Suburb close to University of Chicago that is walkable? (Cicero: apartment, houses)

[lulu33]

Hello. My husband is working at UofC and we live in Hyde park now but want to move out to one of the suburbs to get a place that is a little larger. We want to move somewhere where its as close of a commute as possible but a safe neighborhood that is still walkable like Hyde Park. Not sure any suburb is like that but we are not from this area so I figured I would ask. We are also going to having a child and I work from home. We would also like to have some restaurants, shops, nice grocery stores around if at all possible, even if we have to drove to them. He will be driving to work. We like the diversity of Hyde Park but are looking for something with a predominantly white neighborhood.

The reasons we want to move are more space and we want indoor parking. If there are areas in chicago not necessarily the suburbs that have that, we would be open to that as well. I just dont like the small row houses and prefer something that is open and a larger one story floor plan.

[marothisu]

There's a suburbs forum, but I would bet a lot of money you'll get the typical Oak Park, Cicero, and Berwyn answers here I think..

[lulu33]

I'm so sorry I thought i was in the suburbs forum I will post there thanks.

[Vlajos]

Here's a map of Cook County to help determine what's close to Hyde Park.

[It'sAutomatic]

An area with large one-story buildings is not going to be walkable. No chance in hell. You're going to have a hard time even finding homes like that, for the living areas in the predominant single families in Chicago (ranch & bungalow) are not much larger than an apartment. If you have the money, Beverly may work, but that's still within the city limits.

[lulu33]

Thank you. We would be open to living in the city limits. Our biggest issue has been finding homes with a large open living space. Everything we have seen has been so small. We thought maybe if we went out a little it may be easier to find something a little bigger.

[Jandur]

Frankly if you can afford it I would just live in Hyde Park. It's got a nice balance of walk-ability and decent sized homes.

[aragx6]

If you share your budget we could probably make better suggestions!

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Jandur

Frankly if you can afford it I would just live in Hyde Park. It's got a nice balance of walk-ability and decent sized homes.

I agree, though SFs are expensive in HP.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by lulu33

Thank you. We would be open to living in the city limits. Our biggest issue has been finding homes with a large open living space. Everything we have seen has been so small. We thought maybe if we went out a little it may be easier to find something a little bigger.

"Something a little bigger" = less population density = amenities more spread out = less walkable

Smaller houses = denser population = more amenities in a smaller area = more walkable

You pretty much have to choose one or the other, unless you can afford to be one of the few people with a large residence in a neighborhood of mostly small residences.