How bad is Oak Park? (Naperville, Wheaton: crimes, houses, neighborhood)

[BRU67]

If you are married and don't care about schools you could also consider Berwyn. Safe, more affordable, and you're right next to OP, so you can enjoy all the amenities without paying the Oak Park prices for rent and parking.

[Scottiegal]

My mom lives in oak park and it’s a nightmare to visit her! Terrible traffic and non existent parking and not all that safe. There has been a recent uptick in car jacking.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by Scottiegal

My mom lives in oak park and it’s a nightmare to visit her! Terrible traffic and non existent parking and not all that safe. There has been a recent uptick in car jacking.

We all know your mother lives in Englewood.

[Scottiegal]

[quote=Hiruko;50351685]We all know your mother lives in Englewood.[/QUOTE

And this makes a lot of sense...what a stupid comment.

[Scottiegal]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

Who cares about parking and parking enforcement unless you need to park full-time on the street?

Lot's of traffic? There is more traffic than semi-rural suburbs, but Oak Park is hardly super congested.

High rent? The cost of housing is higher in Oak Park, because the area is desirable.

Traffic is awful and yes it is very congested and desirable? How? Give me more than being close to Chicago...these days that isn’t a plus.

[CGab]

I know it can happen anywhere, but there has been a series of carjackings in Oak Park lately.


Oak Park police offer tips on staying safe after rise in carjackings sparks concern | WGN-TV

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by Scottiegal

Traffic is awful and yes it is very congested and desirable? How? Give me more than being close to Chicago...these days that isn’t a plus.

My response was to your over-the-top comments. Oak Park is neither dangerous, nor very congested. The best gauge of an area's desirability are its property values. Property values in Oak Park are high, and they are continuing to rise. The vast majority of people appear to disagree with you that being within close proximity to the city of Chicago isn't a plus. Neighborhoods that are close to Chicago's urban core, and its inner-ring suburbs, are experiencing a large amount of development and investment, much more so than exurbs.

[Scottiegal]

Take a look at the exodus from Illinois into account. Oak park isn’t what it used to be. There are a lot of dumpy disgusting eye sores. I see them every time we drive that congested Harlem ave. Of course prices are high, doesn’t mean it worth it, or safe! Calling oak park unsafe and congested is hardly over the top. It is my and a lot of other people opinion. Your statement about someone’s mother living in englewood is not only over the top itself just plain odd. And take a look at the car jacking going on in oak park...two community meetings have been held about this.

[Scottiegal]

Ill add my husband is from Rogers park. He loathes oak park and thinks it’s dumpy and crime ridden..and complains about the traffic, dumpy areas and lack of parking everrtime we visit there.

[TheTimidBlueBars]

Originally Posted by Scottiegal

Take a look at the exodus from Illinois into account. Oak park isn’t what it used to be. There are a lot of dumpy disgusting eye sores. I see them every time we drive that congested Harlem ave. Of course prices are high, doesn’t mean it worth it, or safe! Calling oak park unsafe and congested is hardly over the top. It is my and a lot of other people opinion. Your statement about someone’s mother living in englewood is not only over the top itself just plain odd. And take a look at the car jacking going on in oak park...two community meetings have been held about this.

Harlem is not representative of what most of Oak Park looks like. It's one of the most major thoroughfare that touches the village (on the west end, along with North Ave on the north), so of course most of what you see on those two streets is storefronts, chains, cheap '70s-era apartments, and municipal buildings like the hospital. The village has taken great care over the decades to ensure that its historic and varied housing stock is maintained and the village remains integrated, lively, and safe for all residents.

The carjackings are a concern that the village is trying to deal with (and it's not just that - a lot of businesses on eastern Chicago Ave have been robbed at gunpoint, and someone on Greenfield and Ridgeland had a gun fired into his car window this morning), but it's all part of a very recent crime wave sweeping the inner western suburbs over the past couple of weeks. It's not representative of the broader issues plaguing Illinois, and Oak Park has been weathering those issues a lot better than most Chicago suburbs.