Berwyn YES or NO... fill me in!!! (Chicago, Oak Park: city hall, home)

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Mister Mappy

Yes, yes they are. Just like Niles, Norridge, Lisle, and Indian Head Park.


I'm, just kidding here. Don't bash me!

I'm no suburb lover. Most ARE unmemorable, and that's a big problem with them.

[promis1]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I'm no suburb lover. Most ARE unmemorable, and that's a big problem with them.

Then why do you feel the need to stick your 2 cents into the suburban posts?

[bungalowdweller]

Originally Posted by promis1

Then why do you feel the need to stick your 2 cents into the suburban posts?

That's not nice, Promis! Lookout Kid posts interesting thoughts and ideas. ANYONE is welcome to post here----you don't have to live in the suburbs to have an opinion about them, do you?

[ChicagoWeekendFun]

I have not lived in Berwyn but my grandparents do. It has changed dramatically over the years but many people enjoy the working class down to earth atmosphere but others have problems with safety. I think a lot depends on your immediate neighbors and your home's security. I think you can get a great deal on a home there, the prices are much more affordable than in neighboring Oak Park, but there is some issue with the property not appreciating very much there because of the existing problems. If you want to live there permanently and never worry about selling the house, it would probably be fine, but if it is temporary you may not make any money or loose some in the down market. I also have heard that the schools need a lot of improvement, but that was from several years ago. They may be better now.

Chicago Weekend Fun

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by promis1

Then why do you feel the need to stick your 2 cents into the suburban posts?

Why does anyone post on these forums? You've clearly got some kind of crazy racist agenda to promote...

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by ChicagoWeekendFun

I have not lived in Berwyn but my grandparents do. It has changed dramatically over the years but many people enjoy the working class down to earth atmosphere but others have problems with safety. I think a lot depends on your immediate neighbors and your home's security. I think you can get a great deal on a home there, the prices are much more affordable than in neighboring Oak Park, but there is some issue with the property not appreciating very much there because of the existing problems. If you want to live there permanently and never worry about selling the house, it would probably be fine, but if it is temporary you may not make any money or loose some in the down market. I also have heard that the schools need a lot of improvement, but that was from several years ago. They may be better now.

Chicago Weekend Fun

Berwyn was undervalued for many years, maybe even forever, I don't know. It did enjoy very rapid appreciation during the last housing boom, though of course things have fallen back to earth now -- as they have pretty much everywhere. I don't think Berwyn suffered any more or less than a lot of other regional communities, nor do I think its appreciation prospects are worse than others. If anything, there's more of a potential upside due to the current low values.

Train access, proximity to the City, and the housing stock will make it a long term winner I think, especially if Chicago keeps growing into an international city. That's really the key. How much would homes in Berwyn be worth if we picked it up and set it down 15 minutes from Midtown Manhattan?

Schools definitely do need improvement, though I still contend that excepting Morton West, they get condemned a bit more than they deserve. Emerson and Irving elementary are actually pretty decent schools. Giving them more funding would be a good start (their spending per pupil is extremely low right now), and an influx of more affluent residents will also help turn things around.

[bearballz]

I've been reading this discussion string for a bit now and have been fascinated with all the view points here. As I mentioned before on this site I've lived here for 10 years and before that lived in LaGrange where I grew up. I moved to Berwyn because I just got out school and needed somewhere that was cheap to live and was close to the city. I looked at Chicago and Oak Park before hand and they were just too expensive.

I'm white, college educated and have a little $$ in the bank now and have thought about moving but I just love this town. Yes it has crime and the schools aren't that great but Berwyn has such potential that it would be a shame to move now that things have gotten interesting especially with a new mayor and a more optimistic attitude. I understand why some of the "old timers" who grew up here and got out are pessimistic about Berwyn's chances. Lets face it in the 50's,60s and 70s this place was an all white working class town and as the white population left, miniorities moved in. Seems to me that doesn't sit well with a lot of them.

With me I grew up in a upper middle class all white town and wanted to live in a place that had some "grit" to it yet wasn't a war zone (and didn't want to pay Chicago sales or property taxes). For me a single guy, Berwyn is a fine place to live. I've walked the streets at night and haven't gotten mugged, never have witnessed a drive by or met any gangbangers. I just recently had my car broken into but it hasn't changed my mind about this place because that can happen anywhere. Before the housing bubble burst, most of the old brick apartments around me (18th & Ridgeland) were being gutted out and turned into Condos. so there is/was progress being made to attract young professionals.

For those who have only driven through here or have known someone who lived here years ago, the only thing I can say is you don't live here so you don't know the situation just as I don't know the situation where you live. My Girlfriend lives in Wrigleyville which is a great place to live (even though I'm a Sox fan) and there's just as much crime there if not more. And just travel a little west of Wrigleyville and its a whole different place. Just like driving from Berwyn to Cicero.

Look, nobody's claiming that this going to be the next Oak Park or LaGrange but this place reminds me a lot of Wicker Park in the early 90's just as it was starting to change from a unhip lower middle class place to live to what we all know now.

[linicx]

I lived in Berwyn when I didn't have to go too far to buy Italian Ice or homemade Polish Sausage, and I didn't have to drive too far to find some great Hungarian food of an all night diner. There was crime but the biggest problem was speeding. The city changed some of the streets to one-way only and installed a few extra signs. I thought it was a great place to live. The plus was I had great neighbors. I wish I could say the same thing today. I am glad to hear Berwyn is reinventing itself. .

[bungalowdweller]

Originally Posted by bearballz

I understand why some of the "old timers" who grew up here and got out are pessimistic about Berwyn's chances. Lets face it in the 50's,60s and 70s this place was an all white working class town and as the white population left, miniorities moved in. Seems to me that doesn't sit well with a lot of them.

With me I grew up in a upper middle class all white town and wanted to live in a place that had some "grit" to it yet wasn't a war zone.

For those who have only driven through here or have known someone who lived here years ago, the only thing I can say is you don't live here so you don't know the situation just as I don't know the situation where you live. Just like driving from Berwyn to Cicero.

Look, nobody's claiming that this going to be the next Oak Park or LaGrange but this place reminds me a lot of Wicker Park in the early 90's just as it was starting to change from a unhip lower middle class place to live to what we all know now.

1. "Old timers" were pessimistic because 30 years ago THEY were young and were trying the SAME things that the current crop of youngsters are trying NOW. It's not like people 20-30 years ago didn't see Berwyn's potential. They loved living here just as you do now. What "didn't sit well" with the ethnic whites was crime, drugs, gang-banging, property damage, auto theft, shooting, public drunkenness, etc, etc. It WASN'T a color issue then--it was, and still is, a character issue.

2. Berwyn NEVER was known for "Grit". It was a beautiful, quiet town. It was a family town. "Grit" was on the south and west sides. Most "old timers" don't like "grit". They ran away from it when the grit moved to Pilsen, Lawndale, and other near west-side areas.

3. I have a few questions for you. Are you a homeowner or a renter? Since you're single there's alot about town life that you're missing since you don't deal with the school system and everything that goes with it. I agree that for a single man, Berwyn is wonderful. Not so wonderful for some raising children, despite the wonderful activities of various public groups in town. A good friend of mine has to deal with gangbangers CONSTANTLY harassing her children. Another friend was walking down the street with her children on her way to visit a friend and was threatened by a group of Hispanic men who pushed and shoved her and told her to get out of town. (She's black.) And it happened around 10 in the morning on RIDGELAND, for pete's sake.

4. As many who post here regularly know, I'm a longtime resident in Cicero. I am here for the same reason as many people--I will NEVER get as good a home here as I have. I've raised kids here as a homeschooler and have many friends in the nearby towns. I hate to break it to you but the differences in "urban problems" between Berwyn and Cicero are lessening by the day. If the new pols in Berwyn take a hard line against ghetto types, Berwyn can gentrify. If they do as ALL the others have done in the past, Berwyn will become a twin of Cicero, with all of its problems.

5. And as an artist, Wicker Park was "hip" for some in the 80s!

Just a friendly 2 cent rant, here.

[promis1]

Originally Posted by bungalowdweller

1. "Old timers" were pessimistic because 30 years ago THEY were young and were trying the SAME things that the current crop of youngsters are trying NOW. It's not like people 20-30 years ago didn't see Berwyn's potential. They loved living here just as you do now. What "didn't sit well" with the ethnic whites was crime, drugs, gang-banging, property damage, auto theft, shooting, public drunkenness, etc, etc. It WASN'T a color issue then--it was, and still is, a character issue.

2. Berwyn NEVER was known for "Grit". It was a beautiful, quiet town. It was a family town. "Grit" was on the south and west sides. Most "old timers" don't like "grit". They ran away from it when the grit moved to Pilsen, Lawndale, and other near west-side areas.

3. I have a few questions for you. Are you a homeowner or a renter? Since you're single there's alot about town life that you're missing since you don't deal with the school system and everything that goes with it. I agree that for a single man, Berwyn is wonderful. Not so wonderful for some raising children, despite the wonderful activities of various public groups in town. A good friend of mine has to deal with gangbangers CONSTANTLY harassing her children. Another friend was walking down the street with her children on her way to visit a friend and was threatened by a group of Hispanic men who pushed and shoved her and told her to get out of town. (She's black.) And it happened around 10 in the morning on RIDGELAND, for pete's sake.

4. As many who post here regularly know, I'm a longtime resident in Cicero. I am here for the same reason as many people--I will NEVER get as good a home here as I have. I've raised kids here as a homeschooler and have many friends in the nearby towns. I hate to break it to you but the differences in "urban problems" between Berwyn and Cicero are lessening by the day. If the new pols in Berwyn take a hard line against ghetto types, Berwyn can gentrify. If they do as ALL the others have done in the past, Berwyn will become a twin of Cicero, with all of its problems.

5. And as an artist, Wicker Park was "hip" for some in the 80s!

Just a friendly 2 cent rant, here.

Totally agree with every point mentioned. Much different trying to raise children there- huge gang presence at Morton West- becoming just like Morton East in Cicero. The new mayor of Berwyn, Bob Lovero, is well respected and hopefully can make a difference. He is implementing a gang tactical unit that will be 3 different 8 hour shifts- so there will be 24 hour gang tac. units.