Single Chicago Gal might like Berwyn? (Cicero, Evanston: for sale, salon, renter)

[lfw1031]

Sad but true: I've lived on the North Side my whole life (never more than 2.5 miles from Wrigley) and I'm being priced out of the city. The brick bungalow I dream of in Portage or Jefferson Park are quickly selling for $350+...and a lot of those need work! Condos are dime-a-dozen up here and many are cookie-cutter places w/ little or no charm and charge outrageous prices for the option to park your car. So, I picked up the Trib this past Sunday and saw a story regarding your town's "move to Berwyn" initiative. It got me searching... and liking the stock + prices that I saw.

But...I'm set in my ways. I love the city and worry about plopping myself and my dog down in a "suburban" environment. I jog, take the dog park, ride my bike everywhere, and don't see myself having children anytime soon. What kind of life can I expect in Berwyn? I need to be close to transportation (I take CTA/Metra everywhere and leave the car in the garage if possible) and I'd like a neighborhood with the usual grocer, dry cleaner, Target nearby. If I'm that desperate for a Starbucks, I'll hoof it to Oak Park. I'm from the city...I'm not a yuppie. I prefer finding a little coffee house with WiFi (any yet in Berwyn?) and a good bakery.

There will probably be some eye-rolling at these but, ok, here it goes: anyone know of a yoga studio yet in Berwyn? Does the city have a recycling pick-up program? A dog park? Seriously - if I make the move, I'd like to at least have a wide range of services available to me and I'd like to know that the city is moving in a progressive direction. These are the things that make the quality of life better for all residents - businesses, green spaces, and an eye toward conservation. Is the city developing shopping districts with more than your regular strip mall and a nail salon on every block?

What I don't see in the Berwyn threads are discussions about restaurants...bars/lounges...coffee shops...the stuff that makes bright summer afternoons and rainy weekend days worth living. I know Berwyn isn't a hotbed of culinary activity - I don't need NoMI or Sushi Wabi type places. I like a wide range of ethnic foods and am lucky enough to currently live within walking distance of a great Thai place, 2 fabulous bars w/ the best burgers, a beer garden, an incredible taqueria, and a block chocked full of Middle Eastern bakeries and kabob houses. What's a girl to eat in Berwyn? Where can she take her "out of town" friends?

I'm amused by the discussions regarding "illegals", "wannabes vs. real gangs", "land cruisers". I live in the city so I take a lot of the criticism w/ a grain of salt: I can sleep through your heaviest blaring bass and would feel weird if there wasn't a taqueria nearby. Most people, regardless of their status, just want to live in peace and make a buck. The items I asked about, above, go a long way in making a place more attractive to active, social members of the community and less likely to breed additional gang violence.

Although I think I'd miss the homeless guy who sits in a beat up old recliner at the intersection I've heard the ocassional sound of gun fire near my home (I dread hot weather and the heated rivalries) but am happy to note that it's happening less and less in my neck of the woods. I want to feel safe in my new home, wherever that may be. I don't currently have bars on my windows nor do I subscribe to ADT or Brinks...and I'd like to keep it that way. Doing the gang map search isn't helpful to me - the same search for my Chicago neighborhood would make it appear as though my block were surrounded by baracades and Gaza-strip-like attacks. That simply isn't the case.

Can anyone give me the dirt on what it's like to live in Berwyn after spending 30 years in Chicago? And please note that I have no interest in hearing about how good Oak Park, Hindsdale, River Forest, or Brookfield are. The prices in those communities are also already out of my budget #1, and #2, they are more suburban than I wish to be.

Thanks, in advance, for all of your assistance! I look forward to your thoughts.

[gardener34]

They have fitzgerald's in berwyn right along roosevelt road, just south of the eisenhower. That place is awesome for entertainment! If you are used to living in the city, I don't think anything in Berwyn would phase you.

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by lfw1031

Sad but true: I've lived on the North Side my whole life (never more than 2.5 miles from Wrigley) and I'm being priced out of the city. The brick bungalow I dream of in Portage or Jefferson Park are quickly selling for $350+...and a lot of those need work! Condos are dime-a-dozen up here and many are cookie-cutter places w/ little or no charm and charge outrageous prices for the option to park your car. So, I picked up the Trib this past Sunday and saw a story regarding your town's "move to Berwyn" initiative. It got me searching... and liking the stock + prices that I saw.

But...I'm set in my ways. I love the city and worry about plopping myself and my dog down in a "suburban" environment. I jog, take the dog park, ride my bike everywhere, and don't see myself having children anytime soon. What kind of life can I expect in Berwyn? I need to be close to transportation (I take CTA/Metra everywhere and leave the car in the garage if possible) and I'd like a neighborhood with the usual grocer, dry cleaner, Target nearby. If I'm that desperate for a Starbucks, I'll hoof it to Oak Park. I'm from the city...I'm not a yuppie. I prefer finding a little coffee house with WiFi (any yet in Berwyn?) and a good bakery.

There will probably be some eye-rolling at these but, ok, here it goes: anyone know of a yoga studio yet in Berwyn? Does the city have a recycling pick-up program? A dog park? Seriously - if I make the move, I'd like to at least have a wide range of services available to me and I'd like to know that the city is moving in a progressive direction. These are the things that make the quality of life better for all residents - businesses, green spaces, and an eye toward conservation. Is the city developing shopping districts with more than your regular strip mall and a nail salon on every block?

What I don't see in the Berwyn threads are discussions about restaurants...bars/lounges...coffee shops...the stuff that makes bright summer afternoons and rainy weekend days worth living. I know Berwyn isn't a hotbed of culinary activity - I don't need NoMI or Sushi Wabi type places. I like a wide range of ethnic foods and am lucky enough to currently live within walking distance of a great Thai place, 2 fabulous bars w/ the best burgers, a beer garden, an incredible taqueria, and a block chocked full of Middle Eastern bakeries and kabob houses. What's a girl to eat in Berwyn? Where can she take her "out of town" friends?

I'm amused by the discussions regarding "illegals", "wannabes vs. real gangs", "land cruisers". I live in the city so I take a lot of the criticism w/ a grain of salt: I can sleep through your heaviest blaring bass and would feel weird if there wasn't a taqueria nearby. Most people, regardless of their status, just want to live in peace and make a buck. The items I asked about, above, go a long way in making a place more attractive to active, social members of the community and less likely to breed additional gang violence.

Although I think I'd miss the homeless guy who sits in a beat up old recliner at the intersection I've heard the ocassional sound of gun fire near my home (I dread hot weather and the heated rivalries) but am happy to note that it's happening less and less in my neck of the woods. I want to feel safe in my new home, wherever that may be. I don't currently have bars on my windows nor do I subscribe to ADT or Brinks...and I'd like to keep it that way. Doing the gang map search isn't helpful to me - the same search for my Chicago neighborhood would make it appear as though my block were surrounded by baracades and Gaza-strip-like attacks. That simply isn't the case.

Can anyone give me the dirt on what it's like to live in Berwyn after spending 30 years in Chicago? And please note that I have no interest in hearing about how good Oak Park, Hindsdale, River Forest, or Brookfield are. The prices in those communities are also already out of my budget #1, and #2, they are more suburban than I wish to be.

Thanks, in advance, for all of your assistance! I look forward to your thoughts.

This isn't meant to be a negative comment, but despite your claim to not be a yuppie (nothing wrong with that - I probably embody the textbook definition of being a yuppie), it sounds like you still want a yuppie neighborhood (yoga studio, dog park, independent coffee shop with Wi-Fi, walking distance to bars and ethnic restaurants, etc.) only without the high prices. Based on this, I wouldn't suggest Berwyn - I don't see that town as a good place for a single person looking for the things that you seem to want.

You might want to look into Des Plaines. There seems to be a good number of young single buyers of condos out in that area, the prices are very good compared to the city, you have access to either the Blue Line or the Metra to get to the city, and you're going to find a greater variety of restaurants, bars and other amenities either in the town proper or in the adjacent city neighborhoods and suburbs when compared to Berwyn.

Also, on a side note, let's face it - if a town or neighborhood has the clientele to support an independent coffee shop with Wi-Fi, there's going to be a Starbucks down the street from it sooner rather than later!

[lfw1031]

I must've come across as a dope, Frank. I wasn't suggesting some hipster utopia. I'm single, work from home most days, and like to leave the car at home. Beyond that, I like to garden, let the dog play outside, and lead a relatively quiet life. Berwyn has the type of housing stock I'm interested in - small, bungalow-type/brick homes w/ little or no remodeling that are ready for a bit of sweat equity. I'm not interested in the condo towers that seem to be springing up in Des Plaines, the gorgeous and pricey "cottages" of Evanston, or the beautiful new construction in Hinsdale.

Even sleepy little "downtowns" like Oswego & Huntley Illinois have at least 1 wifi place - not free, but still. Panera even offers wifi so I'm good w/ that. And my mother, at 64, takes yoga lessons in her quiet town of Waterford Wisconsin - just over the border - so I can't think that these things are foreign to a town stradled by Chicago, Oak Park, and Brookfield. What's going on in the area surrounding the Metra station? These are generally the first retail neighborhoods to offer such things.

So, you tell me...what, then, does Berwyn have to offer that has the mayor advertising on the City's north side where many of these things, along w/ ethnic bakeries, little Thai carry-out joints, and, yes, even small yoga studios are available?

Besides brick housing inventory...and Fitzgerald's...what's going on in Berwyn as you see it?

[BRU67]

There's plenty for a single person to do in Berwyn. On the south side, we have Olive or Twist (martini bar with live jazz -- featured on CLTV Metromix a few months ago), Cafe Depot (interesting little coffee/sandwich/bar place right down the street from OoT), Cigars and Stripes (interesting and fun bar with live comedy shows every Wednesday and Saturday), Harlem Avenue Lounge (solid and underrated blues club), Garv's Inn (neighborhood bar with live music on weekends), the James Joyce (cool Irish pub which rivals anything in Lincoln Park), Lalo's (the most happening 20-something Latino scene in the Chicagoland area on Wednesday and Thursday nights), and Palermo Cafe (coffee shop).

On the north side, you have FitzGerald's, Sevilla's (Tapas bar which was recently featured on CLTV's Metromix), Double Olives Cafe (new martini bar), and the Fill-Up Station (best "hole in the wall" in the city).

While it would be nice to have a Thai and sushi place (Thai is supposedly coming), there's still several good eateries in town, including LaNotte, Salerno's, Wishbone, Taco Y Salsa, Checz Plaza, and the aforementioned Sevilla's.

And if that isn't enough, there's Madison St. in Forest Park and Lake St. in Oak Park a few minutes away. That opens up about a million more restaurant and bar choices. Even the dreaded Cicero has a few neat places to go including Klas, Al's Pizza and the famous Freddy's Pizzeria. Or drive about 15 minutes and you'll be in the South or West Loop.

Dog parks? There's a big push to get one as part of Cermak Road's new Illinois Main St. program. Meanwhile, there are dog parks in Oak Park and Forest Park. Yoga? There's a yoga place called Xpansions on Madison St. in Forest Park.

Another thing to keep in mind is the many younger folks moving in. We're seeing a lot of artists, musicians, gays and lesbians, and young professionals who don't want to pay Oak Park prices, or taxes. I think in 5 years, there will be even more to do, and the city will start getting some respect.

In short, with all due respect to the Tank, I think you'd be much happier in Berwyn than Des Plaines given your obvious love for urban living. I just think Berwyn will offers a much more vibrant and city-esque environment than Des Plaines would. All of this IMHO of course.

[City4less]

Berwyn, particularly north-west Berwyn might be for you. It is quiet and safe and walking distance from transportation. East Berwyn is too close to Cicero, and is not a qood idea. But I agree that Berwyn is perfect for the North side City lover who is being priced out. Des Plaines is a mess and too far away. Berwyn is very much like the City and if you live north-west you can hoof it to Oak Park very easily ( I did it all the time, just for fun). If you heart is still in the City, you can save your $ and move in a few years, but you may very well stay. Our renter used to walk to the blue line and lived alone. She stayed 8 yrs before she went to TX. Lived here for many years and loved it. Berwyn has solid infastructure and is on the upswing. And only long time residents seem to know that it is actually safer than Oak Park which borders scary Austin. and it's safer than the City for sure. Cicero is an excellent buffer. Pick a home on the west side and near a school, they tend to be best. Read about Berwyn in the Berwyn Life..... libertynewspaper.com and get a feel for it.... drive around and look at the homes for sale.... the peopkle that rip Berwyn tend to be the mullet heads that moved out to Plainfield... Berwyn is for city-lovers. It's a deal.

[lfw1031]

Many thanks to all - I'm planning a re-con mission this weekend.

[NSH]

I personally like hanging out at the Berwyn/Cicero Elks club on 26th & ridgeland. nowhere else in the chicago area will you see a 80 year old woman dancing with a 30 year old guy to "Don't want no short short man"

Berwyn is not for everyone, but if you do not have a sense of stereotype and love to just have fun then this town will certainly fit you, Berwyn is seven steps beyond a hipster utopia IMO, as hipsters would think they are too cool to hang out here which makes the town that much better.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by NSH

I personally like hanging out at the Berwyn/Cicero Elks club on 26th & ridgeland. nowhere else in the chicago area will you see a 80 year old woman dancing with a 30 year old guy to "Don't want no short short man"

Berwyn is not for everyone, but if you do not have a sense of stereotype and love to just have fun then this town will certainly fit you, Berwyn is seven steps beyond a hipster utopia IMO, as hipsters would think they are too cool to hang out here which makes the town that much better.

Don't forget to check out Taco Y Salsa next time you're over there! It's on 26th about a half a block from the Elks club. It looks like a total "hole in the wall" but it serves the best Mexican food in the city (blowing the vaunted Lalo's into the weeds IMHO). Best red salsa I've had anywhere

[roosty]

Have you looked into Forest Park? It has Starbucks, bars, yoga, etc., the blue line, green line, metra. It's like Oak Park, but lower prices. Also, s great investment.

However, a nice thing about Berwyn is street parking.