homes)

[NearWestSider]

Originally Posted by JDubsMom

Speaking of credibility and congestion: Chicago is not exactly congestion free and it's an illegal alien haven with massive corruption, budget and transportation problems to boot. As for your concept of what suburban growth may look like in the future, that's total speculation on your part with absolutely nothing to back it up. Thanks primarily to Chicago, Cook County and the rest of Illinois currently sits on the verge of bankruptcy with no honor amongst its thieves. That being said:

I live in Westmont which is an older (upper "middle class Utopia")(grafitti and gang free), with a balanced budget, politicians who work together for the good of the community, stable population and right next door to Hinsdale. Traffic congestion is virtually non-existent and I am 25 minutes from the loop via Metra, walking distance to Metra, excellent schools, 7.25% sales tax and more than fair value property taxes and excellent services. Nobody's trying to deannex from DuPage County. Unfortunate, the same cannot be said about Cook County thanks to the legacy of corruption that perpetually plagues Chicago.

I got no complaints and am happier than I ever was living in Beirut by the Lake (aka Chicago)

In real estate, just like in anything else, there are winners and their are losers.

Westmont is a loser because unlike many of the west 'burbs,it has no charm, no class, and the downtown totally sucks. The only thing that it has going for it is the train station, but since so many other suburbs have that, it is hardly exceptional, location-wise, and not enough to overcome its other negatives.

And its not 25 minutes to the loop, either. Look at the train schedules. It is 30 minutes on the express trains, which, if you ever took the BNSF to the Loop, you know is really more like 35, plus on and of the train time, making the actual trip more like 50. The non-express trains are nearly an hour of train time. Westmont is NOT close to downtown.

If you think it is heaven on earth, fine, but some of us like to make real money off our properties, and the hard fact is Westmont does not offer anything close to the kind of upside potential that many of the gang and graffiti illegal alien havens of Chicago offer.

It is a teardown candidate. Nothing more, and nothing less.

[Nysee53]

I thought the number 1 tax transfer into Cook County was from Los Angeles County. I read this somewhere a few years ago, and it seemed to be true with so many Southern California residents moving here. It seems like we are trading places!

[JDubsMom]

Originally Posted by NearWestSider

In real estate, just like in anything else, there are winners and their are losers.

Westmont is a loser because unlike many of the west 'burbs,it has no charm, no class, and the downtown totally sucks. The only thing that it has going for it is the train station, but since so many other suburbs have that, it is hardly exceptional, location-wise, and not enough to overcome its other negatives.

And its not 25 minutes to the loop, either. Look at the train schedules. It is 30 minutes on the express trains, which, if you ever took the BNSF to the Loop, you know is really more like 35, plus on and of the train time, making the actual trip more like 50. The non-express trains are nearly an hour of train time. Westmont is NOT close to downtown.

If you think it is heaven on earth, fine, but some of us like to make real money off our properties, and the hard fact is Westmont does not offer anything close to the kind of upside potential that many of the gang and graffiti illegal alien havens of Chicago offer.

It is a teardown candidate. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Westmont, a tear down REALLY? And then you woke up. Westmont is NUMBER 44 according to the MONEYS 2008 Best small cities to live.

You need to get out of the crime ridden hood you live in occasionally, you've obviously been there so long, you think everyone shares your plight.

Bitter much? You really need to visit a town before you start spouting delusional misinformation about a place you obviously know ZERO about. On the other hand, I've not only lived in the crime ridden tax draining city of Chicago, I currently work downtown and take the METRA DAILY, I think I know how long it takes me to get to work . . DUH. That being said, read 'em and weep.


Best Places to Live

Money's list of America's best small cities

2008 2007 2006 2005


Westmont, IL

CITY STATS
Top 100 rank: N.A.C
Population: 25,000
Compare Westmont to Top 10 Best Places

Financial City stats Best places avg. Median family income
(per year) $87,963 $93,313 Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted) $77,500 $84,802 Sales tax 6.75% 6.60% State income tax rate
(highest bracket) N.A. 5.22% State income tax rate
(lowest bracket) 3.00% 2.42% Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state) $1,537 $1,854 Job growth %
(2000-2007) 0.36% 18.60% Housing City stats Best places avg. Median home price $283,500 $293,712 Average property taxes
(2006) $5,704 $4,072

See million-dollar homes Best places to live 2008 - City details: Westmont, IL - from MONEY Magazine

Plenty of Million Dollar homes to choose from too -lol

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/money...&lng=-87.97643

Chicago Stats:

CITY STATS
Top 100 rank: N.A.C
Population: 2,833,300
Compare Chicago to Top 10 Best Places

Financial City stats Best places avg. Median family income
(per year) $53,731 $93,313 Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted) $42,509 $84,802 Sales tax** 6.25% 6.60% l State income tax rate
(highest bracket) N.A. 5.22% State income tax rate
(lowest bracket) 3.00% 2.42% Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state) $1,537 $1,854 Job growth %
(2000-2007) 2.92% 18.60% Housing City stats Best places avg. Median home price $270,000 $293,712 Average property taxes
(2006) $7,108 $4,072

*In the rankings box next to Chicago Money says "REMOVE", translation, it doesn't even qualify in the top 100 gee I wonder why . . NOT. So . . you were saying?

[aragx6]

You know what else Westmont has? Under-performing schools.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

Westmont, like other suburbs, depends on Chicago to remain in existence. If you picked up Westmont and plopped it down in the middle of Iowa, it'd wither and die. If that wasn't te case, why even mention the Metra station? Where are people going if Westmont's got it all? It's a bedroom community. I see no reason for anyone living in Westmont or any other suburb to dump on the central city on which they all depend for, at the very least, the paychecks that keep the burbs going.

Avoid Chicago if you want. Pretend the city needs you more than you need it. However, know that the rest of us know better.

[neonwattagelimit]

I don't know anything about property taxes, as I rent, but a point about sales taxes....

Yeah, Chicago's are a bit high. But, according to a prior post, sales tax in DuPage County is 7.25%, in comparison to Chicago's 10.25%. So if you spend $100 on something, you will get hit with an extra three bucks of taxes in Chicago. Woah! Three bucks!

Now, if you spend $1,000, you'll have to pay an extra $30 in Chicago, which is noticeable. And if you're buying a car or something, then, yeah, the difference is at the point where it matters. But how often do you do that? Unless you are buying some really big ticket stuff, a three-percent difference in sales tax is not exactly going kill your pocketbook.

There are good reasons for people to live in the 'burbs - schools, space. But sales taxes! Come on! You'd spend more money paying movers to get your stuff from the city to DuPage County than you would save in sales taxes in one year, unless you're some kind of shopping addict, in which case you've got far bigger fish to fry.

[TeacherMan]

hey community...the TeacherMan is back...I have surfaced for air after my first year as a CPS teacher...

Anyway... we are a transfer from the Monroe County, MI tax roles. Here for the city life and the opportunity. Is Chicago corrupt? Sure, but as I have told my family from MI, at least it is corruption the WORKS and keeps people generally happy with the city, UNLIKE Detroit!

Cheers,
TM

[Frank the Tank]

Getting back to the original post and associated link, did anyone notice that the migration pattern was even more pronounced the other way around? Cook County was where the most people who moved into DuPage County were from in even greater numbers (about 137,000 went from Cook to DuPage while about 78,000 went from DuPage to Cook).

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

Getting back to the original post and associated link, did anyone notice that the migration pattern was even more pronounced the other way around? Cook County was where the most people who moved into DuPage County were from in even greater numbers (about 137,000 went from Cook to DuPage while about 78,000 went from DuPage to Cook).

Thats completely understandable to me. To be honest, I didnt think the #s moving from DuPage to Cook were that high, I was shocked!

[JDubsMom]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

Getting back to the original post and associated link, did anyone notice that the migration pattern was even more pronounced the other way around? Cook County was where the most people who moved into DuPage County were from in even greater numbers (about 137,000 went from Cook to DuPage while about 78,000 went from DuPage to Cook).

It all depends on your preferences in terms of safety and quality of life. I've lived in Cook County and grew up in Chicago. I also currently work there so I'm speaking purely from experience UNLIKE the transplants who jumped all over me in protest of my personal observation/opinion.

As far as the schools go, my son graduated from Lake Forest Academy (he went there as opposed to Hinsdale Central which would have been his high school because he got a scholarship in case anyone is wondering) and is headed towards his sophomore year at SLU, so I can't comment on Westmont schools. I will wait for Aragx to provide the proof in terms of his/her claims of Westmont's alleged inferior school district.

One thing is for sure other than LA and NY nothing compares to the pathetic perpetually broke and dysfunctional disaster known as CPS.