Oak Park or Naperville? (Chicago, Elmhurst: real estate, buyers, school)

[Lookout Kid]

But honestly, I wouldn't recommend leaving your door unlocked in Oak Park. Think of it as living with the level of safety you have in nice North Side neighborhoods like Lincoln Park or Lake View. The crime rates are similar.

[Doglover5]

I agree with Lookout. I would never leave my door unlocked here.

To the OP: What is "Mayo" in Oak Park? I'm not familiar with it.

Here are my general thoughts: I think part of the challenge in moving from city to suburbs is that the city is a vibrant place with awesome restaurants and cultural attractions that keep getting better and better and a move to ANY suburb is going to be a bit of a shock (or at least it was for me). Things move more slowly, there's less going on, people are more holed up in their houses (as opposed to throngs of people walking down Sheffield after a Cubs game). Then, you start seeing people at the polling place who represent a view that's not your own -- lots of them -- and it can be easy to jump to a conclusion about people's views... even if they are just making a choice between two parties on a ticket and don't actually embrace everything about that party. There are many people who will always vote Republican, for instance, because at the end of the day, their fiscal conservativeness is what governs their vote -- not because they're uber-religious, intolerant, or have certain ring wing ideas -- and I worry that when we size up a place by how it tends to vote, we run the risk of making conclusions about people - or even a town - that aren't quite right. On the flip side, people get this impression at times that Oak Park is like Berkeley, California and is crazy liberal -- and that the whole living experience here reflects that. Not true.

All that said, if there really is some measurable underbelly of people in Naperville or other DuPage suburbs (as there is a stereotype about DuPage County that sometimes gets invoked here on City Data) who have gobs of first-hand experiences with people who all rigidly lean a particular way, impose their political and religious views on others in the neighborhood and/or are intolerant of those who do not fit a particular mold, I'd like to hear about it, because then I would be concerned about living in some of these places because it sounds as if they could be truly unwelcoming -- if that's really the case. But to date, most of what I've read on City Data seems to suggest that Naperville and other western suburbs are nice places to live -- and that there are likely good and bad people everywhere.

In fairness to the OP, I do think that one's assessment or opinion of a town is going to be a composite of the experiences and impressions they gather about that place -- so I'm not discounting how the OP feels, and to be fair, at some point, there could be some differences in the character of a place due to the political make-up of the people who live there. I just know that when I moved to OP, I think I wrongly assumed that the so-called liberal nature of the place or its citizens would result in this being some sort of "special suburb" that is just so vibrant with liberalness and cool things going on -- and quite frankly, it far more resembles the other neighboring towns of this area than it does a Berkeley, CA. Point is that there's a lot more nuance to all these places and the people who live in them than we may initially realize.

[Doglover5]

oops - meant to say "Right Wing ideas" in the sentence below....

"There are many people who will always vote Republican, for instance, because at the end of the day, their fiscal conservativeness is what governs their vote -- not because they're uber-religious, intolerant, or have certain ring wing ideas"

[jamaicabound60565]

It's quite sad that living amongst people who arent' liberals is such a terrible thing and kind of furthers the stereotype of the "whiny" liberal.

On here people lable dupage county as so conservative, I dont think I have ever noticed that. I see more Obama/Biden bumper stickers around here than anything else although many are diapearing day by day.

People need to put on their big boy/big girl pants and deal with it.

[ajolotl]

I'm pretty flexible about political views -- mine still fluctuate from day to day. For me the shock of moving to a suburb (once upon a time) is that *relatively speaking* you rarely see people out and about. This is obviously because people have a lot of space to socialize at home, kids have entire playgrounds in their back yards, etc. businesses for the most part are also spaced at car distance and people load up in a hidden garage. Some people like that, some people don't. I find it depressing. When I got to know people over time I realized that there was a broad range of interesting characters living there, but I still felt that the dominant thread pointed more toward a conservative view of the world -- not at all politically, but in terms of a distaste for eccentric things, people from other places, other religions, etc. I also prefer to live where there are a mixture of cheaper rentals and SFHs. While this might bring in some unsavory characters, it also gives much higher density and allows in a broader range of personalities and life experiences -- students, people struggling to get a start in more creative areas, etc. I find it dull when everyone has the same basic aspirations and values.

These are obviously broad generalizations. I don't feel that they are entirely false, though.

[ajolotl]

It goes both ways. Just look at some of the characterizations of the more traditionally liberal areas by the more conservative posters. Saying they prefer not to live in them would be a wild understatement -- they more cheer for the areas to collapse. This cements the stereotype of the whiny conservative.

Originally Posted by jamaicabound60565

It's quite sad that living amongst people who arent' liberals is such a terrible thing and kind of furthers the stereotype of the "whiny" liberal.

On here people lable dupage county as so conservative, I dont think I have ever noticed that. I see more Obama/Biden bumper stickers around here than anything else although many are diapearing day by day.

People need to put on their big boy/big girl pants and deal with it.

[Doglover5]

That's interesting, Ajolotl. You wrote: "When I got to know people over time I realized that there was a broad range of interesting characters living there, but I still felt that the dominant thread pointed more toward a conservative view of the world -- not at all politically, but in terms of a distaste for eccentric things, people from other places, other religions, etc."

This is what sometimes concerns me. I really try to have a view that there are "good" and "bad" people everywhere and not to put too much stock in some of the broad generalizations here - -- and as I said, there are TONS of comments on here that you just can't go wrong with any number of "nice" western suburbs -- e.g., Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst, Naperville, LaGrange, etc. -- But then I read comments like yours (which I take no offense to; I respect your candor), and then I wonder: Is it just a dirty little secret and some of these places aren't as wonderfully nice and welcoming and neighborly as everyone says, and if you're not of a majority religion, for instance, would you be made to feel uncomfortable in one of these places? I'm very serious about this question, as I suspect my family and I will move to another one of the western suburbs one day. We're Jewish -- would that not be well tolerated? Ajolotl - is it what you mentioned above a more covert than overt intolerance? I welcome any insights....

[ajolotl]

Here's how I think of it - in the city, people are exposed to so many different types, cultures, religions, etc that something as mundane as speaking spanish in public wouldn't register on anyone's radar. Away from the city (and obviously away from Mexican-dominated suburbs) this is much more unusual. Thus, people stare. Since I don't have Mestizo roots (family came from Europe) they are probably a bit confused about my background. Nothing is really overt or hostile, but, lacking exposure to a broader range of people, I have heard an incredible number of annoying comments, and I do vibe sometimes a feeling of suspicion. This is the kind of thing that people tend to disbelieve unless you are on the receiving end. Believe me, though, I don't have a victim personality. It is true and very tangible. Not the end of the world by any stretch, but all else equal it's much more fun and natural for me to live in Hyde Park.

[Humboldt1]

I live in Oak Park with my girlfriend. I am white (light and 6'2) and she is Mexican (very dark and 5'0). Physically, we are about as different as you can get. We like the diversity, particularly with couples, in Oak Park. We do notice that black/white and white/asian couples are far more common in our experience than white/hispanic couples.

She is fairly liberal and I am fairly conservative. She is pro-choice and I am pro-life. I am against affirmative action and she is for it.

We both believe in working for a living and are not big proponents of welfare, but she is a bigger proponent of food stamps, section 8, and welfare than I am.

We are also of opposite viewpoints over the recent legislation passed on immigration in Arizona, though I do believe that it may lead to racial profiling for hispanics.

So, you have both liberals and conservatives living in Oak Park, some even under the same roof.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Doglover5

We're Jewish -- would that not be well tolerated?

I have trouble believing that Jewish faith would be an issue in any but the most intolerant neighborhoods. Or maybe in certain parts of the South. Or Utah.

I have never lived in the Western Suburbs, but have had many friends and family there over the years. And to me, people from the Western Suburbs strike me as being very mainstream--at least as you get further out from the city. Closer to the city you still have a lot of ethnic enclaves, working class neighborhoods, and towns experiencing racial change.