Oak Park alternatives? (Chicago, Berwyn, Forest Park: crime, lawyers, buying a house)

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by vandre

Berwyn is a 5-10 minute drive to Oak Park. In that sense the OP would not miss 'upscale anything'. We currently live near Cermak rd and we often go to Oak Park during the weekends, there is even free parking near Lake St (both street parking and parking lots).

BTW does anybody know what happened to tapas Sevilla in Berwyn? is it still the same owner? I saw that they changed the name. It was a nice restaurant.. not Charlie Trotter ultra upscale-like, but as nice as other restaurants in Oak Park

Yup, it's called La Espanola now. Same ownership, same menu, same decor, same prices. The only change is the name. Apparently, there was another tapas bar somewhere in the country also called Sevilla's. So to avoid litigation, the business changed its name.

Agree that this is a nice restaurant. As to Chet's comment about lack of upscale anything, many upscale options are 5-10 minutes away in Forest Park, Oak Park and even a few in Riverside. And I think as Berwyn's demographics continue to change, you'll start to see more choices in Berwyn proper. This stuff rarely precedes gentrification. It usually follows. And FYI, Cafe Palermo on Ogden is a good place to get coffee with foamy milk if you don't want to leave Berwyn.

[Lookout Kid]

I don't know your financial situation and debt load, but plenty of people live in Oak Park with salaries quite a bit lower than $115,000/year. If you're not afraid of the east side of Oak Park, you can still find houses there in the $300,000s. There are also some really nice, large condos and townhomes.

[bearboy]

I grew up in LaGrange Park and now live in Berwyn and you can't go wrong with either one. LaGrange/LaGrange Park is more "suburban" and has the beautiful big houses like Oak Park. Plus for the past 15 years LaGrange's downtown has totally revitalized. Has the nice bistros, Starbucks,shops and a movie theater and great schools like Oak Park. Plus the Metra runs right through it. As far as cost of living its a hair cheaper than Oak Park. LaGrange Park which is south of LaGrange (Ogden Ave is the border) is more reasonable and is just as nice as LaGrange. Same access to the great schools.

Berwyn has more of a city vibe to it. Has the grit of living downtown and again great public tranportation (Metra and the Blue Line in Oak Park). South Berwyn is steadily becoming very nice with small hip bars and restaurants. North Berwyn is not as nice but your a stones throw from downtown Oak Park and cool clubs like Fitzgeralds and the bars in Forest Park along Madison. The only knocks with Berwyn is that your next to Cicero and the West Side of Chicago. Both attrach their share of riff-raff but again Oak Park have the same problems. Also the schools aren't the best but there are options such as private schools such as Fenwick in Oak Park.

[Pebbles81]

thanks for all this information. we are in a similar situation as the op.

[dallamsorgan]

Wow! Thanks so much for all the info!

My wife & kiddies took a trip to Chicago this weekend to do a neighborhood search using many of your sections as a guide. My wife is basically bought & sold on Oak Park for a myriad of reasons, but mostly because of the elementary schools, downtown area (restaurants, pubs, movie theater), and a couple of friends who relocated there last year who absolutely love it.

So, perhaps alternatives to Oak Park ain't in the stars for us. That said, we walked down some amazing streets, saw some beautiful homes, and have been looking on Craigslist obsessively for an address to call our own. We'd love to get a 3 bedroom SFH, but our favorites are always over $2,000 and we are trying to keep it under that number. Are there any good streets that are affordable, close to the downtown, north of I290 and west of Austin? Or would anyone suggest to look at the homes south of I290 east of Austin?

An insiders viewpoint would be much appreciated.

Side note: It is important for me to have something resembling a single family home with a garage, 'cause I am a musician that needs a small detached space to make a lil' pleasant noise & to lose myself in.

Onwards!

thx

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by dallamsorgan

Wow! Thanks so much for all the info!

My wife & kiddies took a trip to Chicago this weekend to do a neighborhood search using many of your sections as a guide. My wife is basically bought & sold on Oak Park for a myriad of reasons, but mostly because of the elementary schools, downtown area (restaurants, pubs, movie theater), and a couple of friends who relocated there last year who absolutely love it.

So, perhaps alternatives to Oak Park ain't in the stars for us. That said, we walked down some amazing streets, saw some beautiful homes, and have been looking on Craigslist obsessively for an address to call our own. We'd love to get a 3 bedroom SFH, but our favorites are always over $2,000 and we are trying to keep it under that number. Are there any good streets that are affordable, close to the downtown, north of I290 and west of Austin? Or would anyone suggest to look at the homes south of I290 east of Austin?

An insiders viewpoint would be much appreciated.

Side note: It is important for me to have something resembling a single family home with a garage, 'cause I am a musician that needs a small detached space to make a lil' pleasant noise & to lose myself in.

Onwards!

thx

Can you please clarify? ALL of Oak Park is west of Austin. Do you mean west of Ridgeland?

[dallamsorgan]

Sorry, a friend just told me to stay away from the South of I290 and East of Austin areas. I do not know enough about Oak Park to comment further...

thx

[oakparkdude]

Well, east of Austin puts you in Chicago, not Oak Park, and not a particularly desirable part of Chicago at that. I don't really see anything wrong with being south of the expressway, other than perhaps a sense of isolation from the rest of the town.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

Well, east of Austin puts you in Chicago, not Oak Park, and not a particularly desirable part of Chicago at that. I don't really see anything wrong with being south of the expressway, other than perhaps a sense of isolation from the rest of the town.

That physical divide makes for quite a different emphasis. You have a people kind of "clinging" onto the Oak Park address and schools more so than immersed in it. Like any other it does have some trade -offs, positive & negative. Pool is a big plus to some. Lots of stuff that you miss out by not being walking distance from the heart of town. Housing stock is definatly different, most would say not as pretty. Looks more like Forest Park.

[kindrakindra]

I have friends who live East of Ridgeland and/or south of the Expressway. Quite honestly, they are thrilled with their neighborhood, friends on the block, number of small children around, etc. My friend on Mapleton loves her block, is part of a babysitting co-op with other moms on the street, and is thrilled with the Hatch school. My friend on Cuyler told me that her neighbor hosted an Easter Egg Hunt and more than 40 kids under 5 came, all from the surrounding 'hood. They are in the Whittier School, and have been pleased with kindergarten. I think those areas are more affordable and because of that, you will find lots of young families with similar interests. I have tried to find out negatives about safety, and honestly cannot get anyone to admit to anything bad happening. My realtor is south of the Expressway, and he loves it also. So I would certainly look east of Ridgeland and south of the Expressway.