Suburb close to university of Chicago (Berwyn, Oak Park: fit in, to rent, crime)

[lulu33]

Hello, we are planning to move to the suburbs next year but are having a hard time figuring out where. We would like to be in a safe area, with a relatively short drive to hyde park, and also an area with activities for young kids (2 kids under 4) like parks, gyms etc like little gym or Gymboree type places, swimming pools, a Montessori school, a decent gym, and a grocery store like a whole foods or something similar. I realize this is very broad. Any ideas on where to look? We lived in hyde park for many years but it's getting expensive and I have seen one too many crimes. My husband needs to be able to drive in the AM and PM with less than a 45 min commute. We would be staying for only a few years so school system doesn't matter.

I looked at orland park but not sure what the drive is in the AM/PM? Or what about oak lawn or oak park?

Any suggestions would be great. Thank you.

[oakparkdude]

A housing budget would help.

[lulu33]

Sorry I forgot that. We actually need to rent for a couple of years. So rent less than $2500-3k.

[oakparkdude]

Oak Park would fit in terms of budget and family-friendliness. Its a lot like Hyde Park (I've lived in both) except with more families and kids and not as many young adults or major academic universities. Crime would be lower than Hyde Park. The only drawback is I'm not sure the drive is consistently less than 45 minutes.

[Lookout Kid]

Homewood and Flossmoor used to be the default suburb choices for U of C personnel (Metra Electric service connects Hyde Park to both). Now it seems like Oak Park is more popular, in spite of the increased travel times.

[lulu33]

Both homewood and floosmoor are about the same distance as orland park. Is it just Metra that makes them better?

[Lookout Kid]

I assume you meant Oak Park instead of Orland Park? Very different places...

Anyway, yes it's the Metra and the fact that you don't have to go through the horrible circle interchange.

[lulu33]

Yes I did sorry.

What about orland park though? What's that area like? Seems like it would be under 45 min?

[chet everett]

...the travel time via the Stevenson to/from Lagrange is superior compare to Orland Park -- there are options like 1st Ave and surface road to Lagrange that just don't work to Orland Park so commuting in much easier.

The general school quality at both the a typical Lagrange elementary school of Lyons Township High is also considerably better than that in Orland Park.

Housing costs are probably a bit lower to acquire a home in Orland Park but with more stable property taxes the ongoing costs are better in Lagrange...

[agallan]

I'm with Chet. Check out the near western suburbs... LaGrange, Brookfield, etc.

I'm a doc at University of Chicago Hospitals and when I was trying to figure out where to live, I looked everywhere from Hyde Park to the South Loop to the southern suburbs to LaGrange and Brookfield. My wife and I ended up buying in Brookfield and we love it there. In terms of the commute to Hyde Park, with NO traffic (aka very early morning or after 7:30pm) it takes 22-25 minutes. If I leave for work at 6:30 or 7am, it takes about 40 minutes with average rush hour traffic (but on occasion can take up to an hour). If you leave work at 4:30 or 5 it takes 45-50 minutes to get home. These times are with taking some surface streets to avoid the disaster that is I-55 during rush hour (especially on the way home).

For LaGrange vs. Brookfield, add about 10 minutes to each commute depending on where in La Grange you're looking.

Moral of the story: Hyde Park is a pain in the butt to get to. You're going to have a hard time finding a suburb that is a convenient ride there. Oak Park is an option, but in my experience the drive from Brookfield is quicker in most situations and less dependent upon traffic conditions since you can take some sneaky surface roads). Riverside is just east of Brookfield and would offer a slightly shorter ride and its a great community. Berwyn is just east of Riverside and would be an ever quicker commute, but has less of a suburban feel.

Good luck!