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Old 04-17-2015, 07:32 AM
 
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That's a long train ride from Berwyn to O'Hare if you're taking the blue line.
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Old 04-17-2015, 07:37 AM
 
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Originally Posted by pete6032 View Post
That's a long train ride from Berwyn to O'Hare if you're taking the blue line.
But you always get a seat!
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Old 04-17-2015, 09:10 AM
 
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I'd probably live in Forest Park - especially if Oak Park is your ideal. You can get some deals there. And just drive on River Road to the airport.

Why not just rent? What's your timeline?
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Old 04-17-2015, 09:32 AM
 
Location: Oak Park, IL
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Originally Posted by sfcambridge View Post
I'd probably live in Forest Park - especially if Oak Park is your ideal. You can get some deals there. And just drive on River Road to the airport.

Why not just rent? What's your timeline?
The CTA Harlem Ave bus to the (O'hare branch) Harlem Blue line station is quicker than taking the Blue line from Forest Park to O'hare too.
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Old 04-17-2015, 12:53 PM
 
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Originally Posted by oakparkdude View Post
The CTA Harlem Ave bus to the (O'hare branch) Harlem Blue line station is quicker than taking the Blue line from Forest Park to O'hare too.
Good idea. How long is the trip?
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Old 04-17-2015, 01:02 PM
 
Location: Oak Park, IL
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Originally Posted by sfcambridge View Post
Good idea. How long is the trip?
Less than 20 minutes from the Harlem Green line station to the Harlem Blue line station (O'hare branch) with minimal traffic. Obviously (much) slower during rush hour. Still faster than going into Chicago on the Forest Park Blue line branch and back out on the O'hare branch.
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Old 04-17-2015, 01:08 PM
 
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Originally Posted by sfcambridge View Post
I'd probably live in Forest Park - especially if Oak Park is your ideal. You can get some deals there. And just drive on River Road to the airport.

Why not just rent? What's your timeline?
I don't really have a timeline. I'm just looking around. My sister is going to work at UIC so it would be close to someone in the family. I was surprised the homes were so cheap in Berwyn. That is cheaper than Minneapolis where I am now, and don't like that much.
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Old 04-17-2015, 02:09 PM
 
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Originally Posted by tjasse View Post
I don't really have a timeline. I'm just looking around. My sister is going to work at UIC so it would be close to someone in the family. I was surprised the homes were so cheap in Berwyn. That is cheaper than Minneapolis where I am now, and don't like that much.
Oak Park/Forest Park/Berwyn are nice options if your sister will be at UIC.

Berwyn is a great deal, as you have noticed, with good access to the city/public transportation and affordable cute bungalows. The schools have a poor reputation, but that is irrelevant for you. If you already know and like Berwyn... get a bungalow! Berwyn has fixed up the area on Roosevelt road quite a bit, and Fitzgerald's is still great, the 16th St. Theater is a gem, and some good cheap eateries are still there with trendy ones popping up too (Autre Monde). And now there's a Costco bordering the North Riverside mall (off Harlem).

I actually know of several people who have moved from Oak Park to Berwyn to avoid the high Oak Park property taxes.

I wonder if Berwyn may have had quite a few foreclosures, that may be keeping values low. But people are discovering it, so it is also a good time to get something as prices may rise.
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Old 04-20-2015, 08:59 AM
 
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The OP may want to post this in the Chicago Suburbs thread instead. I'm actually in the same boat (looking into buying a house in an affordable suburb). The one thing I've learned is that property taxes in Illinois can be HIGHER than the cost of a monthly mortgage, so don't assume you can afford a house without calculating property tax (you can do this on most real estate websites).
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Old 04-20-2015, 12:04 PM
 
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Many of these are not cheap. Oak Park is not cheap at all. Neither are Park Ridge or Riverside. Maybe okay for renting but for buying can be super expensive and taxes are high. Chicago has high prices for homes and the crime rates may be higher and I don't really have much confidence in the police being able to respond as well as good city services. In other cases the areas mentioned are not good. I just bought in Berwyn and its not bad as you might think. Of course its changed a lot and if you lived there a long time ago you would think its in a decline but that is the case with most of the inner ring suburbs save a few.

There are a lot of people moving into Berwyn, every time I go I see dumpsters where someone is rehabbing. Also lots of homes being flipped there.
I've been happy with the city services and the stores, shops and restaurants around there, access to transportation and roads, the Eisenhower, Cermak, Roosevelt and Ogden. You can do a lot worse than Berwyn especially if you are on a budget and you want to be near the city. You would be much better there than the south suburbs.
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