Where can a family live without a car? (Chicago, Aurora: real estate, hotel)

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by chitownperson

... a more compact town with multiple cores and spread out amenities will provide more for more residents to walk to with greater ease. ...

Isn't oxymoronic to argue that something is both more compact and spread out? The core is the core and the periphery is the rest of the stuff, no?

If a town is really uniform affleunt and the core busineses that serves the residents know that folks will pay a premium for high quality products that pretty much guarantees the kind of shops selling fancy meats and produce that one finds in someplace like Western Springs, alternatively if the average shopper is content to get some highly processed fast food so long as it is cheap that leads to the sort of scenario that plagues many of the so called "food deserts"...

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by solarballoon

Conveniences located within a square mile:

• grocery store
• hardware store
• park
• gym
• library
• bar
• restaurant
• post office

Downtown Glen Ellyn has everything on this list, though the grocery store (McChesney and Miller) seems to be on it's final legs. If it fails, I have no idea if another grocery store will move in since we have a huge number of grocery stores already. And the only gyms I can think of downtown are a Curves and a cross fit place.

Most of the gyms and grocery stores in Glen Ellyn are along the auto-oriented strip on Roosevelt Rd, so if you live between the downtown and Roosevelt Rd (as I do) you can accomplish quite a bit without a car. My kids can also walk to school, a swimming pool, and plenty of park district facilities. I can easily walk to the train. I drive far less here than I did when I lived in one of the densest neighborhoods in the city of Chicago. And when we do drive, the trips are very short.

[chet everett]

Doesn't the YMCA qualify as a someplace to get a work out in Glen Ellyn?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Doesn't the YMCA qualify as a someplace to get a work out in Glen Ellyn?

Yes, but it's about 1.5 miles from downtown Glen Ellyn near Lambert and Roosevelt.

We have a lot of gyms along Roosevelt as well, like Health Tracks and Cardinal Fitness. If the OP expanded the range to 2 square miles, Glen Ellyn would offer just about anything he/she would ever need.

[solarballoon]

In theory, two miles isn't a big deal, as it's only an additional 15 minute walk or 6 minutes by bike. But the reality I've noticed after living in a half dozen urban areas is that any place outside of a short walk just drops off the convenience list.

What I'm really trying to do--and I know I can't--is replicate my current set of local conveniences in a less congested environment. But paraphrase Chet, the whole reason everything is so convenient and close by is directly related to the density of demand.

We live in Streeterville now at Ontario and McClurg. Treasure Island and Ace Hardware are a five minute walk. Trader Joe's is eight minutes. Whole Foods is twelve minutes. Several small parks are within ten minutes, as is a miniature library branch. We have a pool and tennis courts inside the building.

Like I said, we won't be able to replicate this anywhere. We're just trying to find a place that is good enough.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by solarballoon

In theory, two miles isn't a big deal, as it's only an additional 15 minute walk or 6 minutes by bike. But the reality I've noticed after living in a half dozen urban areas is that any place outside of a short walk just drops off the convenience list.

What I'm really trying to do--and I know I can't--is replicate my current set of local conveniences in a less congested environment. But paraphrase Chet, the whole reason everything is so convenient and close by is directly related to the density of demand.

We live in Streeterville now at Ontario and McClurg. Treasure Island and Ace Hardware are a five minute walk. Trader Joe's is eight minutes. Whole Foods is twelve minutes. Several small parks are within ten minutes, as is a miniature library branch. We have a pool and tennis courts inside the building.

Like I said, we won't be able to replicate this anywhere. We're just trying to find a place that is good enough.

I actually think you can get pretty close... but maybe I'm just a fast walker.

If walkability is really what you want then you need to live in the downtown core of a suburb. Doing that is going to cost more than a house a 10 minute drive outside of the core. But, if it is your preference, it is doable, in my opinion.

If you're seriously looking at moving then you will probably have a Realtor who will send you house listings. The listings actually include a walkscore for that particular house, which can give you a pretty good idea. My house in Elmhurst, for example, has a walkscore of 80 as compared to walkscore of 40-something for the town as a whole. Our house could be a couple blocks closer to downtown, too and things would be even more convenient, but we liked the house enough that we walk a little farther to the train. There's a house a couple blocks closer to the train that I just looked up and the walkscore is 98. Not too shabby.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

I actually think you can get pretty close... but maybe I'm just a fast walker.

If walkability is really what you want then you need to live in the downtown core of a suburb. Doing that is going to cost more than a house a 10 minute drive outside of the core. But, if it is your preference, it is doable, in my opinion.

If you're seriously looking at moving then you will probably have a Realtor who will send you house listings. The listings actually include a walkscore for that particular house, which can give you a pretty good idea. My house in Elmhurst, for example, has a walkscore of 80 as compared to walkscore of 40-something for the town as a whole. Our house could be a couple blocks closer to downtown, too and things would be even more convenient, but we liked the house enough that we walk a little farther to the train. There's a house a couple blocks closer to the train that I just looked up and the walkscore is 98. Not too shabby.

This is totally true -- once you start "checking the boxes" for individual items that go into the formula for the less than perfect walk score you can find LOTS of indivual homes in MANY towns that have ratings far higher than the town as a whole -- but that is of course not really the point of the folks behind these kinds of things. They want to promote a very particular set of priorities in development and such...

For a good little laugh about the same sort of peeing match take a look at a thread where I am argueing FOR folks relocating the Chicago to give the United Center area the highest priority while other are touting the wonders of northside neighbord MILES further up the lake front.

It comes down to what individual activies you value vs the "town average".

[asliarun]

Originally Posted by solarballoon

Expanding the question: Which suburb, exurb, or rural town (in Illinois) has a dense enough commercial/residential area that could allow someone to access everyday conveniences without the use of a car or public transportation?

Conveniences located within a square mile:

• grocery store
• hardware store
• park
• gym
• library
• bar
• restaurant
• post office

Such a place may not exist, but if it does, you all may know of it.

I had a very similar list, although I do have a car. Plus, for me, I really like seeing other people walking on the street and find it depressing if I don't.

I live in downtown Evanston, near Davis station, and here is how your list works for me:

• grocery store -
  - 1 minute walk - small neighborhood grocery store (Davis Pantry) and 7/11
  - 5 minute walk - Whole Foods and CVS
  - 15 minute walk - Trader Joe's and Jewel Osco
  
• hardware store
  - 1 minute walk - Ace's Hardware
  - 5 minute walk - Radio Shack. All phone companies (ATT, Sprint etc) are in a 5 minute walk as well. There are also 2-3 computer and shoe repair shops in a 5 minute radius
  
• park
  - 5 minute walk - decent sized park with a children's play area, a rose garden
  - 10 minute park - lake, lots of parks and fountains on the lake, and beaches including a doggy beach
  
• gym
  - 5 minute walk - Evanston Athletic Club, LA Fitness, many other specialized gyms, barre, yoga shops etc. There's also a boxing club nearby. And there's YMCA in a 2 minute walk.
  
• library
  - 5 minute walk - Evanston library - quite decent sized, lots of options for kids
  
• bar
  - 5 minute walk - haven't counted but there are easily 10+ decent options - Taco Diablo, Celtic Knot, Farmhouse, World Of Beer, Prairie Moon, Tommy Nevin's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Bat 17, Chili's
  
• restaurant
  - 5 minute walk - Again, easily 10-20 options
  - 15 minute walk - many more options on Chicago/North Clark near Dempster and Main. Then, there's Hecky's BBQ on the other side
  
• post office
  - next door
  

Besides this, there's
- a huge doctor's practice in a 2 minute walk
- a pharmacy in a 5 minute walk (although not 24hr)
- El (purple line), Metra, and bus stops are next door
- Northwestern Univ is a 5-10 minute walk - and they have some very nice hobby classes in their Norris center
- most of the major banks are in a 5 minute walking distance
- lots of clothes shops and hair stylists
- World Market that sells lots of interesting stuff for the house, imported beers, and decent furniture - next door. Besides this, there's another smaller furniture store next door
- Movie theater (Century cinema) - next door
- 2-3 decent hotels - 5 minute walk
- pet store, hobby shop, bike shop, liquor store, 2 bakeries - all 2 minute walk away

I haven't lived elsewhere in Chicago so I cannot do any kind of comparison. But I do love the easy access to most things. I feel safe to walk even at late night - and especially because you actually see people on the streets even at night, and many of them are students. Unlike office districts, the area doesn't go dead after office hours. And the lake is nice. Some genuinely nice beaches too.

The one aspect of commuting that truly sucks is if you have to travel to the Western suburbs. There's poor train connectivity and in most cases, you have to go downtown first and then go wherever else you need to go.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by solarballoon

In theory, two miles isn't a big deal, as it's only an additional 15 minute walk or 6 minutes by bike. But the reality I've noticed after living in a half dozen urban areas is that any place outside of a short walk just drops off the convenience list.

But we're talking about a square mile verses two square miles. If you live in the middle of a 2 square mile area, you will rarely have to go more than a mile to get to any part of that area (only the corners would be further than a mile).

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Yes, but it's about 1.5 miles from downtown Glen Ellyn near Lambert and Roosevelt.

We have a lot of gyms along Roosevelt as well, like Health Tracks and Cardinal Fitness. If the OP expanded the range to 2 square miles, Glen Ellyn would offer just about anything he/she would ever need.

Not to get too personal and weird, but I thought you moved to LaGrange?