Brookfield (Chicago, Naperville, Cicero: real estate, mortgage, lawyer)

[agallan]

Hi all,

My wife and I just bought a house in Brookfield a few months ago. When we were searching for a home (between La Grange, La Grange Park, Riverside and Brookfield), we found this forum really helpful to get information and opinions about different areas. I just wanted to put this post out there for anyone on the forum (especially anyone using a search to find information on Brookfield) so they can contact me and I can answer any questions they have about the town.

Again, I'm happy to answer specific questions, but I'll just give a quick summary about the town here for those interested. My wife and I really love it here so far and we would love to see other young couples "join the club".

PROS:
-Incredibly reasonably priced (out of proportion to the quality of the schools, a relative rarity in the chicago suburbs) (can get a very nice, large house for 300-325k, can get a solid home for 250ish, can get a fixer-upper around 200k)

-Location - close to the city, close to many major highways and has 3 metra stops. We live just a few blocks north of the metra and downtown area, which means my wife can easily take the train to work in the loop, and I can easily get to work in Hyde Park. It was a HUGE deal for us that there was a much smaller price bump to be near the train in Brookfield vs. LaGrange. We could afford a home in LaGrange, but not one very near the train that was acceptable to us. In Brookfield we could afford a prime spot. Also (and while this is debatable), I believe Brookfield is very well buffered against future decline due to it being insulated by Riverside to the east, La Grange to the west and somewhat south, and La Grange Park and forest preserve to the north.

-People - Growing up in Downers Grove (supposedly one of the top 10 friendliest towns in the country), we weren't expecting to be surprised with how nice the people of Brookfield were. Boy were we surprised. We had like 6 neighbors stop by to say hi in the first 2 days, we had homemade bread left at our door, and the neighborhood kids made us a sign that said "Welcome to the neighborhood"...within like 3 hours of the moving truck leaving! Other people around town have been great too.

-Schools - I consider this a big positive relative to the price point. Is it Hinsdale quality? No. But its a place where middle and upper-middle income families can give their kids a great education without the price-tag or home quality trade-offs. Most of Brookfield feeds into Riverside Brookfield High School, a top-rated high school in Illinois (Riverside Brookfield High School in RIVERSIDE, IL | Best High Schools | US News). The rest goes to Lyons Township, which may even be a better high school but unfortunately the part of Brookfield that feeds in there tends to be less desirable due to the lower-performing elementary school. There are multiple elementary school districts. Eastern Brookfield (the Hollywood neighborhood - probably the nicest part of town) feeds into Hollywood elementary school and is part of the excellent Riverside school district. The middle part of Brookfield (where I live), shares a school district with La Grange Park (which I consider a plus) and feeds into Brook Park elementary which is also an excellent school. The areas south of Ogden avenue (and maybe other areas, I admittedly don't know the boundaries) feed into a different district which by the numbers are just okay and sort of create a desirability and price divide between Brookfield north of ogden and south of ogden.

-Bars/Restaurants/Shopping - This can be considered a positive or negative depending on your style. It definitely has a small-town feel with almost no chain restaurants/stores (except on Ogden ave). There are a number of local eateries which are really great. There are a number of bars near the train and on Ogden Ave, and I find them to be enjoyable places. There are NOT a many nicer restaurants in town. While I originally considered that a negative, I actually now consider it a positive because I can go <2miles to downtown LaGrange for all that without my neighborhood being congested with LaGrange Road type of traffic that results from their vibrant downtown. I love downtown La Grange and it offers pretty much anything that Brookfield doesn't.

CONS:
-Inner-Ring feel - depending on your style, this could be a pro or con. This town has a different feel then where I grew up in Downers Grove. Smaller lots, alleys/street parking, a bit more of a city-ish feel. But at the end of the day, definitely still a suburb. My wife actually likes that it doesn't have a Naperville type of feel.

-Aesthetics - Depending on where you are in town, not everyone keeps up their house/yard as well as I would like. Don't take what I'm saying to the extreme. Its still a nice looking town with a lot of beautiful homes including many great bungalows and craftsmans. But more people than I'm used to fail to keep their homes up well. Drive around and see for yourself.

-Community Activities - Compared to La Grange or the further western suburbs, there are not nearly as many park district activities, sports leagues, family events, etc. Of course they still have a little league, preschool stuff, some family outings, a great 4th of july parade/party, etc. These activities are a big part of what makes a family-friendly community. But the price of La Grange real estate is a lot to pay for these things. The good news is that as a close neighbor of La Grange, Brookfield residents have access to all La Grange park district activities for just 10% more than La Grange resident rates (much cheaper than normal non-resident rates). And of course, we have the Brookfield Zoo!

-People - Now I don't consider this a negative, but some people might. This is largely a middle class town with a significant number of upper middle class families and some working class families. You aren't going to get the same types of families here as you will in a lot of La Grange. I have a lot of neighbors who are nurses, teachers, law enforcement officers, etc... in La Grange you get a lot of doctors, lawyers, bankers. I love the people here and have no complaints (and we are a doctor/lawyer pair).

Of course there are more pros-cons based on your individual situation, but I am just trying to give you some basic info in the most unbiased manner possible.

I hope this information is helpful for those looking for a family-friendly, affordable suburb near the city with very good schools - especially if you are just starting out and looking for your first home. Feel free to MESSAGE me questions as I don't check the forum very often. Best of luck!

[chet everett]

Very balanced assessment of the pluses and trade-offs that come with not just Brookfield but a whole lot of towns.

As hard as it is for some people to accept there excellent reasons to consider the still rather compact, walkable, economically diverse areas of the region that have locally owned resturants, pleasant shops and friendly bars but are not inside nor directly adjacent to a 606xx zip code...

I know quite a few professional couples that live in Brookfield - folks with JD, MD, PhD, MS, MBA or MEd are NOT legislatively required to live only in a town with a tree or recreational green space in their name... I also know a single mom that works for the Cook Co Sherif, a guy that owns a martial arts studio, a few auto mechanics and all kinds of small businessmen that live there too.

Every real estste decision is balanced by what trade-offs give you the kind of commute you want / the size of mortgage you can handle, the sort of neighbors that share your values and an long list of personal subjective tolerance / deal killers that are weighed against the aesthics / development pattern / schools you desire.

It is good to here the OP's perspectives.

[AbbyJaneway]

Thanks for sharing your insights. I love the Western Springs-La Grange-Brookfield-Riverside area, it's beautiful with a lot to offer. If I ever move back to the Chicago suburbs that's where I'd live.

[Lookout Kid]

Brookfield makes a lot of sense for a lot of people. It just needs some better PR to get the word out.

This small-but-growing Hispanic population there will always alarm some people (*cough* racists, *cough*), but at the mid-range price bracket this is something you'll see all the way out to the Fox River in this day and age.

[raina starling]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Brookfield makes a lot of sense for a lot of people. It just needs some better PR to get the word out.

This small-but-growing Hispanic population there will always alarm some people (*cough* racists, *cough*), but at the mid-range price bracket this is something you'll see all the way out to the Fox River in this day and age.

Well, what does that tell you? That there was a tsunami of Mexicans coming in and spilling into a multitude of 'burbs! I used to live in Berwyn; I know of what I speak! I am also Hispanic so don't pull the racist card on me, por favor.

It's alarming when you see Melrose Park, Stone Park, Northlake, Berwyn, Cicero, etc. one by one become not only majority Mexican but overcrowded! In Berwyn they had to build at least four new schools within a matter of less than a decade due to the overcrowding. That is not good because it shows that the official number of residents is unreported due to illegal housing. And so we had signs warning of rats in the alley and garbage issues. City planning includes how many Dumpsters to have, etc.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by raina starling

Well, what does that tell you? That there was a tsunami of Mexicans coming in and spilling into a multitude of 'burbs! I used to live in Berwyn; I know of what I speak! I am also Hispanic so don't pull the racist card on me, por favor.

It's alarming when you see Melrose Park, Stone Park, Northlake, Berwyn, Cicero, etc. one by one become not only majority Mexican but overcrowded! In Berwyn they had to build at least four new schools within a matter of less than a decade due to the overcrowding. That is not good because it shows that the official number of residents is unreported due to illegal housing. And so we had signs warning of rats in the alley and garbage issues. City planning includes how many Dumpsters to have, etc.

Really? What were the 4 schools? News to me. I know they built Freedom Middle in the mid-2000s but that's the only new one I'm aware of, over the last 10 years at least.

[North Side Brandon]

Brookfield is a decent option but I think Riverside is better myself.

[North Side Brandon]

I would go with Riverside more stable.

[chet everett]

Respectfully the long term trend of school performance of Brookfield is far superior to any of the other towns mentioned. The big advantage is that Brookfield shares schools with with Riverside or Lagrange, both of which are far more costly than it is. This is one of the few such situations in the region.

Further when one looks at either R-B, which is relatively small and therefore much easier to spot / prevent any finanical shenanigan that have harmed larger high school districts like Proviso, Morton or Leyden or LT, which is larger but generally fairly affluent, these never had much of a "blue collar" mindset that did not encourage college. Education qualty is as huge stabilization factor not just here but nationwide.

[North Side Brandon]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Respectfully the long term trend of school performance of Brookfield is far superior to any of the other towns mentioned. The big advantage is that Brookfield shares schools with with Riverside or Lagrange, both of which are far more costly than it is. This is one of the few such situations in the region.

Further when one looks at either R-B, which is relatively small and therefore much easier to spot / prevent any finanical shenanigan that have harmed larger high school districts like Proviso, Morton or Leyden or LT, which is larger but generally fairly affluent, these never had much of a "blue collar" mindset that did not encourage college. Education qualty is as huge stabilization factor not just here but nationwide.

The Northern part of Harwood Heights and Norridge feed into the Maine South Park Ridge School District. That is why I recommend them over Elmwood Park and River Grove for example. That will keep those communities stable in my view.