Gay male couple retiring to the area (Chicago, Berwyn: apartment, rent)

[markbrake57]

Greetings, All
My partner and I will be retiring soon and relocating to the Chicago suburbs from Nashville TN. We are leaning towards Oak Park, due to the architecture, but we're open to any suburb with good transit options, medical options, and shopping options. We're looking to purchase a home, condo or co-op with two bedrooms, washer-dryer connections, and parking for at least one car (we currently own five, but will be downsizing the collection), under 200k. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

[sfcambridge]

Oak Park satisfies your needs, but a couple things to keep in mind.....

One thing I am learning from my father's situation (retiree in a small house in Oak Park), is that it is rough aging in place in Chicagoland. You are coming from a warm climate, and winters can be long here. It has been a mild winter thus far, but snow is the norm here. With aging, this is a drag to manage, particularly since our winters can be long.

Your budget is low for a house for the Oak Park area. You might find something in the nearby towns of Forest Park and Berwyn, that allow you to live for a lower price and take advantage of the same shopping/transit/medical/cultural activities that Oak Park has to offer. Remember, with a house, you would need to manage lawn care/snow removal which can be challenging with aging. There also are not many properties in these towns with attached garages, which makes winter even a bit more tricky with aging. Townhouses are rare here, although there are some newer construction ones.

Property taxes are quite high in Oak Park. Make sure you carefully check the properties taxes of the properties you are looking at, and realize that some properties may have a jump in taxes after you move in. For that reason, many retirees move out at retirement.... some to nearby Berwyn/Forest Park, where taxes are lower. However, there is a robust population of very active/involved seniors in Oak Park, good support services through Township Senior Services, lots of volunteering/movies/theaters/great libraries etc.. options around. And Chicago is amazing, whatever your interests may be. There are even some pretty good independent/assisted living places in Oak Park. Overall, Chicagoland can be a good place to be a senior, if you are robust and can handle the weather.

There are some amazing bargains in the condo market right now in Oak Park... particularly in vintage buildings. However, you must carefully review the parking options, as Oak Park has very rigid parking laws that making apartment/condo living challenging at times. I strongly encourage you to look for buildings with covered parking spaces included (or at least a 24 hour included space), ideally buildings with elevators and accessible design if you want to age in place. Having an outdoor parking space may seem acceptable to you, but just realize you will need to dig it out during winter snow, and cars get beat up more here when you park outdoors.

It will be nearly impossible to find parking for 5 cars, but I think you realize that. It would be crazy inconvenient, they would be parking in multiple places all over the town, and would cost several hundred dollars.

If you are hoping to retire/age in place, I would recommend you move here, and rent initially. There's no hurry to buy, right? Get to know the neighborhoods, and decide what is most important to you. Look for a bargain ...

[ToriaT]

There is a growing gay community in Berwyn and the taxes are much cheaper. Lots of really great vintage style homes. Budget friendly. I think you will find more suitable condos in Oak Park but if you want to buy a small house, you won't be able to do it in Oak Park and might look to Berwyn.

[ChicagoMeO]

You might wish to come to chicago and rent for a year and then you can see if you will enjoy it and whats available.

[adele115]

A two bedroom under 200K is on the lower end for a condo, not realistic for a house in Oak Park really. You might want to investigate the overall financial situation in Illinois before committing to retirement here. Unless there is a lot of $$$$, most people head the opposite direction = out of IL, heading south or west.

[sfcambridge]

Originally Posted by adele115

A two bedroom under 200K is on the lower end for a condo, not realistic for a house in Oak Park really. You might want to investigate the overall financial situation in Illinois before committing to retirement here. Unless there is a lot of $$$$, most people head the opposite direction = out of IL, heading south or west.

A two bedroom under 200k is common in Oak Park right now, especially in vintage buildings.

My building just sold a 1 bedroom for 75k which includes a parking space. These are condos that sold for twice as much 10 years ago. A two bedroom recently here sold for under 100k. Values just haven't bounced back as quickly for condos.

There are some real bargains here in the condo market, if you take your time and look.

But everything is relative, of course....

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by adele115

You might want to investigate the overall financial situation in Illinois before committing to retirement here. Unless there is a lot of $$$$, most people head the opposite direction = out of IL, heading south or west.

One actual piece of GOOD news about retiring in Illinois is that the state does not tax retirement income. So unless this changes, retired people will be largely spared from the likely income tax increases needed to shore up the Illinois budget.

The primary disadvantage at this point in time is high property taxes. And if things really get bad for the state, I worry about the soundness of Illinois Department of Public Health oversight of nursing homes.

[adele115]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

One actual piece of GOOD news about retiring in Illinois is that the state does not tax retirement income. So unless this changes, retired people will be largely spared from the likely income tax increases needed to shore up the Illinois budget.

The primary disadvantage at this point in time is high property taxes. And if things really get bad for the state, I worry about the soundness of Illinois Department of Public Health oversight of nursing homes.

Very good point. I think if one has owned property for a few decades the numbers can add up, and potentially buying a condo at a discount can work too, but anecdotally I don't hear much about people coming to Chicago/IL to retire - but what do I know.

To the OP: Chicago is awesome. If you can make it work, it is a wonderful, complex, screwed up, beautiful city. Personally, I would spend that 200K in a Chicagoland area where property taxes are less (e.g., in the city or Berwyn, Brookfield).

[adele115]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

A two bedroom under 200k is common in Oak Park right now, especially in vintage buildings.

My building just sold a 1 bedroom for 75k which includes a parking space. These are condos that sold for twice as much 10 years ago. A two bedroom recently here sold for under 100k. Values just haven't bounced back as quickly for condos.

There are some real bargains here in the condo market, if you take your time and look.

But everything is relative, of course....

That is good to know. When looking at condo units, I'm always struck by how AWFUL most units are in Chicagoland, and how Oak Park has beautiful vintage arts and crafts units. Definitely worth exploring. .

Oak Park taxes are high, but maybe it all balances out for the OP. I use to live in Oak Park and love all that is good about it though dislike those aspects I found troublesome...but that is life anywhere