Historic Diverse suburbs (Chicago, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg: 2015, employment, schools)

[beaniemac]

Originally Posted by Tonytime224

Glenview, Northbrook, Schaumburg, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Lake Zurich, Inverness

I don't think these suburbs are particularly diverse.

[damba]

That is correct. They are not in any truly significant way.

[sfcambridge]

Originally Posted by BRU67

It's still pretty token. Property taxes will do it, and property values and condo conversions have also put the brakes on it. Plus, the political and social leanings of most Oak Parkers are very similar. I wonder how tolerant they'd be of Republican Christian diversity, LOL!

You want diversity? Head south to Berwyn, where a young Hispanic family from Little Village with 5 kids might live next to a white suburban-raised DINK couple on one side and a fixed income senior citizen who has lived there for 55 years on the other. Now that's diversity!

Hey Bru, I thought you knew Oak Park?

There are a huge number of rental apartments here, and most are older/vintage buildings and are affordable for the location. They just built another low income building right in the center of town..... The senior/disabled only buildings are highly desirable and very inexpensive. You want a house? Obviously that's pricier to buy with high property taxes, but well within the OP's budget and a huge range of styles and prices. Now they overbuilding a bunch of "luxury" apartments/condos in the downtown area...

What you described in Berwyn sounds like what my block is like, except it is a young African American family, a lesbian couple helping to raise their grandkids, and a single mom teacher raising 2 kids, retired military couple, and a retired postal worker, a disabled retiree trying to age in place etc... And then we have a bunch of high priced folks... women lawyer, doctors, Asian professor, dual income couples and stay at home Mom's. All on the same block. Houses that just sold for $800,000 and houses selling for $300,000 (and could use a paint job) all on one block.

There are 53 Christian churches in Oak Park alone, from my quick search... and that's just Christianity.... It's kinda nuts.

I'm pretty liberal, and let me tell you.... there are a lot of conservatives in Oak Park. Some of the areas are quite conservative, but there are more folks who are economic conservatives/social liberals. I don't know how they vote these days (!).

That's what makes it a good mix.

I'm also a big fan of Berwyn, and recommend it to a lot people who downsizing from Oak Park for lower property taxes. Great bungalows.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

Hey Bru, I thought you knew Oak Park?

There are a huge number of rental apartments here, and most are older/vintage buildings and are affordable for the location. They just built another low income building right in the center of town..... The senior/disabled only buildings are highly desirable and very inexpensive. You want a house? Obviously that's pricier to buy with high property taxes, but well within the OP's budget and a huge range of styles and prices. Now they overbuilding a bunch of "luxury" apartments/condos in the downtown area...

What you described in Berwyn sounds like what my block is like, except it is a young African American family, a lesbian couple helping to raise their grandkids, and a single mom teacher raising 2 kids, retired military couple, and a retired postal worker, a disabled retiree trying to age in place etc... And then we have a bunch of high priced folks... women lawyer, doctors, Asian professor, dual income couples and stay at home Mom's. All on the same block. Houses that just sold for $800,000 and houses selling for $300,000 (and could use a paint job) all on one block.

There are 53 Christian churches in Oak Park alone, from my quick search... and that's just Christianity.... It's kinda nuts.

I'm pretty liberal, and let me tell you.... there are a lot of conservatives in Oak Park. Some of the areas are quite conservative, but there are more folks who are economic conservatives/social liberals. I don't know how they vote these days (!).

That's what makes it a good mix.

I'm also a big fan of Berwyn, and recommend it to a lot people who downsizing from Oak Park for lower property taxes. Great bungalows.

Yes, I do. I lived there for 5 years. You are entitled to your opinion and I'm glad your own personal experience seems to be quite diverse. And Berwyn, I'm sure, adds to that experience. But data definitely suggests change has been happening. The African-American population in D97 has been steadily declining - from 35% in 2000 to just 18% in 2016. And those in Oak Park Township who have voted Republican in the Presidential election has declined from 40% in 1988 to just 9% last election. Granted, it was Donald Trump, but Romney only got 16% in 2012, and McCain only 15% in 2008, so Oak Park's Republican leanings have been consistently declining over the years.

OAK PARK ESD 97: Race/Ethnicity

http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/elect...ort_110816.pdf

I really like Oak Park, and it's been highly successful - you can barely recognize Lake Street compared to even 15 years ago for one example. But that success is likely to continue to bring more affluence and less economic and social diversity.

[damba]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

Hey Bru, I thought you knew Oak Park?

There are a huge number of rental apartments here, and most are older/vintage buildings and are affordable for the location. They just built another low income building right in the center of town..... The senior/disabled only buildings are highly desirable and very inexpensive. You want a house? Obviously that's pricier to buy with high property taxes, but well within the OP's budget and a huge range of styles and prices. Now they overbuilding a bunch of "luxury" apartments/condos in the downtown area...

What you described in Berwyn sounds like what my block is like, except it is a young African American family, a lesbian couple helping to raise their grandkids, and a single mom teacher raising 2 kids, retired military couple, and a retired postal worker, a disabled retiree trying to age in place etc... And then we have a bunch of high priced folks... women lawyer, doctors, Asian professor, dual income couples and stay at home Mom's. All on the same block. Houses that just sold for $800,000 and houses selling for $300,000 (and could use a paint job) all on one block.

There are 53 Christian churches in Oak Park alone, from my quick search... and that's just Christianity.... It's kinda nuts.

I'm pretty liberal, and let me tell you.... there are a lot of conservatives in Oak Park. Some of the areas are quite conservative, but there are more folks who are economic conservatives/social liberals. I don't know how they vote these days (!).

That's what makes it a good mix.

I'm also a big fan of Berwyn, and recommend it to a lot people who downsizing from Oak Park for lower property taxes. Great bungalows.

It's interesting how nearly everyone has this idea of what necessarily constitutes 'diversity', and it almost always fits their own narrative.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Yes, I do. I lived there for 5 years. You are entitled to your opinion and I'm glad your own personal experience seems to be quite diverse. And Berwyn, I'm sure, adds to that experience. But data definitely suggests change has been happening. The African-American population in D97 has been steadily declining - from 35% in 2000 to just 18% in 2016. And those in Oak Park Township who have voted Republican in the Presidential election has declined from 40% in 1988 to just 9% last election. Granted, it was Donald Trump, but Romney only got 16% in 2012, and McCain only 15% in 2008, so Oak Park's Republican leanings have been consistently declining over the years.

OAK PARK ESD 97: Race/Ethnicity

http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/elect...ort_110816.pdf

I really like Oak Park, and it's been highly successful - you can barely recognize Lake Street compared to even 15 years ago for one example. But that success is likely to continue to bring more affluence and less economic and social diversity.

If you look at the link that you posted, while the African-American population has dropped from 35 to 18%, the white population has also decreased from 58 to 54% over the same time period. In contrast the Hispanic population has increased from 3.6 to 11.5%, Asians from 2.6 to 3.9%, and multi-racial (which was not a category in 2000) is now 11.6%. Based on first hand experience, I would hypothesize that the majority of the African-American decrease (and possibly the white decrease) is due to reclassification as multi-racial. Overall, with the significant increase in Asian and Hispanic populations, and slight decreases in white and black populations, I'd say that diversity (at least racial) is increasing.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by damba

It's interesting how nearly everyone has this idea of what necessarily constitutes 'diversity', and it almost always fits their own narrative.

I define it rather literally and I don't think Oak Park really meets it. I'm sure an Oak Parker will be quick to point out the white southern Baptists down the block who moved here from Louisville and who are whispered to have voted for Trump. But in very large part, Oak Park is made up of like-minded liberal professionals. And they would be prone to guilt if there weren't some poor and minorities in the Village, so they will strongly defend that image.

This is all cool and I have no issue with it personally. I just find it funny that whenever somebody mentions the word "diverse," Oak Park + Evanston are usually not more than a post or two down the thread. It's become a knee-jerk versus reasoned response.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

If you look at the link that you posted, while the African-American population has dropped from 35 to 18%, the white population has also decreased from 58 to 54% over the same time period. In contrast the Hispanic population has increased from 3.6 to 11.5%, Asians from 2.6 to 3.9%, and multi-racial (which was not a category in 2000) is now 11.6%. Based on first hand experience, I would hypothesize that the majority of the African-American decrease (and possibly the white decrease) is due to reclassification as multi-racial. Overall, with the significant increase in Asian and Hispanic populations, and slight decreases in white and black populations, I'd say that diversity (at least racial) is increasing.

Considering that Berwyn is probably at least 75% Hispanic by now and Cicero Is over 90% I'm not surprised the Hispanic enrollment has gone up. I think the high taxes and housing costs will keep this number rather low though.

[japster28]

skokie without a doubt is potentially the most diverse suburb.

i know maine east HS in Niles has a student body that represents something like 80 countries.

[ToriaT]

Wheaton is not really that diverse. The area around the downtown is mostly white. I agree with the remark on Berwyn. Very diverse. You have Mexican families from the city, white folks that have lived there for years, white and other folks that have come from places in the city and Oak Park because Berwyn is more cost effective and has cool vintage housing, singles, artists, musicians, as well as members of the LGBT community.