Reasons you would or would not move to Tinley Park

[urza216]

Originally Posted by mattywo85

The thing about Tinley is its really nice and seeing growth but it can be a pain to get too, depending on where you are coming from.

Well, it's pretty close to both I-57 and I-80. Major roads include 183rd, 167th, 159th, Harlem Avenue and Lagrange. I suppose i could mention Oak Park Ave too. Anywhere in Chicagoland can be a pain to get to, depending on where you're coming from... Even downtown!

[asdfnuts]

but I can share my commuting/schooling/living experiences from living in Tinley for most of my life, and managing my secret desire to move to LaGrange.

You must be looking farther south in Tinley, in the Will County parts. Good move. I recommend avoiding Cook like the plague. Your taxes and better managed county will be your reward.

On commuting: I commute via Metra from Oak Park Ave., and occasionally 80th Ave. I do have to drive there. I ride a bike when it is nice, though. Oak Park Ave. is definitely more bike friendly than 80th Ave. I used to religiously use the 80th Ave. stop, but since we live almost equi-distant from both stops, I use Oak Park Ave. for the ease of getting out of the station after getting off a rush hour train. Getting off the any train that departs downtown from 4:57-5:25 at 80th Ave. means you have to run like a madman to beat everyone out of the lot, or perish in your car waiting to get out. But, if you live closer to the 80th Avenue stop, this is probably negligible, as it will likely take you just as long to drive from Oak Park. Ave as it will to wait to get out. Additionally, the stop at 35th St. could help your husband if it was close enough to his final destination. My train ride is a pretty consistent 40-45 minutes. I kind of like it, though. It's time to be alone and de-stress after a long day. If you work regular 9-5-ish hours, you will have no shortage of trains to get you to from work.

In case you look this way, I'll fill you in on District 230 stuff. I am a product of Victor J. Andrew High School, and came out a decent human being with a really good high school education. It didn't become apparent to me how good of an education it was until I went to college. I met many people that couldn't function at an 9th grade academic level, much less a college level.

We actually chose our last 2 homes in Tinley Park (Yes, two. We stayed!) based on the high school district. For the first move to Tinley, we called the police department and asked if Tinley Park High School or Andrew gave them more problems. After that, we determined D230 schools were the way to go. District 230 also offers a good array of elective courses and extra- and co-curriculars. As far as AP courses go, Andrew does not offer as many of them as Sandburg (or any Lincoln-Way school, I think), but the average scores on the AP tests are very good.

On that note, I'd recommend avoiding the District 140 elementary schools. The district adopted the University of Chicago's "new" learning methods. It is terrible. Absolutely awful. Kids entering high school do not know basic math, because they have been taught a truly inferior method. (Let's teach kids about math by having them do everything but math!) My youngest siblings have proven this program to be a failure, and I don't think it's necessarily their faults. I am significantly older than them, and went to different schools than them until 5th grade. I was spared "New Math", among other education atrocities.

It seems everyone is madly in love with Lincoln-Way. They are good schools as well. I have many friends, acquaintances and colleagues who were products of these schools. (Not LW North, though, since it didn't exist when I went to high school.) In the real world, I've found that we all came out okay and that none of us really had a noticeable advantage over anyone else.

You've already seen that your money will go pretty far in Tinley. There are also plenty of families in Tinley as well. Tons. Your kids will have other kids around, no doubt.

LaGrange has that whole walk-able thing down pat, and a really beautiful town with beautiful, beautiful homes, which at this point looks great to me. But, of course, I keep telling myself I need to get out of Crook County. Finding something in my price range is a little harder, though. I still catch myself scoping out homes for sale in LaGrange...

What I'm trying to say is your family will come out alright if you move to Tinley Park, but I totally recognize that there is something charming about LaGrange. Your range may not buy you as much there, but you already knew that. I am gearing up to move in the near future, but not because I have any issue with Tinley Park. The rest of my family is moving out of the area, and I will probably need to go to Burbank or somewhere nearby to take care of my grandparents. Tinley Park is a place I will miss when I go. I have great neighbors and a lot of convenient commodities, like grocery stores and dry cleaners in walking distance, trails for biking/running/walking, and easy access to I-80 and I-57 when I need them.

[Army_Guy]

Originally Posted by pvande55

Don't know how often this happens but it could shake your impression of it being a quiet sleepy community.Chicago Tribune

They're just training. What's wrong with that? The land, building and resources are there so why not use it?

Maybe the village is getting some money out of it. If the resources are already there, may as well use it instead of looking at empty buildings.

It's not like street gangs are using the place to brush up on their police ambush tactics.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by Army_Guy

They're just training. What's wrong with that? The land, building and resources are there so why not use it?

Maybe the village is getting some money out of it. If the resources are already there, may as well use it instead of looking at empty buildings.

It's not like street gangs are using the place to brush up on their police ambush tactics.

That's a good point!

If you're afraid of Tinley at all, I'm very curious about your opinion of other south suburbs..