Is Berwyn truly integrated, or are we experiencing white flight? (Chicago: sale, hair salon)

[barney man]

Latinos counted as white this person clearly doesn't know anything. Bewryn has a big percent of white mostly south Berwyn. Am Mexican American and understand you perfectly well don't think we will have the same problems as Matteson

[ToriaT]

You don't just rent a basement or an attic in Berwyn willy nilly. The inspectors are very strict and you have to have legal apartments to do it and its not easy to do necessarily. As housing changes over, Berwyn inpectors are making everyone tear out the illegal apartments and bring them up to code. My building has a room with a bath that could be rented out and maybe was in the old days but Berwyn won't let me do it because its not a legal living space.

[treemoni]

Originally Posted by barney man

Latinos counted as white this person clearly doesn't know anything.

I know that the census can be confusing for many people, Hispanic is not a race, and many Latinos do, indeed, self-identify as white...for various reasons.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by barney man

Latinos counted as white this person clearly doesn't know anything. Bewryn has a big percent of white mostly south Berwyn. Am Mexican American and understand you perfectly well don't think we will have the same problems as Matteson

Hispanics are counted as "white" but this is also further broken down by the Census into Hispanic and white non-Hispanic. Berwyn was 60% Hispanic as of 2010. The "big percent" of white non-Hispanics was 31% as of 2010. Pretty much all parts of the community, including the south side, are now mixed. You can't really say the north side is Hispanic and the south side non-Hispanic anymore. In fact, I know many white couples who moved from the City to north Berwyn, as it has a more "urban" feel and is closer to the Blue Line.

I don't know what you mean by "same problems as Matteson" but I'd consider Berwyn to be the first middle class Hispanic-majority suburb in Chicagoland. Cicero is nearly all Hispanic but its income level is a bit lower -- $54k household in Berwyn v. $44k in Cicero.

[holl1ngsworth]

West Chicago is giving Berwyn a run for its money. Was 49.9% Hispanic back in 2013. Majority is well within the margin of error. $65k median household income.

[BRU67]

Good catch holl1ngsworth. It would appear we have two majority-Hispanic middle class suburbs now. Berwyn was probably first though.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Good catch holl1ngsworth. It would appear we have two majority-Hispanic middle class suburbs now. Berwyn was probably first though.

I don't know about that. West Chicago has had a significant Hispanic presence since at least the 1980s. If anything it may be getting less Hispanic than more these days.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Drover

I don't know about that. West Chicago has had a significant Hispanic presence since at least the 1980s. If anything it may be getting less Hispanic than more these days.

In 1990 WC was about 30% Hispanic. By 2000, it was 48% Hispanic. In 2010, it was 51%. So it has gone up, albeit not like Berwyn, which went from around 8% in 1990 to 38% in 2000 to nearly 60% in 2010.

I think it's no secret that what's happening is that Hispanics are increasingly seeking out suburbs with good (relatively speaking) schools and lower density and crime than the traditional Latino Chicago neighborhoods, while maintaining proximity to major job centers. West Chicago has Aurora and Naperville. Berwyn obviously has Chicago.

[Drover]

^^ And Elgin.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Good catch holl1ngsworth. It would appear we have two majority-Hispanic middle class suburbs now. Berwyn was probably first though.

Glendale Heights, Addison, Villa Park, and several others could be there very soon. Though over time plenty of downright poor residents are getting mixed in with the middle class ones too.