Why is Oak Park praised highly for diversity when others are just as diverse?

[linicx]

I did not ask to compare Oak Park to any other suburb. You attempted to divert attention to other suburbs. What I said was if you wanted to talk about the other suburbs start a new thread.

I'm still waiting patiently for to you contribute something with substance about the suburbs you seem to care so deeply about.

QUOTE=urza216;25112967]Why should I have to compare? Go ahead. Prove me wrong that Glenwood and Chicago Heights and Park Forest aren't just as diverse as Oak Park.

And Lininx, this thread was what YOU told me I had to do if I wanted my opinion heard. I don't care if you close this thread. I don't need my viewpoint to be the center of attention. I just wanted to contribute my two cents without it somehow being "off topic".[/quote]

[linicx]

Who said anything about Billingbrook? I don't know where it is. You are the one who said you went to H-F high school and live in the area.

Remember the zillion posts about the mall that closed? I think Blues Brothers was shot there. And wasn't it Sears that recently closed their store in a Matteson Mall?

Originally Posted by urza216

What are you babbling about now?

Billingbrook is another diverse suburb. Outside the Southland and it isn't Oak Park.

[JamieLannister]

First post here from a longtime lurker of these forums. I thought I would offer my humble perspective on why some families might choose Oak Park over, for example, Homewood/Flossmoor, which would be the most "Oak Park-y" Southland communities.

For what it's worth, I should qualify this by saying that my family is white and my spouse and I have professional jobs in the Loop.

The sad, unfortunate reality comes down to what appears to be continued white flight and general economic decline in the south suburbs. No one predict whether Flossmoor and the other Southland communities have stabilized in terms of white flight, or if they are still in the midst of racial turnover. Thus, is the current “diversity” just a temporary middle-point or will the current balance generally remain the same over the coming years?

Also, there do not seem to be any positive indications that the overall socioeconomic decline in the Southland is slowing down; which is a shame, because the area does have a lot going for it in terms of access to transportation, available land and affordability.

Looking at the census numbers and the yearly turnover at the schools, it’s impossible to tell whether things have stabilized. There seems to be a slowdown, but is that just due to the housing downturn?

Putting aside all of the other amenities such as shopping, restaurants, proximity to job centers, etc., the stability issue, at least to me, is the biggest difference between Homewood/Flossmoor (and the rest of the Southland east of 57) and Oak Park.

Oak Park has more or less remained stable for the past 30+ years, despite all of the changes in the communities surrounding it (other than River Forest). The question is whether Homewood/Flossmoor will also remain stable (both in terms of having an approximate 50-50 ratio of AA/white families and in socioeconomic terms) or if it will become more like Olympia Fields (an enclave of middle-class-to-wealthy, mostly-AA families).

Despite all of this, my family is STILL strongly considering Flossmoor, partly because, well, white flight be d*mned and we do think H/F is a strong candidate for maintaining a stable diversity like Oak Park, Beverly and Hyde Park.

However, we are just not crazy about the hour-plus door-to-door commute into the Loop (esp. vs. the much shorter commute from Oak Park and the BNSF suburbs), the lack of upscale shopping (why would we want to drive to Orland every weekend?), the perceived decline in the public schools despite very high property taxes, and the remarkably long market times for higher-end homes, such as those in the “Flossmoor Estates” neighborhood. If no one else is buying the expensive homes there, then do we want to take that risk?

[linicx]

The thing is, Jamie, and I know you know this.... If you buy a $1M house in Oak Park, you know it will hold value and probably increase. A local Chicago TV anchor recently moved to the NYC market to work. She quickly sold her $1M+ Oak Park house. If you bought in Flossmore would the house and location hold its value for ten years?

My daughter asked herself the same question last year when she fell in love with a 5 bedroom Georgian mansion for about $900K. She decided against it for health issues and property values. The market is slowly righting itself, but it ain't over yet.

[Ace Rothstein]

Originally Posted by JamieLannister

First post here from a longtime lurker of these forums. I thought I would offer my humble perspective on why some families might choose Oak Park over, for example, Homewood/Flossmoor, which would be the most "Oak Park-y" Southland communities.

For what it's worth, I should qualify this by saying that my family is white and my spouse and I have professional jobs in the Loop.

The sad, unfortunate reality comes down to what appears to be continued white flight and general economic decline in the south suburbs. No one predict whether Flossmoor and the other Southland communities have stabilized in terms of white flight, or if they are still in the midst of racial turnover. Thus, is the current “diversity” just a temporary middle-point or will the current balance generally remain the same over the coming years?

Also, there do not seem to be any positive indications that the overall socioeconomic decline in the Southland is slowing down; which is a shame, because the area does have a lot going for it in terms of access to transportation, available land and affordability.

Looking at the census numbers and the yearly turnover at the schools, it’s impossible to tell whether things have stabilized. There seems to be a slowdown, but is that just due to the housing downturn?

Putting aside all of the other amenities such as shopping, restaurants, proximity to job centers, etc., the stability issue, at least to me, is the biggest difference between Homewood/Flossmoor (and the rest of the Southland east of 57) and Oak Park.

Oak Park has more or less remained stable for the past 30+ years, despite all of the changes in the communities surrounding it (other than River Forest). The question is whether Homewood/Flossmoor will also remain stable (both in terms of having an approximate 50-50 ratio of AA/white families and in socioeconomic terms) or if it will become more like Olympia Fields (an enclave of middle-class-to-wealthy, mostly-AA families).

Despite all of this, my family is STILL strongly considering Flossmoor, partly because, well, white flight be d*mned and we do think H/F is a strong candidate for maintaining a stable diversity like Oak Park, Beverly and Hyde Park.

However, we are just not crazy about the hour-plus door-to-door commute into the Loop (esp. vs. the much shorter commute from Oak Park and the BNSF suburbs), the lack of upscale shopping (why would we want to drive to Orland every weekend?), the perceived decline in the public schools despite very high property taxes, and the remarkably long market times for higher-end homes, such as those in the “Flossmoor Estates” neighborhood. If no one else is buying the expensive homes there, then do we want to take that risk?

There you have it folks, you can close the thread now.

[urza216]

Originally Posted by linicx

Who said anything about Billingbrook? I don't know where it is. You are the one who said you went to H-F high school and live in the area.

Remember the zillion posts about the mall that closed? I think Blues Brothers was shot there. And wasn't it Sears that recently closed their store in a Matteson Mall?

It's a far western suburb that is also diverse. It's another example of a diverse suburb.

Who said anything about Bollingbrook? I said something about Bollingbrook! It's yet another diverse suburb other than Oak Park. And TexIL understood what I was talking about. If you are too senile to understand what I'm trying to say, Lininx, there is a serious problem that is much bigger than this..

I am NOT trying to "defende the south suburbs". Because there are in fact other diverse suburbs other than Oak Park and suburbs out where I live. Bollingbrook is another one. Aurora is another one. North Chicago is another one. None of these are south suburbs. I'm asking the question why Oak Park is praised so highly for diversity when there are other diverse suburbs. When I list other diverse suburbs, you say crap that makes no sense like "who mentioned that town?" or "you're mentioning that town to divert attention from Oak Park!" Well, yes, I am. Because Oak Park isn't the only diverse suburb and shouldn't be the only suburb getting credit for it..

You are the one that is bringing up crap that truly has NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING. What does Dixie Square and store closing in Matteson have to do with "Why is Oak Park praised for diversity when there are other suburbs just as diverse?" I listed Bolingbrook as yet another example of diverse suburb.

And I wasn't even talking about H-F. I've made it crystal clear that I grew up in Park Forest. I didn't go to H-F High School and I've never made any such claim. I'm not originally from Homewood, Flossmoor,, Hazel Crest or Chicago Heights.

[linicx]

There is nothing to see here. Demographic pie charts show percentage of different races in a community. It does not indicate diversity, or integration, or anything that might appeal to the average family/indidual looking for an area to buy a home.

Closed