Affordable alternatives to Oak Park, La Grange? (Chicago, Wheaton: assessors, house)

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by epfleger

OP here again. While the train times are important it does ultimately come down to total commute time with walk/drive to train included which is dependent on the specific house. Still, I've been using all your comments to do some additional research. I love the housing stock that I'm seeing in our price range in Glen Ellyn and Wheaton but still hesitant about the commute. That's something we'll have to figure out as we continue doing our research but glad to have them on our radar. We had been focusing West, but have also added Glenview in the mix so thoughts on that town are also welcome. I think agallan and Look out kid have us pretty well pegged - we're going to have to make some compromises and so its up to us to figure out where we make those. As for the discussion of Berwyn, I love that it is so close to the city and have had some friends move there recently from the city but none of them have families and I've had a hard time finding out good info on what Berwyn is like for families with young children. I understand the public schools don't compare to the other areas we've been discussing but we could definitely do private school on a Berwyn budget but I haven't found much good intel on the private school options or just what its like living there. As for Brookfield, on paper it looks like a great option - good commute, strong schools, low taxes, and houses in our price range but I have a hard time getting past the downtown (it seems like there isn't much there). Agallan - any additional insights you can share on your experience in Brookfield would be very much appreciated. Also, any good recs for a real estate agent familiar with this west corridor - LaGrange out to Downers Grove? I really love this forum - I feel like my head is spinning trying to make this all come together (the fact that I have a 8 week old baby probably isn't helping that!) but I definitely feel like the more info I can gather the better we are to put it all together and find our best fit. Thank you!

There's a you-know-what ton of stuff on Berwyn if you search. I lived there until recently. It's fine to live there. Safe, affordable, cool homes, and a growing volume of amenities. The schools are the main issue they face, but the private school options in the area are very good and, with a lot of young professional couples looking at the town, the public schools have at least a fighting chance for a rebound (schools are as good as the students and parents who use them).

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by epfleger

ToriaT - do you have any more info you can share about the private schools that serve the Berwyn area or suggestions on where I can find more info about them? Thanks so much!

For elementary, the main two people in Berwyn use are St. Mary's (Riverside) and St. Leonard (Berwyn). There's also Children's School of Oak Park (Berwyn) and St. Odilo (Berwyn). For high school the big ones are Fenwick (Oak Park), St. Joseph (Westchester), Nazareth (La Grange Park), and Trinity (River Forest).

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by epfleger

As for Brookfield, on paper it looks like a great option - good commute, strong schools, low taxes, and houses in our price range but I have a hard time getting past the downtown (it seems like there isn't much there).

No, there isn't much in downtown Brookfield. For a brief time they had a true gem of a Mexican restaurant right on the main drag on Grand, but it closed. But in Brookfield you are also just a very short drive from downtown La Grange, and I'm sure a lot of Brookfielders hang out there on a regular basis.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by BRU67

For elementary, the main two people in Berwyn use are St. Mary's (Riverside) and St. Leonard (Berwyn). There's also Children's School of Oak Park (Berwyn) and St. Odilo (Berwyn). For high school the big ones are Fenwick (Oak Park), St. Joseph (Westchester), Nazareth (La Grange Park), and Trinity (River Forest).

FWIW, we know several families in Oak Park, Forest Park, and Berwyn who send their kids to the Children's School. There's also Alcuin Montesorri and couple of Catholic schools in Oak Park as well.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by BRU67

I'm not saying to move to Berwyn but 24 minutes each way is a long time and really adds up over the course of a 5 day work week -- approximately 4 extra hours on the train per week plus whatever walking and parking issues one may have to deal with. In Berwyn you could probably buy a house right next to a Metra stop for 275k or so if willing to forgo good public schools. I like Wheaton but I think one must be prepared to make commuting sacrifices if he/she works in the Loop and lives there.

Commuting times are tricky, and it doesn't always boil down to closer = faster...

Conceivably there could be someone who lives on the 1400 block of Kenilworth in Berwyn and works in the north Loop. That person would have to drive to the Metra parking lot (10 minutes), look for parking (2 minutes), walk over to the platform (3 minutes), catch the 7:16 train to Union Station (28 minutes) and then walk from Union in the southwest Loop to the office in the north Loop (15 minutes).

Total commute from Berwyn: 58 minutes

If that same person lived on, say, the 300 block of Ellis Street in Wheaton, they could simply walk over to the station platform (5 minutes), catch the 6:53 train to Ogilvie Station (42 minutes), and walk from Ogilvie in the west Loop to the office in the north Loop (10 minutes).

Total commute from Wheaton: 57 Minutes

See what I did there?? And while I know the averages skew heavily towards inner ring suburbs, it's certainly important to note the variability that can exist even within a town.... location, location, location. IMO, a prime location in Wheaton/Glen Ellyn (or Downers, Elmhurst, etc.) trumps a subprime location in a suburb closer to the Loop. That's the conclusion we came to when we moved out of the city more than a year ago... I think developers and young professionals alike realize this, and that's why properties around Metra stations and walkable cores continue to find a bid...

New York investor to buy Wheaton apartments | Chicago Real Estate Daily
Wheaton 121 on track for occupancy goals, boosting downtown business | Suburban Life
Median Home Price and Sales Continue to Hold Edge in Metra Served Communities, RE/MAX Study Shows | PR Newswire
Vienna Beef exec has no beef with Wheaton luxury rentals | REJournals.com

[Lookout Kid]

At one point several years ago I told my wife we should take a look at Berwyn. We drove out there, found the nicest part of town near Proksa Park, and my wife came down with a hard line and ruled it out within five minutes. That is why I now live in a frou frou suburb like Glen Ellyn. I think our years in Uptown led to an unequal, opposite reaction, and now we live in the land of Stella and Dot trunk parties and charity house walks.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

And while I know the averages skew heavily towards inner ring suburbs, it's certainly important to note the variability that can exist even within a town.... location, location, location.

Whether your train goes in to Ogilvie or Union Station can also make a big difference. For me, my offices have tended to be closer to Ogilvie, which gives you several blocks of advantage if you are walking north. If you walk straight out of the Suburban Concourse at Ogilvie, you are already as far north as Randolph.

But someone working in the Sears Tower (yeah, I called it that on purpose) would probably prefer Union Station.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

At one point several years ago I told my wife we should take a look at Berwyn. We drove out there, found the nicest part of town near Proksa Park, and my wife came down with a hard line and ruled it out within five minutes. That is why I now live in a frou frou suburb like Glen Ellyn. I think our years in Uptown led to an unequal, opposite reaction, and now we live in the land of Stella and Dot trunk parties and charity house walks.

Well you won't really get a discount in Berwyn if you need a livable 4-bed home close to the center of town:

6940 34th Street BERWYN, IL 60402 | Redfin
1107 N. Main Street WHEATON, IL 60187 | Redfin

...though we admittedly don't have quite the same level of frou as Glen Ellyn...

[mlh27]

I've been watching Berwyn real estate very carefully for the last year or so - that Berwyn listing you posted is a pretty extreme outlier. There aren't many single family homes in Berwyn over $300k; $350k is really pushing it, and over $400k is virtually unheard of.

I think it's probably pretty pointless to compare 4 beds in those two towns - they are so completely different in terms of what they offer.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by mlh27

I've been watching Berwyn real estate very carefully for the last year or so - that Berwyn listing you posted is a pretty extreme outlier. There aren't many single family homes in Berwyn over $300k; $350k is really pushing it, and over $400k is virtually unheard of.

I think it's probably pretty pointless to compare 4 beds in those two towns - they are so completely different in terms of what they offer.

Fair enough. I did a search for 4-bed, 2500+ sqft homes within a mile of the core of each town... it didn't yield much. Inventories are thin everywhere.