Most "city-like" suburb? (Including NWI) (Chicago, Naperville: houses, neighborhood)

[ToriaT]

Berwyn and Cicero. Of course besides the ones most have listed such as Oak Park and Evanston. I don't really recommend Cicero but Berwyn is slowly attracting new residents and businesses and is so close to the city with great transportation. You'd be hard put to really tell you were not in the city if you were dropped into parts of Berwyn or Cicero. And its not gentrified like some parts of the city and still has that old skool flavor.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

Berwyn and Cicero. Of course besides the ones most have listed such as Oak Park and Evanston. I don't really recommend Cicero but Berwyn is slowly attracting new residents and businesses and is so close to the city with great transportation. You'd be hard put to really tell you were not in the city if you were dropped into parts of Berwyn or Cicero. And its not gentrified like some parts of the city and still has that old skool flavor.

Hammond and Whiting are pretty much that way as well. They are pretty much indistinguishable from the South Side except that train access is limited unfortunately. But how is Berwyn different? Last time I checked the Pink line didn't even make it there.

[ToriaT]

The Pink Line ends at the western edge of Cicero on Cermak Road. the Cermak Road bus runs frequently down Cermak from points east and west so if you live near Cermak, its easy to hop on the bus and ride a bit and get off at the Pink Line. Very good transportation. Many stops and also shelters along the way. They even have an old fashioned news stand on the corner of East Avenue and Cermak and you don't see that anymore. You can use bus tracker so you time it exactly when to leave your house.

[ToriaT]

Oh, and Berwyn is different, of course its not Chicago. Crime is not as high and its better served by the police and has many new businesses moving in.

[BOBNCHI]

Skokie? I think not.

[reppin_the_847]

Originally Posted by BOBNCHI

Skokie? I think not.

A random neighborhood street in Skokie or Lincolnwood doesn't look that different from its equivalent in Chicago's Sauganash or Edgebrook neighborhoods, lol.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by BOBNCHI

Skokie? I think not.

Skokie has CTA access, decent density, AND architecture similar to the far North Side (like Evanston). It also is incredibly diverse and easily within the city's cultural influence. It definitely is a qualifier if Berwyn is. Skokie is pretty much what North Park would be if it was suburban. I feel like Skokie is as much of a city extension as Evanston and Oak Park. I think more than Berwyn even. Sure Berwyn has more bungalows but not all of Chicago is the bungalow belt.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

Hammond and Whiting are pretty much that way as well. They are pretty much indistinguishable from the South Side except that train access is limited unfortunately. But how is Berwyn different? Last time I checked the Pink line didn't even make it there.

The CTA L probably doesn't run through the majority of City neighborhoods, including Portage Park and most of the Bungalow belt neighborhoods. Don't know why that's the criteria all of a sudden for it to be City-like. The demographics of Berwyn and Cicero schools are certainly getting very similar to CPS. And they're on the grid system like Chicago. The pink line might not go out to Berwyn but the CTA buses do.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by BRU67

The CTA L probably doesn't run through the majority of City neighborhoods, including Portage Park and most of the Bungalow belt neighborhoods. Don't know why that's the criteria all of a sudden for it to be City-like. The demographics of Berwyn and Cicero schools are certainly getting very similar to CPS. And they're on the grid system like Chicago. The pink line might not go out to Berwyn but the CTA buses do.

Well most suburbs go by the grid system. Like Berwyn and Cicero, Hammond and Whiting continue to grid numbering as well. 108th, 112th, etc all continue into the region.

[ToriaT]

I lived in Skokie for ten years and I own a building in Berwyn. I agree Skokie has a feel like some parts of the far north and northwest side like West Rogers park, Sauganash, etc. To me, Skokie feels more suburban because most of the house were build in the 1950's and 60's and they are set further apart. Berwyn on the other hand, seems to me to be more citified. The streets lined with bungalows and two flats are right out of certain city neighborhoods and are almost indistinguishable. Gangways and alley's galore and tiny postage stamp yards.