Moving advice:Hyde Park vs oak Park/River Forest (Chicago: apartments, private schools)

[john the greek]

hellow from greece

I am trying to find out my family tree in illinois and i think i have flesh and blood relatives in oak lawn.
If someone live there and know the name tsiaparas or tsaparas,i would be thankfull to let me know
(and i am sorry for interapting flow of the subject)

[vered4]

You might want to start a new 'thread' asking about Oak Lawn. Oak Lawn and Oak Park are quite far apart....so you probably will not find out anything from your post here!

[rhbee]

I read this with interest. I grew up in Hyde Park, married a man from Oak Park, and now live in Evanston. I agree with most of what has been said--all of those communities (including RV) are ones I could live in-- but I would add one consideration: proximity to the lake. Being within walking or biking distance to Lake Michigan means one can enjoy one of Chicago's best assets with much more frequency than one could living in OP/RV.

[jmelts]

Proximity to the lake would be a big plus...it is one of the reasons (aside frm proximity to work) that I am considering HP. I love the houses of Evanston, and remember that I enjoyed exploring it 25 years ago, but my research about the schools hasn't turned up many positives, especially at the High School level.
Any feedback or direct experiences with Evanston schools?

[oldskool]

Think I can shed some perspective on this issue:

I grew up in River Forest, went to OPRF and live in Hyde Park with my fiancee, an Oak Parker. In my mind OPRF is an ideal community with a healthy mix of urban & suburban qualities. It is a very cultured, socially aware community with a superior atmosphere to Hyde Park if you have a family.

OPRFHS is a large high school with a manageable dose of urban blight due to its proximity to Austin. It is still safe overall and consistently ranks in the top 1% of public schools nationally for ACT & PSAT scores. Kids who go there graduate with a social awareness and level-headedness you don't find in students from real suburbs like Naperville or the North shore.

Hyde Park is not as safe as Oak Park or River Forest. The City public schools suck so your kids have to go to a distant magnet like Whitney Young or a private school (University of Chicago Lab is in Hyde Park, VERY selective and costs about $20k/yr).

Hyde Park is incredibly convenient to downtown via LSD (15 minutes, 25 in heavy traffic) along with the lakeshore, museums etc. Oak Park is about the same from the loop but 290 gets backed up more often.

The biggest differences between the 2 areas are amenities & safety, where OPRF triumphs, hands down. Muggings are a bigger problem in HP with shootings & carjackings not so unusual. Oak Park does a pretty good job of keeping Austin out but sometimes the **** still goes down. Grocery shopping in Hyde Park, along with any other shopping, is terrible. The Co-Op is the only major grocery store - crowded, expensive and somewhat unkempt. There isn't much of a local downtown area unless you want to get your hair "did", buy a cell phone or dollar-store junk. OPRF, on the other hand, has a Whole Foods, 3 Jewels (Albertsons), 2 Dominicks (Safway) and a nice downtown area with a movie theatre, restaurants and lots of shops.

The are a couple pluses of Hyde Park but they're most significant for young people without children - relative affordability, lots of good ethnic restaurants that won't break the bank and less traffic. People are less likely to be snooty/naive or sheltered.

The OP-HP commute SUCKS, especially with the Dan Ryan under construction. 25-30 minutes in zero traffic, 45-1 hour if it gets slow.

I'd strongly recommend living in Oak Park or River Forest and dealing with the commute for your family's sake. We will move there next but HP was a great place to buy my first place and "pioneer" in a changing community.

[Sohotrust]

I dunno, Oak Park or River Forrest to Hyde Park is not a commute I'd want...

SO your husband is teaching in Hyde Park? At the university or lab school? Either way your kids should be eligible for Lab School, probably for free, no? That would be a great deal and a reason for living in Hyde Park.

Do you have a price range? Relative bargains can be found in Homewood Flossmoor, and it's 20-30 min on the train to Hyde Park (it's on the same train line). I live in a 70 year old brick georgian. There are tons of great old cape cods and 4 squares for in or under $300k. People come here for the great old homes, tress and schools, but great city (and Hyde PArk access). I ride the train with many U of C professors and some older grad students.

If you can get free lab school (which I think you should look into) and can afford hyde park, I'd say go for it. I know many professors who have raised super archiver kids there!

[paytonc]

Originally Posted by Paxtonian

Both Oak Park and River Forest have commuter rail service via Metra, it's inexpensive and fast. BTW, Oak Park will try to push you in the area bordering Austin. Have nothing to do with that, unless you're up to TOO urban a feel than I suspect you're looking for.

She's said that her husband will be working in Hyde Park -- I'm assuming, given the life story (grad school at Chicago, living in the sticks) that they're academics. Again, she lived in Hyde Park years ago, and it was indeed rougher back then than it is now.

As someone who prizes my own short bike commute, and as a former Hyde Park resident with many close friends who grew up there, my opinion is that others here might be too cautious. I'd give a closer look to the south side, particularly Hyde Park and Kenwood. You'll have to play the school game -- if the husband's interviewing at the university, Lab may be an option -- but HP has glorious houses, tree-lined streets, playgrounds and bookstores and museums.

[rongoe]

I'm in the same situation as the OP was last summer and am wondering if the OP wouldn't mind sharing what she learned enroute to her ultimate decision. Thanks.

It's a shame the commute from OP-RF to HP is so bad. Is it still bad, now that the Dan Ryan's repair work is done?

Also, regarding the Lab school--- it is not free for university employees. Even with the heavy discount, the bill is steep for families with lots of kids (I have 4).

[oakparkdude]

There is a CTA shuttle bus from the Metra downtown stations to Hyde Park that runs during commuter hours. (http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/bus/bus/192.pdf (broken link))

Its about 15 minutes from OP to the Loop by Metra, figure 10 minutes waiting for the bus or so, then 35 minutes by bus to Hyde Park. Its not a short commute but at least you don't have to deal with driving.

[chickaboo]

I was recently looking for a house close to chicago. I also compared between OP and HP. OP and hyde park are very similar, both beautiful, diverse and houses in both places have lots of character, but personally I feel HP is a little more cultured, pehapse because of the university and the museum...

At the end I picked Hyde park simply because the house we found there is 5 mins walking distance to the lake. nothing beats that....