Southern Transplant
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2/17/2008
We moved here from Charlotte, NC to be closer to relatives. We have lived in the south for over twenty years before moving back to Rockford. Have not been here long, about six months, but my first impressions are as follows:
Brutal Winters. You can go an entire week without seeing the sun...lots of grey dreary days...not for depressive types. The snow is pretty, however and Rockford has really nice parks and Golf courses. Housing prices are great... a lot of bang for your buck for a city so close to Chicago. Rockford is definitely a factory town in transition. As a struggling rust belt town you will find lots of folks who have gone from good paying factory jobs to low paying service jobs. Keep in mind that these are now the people who are now going to be waiting on you at the local Target, or Home Depot etc. In other words there are a lot of really angry folks currently living in Rockford. That's not to say that things wont change in time, but as of 2008 folks here are very unfriendly compared to the folks in Charlotte, NC. Don't expect good service if you are moving to Rockford...you are not going to get it. The Crime here in the city overall is still the worst in the state, but if you live in the suburbs of Roscoe or Rockton you really won't be touched by the VERY high crime rate of Rockford. The Public streets are the worst I have ever seen in my life...potholes...potholes...potholes. With property taxes so high where is the money to fix these streets. Not good tax bang for your buck here. The public schools are improving, but still have a long way to go. If you have kids make sure you live in Roscoe or Rockton. As a person who grew up in Rockford, I find myself rooting for it's comeback. Rockford has a lot of potential and a fair amount of really smart people... especially the engineers who are in abundance in Rockford. However, Rockford has always had a prevailing "can't do attitude" that it will have to overcome if it is ever going to make a comeback. This is, remember, the town that said no to Northern Illinois University when NIU was looking to Rockford for a new home. If you do decide to move to Rockford you need to be honest with yourself and realize that if Rockford is going to make a comeback, it is not going to happen inside of ten years. There is a lot of work to be done here. But with it's beautiful natural recourses and it's close proximity to Chicago the potential is definitely here. But that's the Rub...how many folks are going to be willing to take a ten year gamble on a city that could go either way. As for us, we are just not sure yet. We want the kids to be close to relatives, but are not sure we can justify bringing them up in a city that has such an uncertain future.
Abhd | Roscoe, IL