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Old 05-05-2008, 01:51 PM
 
7,098 posts, read 8,862,892 times
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I am a 36 year old professional gay black male relocating from Memphis Tn in mid summer. I don't have too much time to shop around the metro for a place and most people have recommended Oak Park due to the diversity, cost of living and close proximity to work.

One of my questions is how is the commute at 7 am to Hillside. I realise that it is going away from the city but most metropolitan areas have a reverse commute. Is it that way in Chicago? Will owning a car in Oak Park be a hassle?

How easy is it to find affordable housing in OP (1bdrm under 1k) in a safe diverse fun district? If someone has any recommendations please advise.

I realise that OP is not in the city and will not give the same vibe as some of the thriving Chicago neighborhoods but is it safe to walk to the grocery store or to the health club at night after work or are the streets pretty dead?

I will be making a short visit at the end of the month for orientation and to find an apartment are there any particular streets that I need to be weary of or must see streets?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 05-05-2008, 02:09 PM
 
Location: Oak Park, IL
5,523 posts, read 13,882,320 times
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I'd recommend being close to the downtown area of Oak Park. Basically this area extends from the intersection of Harlem Ave and Lake St to the intersection of Oak Park Ave and Lake St. This area has the bulk of the restaurants, coffee shops, and stores which give Oak Park the "urban surburb" feel. This area also has a fair bit of foot traffic day and night so its very safe. You'll also be close to the Green line el and the Metra commuter rail station. There are some other decent areas with retail and foot traffic near the Blue line el also.

Easy to find 1 bedroom apt under 1000/month. Parking may cost up to $100/month for off-street spots. On street parking is a bit iffy, depending on where you live exactly. The parking regulations are very confusing, so study the maps carefully if you wish to park on the street. If you can get on-street parking, it'll probably be about $30/month.

Driving to Hillside will take under 30 minutes in the morning, maybe a little bit more in the afternoon coming back.

Oak Park Resources:
Oak Park Regional Housing Center - talk to these people
Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association
Downtown Oak Park
Oak Park Business Districts “ Welcome to GreatNeighborhoodsOakPark.com - list of all business districts in OP
Welcome to the Village of Oak Park - official village website.
Wednesday Journal - the local paper.

Welcome to OP.
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Old 05-10-2008, 11:51 AM
 
2,141 posts, read 7,842,018 times
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Your commute to Hillside will be a breeze. Just get yourself to Roosevelt Road and head west. Very easy commute. Wish I had it! :-) You'll enjoy Oak Park. Great town.
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Old 05-10-2008, 12:30 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,099,703 times
Reputation: 6422
OP is historic area where you will find Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. Enjoy it. The Windy City is very different from Memphis. For one thing winter wind chill temps can feel like -80 in a bad winter. But mostly you will enjoy the City once you become acclimated to it and begin to explore it.

Stay away from South Chicago until you understand it or you're ready to fight over it.
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Old 05-12-2008, 05:02 PM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,687,747 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sukwoo View Post
Here's a few more from the city's website, including a couple that deal specifically with car ownership issues:

Living In Oak Park
Living In Oak Park -- Parking
Oak Park -- Vehicle Stickers (http://www.oak-park.us/Village_Clerk/Vehicle_Stickers.html - broken link) (NOTE: you must register your car with the city and display a registration sticker in your windshield. Annual cost is $45 -- this is over and above Illinois' $78 annual plate renewal fee.)
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Old 05-21-2008, 05:19 PM
 
80 posts, read 301,521 times
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Oak Park is a city person's suburb. Drive to Hillside is short, don't know about traffic. Permit parking only in many neighborhoods; you should be able to park on the street.

The farther east you are, the safer: Harlem being on the west, Austin and the west side of Chicago on the east. North and South pretty much the same. Lake is the main east-west drag. Harlem is north-south one, but is ugly. Racially integrated town. It and Forest Park have very cool places to go, on a par with the city.
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Old 05-21-2008, 09:34 PM
 
Location: Chicago, Tri-Taylor
5,014 posts, read 9,386,985 times
Reputation: 3982
Quote:
Originally Posted by noplacelike View Post
Oak Park is a city person's suburb. Drive to Hillside is short, don't know about traffic. Permit parking only in many neighborhoods; you should be able to park on the street.

The farther east you are, the safer: Harlem being on the west, Austin and the west side of Chicago on the east. North and South pretty much the same. Lake is the main east-west drag. Harlem is north-south one, but is ugly. Racially integrated town. It and Forest Park have very cool places to go, on a par with the city.
I think you mean the further west you are the safer. East Oak Park (east of Ridgeland by common Oak Parker definition) isn't the heck hole that some make it out to be -- in fact it's quite nice and getting better. But as you get closer to Austin, spillover crime is still an issue -- primarily theft and grafitti.
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Old 05-27-2008, 04:21 PM
 
1 posts, read 4,428 times
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Commute to Hillside will be no more than 20 minutes on city roads. I drive tfrom SE Oak Park to Oakbrook everyday on city roads and I get to work in 35 minutes. Oak Brook is about 10 minutes pass Hillside.

Living Recommendations:
Everyone has provided great resouces. I am moving to Forest Park 2 blocks W. of Harlem. If you want to stay in Oak Park I would stay closer to W. Oak Park and N of Madison only because you want to walk to stores and shops. However, as I stated I live in Oak Park 4 blocks from Austin and south of I290 and have no issues with saftety and live around truly wonderful people. I am only moving becuase I am buying and wanted more space and newer construction. 1000sq ft bungalows just don't cut it for me!

There is one grocery store in Downtown Oak Park but it will be closing this year from what I understand. There is a great Whole Foods in River Forest which is essentially Downtown OP and there is a Dominicks on Lake (I personally do not care for this store but that's just me). Finally there is a great Jewel in River Forest on Lake. All of these are very walkable from Downtown OP and NE Forest Park.

Last edited by gifted72; 05-27-2008 at 04:32 PM..
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Old 05-27-2008, 04:30 PM
 
Location: Wheaton, Illinois
10,261 posts, read 21,643,590 times
Reputation: 10453
Watch out for doopers.
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Old 05-27-2008, 04:35 PM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,687,747 times
Reputation: 29966
Quote:
Originally Posted by Irishtom29 View Post
Watch out for doopers.
I like the way you just drop that in, pretending like everyone should know what a "dooper" is while knowing full well that the inevitable question, "what hell is a dooper," will soon follow. So why not just tell us.
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