Elmwood Park or River Grove?? (Cicero, Berwyn: for sale, apartments, credit)

[lovinlife22207]

you are the most annoying old cook I have ever heard of!! I only work at bars that have something going for them...not blue collar holes like the dives you mentioned...I guess we know your type! STOP posting after me and get a life! I was responding HONESTLY to this gentleman...NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS OLD MAN

[potter]

Originally Posted by lovinlife22207

you are the most annoying old cook I have ever heard of!! I only work at bars that have something going for them...not blue collar holes like the dives you mentioned...I guess we know your type! STOP posting after me and get a life! I was responding HONESTLY to this gentleman...NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS OLD MAN

IS something wrong with blue collar, workingmans bars. This town is predominately populated with blue collar workers. And if old is 31 years old is old- then I guess Im an old man. But you my friend are no better- living in an apartment- probably because you cannot own your own home due to no money or bad credit. Someone in your position should make no judgements and if you are leaving the town- go now- we do not need transient undesirables like you.

[lovinlife22207]

I feel bad for you hun! Good luck!

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by potter

You are so wrong about everything you just posted. First of all, Berwyn cannot compare to Elmwood Park in many aspects. Berwyn is becoming increasingly Hispanic and gangs are rampant there. Elmwood Parks gang problem is minor to Berwyns. Parking is no better in Berwyn and Elmwood Park has many bars open till 2 a.m. including Baciami, Capos lounge, Inari Sushi on weekends, Circle Inn, and K and M. You are so wrong LOvinlife. Get a Clue.

Well, if Hispanics are the yardstick to avoid living in an area, I'd put Elmwood Park on the black list too. EP is seeing a Latino influx also, especially during the last 3-5 years. Needless to say, I wouldn't be afraid of either community because of this and, if I was, I would stay away from Chicago and the inner-ring period. Orland Park would be a good choice in that instance.

I also think saying "gangs are rampant" is a bit of an exaggeration. I've been in Berwyn quite some time and haven't had an issue with this. Sadly, gangs do exist in the area but that's also true of the vast majority of urban communities with working class populations these days. At least it's recognized here and police and residents are doing something about it. The community's level of tolerance for gang activity is pretty low.

[beth28282]

[FONT=&quot]Stay away from the inner-ring period? Somehow I don't see wealthy inner-ring suburbs like River Forest and Park Ridge experiencing a "latino influx" and "gang activity" in the next few years.
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[chet everett]

Originally Posted by beth28282

Stay away from the inner-ring period? Somehow I don't see wealthy inner-ring suburbs like River Forest and Park Ridge experiencing a "latino influx" and "gang activity" in the next few years.

The factors that make RF or PR different from EP include the quality of the schools, cost of entry level housing, rental situations, community involvement.

All are important to consider when buying a property!

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by beth28282

Stay away from the inner-ring period? Somehow I don't see wealthy inner-ring suburbs like River Forest and Park Ridge experiencing a "latino influx" and "gang activity" in the next few years.

I was thinking more of inner ring ‘burbs that would potentially be accessible to the OP when I made the comment but, while we’re on the subject, I don’t think the affluent inner ring communities are necessarily as isolated as some of their residents would like to believe.

I think a precipitous decline in Berwyn would spell trouble for Oak Park and Riverside, and a decline in Elmwood Park would most surely have a negative impact on River Forest. The impact would range from small (fewer amenities because retailers and restaurants do not think in terms of town borders, they think in terms of trade areas) to more serious (spillover crime). Conversely, improvements in those two modest suburbs would have a positive impact on their wealthier neighbors.

Communities in the inner-ring are more dependent on each other than we may think. Sure, Oak Park has thrived despite its proximity to Austin but could it handle a second “spill over” area and maintain desirability? Maybe, maybe not. Hopefully we won’t have to find out.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by BRU67

I was thinking more of inner ring ‘burbs that would potentially be accessible to the OP when I made the comment but, while we’re on the subject, I don’t think the affluent inner ring communities are necessarily as isolated as some of their residents would like to believe.

I think a precipitous decline in Berwyn would spell trouble for Oak Park and Riverside, and a decline in Elmwood Park would most surely have a negative impact on River Forest. The impact would range from small (fewer amenities because retailers and restaurants do not think in terms of town borders, they think in terms of trade areas) to more serious (spillover crime). Conversely, improvements in those two modest suburbs would have a positive impact on their wealthier neighbors.

Communities in the inner-ring are more dependent on each other than we may think. Sure, Oak Park has thrived despite its proximity to Austin but could it handle a second “spill over” area and maintain desirability? Maybe, maybe not. Hopefully we won’t have to find out.

There were some in Oak Park who wanted to build a wall along Austin and North Avenues in the 1970s. Desirability and real estate prices took care of this, however. People who complain about real estate prices in Oak Park don't realize that this is what has saved the community from ghetto-hood. And real estate prices (which do depend on schools to some degree) are what could hurt Elmwood Park and River Grove in the future. They need to capitalize on their location and Metra access to lure in a more upscale crowd if they want to survive the demise of the working class.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

There were some in Oak Park who wanted to build a wall along Austin and North Avenues in the 1970s. Desirability and real estate prices took care of this, however. People who complain about real estate prices in Oak Park don't realize that this is what has saved the community from ghetto-hood. And real estate prices (which do depend on schools to some degree) are what could hurt Elmwood Park and River Grove in the future. They need to capitalize on their location and Metra access to lure in a more upscale crowd if they want to survive the demise of the working class.

This is definitely true. The only way to combat "white flight", which definitely did occur in Oak Park, is to generate "white demand" or at least affluent demand to counter it. OP did this through aggressively marketing itself as a place for open-minded affluent liberals. This resulted in the dramatic change of OP from a bastion of conservative Republicanism to its current Democratic (some people say Socialist) mind-set.

Unfortunately, this path isn't open to all towns. Most town's don't have the benefits of good quality "quaint" housing, good transit, and history of superior schools. Furthermore, the supply of affluent whites willing to live close to poor African-Americans is rather limited, to say the least.

[potter]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

This is definitely true. The only way to combat "white flight", which definitely did occur in Oak Park, is to generate "white demand" or at least affluent demand to counter it. OP did this through aggressively marketing itself as a place for open-minded affluent liberals. This resulted in the dramatic change of OP from a bastion of conservative Republicanism to its current Democratic (some people say Socialist) mind-set.

Unfortunately, this path isn't open to all towns. Most town's don't have the benefits of good quality "quaint" housing, good transit, and history of superior schools. Furthermore, the supply of affluent whites willing to live close to poor African-Americans is rather limited, to say the least.

I am not so sure that Elmwood Park residents are looking for these Socialist liberals either. Elmwood Park is a republican, conservative town that is an island surrounded by ultra-liberals. What can Elmwood Park do to survive the change that is coming its way. Not sure, either HIspanics will continue to migrate here or they will have to try to persuade these white affluent yuppies to begin to move here. Only time will tell, but Elmwood Park does offer a large variety of brick homes with tons of character. Especially on the south end of town, where lovely ranches, english tudors, georgians, cape cods, and colonials line the streets with beautiful old and charming trees surrounding them.