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The impression I've gotten so far is that Riverside is fairly conservative, but not politically active. Yes, in Riverside, you can post an Obama sign in your window, on your car and in your yard, and no one will be angry with you or rip it up. Is it sedate? Do people object to children playing? What I'm asking is intangible, and subjective -- the feeling you get from living in a place. What's it like?
Oak Park has a reputation for being liberal, yet people are wealthy, so they tend to be business-types, who have little time for actual activism (yeilding "bumper-sticker activism") although they are mostly left-leaning Democrats. I fear crime in Oak Park -- it seems too divided between rich and poor. Will my child's bicycle get stolen from our front yard in Oak Park? If I forget to lock my garage, will things be stolen during the night?
La Grange is fairly conservative, but an Obama yard sign is OK if you don't flaunt your politics too much?? I'm getting the impression it has good schools, but is not very diverse, and that most people in La Grange live fairly conventional lives (as do we!), and most are Republicans. Is it also sedate? What is the atmosphere of La Grange? Are you supposed to whisper your political views? Will my children feel out of place because they aren't allowed to play video games, have no TV, no Wii, etc.?
Oak Park sounds like the most "tolerant" of all these towns, am I correct? Or is that an old impression?
We like old houses, old streets, big trees, and all three of these towns -- Riverside, La Grange and Oak Park have these. But we want to find other liberals, like us. Prairie Crossing is too far north for us, and the buildings are all new, so that's out.
BTW, we lived in Barrington during the Bush-Gore election, not the LAST presidential election, I stand corrected. In an area of 50,000 people (The Barringtons), I'm sure there are left-leaning liberal Democrats, but we lived there for 4 years, and never met a single one, despite joining a church, being on several boards, etc. Our children were babies, and we met mostly young parents, all of whom were Republicans! Barrington is lovely, except that we couldn't find people like us.
Thanks again for all your responses. All opinions welcome.
I fear crime in Oak Park -- it seems too divided between rich and poor.
Well, I don't know that Oak Park is that "divided between rich and poor". It's not as bad as Evanston in this respect. It's probably the most integrated city in the United States, but they use a strange convoluted system of housing agencies to make this happen. But the majority of homeowners are white people with higher incomes, and the majority of renters are black with lower incomes. You'll still find plenty of wealthy professional black residents, though. And you'll find many white professionals or students renting in Oak Park as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bzmatka
Will my child's bicycle get stolen from our front yard in Oak Park? If I forget to lock my garage, will things be stolen during the night?
Yes, this is the type of crime you will see frequently in Oak Park. Garage break-ins are big. And anything of value you leave outside in your front yard unattended will probably disappear. It's like living on the North Side of the city in that respect. Property crime is a much bigger problem than violent crime. But I'd definitely invest in a decent alarm system there (though I would in LaGrange too, for that matter).
The impression I've gotten so far is that Riverside is fairly conservative, but not politically active.
I've really never gotten the sense that Riverside was particularly conservative. It seems very "middle of the road" to me. It's a beautiful town laid out by Frederick Law Olmstead, and is one of the most unique suburbs in metro Chicago.
Like I said earlier, I live in La Grange and I do not think that the town is majority Republican or conservative. The poster Nysee was completely wrong. I think it's pretty political independent; Democrats and Republicans have both won here. In the last primary election, (according to the local paper) way more people took Democratic ballots that Republican. Is that because of the historic nature of that campaign? Who knows? There were also plenty of Democratic judge and Cook County State's Attorney signs. A Democrat would not feel out of place here at all. However, I don't think anyone can advise you about the not owning a television, Wii, etc. If you're going to be like this guy, then yes you are going to be out of place anywhere.
Why don't you search here for more information. It must be more useful to you that our anecdotal musings.
Like I said earlier, I live in La Grange and I do not think that the town is majority Republican or conservative. The poster Nysee was completely wrong. I think it's pretty political independent; Democrats and Republicans have both won here. In the last primary election, (according to the local paper) way more people took Democratic ballots that Republican. Is that because of the historic nature of that campaign? Who knows? There were also plenty of Democratic judge and Cook County State's Attorney signs. A Democrat would not feel out of place here at all. However, I don't think anyone can advise you about the not owning a television, Wii, etc. If you're going to be like this guy, then yes you are going to be out of place anywhere.
Why don't you search here for more information. It must be more useful to you that our anecdotal musings.
I was also thinking of that Onion article! So funny.
The impression I've gotten so far is that Riverside is fairly conservative, but not politically active. Yes, in Riverside, you can post an Obama sign in your window, on your car and in your yard, and no one will be angry with you or rip it up. Is it sedate? Do people object to children playing? What I'm asking is intangible, and subjective -- the feeling you get from living in a place. What's it like?
Oak Park has a reputation for being liberal, yet people are wealthy, so they tend to be business-types, who have little time for actual activism (yeilding "bumper-sticker activism") although they are mostly left-leaning Democrats. I fear crime in Oak Park -- it seems too divided between rich and poor. Will my child's bicycle get stolen from our front yard in Oak Park? If I forget to lock my garage, will things be stolen during the night?
La Grange is fairly conservative, but an Obama yard sign is OK if you don't flaunt your politics too much?? I'm getting the impression it has good schools, but is not very diverse, and that most people in La Grange live fairly conventional lives (as do we!), and most are Republicans. Is it also sedate? What is the atmosphere of La Grange? Are you supposed to whisper your political views? Will my children feel out of place because they aren't allowed to play video games, have no TV, no Wii, etc.?
Oak Park sounds like the most "tolerant" of all these towns, am I correct? Or is that an old impression?
We like old houses, old streets, big trees, and all three of these towns -- Riverside, La Grange and Oak Park have these. But we want to find other liberals, like us. Prairie Crossing is too far north for us, and the buildings are all new, so that's out.
BTW, we lived in Barrington during the Bush-Gore election, not the LAST presidential election, I stand corrected. In an area of 50,000 people (The Barringtons), I'm sure there are left-leaning liberal Democrats, but we lived there for 4 years, and never met a single one, despite joining a church, being on several boards, etc. Our children were babies, and we met mostly young parents, all of whom were Republicans! Barrington is lovely, except that we couldn't find people like us.
Thanks again for all your responses. All opinions welcome.
I do not agree that LaGrange is / was "fairly conservative" or that if one were to poll residents you would find that "most are Republicans". Historically LaGrange has never been a force in the Illinois GOP, unlike other towns like Elmhurst or Park Ridge -- and both of those towns are far less 'reliably Republican than they once were...
I find it somewhat odd that you are asking if in one town or another folks "Are you supposed to whisper your political views?" -- I think this is good advice anywhere UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE AN ACTIVIST and generally make people think you have a one track 'true believer' mindset. If you are looking for some hotbed of activism you need to hang out with the professors from UIC or something, and even the most vocal of them do not live in Oak Park...
If you are do not loudly and obnoxiously proclaim your views about politics or parenting I am quite sure there are many towns that you can be happy in. However if you quiz the parents of your kids classmates not many people are going to be happy. It is like anything else, it is all about the tone. I remember some of my kids has classmates that had food allergies, the school made an effort to make sure that nothing was allowed that would trigger a reaction in the kids, but some parents were just obnoxious about this kind of thing and nothing was good enough for them. Seems to be that the school was not just 'tolerant' but "accomodating" yet some folks want some sort of jurisdiction over the behavior of others. Is that the kind of thing you call tolerance?
Given the size of LaGrange I would be shocked if there were no other families that restrict / reject video games and TV. You could almost certainly track them down and require that only they solicialize with your children, but I do not get the feeling that is what you are really looking to do.
On the other hand if you ARE looking for a town that has some great mass of parents that want TV and/or video games forbidden for all you are not going to find them in any town. Afterall, some people would find the imposition of others views to be, well, intolerant...
Places like LaGrange are a whole heck of lot less "herdy" than towns that have less diversity of income and development. I know people in LaGrange that have historic homes and very modest incomes. I also know folks with not particularly expensive homes and very handsome incomes. There are teardowns on the same block as rather homely places from the 50's or 60's and people are no hurry to impose any sort of uniformity as long the homes are well maintained. That mindset translates into other areas too. The town has been a leader is organizing special education, but also in having high performing kids at the schools. As racial minorities come to town they are generally accepted and there is no special effort to steer them into any area the way that Oak Park tries (but is not really that effective -- I have many friends that were specifically turned off by the "Command Economy" aspect of Oak Park Housing suggesting to folks to live in areas that are flat out unsafe in pursuit of some sort of racial score keeping...).
I am quite sure every town has some folks that are obnoxious spouters of political idealogy and other controversies and most people would simplely recommond overlooking such impolite people and focusing on the postive.
I have many friends that were specifically turned off by the "Command Economy" aspect of Oak Park Housing suggesting to folks to live in areas that are flat out unsafe in pursuit of some sort of racial score keeping...).
I highly doubt that. This only occurs if (1) you are a renter, and (2) you actually ASK the Oak Park Housing Center for help finding an apartment. It's pretty easy to avoid these agencies if you want to.
The impression I've gotten so far is that Riverside is fairly conservative, but not politically active. Yes, in Riverside, you can post an Obama sign in your window, on your car and in your yard, and no one will be angry with you or rip it up. Is it sedate? Do people object to children playing? What I'm asking is intangible, and subjective -- the feeling you get from living in a place. What's it like?
I am a bit unclear what you mean by "politically active." I am quite sure there are many people in Riverside who are politically active--be it on the local, state or federal level. Others just vote, and I'm sure there are some that don't care--kind of like anywhere else. Again, if you are looking for an environment like Madison or Berkely, you won't find it anywhere in the Chicago area.
As far as objecting to children playing, I have no idea why you'd ask that, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and answer with a definitive no. Like many towns in the near western suburbs, Riverside has a substantial Catholic population, and even with the changes in people's attitudes towards the church's doctrines on birth control, big families are the rule, not the exception. We have 3 kids, and we're one of the smaller families on the block. Most of our back yards are not fenced, and kids think nothing of crossing through other's back yards to get to a friends house, which is just fine with me.
Finally, I think I may have miscommunicated a bit when I suggested that Riverside is conservative. I don't really mean that it is conservative in the political sense--what I'm trying to get at is that it is a town that does not change quickly. People are, for the most part, suspicious of development, and any efforts to put up new buildings or embark on streetscaping programs are often met with resistance or at least with serious questioning. I like it--the community feels like a throwback to me. Others do not. But again, I would never cross it off a short-list for a home due to my political views.
... This only occurs if (1) you are a renter, and (2) you actually ASK the Oak Park Housing Center for help finding an apartment. It's pretty easy to avoid these agencies if you want to.
I can recall about a dozen people that I have talked to over the years that got 'advice' that was about as useful as saying "we want to pay more than a place is worth, live around some real thugs, always worry about your car, and help improve our little do-gooder score card then move to anyplace on this list". Oak Park Regional Housing Center
We are looking for a suburb with older (pre 1940) homes, good schools and lefty Democrats. .
Lot of Democrats in Harvey, Dolton, Maywood, Bellwood. The 1940's home are a plenty too.
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I have never understood "tolerance"...
We are looking for a suburb with older (pre 1940) homes, good schools and lefty Democrats. .
