Oak Park

I've lived in Oak Park for 9 years now. We live in south oak park not far from the pool. It's a friendly, family neighborhood and I really love it here. We know our neighbors and everyone watches out for one another. Love the community and walkability - it is my dream neighborhood in many ways.

But it is an urban area, so you have to like that sort of dense living, and I do. I haven't heard anything about gang activity through the grapevine, but there are random crimes and property crime is not uncommon (bike thefts, that kind of thing.) I feel like I know the neighborhoods pretty well and I personally wouldn't say any particular area is a bad area. Most people would probably avoid the first block near Austin, but I don't know that there is any specific reason (other than it's closer to the city.) I think all of our grade schools and both middle-schools are very good.

If you can, meet some neighbors and visit the block at night and at rush hour to see what traffic is like. Good luck in your house hunt! If you aren't working with a local realtor, I'd definitely try to get to some open houses and at least have some conversations with someone who knows the local market well.

ETA to add in response to the response from Diane that I live in South Oak Park, and the impression I have is that we are having an explosion of kids in this area! Our block had just 3 families with children under 12 when we moved in - now there are more than 30. My friends who live in the Beye school district feel like their neighborhood tilts more to older people. Lincoln and Irving schools are both having to add classes and teachers the past couple of years. But if being around young kids is important to you, this is a good time of year - just walk around on a nice day at about 5:00 and see who's out.

I do not live in Oak Park but I think every street has its good and bad. My husband and I did look at Oak Park as a possible future place tomove to though. We were looking more towards the middle section. The streets we have driven down seem more family oriented and friendly versus the southern end. Not knocking the southern end though since some of the streets are really nice and often see kids playing outside. There is a lot of influence from other areas.

My husband and I both grew up in Oak Park it was a wonderful place to grow up in!! He's a real estate agent and he's seeing more and more people move out of the city into OP. Best of luck

I live in Oak Park and absolutely love this community. We've been here over a decade and are raising two kids. We appreciate O.P's commitment to social justice issues, diversity and community-living. The village is run by a board of trustees and a lot of regular folks are involved at all levels of schools, government, own local shops, etc.

Like previous poster said, the public schools rock. And there is a wide variety of private school choices, too: Catholic, Montessori and Progressive Ed.

That said, I don't want to knock this community, but I agree with the other posters that the few blocks at the eastern most border along Austin appear most often in the police blotter for property crimes and we occasionally get violent crimes that "start" in Chicago and spill over. There was a shooting not far last year when a gang member was shot in the park down the street as they left Chicago on Division going West.

The only other area that I am not crazy about is near the Mohr concrete factory. I have read that residents have issues with the concrete dust, noise, trucks and that sort of thing. Oh, I am not a big fan of the Ike. Even though it is handy, I would not want to live on the first block perpendicular on either side, just with the smell of petrol, noise and dirt it kicks up.

Good luck with your search!

We just bought a house in Oak Park last March. One of our friends (who also lives in OP) recommended to us that we look for homes between Oak Park Ave, Lombard, Lake & Division (I think it was Division). We ended up purchasing a home just north of Chicago Ave and 3 blocks east of Ridgeland. The area is extremely family friendly - lots of kids, families, etc. I feel very safe and comfortable walking around. I don't think I'd go much closer to Austin Ave. though - as it can get quite dicey. Let me know if you have any other questions - I'd be happy to answer anything!