Walkable Family suburbs (Chicago, Naperville, Arlington Heights: best suburbs, hotel, homes)

[kindrakindra]

There is a good amount of stuff in that range in Oak Park, walkable to the library, el, coffee, restaurants. I know several one car families whose husband takes the car to work. Remember if you use a stroller, the bottom can be filled with a ton of groceries. I often walk to Trader Joe's with tons of groceries underneath the stroller, and a couple of toddlers holding bananas or a box of cereal!

[oakparkdude]

Not to diss on Julia's neighborhood, I'm sure its quite nice, but to me it looks like a pretty typical automobile-centric American suburban layout. While there may well be retail within walking distance, it involves walking alongside and/or crossing high-speed 4 lane arterial roads. Definitely not the most pleasant pedestrian experience.

In Oak Park, the only real comparison is Harlem Ave, which is admitted 4 lanes, but hardly high speed due to the plethora of traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. Other than that, there's no real need to cross 4 lane streets to get to and from retail.

South Naperville has many other advantages, good schools, low crime, reasonable housing costs, but walkability doesn't seem like one of them.

[Doglover5]

I think Chet raises a good point -that just because some towns might have what appears to be a "walkable downtown," it doesn't mean that they really have all the shopping amenities one is looking for in a convenient 2-3 block radius. I can only speak for my experience in Oak Park -- and mind you, I live on the north side of Oak Park so I would typically drive to its downtown -- but once there, it's not like it has all the stuff I need, and the stuff on Harlem (e.g., Trader Joe's) isn't that close to the stuff off of Lake and Oak Park Avenue. It could be useful to do a dry run of sorts in any of these towns (I like the Elmhurst idea for you) -- having at the ready your list of needed items (e.g., cards, groceries, whatever) and see how these downtowns fit the bill. I know that there are many suburban downtowns that while cute and filled with unique shops may not actually have all the necessities right there at your fingertips. I agree that the model here is not so much like that in the UK, where everything is available on the High Street (which would be nice).

[JustJulia]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

Not to diss on Julia's neighborhood, I'm sure its quite nice, but to me it looks like a pretty typical automobile-centric American suburban layout. While there may well be retail within walking distance, it involves walking alongside and/or crossing high-speed 4 lane arterial roads. Definitely not the most pleasant pedestrian experience.

In Oak Park, the only real comparison is Harlem Ave, which is admitted 4 lanes, but hardly high speed due to the plethora of traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. Other than that, there's no real need to cross 4 lane streets to get to and from retail.

South Naperville has many other advantages, good schools, low crime, reasonable housing costs, but walkability doesn't seem like one of them.

I agree that Naperville is not particularly walkable, but that's the suburban experience. We have larger homes on larger lots, and there are tons of parks and preserves here on top of that that push things even further apart. You just can't get the same walkability as areas where everyone lives in apartments or tiny houses with postage-stamp-sized lawns. Like you said, this is the typical suburban layout--this is what the suburbs are. I am just suggesting places to shop for a fellow Napervillian.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by chicagojlo

But can you get a house for $400-450k within walking distance of any of these walkable downtown areas that are also in good school districts? The OP (and his wife) also have to consider that walkability will be a moot point come December when the cold hits. Be prepared to spend at least 3-4 months needing to drive everywhere because it's just too cold to have the baby out there.

Depends on getting a decent snowsuit. I walked even in the winter, but not long walks and not with a stroller, with a back pack. Of course, some days will be too cold, but not all winters are that awful and not every day is too cold to go out. My kids loved playing outside in the winter snow, for example.

In Evanston, they might have to go with a condo though. There are some houses that are less than that, but they might not be in good neighborhoods. Looking at the real estate listings, it is hard to believe the prices there now. Houses near my old home are going for 2.5 times what we sold it for 10 years ago.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by Doglover5

I think Chet raises a good point -that just because some towns might have what appears to be a "walkable downtown," it doesn't mean that they really have all the shopping amenities one is looking for in a convenient 2-3 block radius. I can only speak for my experience in Oak Park -- and mind you, I live on the north side of Oak Park so I would typically drive to its downtown -- but once there, it's not like it has all the stuff I need, and the stuff on Harlem (e.g., Trader Joe's) isn't that close to the stuff off of Lake and Oak Park Avenue. It could be useful to do a dry run of sorts in any of these towns (I like the Elmhurst idea for you) -- having at the ready your list of needed items (e.g., cards, groceries, whatever) and see how these downtowns fit the bill. I know that there are many suburban downtowns that while cute and filled with unique shops may not actually have all the necessities right there at your fingertips. I agree that the model here is not so much like that in the UK, where everything is available on the High Street (which would be nice).

These are (to me) the essentials for a walkable neighborhood/town:
1. Grocery store, preferably both high-end - (Whole Foods), and regular - (Jewel/Dominicks)
2. Convenience store/drug store
3. Dry cleaners
4. Bookstore
5. Multiple coffee shops
6. Multiple eateries/restaurants
7. Library
8. Metra or CTA station
9. Bank (or at least multiple ATMs)
10. School (if you have kids)

These are the places I go to a lot, possibly every single day. Of these, the hardest to locate in walkable neighborhoods are grocery stores due to their large foot print and inherent automobile nature of grocery shopping (bulky, heavy goods).
Most parts of Oak Park south of Augusta St are within walking distance of all of these amenities.

These are (to me) nice amenities but not essential for a walkable neighborhood/town.
1. Post Office
2. Movie Theater
3. Doctor's office
4. Tavern/Bar
5. Hotel
6. Gym/exercise facility
7. Art Gallery
8. Ice Cream store
9. Bicycle store
10. Church, temple, shrine, ziggurat, whatever.

Downtown Oak Park has all of these amenities (uh, except for the ziggurat. That would be cool.)

These are (to me) things I need within a close drive as I have no expectation of these being placed in a walkable neighborhood (or at least not in my walkable neighborhood).
1. Costco
2. Apple Store
3. Target
4. Home Depot or Lowes
5. Airport

Costco will be opening in Melrose Park soon, unfortunately Apple will probably never be closer than Oak Brook Mall. Other than that, all the others are reasonably close.

[eastsiders]

Chet and Nannanie always give good advice based on deep knowledge and long experience so I don't know why they have not mentioned the Village of Barrington. We live in the village and we walk 5 minutes to school, 10 minutes to the dentist, eye doctor and physician, 20 minutes to the Jewel, post office and movie theatre, 30 minutes to the pool or library (kids in tow) and the list goes on much longer. All the big boxes are w/i 30 minutes drive. Finally, at this point in time one can find a house in the village w/in your price range. Plus you can walk to the train! And our new Irish Pub! Good luck and welcome to Chicagoland.

[chicagojlo]

My daughter just turned 3 when we moved to Chicago in January 2007. Admittedly it was an extraordinarily cold winter that year but there were more than a few days when I couldn't take her out in her stroller in her snowsuit because it really was too cold. And on the days I did take her someone would always stop me to give me a lecture about having her outside. I couldn't drive at the time so walking around the Loop (where we lived) was my only way around and I still ended up having to take a bus or a train to get to some places.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by JustJulia

I agree that Naperville is not particularly walkable, but that's the suburban experience. We have larger homes on larger lots, and there are tons of parks and preserves here on top of that that push things even further apart. You just can't get the same walkability as areas where everyone lives in apartments or tiny houses with postage-stamp-sized lawns. Like you said, this is the typical suburban layout--this is what the suburbs are. I am just suggesting places to shop for a fellow Napervillian.

I disagree that it is the full suburban experience. Part of Naperville is walkable. The area about two miles to the north of where you describe IS walkable. Within a 1/2 mile to a mile of many metra stations are a true village experience. A suburban experience that is a bit closer to the experience of a European town. I might be a smal fraction of the total suburban area, but it is there. And it also makes Chicagoland unique because of this. We do have the option in many suburbs (particularly the west suburbs along the BNSF and the UP-W) to live a bit more like the way Europeans do.

[prinsessa]

I know this has been said a million times on this forum but you should check out Oak Park and Evanston. I think if you live close to the downtown area in Oak Park you can walk to most stores. And don't worry about the winter as long as you dress warm. I take my kids out in the winter. Some days are too cold to go out in but most days are fine. I took my kids out as babies even in very cold weather. That is what snugglies and backpacks are made for . Both suburbs are close to the city and close to public transportation. That is one thing that is very important to me. I want to be able to get downtown Chicago easily on the train. I recommend going to several of the suburbs mentioned here and walk around. Good luck with your decision!