Suburb close to University of Chicago that is walkable? (Oak Park: crime, how much)

[lulu33]

Hello. My husband is working at UofC and we live in Hyde park now but want to move out to one of the suburbs to get a place that is a little larger. We want to move somewhere where its as close of a commute as possible but a safe neighborhood that is still walkable like Hyde Park. Not sure any suburb is like that but we are not from this area so I figured I would ask. We are also going to having a child and I work from home. We would also like to have some restaurants, shops, nice grocery stores around if at all possible, even if we have to drove to them. He will be driving to work. We like the diversity of Hyde Park but are looking for something with a predominantly white neighborhood.

The reasons we want to move are more space and we want indoor parking. If there are areas in chicago not necessarily the suburbs that have that, we would be open to that as well. I just dont like the small row houses and prefer something that is open and a larger one story floor plan.

[urza216]

Downtown Homewood and downtown Flossmoor. Both have what you seek.. I live in Flossmoor and I love it here. For a suburb, the walkability and accessibility doesn't much better than this. And yes, I can walk to the Metra station and get to Hyde park in no time..

Wait..

Actually, Flossmoor is like 50-50 so if predominately white important to you then you should only look into the whiter, less affluent and higher crime rated village of Homewood. Or just move southwest since more blacks might move to Homewood in the near future, anyway. We won't miss ya!

[Army_Guy]

Sounds like Tinley Park and Orland Park are the places for you. Mokena and New Lennox are just a little bit further southwest.

[urza216]

None of those southwest suburbs are the least bit walkable... Maybe Tinley, I suppose but not really.

[TempesT68]

Oak park could be a good option, though "walkable" and "suburbs" really don't fit with eachother.

[urza216]

Downtown Homewood and downton Flossmoor are walkable. There are a number of things I can walk to where I live..

Oak Park isn't really close to the U of C at all. But since it's not northern and it borders Chicago, it's still an option - If you're a big fan of the great and glorious Oak Park and think it's worth it.

Honestly, Homewood offers a lot of the same thing Oak Park offers. You can say "except for touching the city" but the OP is commuting to a part of the city that is closer to Homewood than Oak Park.. This is to say nothing of the fact that the Metra Electric line is the only Metra line that goes to the Univesity of Chicago. And at least if you live in a southwest suburb like Tinley Park, you can painlessly drive to a Metra Electric station.

But if you're a fan fan fan of Oak Park then go for it. I really don't think the OP is the Oak Park type though.. I think he's more a Brookfield type.

[maccupiccu9]

Yes I would suggest Homewood. We visited often this summer and it was nice. Schools of Homewood/Floosmor are supposed to be outstanding. Not bad for U of C commute.

Shame about Hyde Park. Stunning homes with wonderful possibilities but too risky to get robbed/shot.

[OakBrookMom]

I see you've gotten south suburban responses so I'll chime in with a West Suburban one based on location and walkability and where many of my husband's family and friends who moved from the city chose to live - I won't touch the demographic issue and did not factor it into any of my responses.
Oak Park may be a good baby step into suburbia, definitely walkable with access to two L lines. It's where my born-and-raised in the city husband and I started our search into suburbia many years ago. I didn't have a car and wanted to keep it that way but our budget, taxes and wish list pushed us further west into real suburbia.
La Grange is more suburban than Oak Park, but walkable with one of the more developed downtowns, located close to I-55 if you plan on driving to work. Not a huge amount of ranches right in the downtown core but enough. Many of my husband's friends from the city eventually chose this suburb as home.
There are many other West Suburban options that are walkable communities like Elmhurst which was our first suburban home but I'd start by defining your ideal commute and work from there because based on personal experience that may be your biggest adjustment. My mother-in-law who lived her whole life in the city moved out to be close to us to a single story ranch home in Elmhurst. She walks everywhere, barely using her car and loves it out here in the "country" as she used to call it.

[chet everett]

I'll second all OBM's suggestions and add Brookfield as a spot that is walkable, a reasonably short commute to UofC, generally affordable and home to schools that perform pretty well.

If the OP has the budget for other towns the range of choices gets greater...

[prinsessa]

How much time would you like to spend commuting? Oak Park is nice but not really close to Hyde Park. My manager lives in Hyde Park and works in Oak Park. She was just complaining about the commute and how bad it will be in the winter.