living near Harvey (Chicago, Oak Lawn, Orland Park: rent, house, neighborhood)

[runnercine]

Thanks for all the input!

[gag]

Originally Posted by runnercine

Hi. I'm interested in a job in Harvey. But I know nearly nothing of IL south of downtown Chicago(!). Can I commute to Harvey in less than 45 minutes from a nice community (e.g., bicycle-friendly, independent cinema, recreation programs, safe)?

Yes, easily

Looking to rent or buy and what's your budget? Try Oak Forest, real close to Harvey and bike paths galore.

[deechee]

Originally Posted by urza216

Forty-five minutes? Of course you can.. Wow.

What is your price range? Homewood is just south of Harvey on Halsted Street and it's a very nice, safe, vibrant and bicycle friendly community. You can also look into Matteson, Park Forest or Olympia Fields (Old Plank Trail is great). If you want to look further west, you can try Tinley Park. All of these communities have what you're looking for. If you want to push that "forty-five minute" range, you can also look into Crete. But I don't consider it very bicycle friendly in eastern Will County.. Plus it's further away from the city if you're looking for a lot of that "independent cinema". There's always Metra though.

O. Fields, Homewood and Flossmoor are the only places I'd consider.

[knighthood82]

Originally Posted by allen2323

Not sure if you are aware of the actual numbers. But lake county indiana is not a more prosperous county overall. The median househould income for lake county as of 2009 was below middle class at $47,962. Just to compare cook county for example has a median household income of $53,903 which is middle class. And just to put that in perspective of the south suburbs, there are only a handful of south suburbs with a median household income below $50,000 a year. Those include Harvey, riverdale, robbins, phoenix, ford heights, chicago heights, and maybe a couple of others. The overwhelming majority of south suburbs have median household incomes over $50,000 a year and are considered middle class. Median household incomes above $50,000 a year is widely considered to be the cut off for middle class.

As far as the low end of Northwest Indiana. Gary, hammond, and east chicago are all areas in Northwest indiana with large populations of low income residents. The difference between Lake county indiana and the southern suburbs is in the population, and land size of these low income communities. Gary indiana for example has 95,000 residents with a median household income of $27,367. East chicago has 29,900 residents with a median household income of $28,822. Hammond has 76,545 residents with a median household income of $38,308.


In comaprison, the lower income suburbs in the south suburbs tend to be smaller in population and size. And the middle class southern suburbs suburbs far outnumber the lower income suburbs in terms of population size and overall number of suburbs. For example the largest populated low income southern suburb which is Harvey only has a population of 27,890 with a median household income of $32,968. Compared to gary, indiana which has a population of 95,000 residents with a median household income of $27,367.

Do you really think that a $6,000 difference in median household incomes makes Cook County a middle class area and Lake County, IN below middle class? I think its silly to draw that kind of assumption when you're not even taking into consideration that Lake County has a Cost of Living index average that's right around the the US average while Cook County is above average. Along with that some of your figures are not correct. You're overstating Gary's population by about 15,000 people. Hammond is actually the largest city in Lake County. Do you really think that there is a much greater percentage of poor people living in Lake County vs. Cook County? The poverty rate is pretty much identical. What good are you doing comparing the worst of which either county has to offer? The OP didnt ask for the worst place to live BTW, most of Lake County south of I-80 is a great place to live. You can even find a billionaire living in Crown Point - you can't find that kind of wealth in the south suburbs.

[deechee]

Originally Posted by knighthood82

You can even find a billionaire living in Crown Point - you can't find that kind of wealth in the south suburbs.

Oh really?

[Northwest Indiana]

Originally Posted by deechee

Oh really?

Not a billionaire

Millionaire? R. Kelly, and a basketball player who lives in Odyssey Club (name escapes me)....although that is west of 57...

Also, allen:

The lines you drew at "middle class" and "lower class" don't make sense...the COL is different in NWI vs. the South Suburbs to the point where I would say that the differences in mean income are not significant.

Also, an added general note: Matteson is probably most comparable to Merrillville (with Merrillville having a slightly larger population and in a busier area)...

[deechee]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

The lines you drew at "middle class" and "lower class" don't make sense...the COL is different in NWI vs. the South Suburbs to the point where I would say that the differences in mean income are not significant.

Well, yeah your dollar may go further in Indiana, but middle class has nothing to do with what state you live in I don't think.

Middle class, idyllic lifestyle, like what the OP is talking about could be in either Homewood or Crown Point.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by deechee

O. Fields, Homewood and Flossmoor are the only places I'd consider.

So the only place you'd consider for someone who doesn't have a bunch of money is a condo or apartment in Homewood? Not even Country Club Hills where you live? What if someone wants to live in a house and has the money to live in a house but not a ridiculously expensive house in one of these three towns? Do you think they should move southwest or to NWI then?

This reminds me of Avengerfire's defense of the city of Chicago. You talk about how you love and believe in the south suburbs. But now you're saying the only places worth moving to in the south burbs are Homewood, Olympia Fields and Flossmoor..? Huh? Did I misunderstand something?

[urza216]

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

Not a billionaire

Millionaire? R. Kelly, and a basketball player who lives in Odyssey Club (name escapes me)....although that is west of 57...

Yep. R.Kelly lives in the Maygate subdivision in Olympia Fields. It's also a stone throw away from Park Forest on Orchard Drive. R Kelly used to shop at Lincoln Mall..

Originally Posted by Northwest Indiana

Matteson is probably most comparable to Merrillville (with Merrillville having a slightly larger population and in a busier area)...

hmm.. Mind elaborating? I'd compare Matteson to Highland before Merrillville. But then again, I'm not very familiar with the neighborhoods themselves in either of those NWI towns..

[urza216]

Original Poster,

I know you asked for a bicycle friendly area. I am a cyclist too and I highly recommend living somewhere in close proximity to Old Plank Trail. Look into it before mindlessly following the advice of moving to Homewood or Flossmoor.. I miss when I lived in Park Forest and could hop on my bike and be on Old Plank Trail in a matter of minutes. You can also try moving to Frankfort or New Lenox if that's more to your liking.

The problem with Homewood is that Western Avenue isn't bicycle friendly at all (unless you're crazy and enjoy being easily hit by a car). A lot of the road has no sidewalk, a very small "side of the road" and it's always roaring with loads of cars driving by. How are you supposed to safely get to Matteson, Olympia Fields or Park Forest on a bike? Good luck being brand new to the area and figuring out all the back roads. Downtown Homewood is nice though.

Old Plank Road Trail - Illinois Rail Trail

http://oprt.org/maps/2010-brochure-trail-map.jpg (broken link)