Are Chicago suburbs better or different than other large midwest city suburbs? (Naperville: fit in, 2015)

[HollyhockGarden]

I also want to point out that Chicago has southern suburbs, too, some of which are beautiful!

[doodlemagic]

I agree with pretty much everyone here that Chicago suburbs are some of the best in terms of train systems, ammenities, proximity to Chicago, etc.

My one beef with Chicago suburbs is just boring ass chain restaurants and strip malls.

My folks were living in Charleston SC for a few years, I would go down there and visit and coffee shops are cool little unique places, one place had campers outside, was a cute kinda Joanna Gains kinda style, etc. Small local hot dog shops, unique restaurants, a lot of mom and pop places. While they do have fast food and chain places its a lot more independent ineresting businesses where as Chicago suburbs are boring as hell in that respect.

[ToriaT]

I can't think of one suburb that is dry. There of course are liquor laws. Wheaton is not even dry anymore although it does not allow stand alone bars, they have to be part of a restaurant. It has a brewery called Emmetts. There are microbreweries in a number of places. There was one in Glen Ellyn, now gone, and there is a distillery in Riverside that makes whiskey and other potables. The Quincy Street Distillery. A little work on google will show you just how many there are around.

[JJski]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

I can't think of one suburb that is dry. There of course are liquor laws. Wheaton is not even dry anymore although it does not allow stand alone bars, they have to be part of a restaurant. It has a brewery called Emmetts. There are microbreweries in a number of places. There was one in Glen Ellyn, now gone, and there is a distillery in Riverside that makes whiskey and other potables. The Quincy Street Distillery. A little work on google will show you just how many there are around.

60/40 ordinances prevent stand alones. Inherently done to discourage thru your accounting - It kills any chance of a classy wine bar martini bar or champagne lounge (even remotely equivalent to big city) catering to just alcohol because of ridiculous and dated fears... its why our burbs are soooo quiet compared to landscapes outside of IL or Europe even where i have lived/extensively worked...

Chet’s big city kids moving in are thankfully shattering those perceptions and rules. They are Forcing the burbs to become cooler/adapt/compete/elevate...

Breweries and distilleries here have to basically grovel before village leadership/boards to get special exceptions wrote in or strings pulled... In most cases they are forced to remote industrial parts and not allowed central downtowns unless 60% restaurant - so yes do your google maps but calc central business district proximity into your analysis. its a rather sad mind frame rooted in old thinking..

My definition of dry is pretty close to where IL burbs currently stand when i compare my experiences outside of IL and abroad...

On the positive side - as mentioned things are changing fast.

Also toria, i know QS well. I additionally know the owner. Bring it - i can shred ILs burb prohibitive configuration if you want... i really still like ILs most desirable towns but cannot defend them here on this very specific issue...

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

I can't think of one suburb that is dry. There of course are liquor laws. Wheaton is not even dry anymore although it does not allow stand alone bars, they have to be part of a restaurant. It has a brewery called Emmetts. There are microbreweries in a number of places. There was one in Glen Ellyn, now gone, and there is a distillery in Riverside that makes whiskey and other potables. The Quincy Street Distillery. A little work on google will show you just how many there are around.

Is that the same Emmets in Downers? I like their food, not a huge fan of their beers.

I typically find restaurants that brew beer don't brew great beer, breweries that brew beer and just happen to serve a bit of food tend to be better in both beer and food. I'm a huge fan of 3 Floyds, Two Brothers, Lagunitas, Half Acre

[mwj119]

I think Detroit and Chicago are very very comparable, with the difference being vitality and overall health over the last four decades as well as size. The Grosse Point areas would be the north shore, the Rochester Hills would be the outer suburbs like Barrington or Inverness. Royal Oak would be Oak Park. They're more similar than different. Aesthetically, I do see some real similarities in the older suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul as well. St. Paul has some neighborhoods that could easily be confused for La Grange or Wilmette.

Overall though, and to answer the question, I do think Chicago offers the best suburbs in the Midwest. And, right up there in North America. Accessibility and transportation, well kept neighborhoods, good schools. With traditional Chicago fare being so prevalent, I would like to see a larger emphasis on local food/sustainable food sourcing, mom and pop coffee shops, etc. The American grill food scene, even when masked behind avacado and brioche buns, is too prevalent in the suburbs still. But that's a story for another day.

[JJski]

MWJ - great points although i think the night scene in Royal Oak blows out Oak Park. But Oak Park is on its way there and i bet in near future these two will be very very alike to your point...

I also think if you take Evanston and mush it together with Naperville here you would get an Ann Arbor.

I do feel La Grange and Elmhurst remind me of Plymouth and Western Springs to Northville... With Hinsdale to Birmingham...

[pvande55]

Wow, I didn't realize that having a drink was so important. Evanston was dry for many years, and the HQ for the WCTU. I knew that Wheaton also was. Of course, the good citizens of the dry suburbs went to the (often less fashionable) wet suburbs to imbibe.

[JJski]

PV in the context of this thread - it is a difference between chicago burbs and out of state towns. Many younger transplants (+chets big city kids/new young families) especially take aggressive issue with it and to us it is a dry equivalent when compared to what we are used to - sometimes you just want to have a drink, relax and not eat/feel like you are in a restaurant... but its changing, thankfully...

And Again I think our top towns are still great overall and this is just one element..

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by pvande55

Wow, I didn't realize that having a drink was so important. Evanston was dry for many years, and the HQ for the WCTU. I knew that Wheaton also was. Of course, the good citizens of the dry suburbs went to the (often less fashionable) wet suburbs to imbibe.

Evanston....and the rest of the North Shore up until Highwood (not really NS) and Lake Forest (definitely NS) were dry because of an ordinance that was related to NU's charter as to why the area was dry.