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Boston is a magnet for young adults from , yes, VT/NH/ME. Going south, it gets some from RI, but CT is another story. Chicago is a magnet for all of the Midwest ( albeit a bit less when west of Des Moines, and Minnesotans tend to just stay in MSP). Big 10 grads ( or whatever the conference is calling itself now) from Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin absolutely flood the city. All midwestern roads lead to Chicago.
I made mention of the neighborly, "kick the can", block party environment in so many Chicagoland suburbs.
I absolutely think there is a link between Chicago suburbs and the Big 10/State school draw. There is absolutely something to what you're saying. It is not at all uncommon, at least in the predominantly white collar suburbs of Chicago, to have folks that grew up in Cleveland, Detroit, Dayton, Indianapolis, and Wisconsin living in the same neighborhood and flying their Big 10 flags. It's actually pretty cool.
Honest question: what suburban amenities does Chicago have that Boston lacks?
Convenience, if you'd call that an amenity. There's more of everything, and often closer. Chicago communities maintain density- commercial and residential- far further than Boston suburbs. 95 towns in Boston, if it were like Illinois, would be as dense as Newton.
Of course, I get that. I am not the one who started talking about skiing...that was a Boston argument thing. It's gone on for so long, I figured if people really wanted skiing, they should know that other states offer better options, than one gets in the Boston area.
I would go to Colorado..What’s interesting is that Chicago beats Boston in many areas but actually isn’t “best†at virtually anything. If o wanted the best of theatre, finance, tech, food, education, medicine, research, outdoor recreation you name it..I wouldn’t end up in Chicago
Convenience, if you'd call that an amenity. There's more of everything, and often closer. Chicago communities maintain density- commercial and residential- far further than Boston suburbs. 95 towns in Boston, if it were like Illinois, would be as dense as Newton.
So take me, currently living in the Merrimack Valley. What am I missing that I would have in a similar suburb ~1hr outside of Chicago.
Most suburbs I’ve been to have all had the same kind of things in them. Even Newton doesn’t have anything that stands out to me besides subway access and good schools, and plenty of towns have the latter.
I love those tidy brick homes on small lots. Love them.
It's actually funny, if you continue to head in the same direction in the second/residential neighborhood link, you run into Park Ridge. Check out the immediate difference in homes/lots/trees. I love Park Ridge.
So take me, currently living in the Merrimack Valley. What am I missing that I would have in a similar suburb ~1hr outside of Chicago.
Most suburbs I’ve been to have all had the same kind of things in them. Even Newton doesn’t have anything that stands out to me besides subway access and good schools, and plenty of towns have the latter.
Well Newton has 13 separate villages, many of which have their own main street/square, which gives it a considerable amount of walkability. But, Newton is an anomaly in this way, and functions more like Evanston in Illinois.
Deerfield, IL sits 25 miles north of the city, inland from the water. So, let's choose Deerfield and Andover. Median income is about the same, a tad higher in Andover. Median SFH home in Andover is just shy of $700k, while in Deerfield, it's around $400k. (!!!!!)
Both have nice downtowns, though Andover's is nicer, which I generally find to be the case in MA.
However, downtown Deerfield is 1.5 miles to a major mall- Northbrook Court. It is 7 miles to the Glen (think Assemble Square). Deerfield hosts more commercial space within the confines of the town, including Walgreens, Takeda (now moving to Cambridge, MA), Baxter, Mondelez, AIM, Randstad. Also, Kraft, and Allstate are only a few miles south.
Furthermore, Deerfield has a population density of 3,400 psqmi, and a total land area of 5.6 miles. So, you can literally walk/bike to downtown, or other commercial activity, from almost anywhere. In Andover, you have an outpost for Raytheon, Philips, and small offices for Putnam, and Pfizer. Andover has the land area of 32 sqmi, giving it a population density of 1000. Unless you live directly off of downtown, which is tough on the wallet, you're not walking anywhere, including the train. 114 gives you the added bonus of some daily shopping and a few restaurants, but it's nothing like Northbrook court or the other commercial areas in Deerfield. To put it into perspective, in the way of driving, you'd have to drive 7.6 miles from downtown Andover to get to a Target. In Deerfield, you have 3+ within 5.5 miles, two major shopping malls/districts, and several town cores including Northbrook, Glenview, and Highland park.
So, quite literally, you'd have 3-4x the sheer amount of "stuff" in and around Deerfield, which is similarly situated in IL as Andover is in MA.
You can use this same type of equation, over, and over, and over again across the two metros.
It's actually funny, if you continue to head in the same direction in the second/residential neighborhood link, you run into Park Ridge. Check out the immediate difference in homes/lots/trees. I love Park Ridge.
A beautiful suburb...not even one of the "top", but, still, very lovely.
Confuses the heck out of me why it's not top tier, though. It has a bit more socioeconomic diversity in its schools, so the schools don't have the same test score output as a Wilmette, or a Western Springs.
But from a looks perspective, and a convenience perspective, there are few suburbs as nice and as nicely situated as Park Ridge. And Park Ridge's downtown/uptown is amongst my favorite in Chicagoland. It doesn't rival an Elmhurst or Arlington Heights in volume, but it's certainly more charming. To me, it's a nicer La Grange. Park Ridge lifted the "dry" status a few years back, and the area has exploded with a new little restaurant/bar scene that really makes it feel like a nicer, cleaner extension of Edison Park.
The housing stock and tree canopy has a look and feel that mirrors the pre WWII areas that hug the lake in the North Shore of Chicago, as well as the towns north of Milwaukee.. Whitefish Bay, Shorewood. Kind of like Wilmette, but he snootiness (and without the brick/paver roads east of downtown).
Confuses the heck out of me why it's not top tier, though. It has a bit more socioeconomic diversity in its schools, so the schools don't have the same test score output as a Wilmette, or a Western Springs.
But from a looks perspective, and a convenience perspective, there are few suburbs as nice and as nicely situated as Park Ridge. And Park Ridge's downtown/uptown is amongst my favorite in Chicagoland. It doesn't rival an Elmhurst or Arlington Heights in volume, but it's certainly more charming. To me, it's a nicer La Grange. Park Ridge lifted the "dry" status a few years back, and the area has exploded with a new little restaurant/bar scene that really makes it feel like a nicer, cleaner extension of Edison Park.
The housing stock and tree canopy has a look and feel that mirrors the pre WWII areas that hug the lake in the North Shore of Chicago, as well as the towns north of Milwaukee.. Whitefish Bay, Shorewood. Kind of like Wilmette, but he snootiness (and without the brick/paver roads east of downtown).
All good points. I love Park Ridge, and it's tree canopy. Also, the beauty of Whitefish Bay, Shorewood, and Fox Point in Milwaukee, is completely unknown to almost everyone outside of Milwaukee. Glad you're aware, because they are amazing.
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