Is Oak Park sort of a "college town" without the college? (Evanston: neighborhood)

[Tex?Il?]

This sounds like a strange question.

But seriously, I know a lot people who teach/work at UIC and live in Oak Park. It is the closest family-oriented area, but with lots of culture, to the UIC area.

And Elmhurst college is not really that far away. I've known teachers at that school that live in Oak Park. And of course there is Concordia and Dominican right there in River Forest. Oak Park does feel a lot like Evanston, without Northwestern.

There is a very strong educated vibe in Oak Park, and I wonder if its because there are a lot of academic types there.

Its kind of weird question I know. What do you think?

[GT28107]

No. I have family there. It's a very diverse mix of people. Everything from wealthy to lower class. As a whole, it's a very progressive neighborhood.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

This sounds like a strange question.

But seriously, I know a lot people who teach/work at UIC and live in Oak Park. It is the closest family-oriented area, but with lots of culture, to the UIC area.

And Elmhurst college is not really that far away. I've known teachers at that school that live in Oak Park. And of course there is Concordia and Dominican right there in River Forest. Oak Park does feel a lot like Evanston, without Northwestern.

There is a very strong educated vibe in Oak Park, and I wonder if its because there are a lot of academic types there.

Its kind of weird question I know. What do you think?

It's not a weird question. I've heard this term thrown about many times in one form or other on this board, probably because Oak Park is always referenced in the same sentence as Evanston and Hyde Park in the first post after any homosexual, liberal, vegitarian, mixed race couple, environmentalist, or Volvo owner comes on here asking where they should live. So many have probably automatically come to think of them as one.

To answer your question though, not really. It doesn't have a vibrant bar scene for one thing. It's a lot better than it used to be but it's not like a typical college town or even Hyde Park or Evanston. Nor does it have a lot of young single students. There are students who live there (many who go to UIC or Rush) but I don't think there are enough to qualify the whole community as a "college town".

[linicx]

Oak Park is basically a diverse, and rather unique, Village town with good transportation that is also family friendly. .

Oak Park Tourist - Touring, Living and Working in Oak Park, Illinois

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Is Oak Park sort of a "college town" without the college?

No.

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

This sounds like a strange question.

But seriously, I know a lot people who teach/work at UIC and live in Oak Park. It is the closest family-oriented area, but with lots of culture, to the UIC area.

And Elmhurst college is not really that far away. I've known teachers at that school that live in Oak Park. And of course there is Concordia and Dominican right there in River Forest. Oak Park does feel a lot like Evanston, without Northwestern.

There is a very strong educated vibe in Oak Park, and I wonder if its because there are a lot of academic types there.

Its kind of weird question I know. What do you think?

IMO, A big part of what gives a "college town" its feel is the student body. When I think "college town" I think of a place where the relationship between the town and university is such that the university is a substantial portion of the local economy and the student body is the largest contributor to the local cultural vibe. I just don't see anything like that kind of critical mass in Oak Park the way you do in traditional college towns like Chambana or Madison, or even in the functional equivalent of a "college town within a bigger urban area" like Cambridge or the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh or even the DePaul section of Lincoln Park. It's just not there in Oak Park.

[jamaicabound60565]

Oak Park is very diverse, lots of culture but not at all a college town. Oak Park is also VERY liberal.