'Burb neighborhoods with city feel? (Chicago, Naperville: renting, condo, how much)

[becwells]

My husband and I are looking to move to Chicago in the next year or so. We have 2 dogs and are planning on having children in the near future, and so are looking for a single family home with a yard, 3+ bedrooms and at least 2 baths. We would love to live in the city, but can't afford a SF w/yard unless we look out in the burbs. We're looking to spend about $300k. We're a young couple in our 20's and so would love to be relatively close to the city, or at least live in a neighborhood that has an upbeat, fun atmosphere with lots of restaurants/bars etc.

Any suggestions?? Between Oak Park & Berwyn, which is the "younger" neighborhood?

Thanks!!

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by becwells

My husband and I are looking to move to Chicago in the next year or so. We have 2 dogs and are planning on having children in the near future, and so are looking for a single family home with a yard, 3+ bedrooms and at least 2 baths. We would love to live in the city, but can't afford a SF w/yard unless we look out in the burbs. We're looking to spend about $300k. We're a young couple in our 20's and so would love to be relatively close to the city, or at least live in a neighborhood that has an upbeat, fun atmosphere with lots of restaurants/bars etc.

Any suggestions?? Between Oak Park & Berwyn, which is the "younger" neighborhood?

Thanks!!

Take a look at Brookfield. That might be more your price range.

[oakparkdude]

It'll be hard to find a SFH in OP for 300K. Its doable in Berwyn. You can get a condo for 300k in OP.

[BRU67]

Berwyn's definitely younger, while Oak Park is more affluent. A lot of younger people renting in Oak Park or the City are moving to Berwyn for the same reasons that have led you to consider it. As Sukwoo says, you're looking at a condo for $300k in Oak Park. That sum will buy a very nice house in Berwyn, and the taxes will be lower.

[becwells]

How far is Brookfield from downtown Chicago? What is that neighborhood like?

I have found a couple of places in Oak Park, but they're older and we would have to put in some elbow grease to get them where we would want them. I have found a bunch of places in Berwyn, but am not sure what if the neighborhood would be a good fit for us?

[becwells]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Berwyn's definitely younger, while Oak Park is more affluent. A lot of younger people renting in Oak Park or the City are moving to Berwyn for the same reasons that have led you to consider it. As Sukwoo says, you're looking at a condo for $300k in Oak Park. That sum will buy a very nice house in Berwyn, and the taxes will be lower.

Thanks Bru!

There are definitely some really nice houses in Berwyn - I just wish that more of them had newer kitchens/bathrooms. Oh well...I guess you get what you pay for!

Are there a lot of restaurants and things to do in Berwyn? We currently live in Virginia, and made the mistake of sacraficing a fun neighborhood for a decent house. This time around we want to make sure where we buy will have a great atmosphere and entertainment options.

[chet everett]

City-data.com has the median age, seems about right when you factor in older Czech grandmas still in town side by side with younger Hispanic families moving to Berwyn vs younger professional in Oak Park, but the spread would be interesting too:
Median resident age: 36.0 years Oak Park
Median resident age: 33.8 years Berwyn

I was just thumbing through some listings under $300K and there are far more options than even 6 months ago, but still very few in Oak Park that represent a good value.

I also have to tell you that the "upbeat fun atmosphere with lots of bars / restaurants" is all in the eyes of the beholder. Lots of "inner ring" burbs have some places that have bars, but what one person would consider a fun place another would think is not the kind of place that a guy and his wife could relax. This is personal observation and one that really reflects some of the "history" of places -- some towns just have more of "sports bar" atmosphere while other places might have more of cafe / bistro crowd. Getting into the lower housing costs adds complexity to that sort of thing.

If you need /want easy access to Chicago you probably will not consider the greater Fox Valley, but there are parts of St. Charles or Batavia that might offer some pluses if you are willing to factor the Metra commuter rail into your plans -- with a short drive or bus ride to the station those towns have some good values.


More along the line of the traditional border suburbs it is worth looking at Oak Lawn to the south or Des Plaines to the NW, lots of decent values and some options for bars and other hang outs. In fact, if you are not familiar with the region many people are surprised how much of the area is developed in a regular grid that has regular blocks and other walkable neighbor features extending out along the railroads nearly 50 miles from downtown. Many good options for employment in the burbs, as well as all the amenities one would expect for families that wanting kids.

A $300K budget is not going to get you into every suburb, and in some that you'd have a lot to choose from price wise there are probably other negatives. I would suggest that with a year or so to shop you concentrate on areas that have more positives AND decent inventory that is already in your price range. The importance of schools is huge, even if you won't have kids using them for 6 or more years. A town like Brookfield with its well ranked high school is a lot better positioned than Berwyn. If you didn't have the dogs, didn't care too much about a yard, and had more to spend on 3bed/2bath Chicago itself might be an option, but given your situation the 'burbs are almost certainly an easier bet.

Brookfield is VERY well served by Metra. Hollywood section (with the plus of Riverside elementary schools) to the east and Congress Park to the west sandwich the main stop. 20 minute expresses are plentiful, even locals only add about five minutes. A great option http://metrarail.com/Sched/bn/bn_wko.shtml

[Lookout Kid]

To be frank, it's going to be hard to find what you want for $300K unless you go into a condo. From your OP, I really don't think Berwyn and Brookfield are what you're looking for. Oak Park and Evanston are the neighborhoods that immediately pop into mind for the "city feel" you are describing, but they are expensive places. Other suburbs like LaGrange and even the distant Naperville have great older downtown areas with a plethora of dining and entertainment options, but they are also expensive.

This past weekend I did see a home in a nice part of Oak Park that the realtor thought could be bought for $258,000, but the realtor was marketing it as a teardown. In that $300,000 range, any house in Oak Park that you might find would have major issues. Heck, most houses at $400,000 would probably still need a lot of work.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by becwells

My husband and I are looking to move to Chicago in the next year or so. We have 2 dogs and are planning on having children in the near future, and so are looking for a single family home with a yard, 3+ bedrooms and at least 2 baths. We would love to live in the city, but can't afford a SF w/yard unless we look out in the burbs. We're looking to spend about $300k. We're a young couple in our 20's and so would love to be relatively close to the city, or at least live in a neighborhood that has an upbeat, fun atmosphere with lots of restaurants/bars etc.

Any suggestions?? Between Oak Park & Berwyn, which is the "younger" neighborhood?

Thanks!!

What about that rules out Brookfield? Or Oak Lawn? Or Des Plaines? Or Wheeling? Or Burbank? I mean the yard and dogs are driving this thing, don't ya think? Condo would suck unless both dogs are pocket size. And if they are bigger dogs it is not like the OP, though still in 20's is going to party all night. Dogs need a walk and it is good to be sober to deal with that

[becwells]

Originally Posted by chet everett

What about that rules out Brookfield? Or Oak Lawn? Or Des Plaines? Or Wheeling? Or Burbank? I mean the yard and dogs are driving this thing, don't ya think? Condo would suck unless both dogs are pocket size. And if they are bigger dogs it is not like the OP, though still in 20's is going to party all night. Dogs need a walk and it is good to be sober to deal with that

Haha. You hit the nail on the head!

While we like to go out every now and then, we're not huge party-goers. At the moment the most excitement we have within a 20 minute drive is a Home Depot and an English "pub" that puts us to sleep. There aren't really any good restaurants around us that aren't chains. It's preferred that we find a house that has things like this close by but, I think for us, having a house with a yard is more important.

We currently live in townhouse, and that's starting to drive us crazy so, yes, a condo would be hell.

How far is Berwyn/Brookfield from the city? Would we be able to take a cab home if need be? We have friends that live on N. Paulina, and no doubt we would be spending some time with them, so we don't want to be as far out as Naperville. Our house at the moment is a 30 minute drive to a train station, then another 30 minutes to get into downtown DC. Anything that's better than that would be AWESOME!