Returning to Chicago (Cicero, Berwyn, Oak Park: condos, crime, mortgage)

[Isaysos]

Hi all,
I am in the process of relocating to the Chicagoland from St. Paul! I grew up in Oak Park in the late 70's early80's. Have things in that area changed much since? I loved the area growing up. Want to move back to there or the NW section of the city. I hear Austin is still bad but getting better? Might be a possibility. I have till December to decide. Dont want to live in any sprawlville traffic dependent suburb like Hoffman or Carol Stream. The metra is good with me.

Please let me know what you think!
Thanks

[Drover]

If Austin is getting better, it's by very small increments. It's still by and large a not-nice place and it doesn't look like that will fundamentally change any time soon.

Oak Park has become something of a yuppie playground. It has practically become a western outpost of Lincoln Park but with fewer college students. There are lots of precious little boutique shops, trendy restaurants, a wine bar or two, and the like. Condos and townhouses have sprung up all over downtown. The downtown area has a look and vibe more akin to an upscale-ish Chicago neighborhood rather than a suburb.

[oakparkdude]

I don't think Oak Park is quite Lincoln Park west yet. The downtown area has some new retail/restaurants, but still lacking the kind of vibrancy you'd expect to see in the more upscale parts of the city. The trend is definitely headed in the right direction, and Drover is right to point out the loads of new construction housing in downtown. We should have a new trader joe's opening up in a few months or so, which will definitely help.

Unfortunately, we've got quite a bit of NIMBYism which slows down redevelopment ("We like our half-deserted sidewalks and semi-decrepit storefronts!")

Housing costs have gone through the roof recently, and even houses on the east side of town are quite pricey. Compared to the 70s and 80s (I think), the amount of crime has decreased, although the subject of crime is still a touchy issue these days. Most of the crime is of the property-type (garage break ins, etc), a few muggings still take place (usually late at night and on the east side of town.

Is Austin getting any better? Hard to say. I wasn't here back in the 70s or 80s, so I don't have a good reference point. There are reasons for optimism and reasons for despair. Hopefully, the gentrification of Oak Park will soon spill over eastward into Austin. I'm a bit worried that the nationwide mortgage meltdown will have serious deleterious effects on neighborhoods like Austin.

[Isaysos]

Thanks for the replys! Yeah, I was never worried about crime back then, I think people make too big of a deal about crime by saying areas are bad when they really arent. I have heard housing Prices in Oak Park are rising. I have a great aunt that still holds on to here house there and shes in her 80's, lived there her whole life. Seems like the have a Walgreens every other block now, so thats wierd to see, not necessarily a bad thing. Do you know how much there asking for the new housing devleopment downtown OP? How about Cicero or Berwyn? Im assuming that area is still less expensive?

[oakparkdude]

If you want a SFH, you can get one in south Oak Park starting in the 400s. There are a few available in the 300s, but they're pretty small/unupdated. A house in north Oak Park will probably start in the 500s. East of Ridgeland is cheaper, in the 400s. If you want a new construction condo near downtown, its probably around 250 for a one bedroom and 300-400 for a two bedroom. Figure about $300/square foot. There are two newly completed condo developments downtown and two more midrise developments breaking ground soon. Probably two or three more in the planning stage. Vintage and 1950's condos are still pretty cheap, can get a small one or two bedroom for under 200K.

Property taxes are a real killer around here, expect to pay about 2% annually. If you don't have kids in school, consider Forest Park, around Madison St or Berwyn. You could probably save 50% on the price of a SFH in either of these communities. I don't know about Berwyn, but there's a couple new construction or rehab condo developments in Forest Park, they're pretty nice.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Isaysos

Hi all,
I am in the process of relocating to the Chicagoland from St. Paul! I grew up in Oak Park in the late 70's early80's. Have things in that area changed much since? I loved the area growing up. Want to move back to there or the NW section of the city. I hear Austin is still bad but getting better? Might be a possibility. I have till December to decide. Dont want to live in any sprawlville traffic dependent suburb like Hoffman or Carol Stream. The metra is good with me.

Please let me know what you think!
Thanks

Try Portage Park-it has been declining a bit-but there are more affordable prices there than Oak Park for sure. I think it might start coming back actually. You can take the Blue Line(O'Hare branch) or the Metra Downtown if that is where you are going to work.