The Decatur, Georgia of the Chicago Suburbs? (Oak Park, Homewood: environment, real estate)

[bicycleguy]

My family is moving to Chicago this summer from the Atlanta suburb of Decatur.

We're very happy with Decatur (well-educated, diversity, great schools, politically progressive, walkable downtown, locally owned businesses, trees, not outlandishly hip, stable community, public transportation, relatively safe and relatively quiet).

Here's the question: where would "Decatur people" live in Chicago? We'll look to buy a small 2 or 3 BR home between $200 - $400K.

I know there's no neat equivalency when it comes to neighborhoods, but any advice would be helpful. Especially people who know Decatur, GA, we'd love your thoughts, but anybody's input is very much welcome.

[Steve-o]

Ive never been to Decatur, GA so I cant really comment on that. I can, however, recommend TONS of suburbs that fit your bill. My first question is, where will you be working in Chicagoland? Second, how far are you willing to drive to work? Thrid, do you have children? Are schools important?

[bicycleguy]

where will you be working in Chicagoland? Second, how far are you willing to drive to work? Thrid, do you have children? Are schools important?


Thanks Steve-o.

Commute: I'm teaching in Hyde Park during business hours, and will not be driving. (I'll consider up to 1.5 hrs of commute by train and bus one way--I know the express bus to the U of C takes 30 minutes from the loop).

Schools: very important. Two high achieving kids: 2nd and 6th grade. I'm less concerned about test scores being the highest at schools than I am about opportunities for kids to succeed, a nurturing environment, and reasonable safety.

[cohdane]

I grew up in the Chicago area and lived in Stone Mountain for awhile back in the 90's. When I lived in Georgia, Decatur always reminded me of Oak Park, architecturally and culturally. However, Oak Park is "West" where Hyde Park is "South," so I can't speak to the commute. Also, Oak Park borders some rougher areas.

My understanding is that Oak Park/River Forest High School is terrific. Perhaps someone who currently lives out that way can speak to commuting times, safety and cost?

Good luck in your search. In general, you'll find the Chicago area more "progressive" than much of Atlanta, although not nearly on a par with the coasts.

[Steve-o]

Wow, youre willing to commute 1.5 hours one way? hahaha Youre nuts!!!

Well, that commute time could definitely put you out in the western burbs someplace. Now, for 2-400K on a house? Hmmmm. Hard to say. The area is very expensive, as youll soon find out. Id recommend Elburn, IL, but thats soooooo far out there. Its about 1.5 hours by Metra, but Im not sure where youd have to go from there to get to Hyde Park area. Im sure some city-dwellers can help with that.

Elburn is growing pretty fast, and is still relatively affordable by Chicagoland standards. I have many pics of many suburbs below. Maybe you can browse them and see which ones interest you. Theyre mainly western burbs, as thats where I live. I have some Elburn pics in there if youre interested...

Some suburb pics (56K BEWARE!)

[firemaplelb]

lived in atl for almost 10 yrs. I think you want oak park.
hyde park is also nice if you can afford it.

[sukwoo]

Never been to Decatur, GA, but I briefly perused the stats on its city-data page. I think Oak Park would be a good fit, if you don't mind the high level of "urbanness" here and if you can find something in your price range. 400K is pretty much the very low end for a SFH although you may find a bargain given the market these days. If you're willing to settle for a condo, you can definitely get a decent 3 bedroom for under 400K. The commuter rail to Chicago is a 20 minute ride. Once downtown you can transfer to the U of C express bus. A fair number of U of Cers live in Oak Park. Probably the most famous is Steven Levitt of "Freakonomics" fame.

There are many, many posts about Oak Park (I probably wrote about half of them. ) You should use the search function and read up. After that, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

[NYrules]

Check out Homewood or Flossmoor. There is a train that will take you right into the city and the neighborhood is very safe, clean, family friendly, and offers great schools. You can find a very prestigous home with the requirements you want for about $350K right now.

Here are some listings.

Homewood Homes for Sale. Real Estate in Homewood, Illinois

Real Estate at Homes.Com for FLOSSMOOR, IL

[NearWestSider]

Commuting to/from Hyde Park is a challenge, but here's a few places to contemplate:

Oak Park - I concur with everything said above, fairly urban, quite progressive, and probably has the biggest concentration of UIC professors anywhere.

Riverside - a really beautiful (architectural gem is actually more like it) upper middle class enclave, close to downtown.

La Grange - in many ways the middle ground between the above two. Less urban than Oak Park, more so than Riverside.

Here's how I would rate the three:

Commute to Hyde Park: La Grange (1), Riverside and Oak Park tied. La Grange wins by roughtly 10 minutes over Oak Park, 7 over Riverside. The express train to the loop only takes 17 minutes, and unlike the CTA, it runs on time.
Schools: La Grange (1), Oak Park and Riverside tied. This is not a knock on Oak Park-River Forest or Riverside-Brookfield, which are very good schools in their own right. Lyons Township is simply outstanding, and even people who attended the other two acknowledge that.
Urban: Oak Park (1), La Grange(2), Riverside(3).
Progressive: Oak Park (1), La Grange(2), Riverside(3).
Diverse: Oak Park (1), La Grange(2), Riverside(3).
Beautiful: Riverside (1), Oak Park (2) and La Grange (3). La Grange's sidestreets are prettier, but Oak Park's are no slouch and its downtown is superior to La Grange. Neither of these towns are as pretty as Riverside.

You really can't go wrong with any of these.

[bicycleguy]

This is really helpful info, y'all. Thanks so much!

I welcome other posters, too.