Closest suburb to downtown that is.. (Chicago, Arlington Heights: real estate, homes, neighborhood)

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by Heyhoo

thanks. Whats the typical commute from oak park to the loop? driving during rush hr and also taking the train?

20 minutes by train, 10-20 minutes by car.

BTW, some people might not consider Oak Park upscale. Parts of Oak Park are definitely "upscale", other parts much less so.

[Heyhoo]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

20 minutes by train, 10-20 minutes by car.

BTW, some people might not consider Oak Park upscale. Parts of Oak Park are definitely "upscale", other parts much less so.

wow thats not bad commute at all. Are you sure 10/20 mins drive to loop during RUSH HR?

Well other decidedly "upscale" suburbs like barrington, LF etc are too far from downtown for me.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by Heyhoo

wow thats not bad commute at all. Are you sure 10/20 mins drive to loop during RUSH HR?

Well other decidedly "upscale" suburbs like barrington, LF etc are too far from downtown for me.

Hmm, maybe 30 minutes during rush hour. I don't drive into the Loop during business hours very frequently, so hopefully someone else will have a better estimate.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by Heyhoo

just like the spaciousness, mall/shopping, places to eat etc. I just feel that downtown areas like LP are just too congested to me. So I want to have the suburban kind of life but still not be too far from downtown.

Oak Brook is similar to Schaumburg in many ways with the Oak Brook mall, shopping, dining, but with space and a little closer to downtown. (Think about 15-20 miles from downtown, versus 25-30 miles).

I live in Oak Park and love it, but I wouldn't describe as being like Schaumburg. However if you are looking for an area that is more compact, walkable and centrally located, but is also less congested and has more trees than Lincoln Park, etc. then you might like it.

Also, you might check out Skokie. Theres a major mall there, with parking but also closer to downtown. (Maybe about 10-15 miles from downtown).

[tompope]

Heyhoo, in all seriousness, Oak Park is wonderful and beautiful and upscale, but it doesn't really have the same kind of suburban feel of Schaumburg that you sound like you're looking for. Neither does Skokie, Berwyn, or the other inner-ring suburbs that immediately abut Chicago's city limits, which all date from an earlier era of suburban development patterns. There really just aren't any places that are a lot like Schaumburg that are super-close to downtown Chicago. That simply doesn't exist. I think the closest thing you'll find are the ring of suburbs along the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) just west, northwest, and southwest of Chicago. I'm thinking of places like Mount Prospect, Elmhurst, Oak Brook (as Tex?Il? mentioned), and Burr Ridge. Parts of those towns are very quintessentially suburban in the same late-20th-century way that Schaumburg is, with lots of open spaces, malls, cul-de-sacs, etc. None of them are terribly close to the Loop, but they're a bit closer and more convenient to it than Schaumburg, Barrington, or Lake Forest are.

I hope this helps.

[SJaye]

What about Skokie?

[Heyhoo]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

Oak Brook is similar to Schaumburg in many ways with the Oak Brook mall, shopping, dining, but with space and a little closer to downtown. (Think about 15-20 miles from downtown, versus 25-30 miles).

I live in Oak Park and love it, but I wouldn't describe as being like Schaumburg. However if you are looking for an area that is more compact, walkable and centrally located, but is also less congested and has more trees than Lincoln Park, etc. then you might like it.

Also, you might check out Skokie. Theres a major mall there, with parking but also closer to downtown. (Maybe about 10-15 miles from downtown).

thanks. Is the train access to downtown easy from oak brook? (im assuming its a short ride). I think i read that schaumburg didnt have its own station and u have to use medinah (sp?) station and thats apparently a pain.

So wondering how transit system was for oak brook. Just want avoid paying those downtown parking fees.

Also; what direction is Oak BROOK & Oak PARK from downtown?

[Heyhoo]

Originally Posted by tompope

Heyhoo, in all seriousness, Oak Park is wonderful and beautiful and upscale, but it doesn't really have the same kind of suburban feel of Schaumburg that you sound like you're looking for. Neither does Skokie, Berwyn, or the other inner-ring suburbs that immediately abut Chicago's city limits, which all date from an earlier era of suburban development patterns. There really just aren't any places that are a lot like Schaumburg that are super-close to downtown Chicago. That simply doesn't exist. I think the closest thing you'll find are the ring of suburbs along the Tri-State Tollway (I-294) just west, northwest, and southwest of Chicago. I'm thinking of places like Mount Prospect, Elmhurst, Oak Brook (as Tex?Il? mentioned), and Burr Ridge. Parts of those towns are very quintessentially suburban in the same late-20th-century way that Schaumburg is, with lots of open spaces, malls, cul-de-sacs, etc. None of them are terribly close to the Loop, but they're a bit closer and more convenient to it than Schaumburg, Barrington, or Lake Forest are.

I hope this helps.

Yeah I'm seriously considering Oak Brook and/or Oak Park. I remember hearing abt Oak Brook before as well as a nice place and i believe mcds is also HQed there.

[tompope]

Originally Posted by Heyhoo

Yeah I'm seriously considering Oak Brook and/or Oak Park. I remember hearing abt Oak Brook before as well as a nice place and i believe mcds is also HQed there.

Despite their similar names, Oak Park and Oak Brook are strikingly different places. Oak Park is an old, inner suburb, densely developed and laid-out, and in fact looks and functions almost just like one of the neighborhoods of the City of Chicago. Oak Brook is mid- to upscale suburban sprawl, quite a bit like Schaumburg. It sounded like that's more what you're looking for.

[Heyhoo]

Originally Posted by tompope

Despite their similar names, Oak Park and Oak Brook are strikingly different places. Oak Park is an old, inner suburb, densely developed and laid-out, and in fact looks and functions almost just like one of the neighborhoods of the City of Chicago. Oak Brook is mid- to upscale suburban sprawl, quite a bit like Schaumburg. It sounded like that's more what you're looking for.

Yes, that is what I am strongly leaning towards vs living in LP etc

BTW how are the housing costs there? what would a decent SFH cost in oak brook?