I'm from Joliet. Joliet is a suburb about 40 miles southwest of Chicago but in my opinion is it's own little city with it's own suburbs (Plainfield, Shorewood, New Lenox, Minooka, Crest Hill).
**Pros:**
* There is a train station with service to Chicago. It takes about 1 hr and 10 mins to downtown. There is also an Amtrak station.
* Very diverse community with a lot of interesting and good food options.
* The Cathedral Area has beautiful homes and they have a preservation society that does a fairly good job at keeping the area nice.
* Lower cost of living compared to Chicago and other suburbs in the area.
* There's a decent amount of job opportunities in the area and it's very easy to commute if you work in Chicago.
**Cons:**
* The downtown area is significantly lacking. They are working on revitalizing the downtown because it has a ton of potential, but most of the crime is centered on the east side of town (where downtown is located) and there's not a lot of stuff to do down there.
* The crime in Joliet is worse than the crime in other towns in the area. I don't necessarily think the crime is terrible, but it does get a bad rap as far as suburbs go.
* It's an incredibly large town in the geographical sense and the public transportation could be a bit better. If you live in Joliet you absolutely need a car, imo.
Overall, I like Joliet. I am moving back this summer and I always enjoy being in Joliet. There's a lot of city pride in town and they have plenty to do. The Taste of Joliet is a huge festival that draws a large crowd/big music acts; there's a heavy sports presence in town; good food; and easy access to the city and outdoor activities alike.
>It's an incredibly large town in the geographical sense
So true, I live in far west Joliet and where I live is not even shown on the map screenshot lol
As a Lockport native, I’m pretty disappointed you called New Lenox a suburb of Joliet when Lockport is directly adjacent and way closer than Plainfield
Reposting the same comment I made on a shared post of this in an IL group:
it’s awfully interesting to read people say this city sucks but it went from 75,000 people 30 years ago to over 150,000 today. Schools are expanding because it’s a place families are relocating to.
Once downtown becomes a better destination for entertainment, it’ll be awesome. I love Joliet.
People who rip on Joliet haven’t been there since their parents told them to avoid it in the 70’s. Joliet has so much character, a good cost of living, and many areas with lower crime than other “safe” suburbs.
I grew up in Romeoville. Spent most of our time as young adults hanging out in Joliet. I haven’t been back in a while. My sister lives in Plainfield way out by Caton Farm and 59.
Live and work in Joliet. My wife's family has lived here for generations. It is a cool place with its own identity and character. The Cathedral District is beautiful in summer. The only food options lacking are good Indian and European food, but you don't have to go far to find some. Homecut Donuts is open 24 hours and is a real treat. We also have the best Mr. Sub restaurant in Chicagoland and I will die on that hill.
We are presently home shopping in joliet. Hrew up on the far west side before high school and are trying to get back. Good restaurant scene most of the time, good local music scene, highway access, lively arts community. We can't wait.
It has its pros and its cons (no pun intended). It's close enough to Chicago if you work in the city and want to commute by train. It's really sprung up and improved a lot over the years.
Joliet Junior College is the first community college in the USA. I graduated there with my associates degree, they offer community events all the time and the culinary program has its own restaurant in Joliet.
Plainfield, Bolingbrook, Romeoville and other towns are relatively close by, and there's plenty of shopping areas and restaurants around.
Fair warning it's Illinois so remember our state flower is the construction cone.. so be careful.
i grew up there. moved away in 2018 and don’t regret it one bit! everyone i know my age (late 20s) that still live around there only stay for the family ties and existing friendships. most of my older relatives have never lived anywhere else and seem to love it. the two that did move away hate going back as much as i do.
since moving away, i’ve lived in 2 major cities and now a very rural area. going back to visit, i’ve come to the conclusion it has most of the negatives that city and rural life can both have with very little positives for me personally.
the traffic is insane. every trip back home it seems worse. the amount of time people spend driving there is absurd to me. people are used to driving 45 min and saying they’re going somewhere nearby. that same drive can easily double if it’s rush hour. like most sprawling suburbs, there’s no walkability to get anywhere useful. driving in the cities i lived in was less stressful than driving around joliet. i contribute that to the amount of car dependency and how spread out everything is.
drunk driving is so normalized there. it’s obviously dangerous and a problem in many places, but it wasn’t until i moved away that i realized how bad it was there in particular. not only do people drive drunk just within town, but i’ve known people to drive to chicago just to go out drinking and drive home that night. it’s dangerous and unacceptable.
there’s very little for me to eat at restaurants as a vegan and i’m often met with criticism or confusion for even inquiring. the grocery stores do have good meat and dairy alternatives though, but that’s not really important to me. my vegetarian brother has no issues anywhere, so i see it as more of a dairy issue. the midwest dairy culture is strong here and demands cow secretions on almost everything. it isn’t as proud as wisconsin, but it is just as bad and disgusting to me.
i’ve found a better sense of community (friendly neighbors, political engagement, mutual aid) everywhere else i’ve lived. i can’t imagine moving to joliet not knowing anyone and trying to make legit friends. it’s not impossible, but would be hard because most people there have their established circles. this would be most suburbs i’d guess.
by far the best thing about joliet to me was the train to chicago. i loved being able to get there easily for concerts, museums, great food, or whatever else i felt like checking out.
the library is a great positive too! with access to a whole bunch of connecting libraries, you can get just about any book or movie.
personally, i’d rather live like i do now very far from people and extravagance, but close to essentials, than have all my essentials sprawled out the way they can be in joliet.
I'm from Joliet. Joliet is a suburb about 40 miles southwest of Chicago but in my opinion is it's own little city with it's own suburbs (Plainfield, Shorewood, New Lenox, Minooka, Crest Hill). **Pros:** * There is a train station with service to Chicago. It takes about 1 hr and 10 mins to downtown. There is also an Amtrak station. * Very diverse community with a lot of interesting and good food options. * The Cathedral Area has beautiful homes and they have a preservation society that does a fairly good job at keeping the area nice. * Lower cost of living compared to Chicago and other suburbs in the area. * There's a decent amount of job opportunities in the area and it's very easy to commute if you work in Chicago. **Cons:** * The downtown area is significantly lacking. They are working on revitalizing the downtown because it has a ton of potential, but most of the crime is centered on the east side of town (where downtown is located) and there's not a lot of stuff to do down there. * The crime in Joliet is worse than the crime in other towns in the area. I don't necessarily think the crime is terrible, but it does get a bad rap as far as suburbs go. * It's an incredibly large town in the geographical sense and the public transportation could be a bit better. If you live in Joliet you absolutely need a car, imo. Overall, I like Joliet. I am moving back this summer and I always enjoy being in Joliet. There's a lot of city pride in town and they have plenty to do. The Taste of Joliet is a huge festival that draws a large crowd/big music acts; there's a heavy sports presence in town; good food; and easy access to the city and outdoor activities alike.
>It's an incredibly large town in the geographical sense So true, I live in far west Joliet and where I live is not even shown on the map screenshot lol
Once downtown brings in some more independent business and add some entertainment options, it’s gonna be such an awesome place to be. Joliet is great.
As a Lockport native, I’m pretty disappointed you called New Lenox a suburb of Joliet when Lockport is directly adjacent and way closer than Plainfield
Lockport is a suburb of Homer Glen /s
Hurts more than you know 💔
I'm sorry! I knew I was forgetting one honestly, it's been too long since I've been back.
Is downtown Joliet going down the Toliet?
You forgot to mention the great outlet you have there ! When I lived in Chicago I went there and found it really amazing
Reposting the same comment I made on a shared post of this in an IL group: it’s awfully interesting to read people say this city sucks but it went from 75,000 people 30 years ago to over 150,000 today. Schools are expanding because it’s a place families are relocating to. Once downtown becomes a better destination for entertainment, it’ll be awesome. I love Joliet.
People who rip on Joliet haven’t been there since their parents told them to avoid it in the 70’s. Joliet has so much character, a good cost of living, and many areas with lower crime than other “safe” suburbs.
I live nearby and am in the city nearly every day. It has such a bad reputation from 40-50 years ago it really outgrew.
I just moved to Lockport but lived in Joliet for a couple years. Southwest burbs hell yeah!
Lemont neighbor here!
I grew up in Romeoville. Spent most of our time as young adults hanging out in Joliet. I haven’t been back in a while. My sister lives in Plainfield way out by Caton Farm and 59.
Live and work in Joliet. My wife's family has lived here for generations. It is a cool place with its own identity and character. The Cathedral District is beautiful in summer. The only food options lacking are good Indian and European food, but you don't have to go far to find some. Homecut Donuts is open 24 hours and is a real treat. We also have the best Mr. Sub restaurant in Chicagoland and I will die on that hill.
Agreed about the Mr. Sub! None of the other ones compare
We are presently home shopping in joliet. Hrew up on the far west side before high school and are trying to get back. Good restaurant scene most of the time, good local music scene, highway access, lively arts community. We can't wait.
Michael Scofield and Jake Blues did some time in pen there
Yess
I stayed in an Airbnb in Joliet for a night. It was gorgeous!!
It has its pros and its cons (no pun intended). It's close enough to Chicago if you work in the city and want to commute by train. It's really sprung up and improved a lot over the years. Joliet Junior College is the first community college in the USA. I graduated there with my associates degree, they offer community events all the time and the culinary program has its own restaurant in Joliet. Plainfield, Bolingbrook, Romeoville and other towns are relatively close by, and there's plenty of shopping areas and restaurants around. Fair warning it's Illinois so remember our state flower is the construction cone.. so be careful.
I think it's kind ugly, and I don't like suburbs. But if that's your thing, then it's fine. I don't think there's much to do.
i grew up there. moved away in 2018 and don’t regret it one bit! everyone i know my age (late 20s) that still live around there only stay for the family ties and existing friendships. most of my older relatives have never lived anywhere else and seem to love it. the two that did move away hate going back as much as i do. since moving away, i’ve lived in 2 major cities and now a very rural area. going back to visit, i’ve come to the conclusion it has most of the negatives that city and rural life can both have with very little positives for me personally. the traffic is insane. every trip back home it seems worse. the amount of time people spend driving there is absurd to me. people are used to driving 45 min and saying they’re going somewhere nearby. that same drive can easily double if it’s rush hour. like most sprawling suburbs, there’s no walkability to get anywhere useful. driving in the cities i lived in was less stressful than driving around joliet. i contribute that to the amount of car dependency and how spread out everything is. drunk driving is so normalized there. it’s obviously dangerous and a problem in many places, but it wasn’t until i moved away that i realized how bad it was there in particular. not only do people drive drunk just within town, but i’ve known people to drive to chicago just to go out drinking and drive home that night. it’s dangerous and unacceptable. there’s very little for me to eat at restaurants as a vegan and i’m often met with criticism or confusion for even inquiring. the grocery stores do have good meat and dairy alternatives though, but that’s not really important to me. my vegetarian brother has no issues anywhere, so i see it as more of a dairy issue. the midwest dairy culture is strong here and demands cow secretions on almost everything. it isn’t as proud as wisconsin, but it is just as bad and disgusting to me. i’ve found a better sense of community (friendly neighbors, political engagement, mutual aid) everywhere else i’ve lived. i can’t imagine moving to joliet not knowing anyone and trying to make legit friends. it’s not impossible, but would be hard because most people there have their established circles. this would be most suburbs i’d guess. by far the best thing about joliet to me was the train to chicago. i loved being able to get there easily for concerts, museums, great food, or whatever else i felt like checking out. the library is a great positive too! with access to a whole bunch of connecting libraries, you can get just about any book or movie. personally, i’d rather live like i do now very far from people and extravagance, but close to essentials, than have all my essentials sprawled out the way they can be in joliet.
Drugs. Crime.
This is the sensible answer lol
And Mr Subs.
Are everywhere. FTFY