Geneva, IL quality of life
-
4/18/2009
As someone who was born and raised in Geneva and attended the public schools, I feel I have a decent grasp on the town. As with any other place, there are positive and negative aspects.
Positive: Good schools, nice downtown (lots of good places to eat, along with several pubs), polite people (usually), very low crime rate, generally quiet, easy Illinois Prairie Path access (known just as "the bike path" to locals), train station, close to Chicago.
Negative: High property taxes, city government leaves something to be desired, 97%+ of the population is white and nearly all are Roman Catholic or Protestant, materialistic, shallow herd mentality amongst some citizens, intense suburban development/destruction of local prairies on west side in recent years, people not exactly the warmest, no public transportation, little to do during most of the year.
In addition, there's something of a social rift between the east and west side. As a lifelong eastsider, I have felt this very much; some on the newer, generally wealthier, west side of town look down on the older east side. While eastsiders are frequently forced to go to the stores on or near Randall road, which is on the west side, westsiders rarely, if ever, venture east of the Fox River and are unfamiliar with half of their city. There is one grocery store on the east side of town, Aldi (very affordable and the food's fairly good). The store had been in existence for about a year when one of my west side friends remarked "Have you heard of this new store, Al-die? (for those who don't know, it's pronounced all-dee)" There used to be a video rental store on the east side, but now that they're out of business, eastsiders are left to go to Blockbuster or a Red Box, both on the other side of town. Also, because more tax dollars come from the west side, city government tends to neglect the east side; there are infrastructure issues (lots of basement floods during heavy rains) and it many of the roads are long overdue to be repaved.
Bottom line: Geneva's a good place to raise a family, but you might have to go out of your way to expose your kids to people who aren't white Catholics or Protestants. It is an expensive town, but not as much as other Chicago suburbs such as Naperville or Hinsdale, and it is safer than Aurora. If access to Chicago is a top priority, there are many residents who commute through Metra, and it's not a terrible drive either; going to the city for a concert is rarely out of the question.
Abhd | Geneva, IL