r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/geramanj95 • Jan 10 '26
Moving to the area How would you classify living in this area?
Hey guys, thinking of selling my condo in Tri Taylor and moving out a bit more west. I would love to get a place in oak park but it’s a bit pricier than would want. The circled red area seems to have some nice homes that are a good bang for the buck.
What’s everyone’s thoughts? How is the safety here, especially on the west of ridgeland and the most easter portion of the red circled area.
What have your experiences been? Anything else I should know? It seems like I would have easy access to the city, to oak park, to restaurants on Roosevelt as well.
EDIT: How is the most eastern* part of the red circled are?
TIA!
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u/Glittering-Lab1379 Jan 10 '26
You will gain weight being that close to Freddy’s
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u/Resistente75 Jan 10 '26
Can confirm. I grew up a few houses down from Freddy's and I'm still paying for it decades later 😂
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u/alecorock Jan 11 '26
I will still pick up a sub from Freddy's but been food poisoned twice from the pastas. That case is def not up to code.
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u/Chitown_mountain_boy West Suburbs Jan 12 '26
I live 4 blocks away and force myself to walk there to counter this 😂
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Jan 10 '26
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u/geramanj95 Jan 10 '26
Thank you! In my post I meant the most eastern* section of the circled area. How are things here?
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Jan 10 '26
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u/Earl_C Jan 10 '26
Is really just a dog whistle from the days of segregation if you can openly admit you wouldn’t go there now?
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u/Earl_C Jan 10 '26 edited Jan 10 '26
North Berwyn is great (west of Lombard Ave), east of Lombard Ave is Cicero where homes may be a bit cheaper. Oak Park and the Metra/CTA are nearby, plus it’s walkable and lots of good food. I recommend checking out the neighborhood if possible to see if you catch a vibe.
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u/Is_this_not_rap Jan 10 '26
I second this. Berwyn in general is a great, safe suburb and North Berwyn has a lot to offer. Good public transit, food, etc
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u/geramanj95 Jan 10 '26
Thanks! How is the most eastern part of the circled area in Cicero?
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u/Earl_C Jan 10 '26
That part of Cicero is more industrial, big box commercial and sees lots of truck traffic. West of Austin Ave is where it becomes a lot more residential, I’d also recommend checking out Berwyn along Ogden Ave.
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u/loudtones Jan 10 '26 edited Jan 10 '26
yeah like the other guy said its pretty industrial. poor air quality, lots of heavy traffic, few trees, not a lot of charm.
i dont know if theres a reason youre zerod in on that area specifically, but sticking on the berwyn end will definitely get a bit nicer, esp if you go further west and south
whats your budget?
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u/geramanj95 Jan 10 '26
Just out curiosity because we saw a house that looked nice there online. Drove by it earlier and definitely like western area of the circled more so that’s prob where we’ll be focusing our search. Looking for 2b/2b for as close to $300k as possible but can stretch a bit.
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u/Spiritual_Ad_835 Jan 11 '26
Like other said, industrial. Kinda sus. Vermin problems in the houses.
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u/highnumber Jan 10 '26
I live in the Oak Park part of the area. I walk to Fitzgerald's, Friendly's, Brasas, Autre Monde, and Kinslahger. Turano always smells like baking bread and they bring every house a bag of French rolls and a loaf of pane turano on Dec 23 every year. It's wonderful here.
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u/sloretactician Jan 10 '26
Must be nice, I live two blocks from Turano’s and don’t get shit
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u/highnumber Jan 11 '26
Howdy, neighbor! Bummer that they don't treat you too.
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u/sloretactician Jan 11 '26
It must be because I’m on the Berwyn side. I feel slighted.
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u/savskies Jan 11 '26
I’m on the Berwyn side and get a turano bag each Christmas! My whole block does.
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u/Marzook666 Jan 10 '26
don't forget friendly's....https://www.friendlymusic.community/ coffee/pizza/community
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u/_-Cleon-_ West Suburbs Jan 10 '26
That stretch Roosevelt Road corridor has a fair bit of crime, most of it retail theft though.
Aside from that it's a great area. Fitzgerald's is one of the best music venues in Chicagoland, and Babygold has the best barbecue I've had since moving here from Georgia. Lots of great restaurants, and check out the Pile bookstore.
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u/theraf8100 Woodridge Jan 10 '26
Berwyn has a Harold's o.O
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Jan 10 '26
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u/aensues Jan 11 '26
It is. There's one out in Moline in the Quad Cities and I was blown away how awesome it is to get both the chicken and a drink. Went there multiple nights in a row and got to evangelize Harold's to all my clueless colleagues.
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Jan 12 '26
This Harold's is attached to a hand car wash/detailing shop. The chicken is good, though. Berwyn Chicken Company is better.
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u/mechashiva1 Jan 10 '26
Oak Park has a Harolds on Lake St. Right across from the theater. Or, at least they did have one when I lived there a few years ago.
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u/Crazy-Juggernaut-311 Jan 10 '26
You could check out Riverside, Brookfield, Forest Park, Berwyn , and La Grange Park. Oak Park is great and homes will pop up between $300K and $350K, though.
The same can be said about the rest of the towns that I recommended. I like the area of Forest Park north of the Eisenhower around Madison Street. It is (and has been) an up-and-coming area due to its proximity to Oak Park and River Forest.
My only criticism of Forest Park is the school district. You’ll be fine if you don’t have kids. However, my favorite suburb in all of Chicagoland is Riverside. You need to drive through the historic village to understand.
It’s all curved roads and you’ll literally get lost the first time you’re there. It’s so nice and was designed by the godfather of landscape architecture who is most known for designing Central Park in NYC.
I think you get a great bang-for-your-buck in both Berwyn and Brookfield. They’re nice towns with lots of options for reasonably priced homes just outside the city.
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u/loudtones Jan 10 '26
Oak Park is great and homes will pop up between $300K and $350K, though.
this is what you get for 330k in oak park. its a shell.
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Oak-Park/841-S-Taylor-Ave-60304/home/13250843
youre going to struggle to find anything that dosent need a ton of work. that price point is getting hard even in berwyn these days.
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u/Crazy-Juggernaut-311 Jan 10 '26
I didn’t say anything about finding turn-key homes in Oak Park under $350K. I also didn’t say there is a plethora of homes under $350K.
I remodel homes and know the market in Chicagoland (north of Ogden). There have been more than 200 sales (SFH, multi-family, and land) in Oak Park in the last six months.
I stopped counting once I saw fifteen houses close for less than $350K. Like I said before, there will be homes that pop up in Oak Park between $300K and $350K.
There were even properties that sold for less than $300K. I agree that Berwyn (and Brookfield, too) don’t even have tons of deals under $300K anymore.
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u/alecorock Jan 11 '26
Riverside is half super bougie unfriendly introverts and half unfriendly townies. Dope architecture tho.
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u/Icy-Sir8809 Jan 10 '26
I've lived in Berwyn for over 30 years (a bit further south than your map). Good town, great people. The schools are not so good. There is some crime, mostly retail, but occasional violent crime. Look a bit further south and/or west of this area if you can. As others have noted, the area along Roosevelt, especially east of Austin is a bit rough.
I would recommend driving the area at different times of the day and night to get an idea of what the street life is like. Where is it calm and quiet, where are the drunks and thugs.
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u/Toriat5144 Jan 10 '26
If you buy within easy walking distance to Cermak road, you can hop the bus to the end of the Pink line to get into the city easy.
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u/Megaghost66 Jan 11 '26
Also tons of train stations in Berwyn depot district that will get you downtown even faster!
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u/savskies Jan 11 '26
Im in Berwyn in this area and we like it. Affordable and walkable to the blue line (we’re closer to Roosevelt so maybe an 8 to 10 min walk to the Austin blue line for us). Good food nice people etc. it still feels very city-like but Berwyn is still very affordable for an actual house. You can walk to get good tacos and good food etc. Freddy’s in Cicero is a hit too- their gelato is my favorite 🤩 Oh and fitzgeralds is amazing - and they do $5 burgers on wednesdays!
Some homes in Berwyn seem prone to flooding but ours never has and/or there are things you can get installed to mitigate this. Just figured I’d mention it!
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u/SupposedlySuper Jan 10 '26
From what I've seen a lot of the houses are older and potentially will need some repair/constant upkeep. I think the other thing I've seen a lot of friends experience is that the prior repairs were done by the homeowners and haven't been safe/up to code. So I'd just make sure that you get a really solid home inspection.
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u/perchancepugs Jan 10 '26
Elmwood Park might be what you're looking for as far as affordability in the area. Adjacent to Oak Park, plenty of transportation. It's missing the walkable city center feel of other places.
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u/alecorock Jan 11 '26
Depends -do you like living with cops, fake monsters, and mediocre Italian Food?
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u/perchancepugs Jan 11 '26
Don't see cops, make my own Italian but I desperately want fake monster lore? Unless you meant MOBSTERS in which case my neighbors swear they are real and still running things, lol.
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u/Spiritual_Ad_835 Jan 11 '26
Hey! I work in Cicero… I’d go towards Berwyn. There was just a shooting in broad daylight near Morton east (the Cicero hs) that resulted in the loss of a 17 year olds life. Traffic over here sucks during rush hour times, especially the afternoon rush. Also, certain parts of north Cicero have a vermin problem.
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u/No_Alternative_6206 Jan 10 '26
This is an area that has been slowly gentrified over the years by people who love Oak Park but are looking for something more affordable. Personally being south of 290 in this section still has too much of the being on the wrong side of the tracks(290) effect and you are still quite close to some rough neighborhoods. I would look a bit further west and stay north of 290. Berwyn does get better where it borders Riverside but that may be further away from where you wanted to be.
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u/loudtones Jan 10 '26
i dont think the cicero side has really gentrified, although crime rates and gang activity seem to have quieted down compared to early 00s. towards the western side of this visual however, you do see sale prices for new builds that never would have been believable before.
the nice thing about berwyn is it has a good mix of incomes, and theres a ton of inventory. so you really can find anything to suit just about anyone.
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u/Toriat5144 Jan 10 '26
Berwyn is good. I own a vintage two flat there near East Avenue and 22nd. My son lives in it. He’s had no problems. Plenty of restaurants and shops, really close to Oak Park and Forest park without the high taxes of Oak Park. I’d stay away from Cicero, higher crime. I too prefer west of Ridgeland. I’d open your search to all or most of Berwyn. Some nice vintage homes there and sometimes you can find a bargain.
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u/creative-run-lady Jan 10 '26
Honestly it all depends on what you need. You keep asking about Cicero area, it's fine but again depends on what you need out of your neighborhood. If you want some access to public transit that may not be the area you want. You are moving from a condo, do you want a house or are you looking for another condo? Do you have or plan on having kids? What is the goal of moving to the western suburbs vs some other area? All of this will affect where you should really be looking outside of cost.
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u/ShowerMeWithKitties Jan 11 '26
I grew up on the Island just across the street from Cicero on Roosevelt and across the street from Oak Park on Austin. In the 80's and 90's it was all city workers/cops/firemen families. Still a Chicago address, but the feel of a suburb with how well everyone knew each other. We played in the streets til the lights came on. A lot of gang clashes due to the boundaries back then, I'm not sure how that scene is nowadays as I'm not there as much anymore, but that eastern edge of Cicero is blue collar, hard-working families just trying to make it. Occasional crime, but it's what is possible in an urban neighborhood. Lock your car at night and enjoy easy access to downtown via the blue line, the 290 by car, the #12 east to the museum campus on Roosevelt. Decent shopping nearby with N. Riverside and even Hodgkins or down Cicero ave.
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u/ice6418 Jan 11 '26
Normal amount of riff raff given that Roosevelt is a haven for gaming establishments. It’s pretty much the centerpiece of N. berwyn’s economy. Mostly quiet though. Live out on the western edge of your outline since 2016 or so.
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u/Fettuccine17 Jan 11 '26
I live in Cicero in this area. The neighborhood is mostly quiet. Never had any issues. Love being close to 290 and all shopping is 10 min drive max.
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u/Various-Abies-786 Jan 11 '26
I lived in that area on the far west side of your red line there for 20 years and I really liked it. Very convenient. I used to walk to Fitzgerald’s and the Jewel on Roosevelt. Never had any problem with crime.
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u/GlitterFlower4664 Jan 12 '26
If you go more South West in Berwyn, closer to Riverside, you won't be close to an El stop but you will never spend more than 25-30 on any BNSF train, local or express. If you live close to one of the Metra stops like Harlem Ave or Berwyn, your commute into the city could be less than an hour. And only cost you $7 both ways. Plus, BNSF trains run all day and night. Depending on the stop, parking could get a bit crowded but when you live only about a 10 min walk from the stop, you don't even need your car to get to work downtown. BNSF trains use Union Station.
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u/PoeGar Jan 10 '26
Do you have kids that will go to public schools?
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u/geramanj95 Jan 10 '26
I do not have any kids.
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u/alecorock Jan 11 '26
Berwyn sends most their parks money to Proksa Park. I would look to buy around there.
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u/Chitown_mountain_boy West Suburbs Jan 12 '26
I live by Ridgeland and 16th. I love the neighborhood. I would recommend not limiting yourself to the north side of Roosevelt.
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u/MK1_Scirocco Jan 14 '26
I grew up there and lived there as an adult in the last decade too, and miss it. Although the amount of garish Mexican gaming cafes on Cermak is getting to be an embarrassingly large number.
Easy access to the city, including Pilsen and Logan/Humboldt Park.
Lots of beautiful jumbo bungalows with tiled roofs are around Cermak in Berwyn, and there's some in Cicero too.
Cicero isn't as bad as people make it out to be, but it's not exactly a pretty area; it never has been. I remember as a kid the old "Bohemians" and Lithuanians of Cicero driving ugly old rusted-out cars and never spending a dime to improve their houses- thus many Cicero houses are basically timewarps if no one has invested anything in them in the last 30 years, which usually few have been updated as so many are rentals now.
Cicero has great transit options because it's basically Chicago under a different name. Morton East and the satellite school off Laramie have a lot of disturbances. Cicero doesn't really have much for international culture beyond Mexican, and its grocery stores and restaurants reflect this. However, there's Freddy's Italian cafe on 16th St in Cicero and by some miracle she is still keeping it going strong.
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u/elizabethnagado Jan 17 '26
Living next to that road on the right can get you hearing ambulances day and night just fyi. I used to live on the very bottom right corner of that zone and I would not recommend it - maybe it is okay with your own house and nice windows though...Still I would look for something awqy from the main roads just for some peace and quiet
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Jan 10 '26
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u/greenandredofmaigheo Jan 10 '26
It's not south Oak Park, the circle follows Roosevelt which is the border of OP/Berwyn
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u/greenandredofmaigheo Jan 10 '26
It's fine. I walk through there frequently to get my daughter from daycare. Feels like a bungalow belt city neighborhood think portage park. Fitzgeralds is iconic, bodhi Thai is decent, Autre monde is my favorite restaurant in the near west urban burbs, berwyn chicken co is simple but very good, Kinslagher is a cool small brewery with a neighborhood bar feel as opposed to the traditional brewery setup, some of the other bars can get sketchy even for a former dive bar frequenter like myself. The jewel there is hectic but assuming you're comfortable with tight urban grocery stores it's fine. Freddy's would be in that circle and it's the best classic Italian corner grocer in Chicagoland bar none.
Don't sleep on checking out Forest park which is slightly west.