Older couple moving to Southwest Chicago suburbs (Aurora, Berwyn: for sale, house)

[sammen]

Hello out there!
Our friends think we are crazy--but we want to move from Terre Haute , IN to the Chicago area. We are in our early 60s and lived in Washington D.C. before moving here for my job as a Professor at a small college. I miss the city and especially theatre and comedy. We both took early retirement and are looking to buy a small house (downsizing) in one of these areas: Brookfield, LaGrange, LaGrange Park, Riverside, Berwyn, Lyons. We live in a very quiet, nice area here--we lived in a nice little area outside of DC that was a very mixed neighborhood--African-American, white, and Hispanic. (We're old white folks).
We can afford a house between $150,000 and $200,000 -- I know that's not much in that area--but I do see some coming up--even in Riverside and LaGrange Park. One of the difficulties=we need as much on one level as possible! I'm very outgoing; my husband is more retiring. I've had lots of African-American friends--but don't know a lot of Hispanic folks. However--I'm very adventurous with languages--I speak French and some German and just took a year of Spanish--and actually would enjoy learning a lot more Spanish. Of course, we need to be safe and enjoy some quiet! Any advice about these areas? Do I really need to avoid certain neighborhoods?
Thanks! Sharon Ammen
PS-we have time to look--our house here goes up for sale in Jan and as soon as it goes--we'll be searching. We're also planning a trip up in a few weeks and will be looking around with a realtor just to check out the market---

[chet everett]

The degree to which any affordable area of the Chicago region can be called racially integrated is quite limited, while there are some African American families in LaGrange they are a very small minority. Similarly there are not a whole lot of folks of Hispanic background in any of those towns.

That said the reason for this are largely economic with the you listed (other than Lyons and to a lesser extent Berwyn) being largely populated with "office worker" class homeowners.

The most common housing style in Berwyn is the "Chicago Bungalow" -- this typically a home that has 3 bedrooms on the mainfloor, a front living room, a large dining room, a modest bathroom behind that and a kitchen at the rear. Sounds like that should work well, but I would caution that such homes typically are set about a half story up from the street and have a detached garage that faces the alley.

In your price range you might find a modest ranch with attached garage in LaGrange Park or Brookfield that might be better suited to your needs.

If you are willing to expand your search to include Villa Park you might also be pleased with what your budget will buy.

[sammen]

Thank you so much--what a helpful reply!

[oakparkdude]

Pay close attention to property taxes.

[sammen]

Yes--property taxes look pretty outrageous.

[nikitakolata]

With the budget you mentioned I would personally be looking in Westmont, Lombard and Villa Park. Depending on how close you want to be to Chicago an area like North Aurora may be a fit as well. My parents (also downsizing) just moved there and they like it so far.

[sammen]

Thanks--we do want to be as close as possible to Chicago--sounds like the metra goes as often to Villa Park as Brookfield?
Sharon

[chet everett]

Technically service on the BNSF line is faster than that on UP-W line and both are geared toward "rush hour commuters" -- lots of AM trains in and PM trains during respective peak hours and then maybe one train an hour for off-peak trips...

Both of these lines are considered to serve the "western" suburbs. The big plus is that the BNSF travels through NO freight yards of any significance while the UP-W lines skirts the entrance to one of the larger yards south of O'Hare so rail traffic for passenger trains does not have as much speed / flexibility.

[sammen]

Thanks again, Chet.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Technically service on the BNSF line is faster than that on UP-W line and both are geared toward "rush hour commuters" -- lots of AM trains in and PM trains during respective peak hours and then maybe one train an hour for off-peak trips...

Both of these lines are considered to serve the "western" suburbs. The big plus is that the BNSF travels through NO freight yards of any significance while the UP-W lines skirts the entrance to one of the larger yards south of O'Hare so rail traffic for passenger trains does not have as much speed / flexibility.

All very true, but the time differences are typically less than ten minutes for suburbs from the inner ring to slightly beyond I-355, and the UP-W goes in to Ogilvie while the BNSF goes in to Union. It can be a wash depending on where you are traveling to in the Loop.