SperlingViews - Rockford, Illinois

Rockford offers ecomonical housing[read more...]

Real estate costs are well within reason, but real estate taxes to fund city schools and local park district are some of the highest in the state.[read more...]

This town is going nowhere fast-if you read the local paper it will not give you the real facts as it is trying to change the perception of the community to residents and outsiders, though this does nothing to help teh reality of the town---problem is, changing the reality will take more time than most people have. You would have to be very desperate to make a move here or not understand what is good for you or your family. There is a reason that only 13% of the population has a bachelor's degree in Rockford (the paper will tell you over 20%). Those who are educated know this place is going nowhere fast and understand that a quality life can not be made here. Crime, education, unemployment, are all bad and some of teh worst in nation(recently rated 9th most dangerous city in the US,)--and will be for sometime. If yo got twenty years to kill--this is your place.[read more...]

Although Rockford summers have gotten shorter and the weather is much less consistent, there is a lot to do in the summer in the nearby communities. We have Magic Waters (a large outdoor water park), Rock Cut State Park (a great park with a lake, horseback riding trails, biking/walking trails, fishing), Pearl Lake (man-made), and the Rock River (although dirty, it is great for recreational boating). These are just a few of the attractions. However, the downfall is the winter...there is NOTHING to do. There are a few sledding hills for snow fun, but the entertainment aspect is dull at best. The school system in Rockford has gone through so many lawsuits due to racism, that the focus on education has been lost. Integration has been the concern instead of making sure ALL ethnicities receive the same educational opportunities. Although the housing prices are very reasonable, the property taxes have ALSO been affected by the poor school system. Homeowners are forced to pay incredibly high property taxes in order to pay off the various school district lawsuits. The road conditions are the worst. The streets have been neglected in most areas. Regardless of the number of multi-racial children in Rockford, racism still runs rampantly through the large "small town." Hopefully the next generation can kick this bad habit!!![read more...]

i've lived in rockford for almost 4 years now, and yes at first i didn't like it here. why wouldn't i? new place, new people, new life. then, i got into the local scene. if you go around town you will meet some interesting people, i mean i understand the crabbiness, it's so cold here who wouldn't be? haha, but yes, i learned that here just like any other place in the u.s. you've got to treat others as you want to be treated. it's contagious, trust me. things, actually aren't so bad here. the "thugs" an other reviewer was speaking of, well, they aren't going to do anything to you unless you give them a reason. most likely, the only reason why that person had nothing but horrible things to say was because, they might have been rude and no one was putting up with them. quite honestly? this is a nice place to have fun. there are a lot of local spots you can just hang out and party, some places you can just lounge around. then some places you can dine and not be bothered. it's all in what you choose to do. make it the best for you and it will turn out the best in all.[read more...]

If you are looking for a moderate climate, this is NOT the place for you. For example, the Rockford Public Schools are closed today (1-21-2011) due to "arctic conditions" - with air temps well below zero (I recorded -14 at 7:20 AM) and wind chills way below that. The first snow of the winter season usually arrives around Thanksgiving and we sometimes don't see clear ground again until late March or early April. If one could really get out and enjoy the snowy sports, you would have snow; however, you have to drive at least 2 hours away to find downhill skiiing and often air temps are too dangerously cold to intelligently participate in any outdoor activities at all. Spring is a short season, followed by humid summers that aren't too bad, followed by a short but lovely fall season. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best climate, I would rate Rockford, Illinois, as a solid 3. Better bring your arctic down-filled Carhartts if you're going to live up here.[read more...]

Anderson Japanese Gardens, Rockford Art Museum, Magic Waters, Volcano Falls, Burpee Museum, Discovery Center, Klehm Arboretum, Rock Cut State Park[read more...]

Lived here for over 25 years in lots of different parts of the city... I have never had any problems...it is true the town has changed...it's not the vibrant place it once was 10 years ago, but it is still a very easy place to live... quiet, good place to raise a family...you get out of it what you put into it...if you're bored get a gym membeship and satellite tv...if that's not enough... drive an hour east to Chicago and you can have the Art Institute etc... but even then, after you come and go a couple of times, you reallize there's only so times you can look at the same Picasso, and you begin to think.. ok... that was cool.. now what? Rockford is just like any number of small towns in the U.S.....some good, some bad, and never all the things you want to make it a dream place...if you want art, music, etc...you have to go after it on your own... it's out there in a variety of places...every town has it's good and bad sections... common sense.. live in the good part, stay out of the bad part and you'll never have any trouble.. lastly, the schools are fine... I've had four kids in elementary, middle and high school, and have found nothing but the finest people in the school system... the responsibility for getting a good education rests upon the student and the parents...[read more...]

We've lived in Rockford for just over 10 years now. Yes, the town has problems; every place has problems. but Rockford has an incredible amount to offer, particularly for a town that most people consider "dead". Most other "dead" towns should have so much! Theater, music, art, colleges, restaurants (both local and chain), extracurricular stuff for kids, pubs and taverns, solid theology churches, wacky theology churches, great parks, and a huge number of people working to fight the "dead: reputation we have. Yes, we've chosen to home school our children, and there's lots of support for that as well. We've been able to buy a great house in a transitional neighborhood that we wouldn't have been able to touch in most other markets, with more of a yard than most contemporary houses. We're glad we're here.[read more...]

Do not live here unless you need a handout. there are food pantries, free clothing,cheap; housing. a packed food stamp office. There are no real jobs here. The schools are terrible. the gangs are horrible. the police are lazy. There is fast food all over town. so you may get fat from smelling all the Taco Bell, Mc Donalds. there are a lot of fat people here. Most of the homes here flood. the taxes are high. There are a lot of thugs here. 3 teenage girls on Fridays and Saturdays key cars at the Cherry Vally Mall in the Macy's parking lot. Teenage thug girls walk up and down 23ave and shout at people "What are you looking at." just to start an altercation. It is a power struggle with these thugs they try to bully people.. I may let my dog lose so he can chase them. The Gem suburban trailor court has trash living there. the parents do not watch the kids. [read more...]

As a previous poster stated, Rockford Park District is great, but with winter conditions lasting 5-6 months a year, and lots of rain, wind and humidity the rest of the year, it's not easy to plan on outside activities. For every good weather day we get, we pay for it with 3 days of bad. And Burpee Museum and Discovery Center are nice, but do you want to spend every weekend there? Unless you are into religion or the bar scene, there's not much to do without lots of cash. The crime rate here is sky high, comparable to Chicago, which has 2.6 million more people than Rockford. As for being close to Chicago, count on a 90 minute drive. And don't forget unemployment, recently at 18%. On the plus side, real estate is cheap, probably because no one wants to live here. [read more...]

You may be very surprised to find that Rockford, Illinois has plenty of cultural things to do and see. The Discovery Center Museum, Burpee Museum of Natural History, Midway Village Museum, and Tinker Swiss Cottage Museum are among the most prominent of sites to visit. There is also an abundance of theaters in the Rockford area, including, the New American Theater, the recently restored to its original state theater, the Coronado, and the outdoor Starlight Theater at Rock Valley Community College. There is plenty to do and see while visiting Rockford, Illinois![read more...]

Rockford offers a varied palette of entertainment and recreation. A phenomenal park district with extensive parks, golf course and a fabulous waterpark. We also enjoy an extensive forest preserve system. There are many miles of bike/walking paths as well. Entertainment opportunities range from community theatre, museums, art galleries, traditional and not-so-traditional bars, annual snow sculpture competition, several youth and adult sports competitions. Our local sports teams include professional baseball, soccer and the wildly popular Blackhawks farm team the Rockford Ice Hogs. There is lots to do right here but you're 90 minutes from Chicago and an untold number of opportunties. Not only is there lot's to do but our four seasons are wonderful to enjoy. We don't have hurricans, mudslides, wildfires, or earthquakes. We have beautiful Springs as the areas come alive with flora and fauna. Summers that are hot but not too much roll into colorful, crisp falls. Winters require a snowblower but nothing beats the crunch of new fallen snow under your boots.[read more...]

House prices are really reasonable, but our real estate taxes are VERY high - over 3% of the home value.[read more...]

Police brutality; High crime rate; the highest unemploment in the wholoe state Drugs and gangs are everwhere. And loads of discrimation! And of course the new million dollar prison, and they've been talking about building another one. What does that tell you?[read more...]

Rockford is truely a living breathing nightmare. Recently, a young bi-racial man was gunned down inside of a chuch slash daycare. He'd had a dispute with his girlfriend; police were called;the young man ran across the street to avoid the police. He was shot in the back by two white officers. The same officers that had priors of shooting other victims. There were children and adult witness that saw the terrible incident. This is not the only racially sparked evil that has lingered throughout this town. Unemployment in this town is the highest in the whole state. Drugs, crime and police brutality laces this den of doom![read more...]

Rockford has many parks in the city and surrounding area. They are well cared for and really quite beautiful. I know a couple have swimming in them at a lake, some have many shelters, and some have different programs through the year. It seems there is always something going on at Rockford parks.[read more...]

I used to think there wasn't much to do around the Rockford area. I still feel that way in a lot of respects, however there are a lot of towns around the area that are not that far away and have much more to do like Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago. Still there are plenty of local sports teams that are reasonablly priced to watch and they are fairly succesful which is nice.[read more...]

My wife, kids, and I moved back to Rockford to be closer to family last about two years ago. We tried our best to stay open minded but Rockford just had way too many problems. Schools with very poor ratings, high crime, high unemployment, crumbling infrastructure...huge potholes on many of it's streets. My brother who lives in Rockford sends his kids to a Keith Country day private school because he feels the Rockford Public Schools are so bad. With all these problems we kept asking ourselves why where our property taxes so high. It just seemed like we where getting very little in return for the HIGH taxes we where paying in Rockford. Anyway, as much as we wanted to stay, so that we could be closer to family, we just could not see our kids growing up in a city with so many problems. So we moved back to Matthews, North Carolina, a city with good schools, good roads, low crime, friendly people and good bang for your tax dollar buck. I will end my post by saying that many (but not all) of Rockford's "key" stats are very poor to say the least! Now I realize that my opinions are just that...opinions. You should never just take mine or anyone else's opinions as fact. Check out the stats for yourself. Check out the stats on Rockford public schools, unemployment rate, crime rate, etc. And check them out using more than one source. I must say that I wish I had used my noggin to research Rockford's stats prior to moving there. My choice would have been to not move to Rockford had I done my homework first. Was there anything that we did like about Rockford. Sure there was! The public park system was WAY above average. Rockford and it's suburbs have some really beautiful parks, gardens and walking paths. And Rockford was selected “best mid-sized golf city” in the US for three years running by "Golf Diges"t magazine...and the course rates are very affordable. The Rock River is a very pretty River with a vibrant boating comunity. And last but not least, the cost of housing in Rockford is awesome. You get a lot of house for your buck in Rockford.[read more...]

apparently this city was once real prominent. but it is just a shell now. the west side of town has just been going under for years. no renovation. no motivation. no love. the roads are horrible and crime is high. this city is like a island all to itself. instead of renovating the train system that will give people the option to work in chicago which is 1 1/2 hrs away, which will create jobs, or building universities here and attracting companies that will allow you to make use of a good education, they just rather build jails and throw people away. thats the cities idea of building the economy. i believe almost every person in this city has had their name ran through this system. instead of creating situations to help the people of this city, the city just banks off of people by silly traffic stops. road blocks every week. the city has no hopes of building futures for people. just taking their money. The downtown is a hole in the wall. no night life, just jails. a metro center that was built in the heart of the downtown with no true parking and is not utilize to its potential. With no major acts being booked, they cant afford to continue renovation on it. Now it just sits. This city turns away every major attraction and business proposition that comes its way, its no wonder why people are so mad and walk with a chip on their shoulder. no opportunities. The old folks keep electing this idiot they call a mayor because they are old and happy with just being at home and having no excitement. I know this sounds like a grip, you are right. I hate this town. I am leaving next month.[read more...]