Aurora Illinois, Illinois

P8sammies
7mo ago
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I have lived in Aurora for over 16 years. I have lived in the downtown area for six of those years. Currently I am a homeowner on the west side (near AU).

If you have questions about specific areas i can help you.

Most of the comments about “bad” areas need to be taken into consideration— it’s the second biggest city in IL— in both size and population— so there is a lot of nuance. And if you look at crime— it is largely antiquated info. In fact 8 months ago there was an article regarding Aurora being one of the safest cities in the nation.

emememaker73
7mo ago
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Aurora
As others have said, Aurora is a diverse place. There are some good areas, some less-desirable places. Generally speaking, the west side and areas that border on Naperville and Oswego are pretty safe and good places for families. One of your concerns will be which school district your kids will attend. West Aurora School District 129, Naperville School District 204 and Oswego School District 308 have pretty high-quality education, while East Aurora School District 131 is known to provide lesser-quality education. The east side of Aurora also has issues with crime. Downtown Aurora is a mixed bag, having had issues with crime (especially around the casino, which is going to relocate at some point, but I don't know when) and homeless people, especially flopping at the main library. Shopping and eating out is fairly plentiful, but concentrated downtown and Lake Street. Places like Walmart require long drives, especially from the west side of the city. If you have other questions, let me know. I've lived in Aurora for almost 17 years.

3seconds2live
7mo ago
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I moved to Aurora from the south burbs. I've been here 15 years and I can say I'll never leave. My neighbors are great, subdivision is quiet, no crime. Schools could be better but the scores are not comparable to other towns. Aurora hosts a very diverse people. A large Hispanic population where English often isn't the first language. A moderate amount of middle eastern as well. So the test scores I'm sure reflect those individual deficiencies. The teachers are wonderful and my child is excelling in school with great test scores. The city is huge. It's large north to south but way bigger east to west. So to generalize the city as good or bad isn't even close to comparable to Batavia or Geneva which are often seen as more desirable places. Those are fine cities but those who live there just love to look down on folks and have already done so in this comment section.

The fact remains Aurora has the best access to the surrounding burbs and city due to it's nearby infrastructure. It's immediately off of I88 to get to Chicago. It has the metra line to Chicago. If you want to be close to rural areas move to the south west side or just the west side. If you want to be more urban move downtown or the far east side near Naperville. Naperville is voted as one of the best cities I guess in the country. There are plenty of nearby lakes and rivers to use for boating or fishing. If you hunt Aurora is near some of the best goose hunting in the country and there is an amazing guide service very close. We have some great forests for hiking on the river and far west side, bike trails along the river that connect to towns north and south. We have 3 library branches east central and west. We have 4 city fitness centers. The aldermen are generally pretty responsive. Our mayor isn't my favorite but hey not everything can be sunshine and rainbows for every person.

Can anyone tell me about aurora?

I've really fallen in love with Aurora in the 4 years I've lived here. I am originally from DeKalb (went to DHS, went to NIU), so I understand the intimidation of Aurora. But living here now is really great!

I live on the West Side near Mercy Hospital (Indian Trail and Sullivan, less than a Mile from the river). I bike just about everywhere and Aurora is a great biking town. If you're near the Hesed House you're right on the Fox River Trail and the Virgil Gilman Trail (runs East-West).

Downtown is alot nicer and more fun than it looks. THere are alot of empty store fronts, but the restaurants and bars that are down town are great. Gillersons is one of my favorites.

If you have even the smallest interest in theater get Paramount Season Tickets. My wife and I got them, neither of us crazy about theater but kinda into it, and we were blown away. We've renewed 3 years in a row.

As /u/txtechie713 pointed out, the Rt. 59 area has tons of shopping and chain restaurants. Hollywood Palms - a movie theater - is worth checking out. It's a very unique place and they server food during the movie.

The "bad parts" are near east side (so just east of down town then for maybe 2 miles as you head east). Past that it gets very suburban yuppie - most people out there say they live in Naperville when they actually live in Aurora. The near south side, mostly on the east but some of the west (in fact, the very area you are living in) is also not a great neighborhood. The gang activity is real and there is violence. The nice thing is that gangs tend to shoot each other and not random strangers. So my advice? Don't join a gang.

The homeless folks are actually mostly alright. I've had conversations with many of them and they are on the whole fine people. The usual mental illness and systemic poverty issues, but none are "dangerous" in my experience.

I love the new library. I mean love it. They have a maker space, so if you want to play around with a 3d printer, you can! You just pay for materials! It's incredible!

The food truck rally is coming up on May 4. That will be right downtown - last year it was packed! Lines an hour long. A little annoying. I know the woman who sets these events up and she assured me they are going to do a better job - but despite the long wait it was a ton of fun. Live bands, art galleries, good food.

First Friday's - The first friday of every month the store fronts in Aurora turn into art galleries. There is almost always free food and free drinks (yes, beer and wine!). They bring in big name artists and also showcase local artists. Aurora has an "artist residency" program - I'm not sure of the details but artists get rent subsidies as long as they are working and displaying downtown I think.

I could go on and on! I was intimidated by Aurora when I moved here, but now I really love it. Warts and all.

What YOU Need to Know About Living in Aurora Illinois