Oak Park vs Naperville... HELP! (Chicago, Wheaton: fit in, 2015, renting)

[tweetyful]

Hi. What are your thoughts?
Violent crimes are on the rise in Oak Park as we are so close to Chicago. We had 8 carjackings in 1 month & we could hear gunshots at night from our house. We cannot afford a comfortable house in the safer area closer to downtown Oak Park. We can't afford much house anywhere in Oak Park really; we're renting now. Our budget is $450-ish though we'd rather stay under. That doesn't buy much house in OP... 3bed, 1.5 bath, 100+yr old house 1300-1800 sq ft that needs work & has a tiny yard where taxes are $11-13k.
In Naperville, same money would get us a 4bed, 3bath 2600-3200 sq ft, newer home with little to no issues where taxes are $9-12k & top of the line schools.

Here's my dilemma...
I have a shy teenage boy who will start HS next year, and 2 middle schoolers who will be in 6th & 7th grades.
We've been here 3.5 yrs & my oldest had a tough time fitting in and finding good fiends. My daughter also couldn't find a group of friends because older kids don't really allow others into their groups.

I know kids are resilient and we would be fine, essentially, wherever we go as long as we stay together. We love to hike, bike, walk,etc. together as a family. I'm sure my kids will eventually find at least 1 good friend wherever we go. Hubby's commute won't change much if we move so that's not an issue.

Should we move & get bigger house, slightly lower taxes & great schools but give up a walkable, artsy city & good friends?

[damba]

You will keep the true friends, even if you move and only get together a couple times a year.
I have been there, done that (moving from EV to HP way back).

IME the extra space goes farther when you have 3+ kids. Having friends over especially.

[ToriaT]

I'd say move if you want. While Naperville is wonderful, don't overlook places like Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, and Wheaton. Wheaton is a wonderful place and has the prairie path, Morton Arboretum closeby, Danada, St. James Farm, Cantigny, etc. A drive down Roosevelt Road will bring you back to south Oak Park.

Keep in mind there are cliques everywhere. So kids may or may not fit in. I love Oak Park but it does have its problems. Oak Park is dense and urban compared to the other further away suburbs so it may be easier to raise kids where there is more space, parks, etc.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by tweetyful

Hi. What are your thoughts?
Violent crimes are on the rise in Oak Park as we are so close to Chicago. We had 8 carjackings in 1 month & we could hear gunshots at night from our house. We cannot afford a comfortable house in the safer area closer to downtown Oak Park. We can't afford much house anywhere in Oak Park really; we're renting now. Our budget is $450-ish though we'd rather stay under. That doesn't buy much house in OP... 3bed, 1.5 bath, 100+yr old house 1300-1800 sq ft that needs work & has a tiny yard where taxes are $11-13k.
In Naperville, same money would get us a 4bed, 3bath 2600-3200 sq ft, newer home with little to no issues where taxes are $9-12k & top of the line schools.

Here's my dilemma...
I have a shy teenage boy who will start HS next year, and 2 middle schoolers who will be in 6th & 7th grades.
We've been here 3.5 yrs & my oldest had a tough time fitting in and finding good fiends. My daughter also couldn't find a group of friends because older kids don't really allow others into their groups.

I know kids are resilient and we would be fine, essentially, wherever we go as long as we stay together. We love to hike, bike, walk,etc. together as a family. I'm sure my kids will eventually find at least 1 good friend wherever we go. Hubby's commute won't change much if we move so that's not an issue.

Should we move & get bigger house, slightly lower taxes & great schools but give up a walkable, artsy city & good friends?

If I had to make a list of every family / couple that stopped by an open house or asked to drive around pretty much any town along the BNSF or UP-W with essentially the same sort of dilema it would probably be thousands of entries. Only a fraction every really moved.

These sorts of things drive some folks to move from one pretty nice town to one that is perceived to be even better AS WELL AS the opposite sort of reaction -- folks choose a town where the schools are generally regarded as a step down but maybe the individual house is better suited for the lifestyle of their kids.

The key is to NOT STRESS OUT over your decision. Lay out the financials of what will be better, things like tax burden will ultimately impact your ability to save for kids college, take family vacations, retire when you can still enjoy it and dozens of other "wallet driven" factors. I would also urge you to reach out to the principals of the schools your kids would be attending -- if you get a good vibe that there are other families that have expressed these concerns and the staff has handled them it is a HUGE burden lifted from your mind!

Finally, I would listen to the inputs from not just your existing neighbors who have a very vested interest in maintaining the status quo, but check out the mostly dispassionate rankings of the various firms involved in relocation -- rare for Naperville not to come up with much more frequency...

https://www.niche.com/places-to-live...-for-families/

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst...llinois/18426/

https://urbanmatter.com/chicago/best...s-in-illinois/

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/mort...illinois-2015/

I do like Oak Park, I spend more than an average amount of time there visiting friends and enjoying its varied offerings. It does offer something that is still unique in the region but if you have issues with the perceived safety and affordability you have to acknowledge that those things are not likely to improve. It may very well make sense to explore alternatives. If you decide to stay or decide to move the exercise will hopefully help you feel better with the outcome.

[BigLake]

Tweety, just so you know, car jackings are not a near west burb phenomenon. It's happening all over Chicago, and frankly there has been a jump nationwide. Naperville will not be a panacea for theat. It may diminish, but they happen there too.

[damba]

Originally Posted by BigLake

Tweety, just so you know, car jackings are not a near west burb phenomenon. It's happening all over Chicago, and frankly there has been a jump nationwide. Naperville will not be a panacea for theat. It may diminish, but they happen there too.

Do not conflate a nationwide statistical 'jump' with the likelihood of such activity happening in far off places such as Naperville. Look at the numbers and where they are actually happening.

More important for me would be kids (who don't live in the area) stalking mine to rob/beat/injure/steal personal property.

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by BigLake

Tweety, just so you know, car jackings are not a near west burb phenomenon. It's happening all over Chicago, and frankly there has been a jump nationwide. Naperville will not be a panacea for theat. It may diminish, but they happen there too.

While I am not worried about my safety in Oak Park at all, let's be honest, Naperville isn't butting up to Austin, your not going to have the same issues in Naperville that you have in Oak Park.

[BigLake]

Originally Posted by damba

Do not conflate a nationwide statistical 'jump' with the likelihood of such activity happening in far off places such as Naperville. Look at the numbers and where they are actually happening.

More important for me would be kids (who don't live in the area) stalking mine to rob/beat/injure/steal personal property.

Are you under the misunderstanding that Naperville, since it is so far out, is immune to carjackings? Certainly you are not suggesting that are you. According to police reports, carjacking is a metro -wide issue, and even nationwide as many metro areas are seeing spikes in reports. While urban suburbs may have more (and OP has had a recent spate), it's a nationwide occurrence and to say Naperville is immune is foolish.


Do a search on "Naperville carjackings" and let me know what you return. Here's one from yesterday: Man with 4-year-old carjacked in Naperville, police say | WGN-TV

[BigLake]

Originally Posted by doodlemagic

While I am not worried about my safety in Oak Park at all, let's be honest, Naperville isn't butting up to Austin, your not going to have the same issues in Naperville that you have in Oak Park.

See my post above. Unless I misread my own post, I did not say OP had less carjackings, I said it is a metrowide phenomenon and no areas are immune.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by BigLake

Are you under the misunderstanding that Naperville, since it is so far out, is immune to carjackings? Certainly you are not suggesting that are you. According to police reports, carjacking is a metro -wide issue, and even nationwide as many metro areas are seeing spikes in reports. While urban suburbs may have more (and OP has had a recent spate), it's a nationwide occurrence and to say Naperville is immune is foolish.


Do a search on "Naperville carjackings" and let me know what you return. Here's one from yesterday: Man with 4-year-old carjacked in Naperville, police say | WGN-TV

I was about to post that. Since the time I moved to Naperville, the crimes I hear about most often are people breaking into homes (often through unlocked doors) and people getting held up at gunpoint in parking lots.


That being said, Naperville is almost as safe of a suburb as you might find in the Chicago area.