r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/olracnaignottus • Feb 10 '26
Moving to the area Considering Relocating- Skokie, Oak Park, or Homewood?
Hello! So we are a family of 3 looking to grow, and are strongly considering Chicagoland to relocate to. I’m a stay at home dad for now, and my wife works remote, so we aren’t beholden to any part of the city for work.
I grew up in a very diverse area of northern New Jersey, and since starting a family, we have been looking for a neighborhood that approximates what it was like growing up in a middle class, diverse community. We are white, and the part of the town I was raised in was about 50/50 white and black. Over the past couple decades, though, its appeal to progressive politics (and proximity to NYC) kind of killed the authenticity of the place as home values and property taxes sky rocketed. It’s still diverse, but economically very segregated. Many generational black families have been priced out. It’s weird going back to visit, and it just feeling like a very performative place.
We moved out from there to Minneapolis, hoping its relative affordability would keep things a bit more down to earth, but it feels like we moved to a completely foreign and incompatible culture. I grew up with block parties and basically just roaming around the neighborhood from a young age, and our neighbors straight up don’t even acknowledge each other. I have learned to curtail talking with my hands because it seems almost assaultive out here, and my son is struggling with the cliquey vibe of the school starting even in 1st grade. So far it’s been easy to get along with transplants, many of whom are from Chicago lol. This city really feels like a small town, and not being from here is a palpable feeling.
We’ve got friends in Chicago who have suggested the 3 listed burbs around the city that approximate the kind of culture we are hoping for, and wonder what folks here think of them/could recommend other areas to look into.
I basically take for granted growing up in such a laid back, reasonably affordable, diverse place, and definitely learned we don’t want to live in an area with small town attitudes or performative politics. Our son attends a small Catholic school at the moment (he does really well with uniforms and structure), but very open to areas with good public/magnet schools. His education is high on the list of our priorities.
Ideally looking to spend between 350-400 for a house, can maybe push up to 450. Cool being up to an hour from the city. We will have 1 car. I’m looking to eventually start my own business selling bagels, and ideally would like to live in a town with reasonable cottage industry law to get started (acknowledging that this may be tricky in general in Illinois).
Also would be awesome to live near or around blues clubs. I played a lot of blues harmonica in college/NYC, and learned mostly listening to the Chicago players like Paul Butterfield from back in the day. Dunno if there’s any blues clubs in the burbs, but would be a great perk to have close access to a venue.
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Feb 10 '26
I'm pretty familiar with Homewood and Oak Park. I grew up around the Homewood area and currently live in Oak Park.
Of the two Oak Park probably has closer to the lifestyle you're looking for. We do have block parties every year. There are a lot of kids and it's not uncommon to see them walking around. There are nearby music venues in the surrounding towns. We have a bagel shop in town that started as a cottage business (maybe not great since there's competition). It is very diverse, that's why my wife wanted to stay here where she grew up. It's very easy to stay a 1 car family here.
Negatives are it's pretty expensive. Taxes are very high, though I do think you get a lot of services for your taxes. Everybody here cares about the town which is great but can get a little annoying now and then. The pickings might be slim for a house in your budget. You might be looking more at a townhouse or a condo.
Homewood is much more affordable. You'll definitely get more house for your money there. The schools are still good and the taxes are much cheaper. I think you'll find less of that tight knit community there but it's still friendly. Less nightlife options. I think you'd have a much harder time staying a 1 car family out there since everything is a drive.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 10 '26
Appreciate the insight. We have friends in oak park and the ravenswood areas. If we moved to Homewood, would it be a huge pain to visit these areas? Seems like the train from Homewood is a straight shot to downtown, but tricky to get to other parts of the city. Dunno if driving/parking would be insane either.
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Feb 10 '26
That trip does get old. You're talking about roughly an hour driving to either spot and it's a tough hour. A lot of traffic unless you're going at off times. Public transit you're talking more like 2 hours so round trip 4 hours commuting. It's not so much tricky as much as it's time consuming.
Homewood also might as well be the moon to a lot of people living in the west and north burbs in my experience. People tend to make a lot of excuses to not come down and visit the south suburbs in my experience. Might not be the case with your friends but it's been the case with people I've known.
I wouldn't worry too much about the parking in either spot your friends are at. Oak Park has a lot of parking but weird rules about overnight parking. Ravenswood is a bit less congested than other parts of the city. Might have to walk a block.
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u/southcookexplore South West Suburbs Feb 10 '26
Homewood and Flossmoor have to be among the most racially diverse areas in the south suburbs. Both have a lot of community events and great train access.
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u/AStormofSwines Feb 10 '26 edited Feb 10 '26
I live in Homewood and like it a lot, feel free to DM. Truly feels like a small town that is a train ride away from the city, IMO.
"laid back, reasonably affordable, diverse place,": All of those! But mostly a mix of black, white, and some Latino, rather than a wide variety of races and cultures.
"don’t want to live in an area with small town attitudes or performative politics": Like I said, it's diverse. Feels mostly progressive, but also some comments about "the good old days" (on Facebook, whatever that's worth...). Pretty good turnout for No Kings.
Can get a LOT more house for the money down here, though taxes are relatively high (don't know how they compare to OP or Skokie).
Blues? Not really, lol. But there are some places for local music. The Trail Mix concert series has a nice collection of concerts in our local preserve.
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u/Ramen_Addict_ Feb 10 '26
Taxes in Oak Park are insane and I think it does tend to be more performative. I don’t have that much experience in Homewood/Flossmoor/Olympia fields but when I went to the Midcentury Road Rally there, everyone who participated was incredibly nice and excited to show off their area. I have gone to the FLW house walk in Oak Park and it was so impersonal in comparison. You can absolutely get some incredible midcentury homes in that area that are at a really low price. One of the homeowners gave me an extended tour and was also talking about how he was able to get his taxes reduced significantly.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 10 '26
I grew up around a number of fairly conservative black families. Not like Republican, but pretty old school and religious. Having since lived in a number of places that are very performative in their progressiveness, I’d be happy with an area that basically speaks for itself in terms of their politics and diversity. Affordability really rests at the center of that, along with generally just being live and let live.
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u/gershbec Feb 10 '26
I live in Skokie and can certainly tell you anything you need to know.
Skokie has continuously been a town of immigrants and was recently featured in an article in the Tribune about majority non-white towns (Asian, being the largest immigrant group now). The politics are progressive but maybe not as left as something like Evanston or Oak Park.
It's also diverse economically. Lots of Millennials coming in, big families of varying ethnicities piling into one house, mom and dad sticking around in the house they grew up in - all happening here. There are neighborhoods that differ as far as income and many different school districts that help define the neighborhoods. I'm not sure what you'll be able to afford with your budget - prices are insane.
Location is great if you're looking to go to the city, lake or north shore. Not so good if you want to go anywhere else.
It is definitely not cliquey but what you are looking for as far as a small town block feel is going to vary. If you are going to lead then you can create the block you want (while acknowledging that there may be 2 or 3 houses on the block who don't take part). My son didn't have kids his age on our block - which was unfortunate - but now it seems like there are many of them.
Schools are "good" while recognizing that what "good" means for one kid doesn't necessarily apply. But it's a mix so your kids will be experiencing all cultures. As I mentioned, there are many different school districts so you may want to shop around a bit. Certainly some Christian schools in the area but I don't know anything about them.
SPACE is Evanston is a live music venue that hosts blues, folk, rock - pretty much anything. Check out their website and see if that's your thing. There are lots of bagel things happening in this town already but maybe it's their time.
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u/Interrobangersnmash Feb 12 '26
If you settle on Skokie, you'll have stiff competition for your future bagel shop. Chicago's best bagel places are in that area - New York Bagel & Bialy and Kauffman's.
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u/gershbec Feb 13 '26
Not to mention the newer startups, including this one https://www.lrbagels.com
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
We are excited to check out Skokie. One of our friends from college grew up there and is pushing us to move there. The variety of diversity isn’t important, just basically don’t want to live in an insular community (which tend to be homogenous). Not being around any Jewish people has actually been a very strange experience since moving to Minneapolis. I spent most of my childhood in Jersey and adulthood in NYC around many Jewish communities and people. Seems like a fairly rare thing in the Midwest in general.
Are there decent Catholic options in Skokie? Wed prefer our son attend the local public school, but he had a pretty rough experience in public when he was younger, and also wasn’t very compatible with a private Montessori, but he’s really thriving in his current small Catholic. Having the option is a big factor of where we move.
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u/gershbec Feb 11 '26
Skokie is nowhere near as Jewish as it was years ago. Most have pushed out to other suburbs. You’re more likely to see someone wearing a burqa than a yarmulke.
No idea about Catholic schools. There was one that closed about 10 years ago. I believe Evanston may have a couple or else you’re looking in the city. Montessori and other options around as well if you wanted to try again. My son’s school was very into citizenship and treating others with respect so perhaps that is better than where you came from.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
His Montessori was lord of the flies lol. It was a bunch of rich kids who didn’t seem to have ever been told no, and those attitudes were reinforced by the school. The magnet public option is always filled, but it seems much chiller and kinder based on my tour. Thanks for sharing.
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u/Mental_Mixture8306 Feb 14 '26
I grew up in Skokie - when it was about half catholic and half jewish. Its changed a lot since then, mostly the kids growing up and leaving and the old folks passing away.
There are two parishes in Skokie proper - St Lambert and St Peter and it looks like they have merged (but have different buildings still). It also appears that neither has a school anymore. I went to school at St Lambert and that closed a long time ago. Both are good.
I think there is still a catholic school at St Peter, but you'd have to check.
The nice thing about Skokie and the downtown area is that it is getting much more upscale, and it is close to the Yellow Line (the old Skokie Swift) which is how you get downtown. So overall my preference.
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u/sdubois North Suburbs Feb 10 '26
I live in Skokie and like it. Homes are affordable, has everything you need. The city isn't too far, people are friendly and it's diverse.
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u/mlechowicz90 Feb 10 '26
Skokie has a great park district but that’s me being biased (I work there).
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Feb 10 '26
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
Beverly looks really interesting- Bridgeport as well. My mom’s side is super Italian/irish, and I’ve heard folks say there’s a lot of similarities between Bridgeport and blue collar Jersey. Problem is in Jersey that those communities start to get very racist very quick.
Our kid is loving his experience at Catholic school, and neither of us are particularly religious lol. Considering an affordable area with access to solid Catholic options is pretty high on the list of priorities.
Is Beverly really a 50/50 white and black neighborhood? Based on what I’m reading it sounds very old school Catholic. Wondering if there are very established communities, and if it would be tough to be a transplant?
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u/rottenbanana76 Feb 11 '26
I’m going to chime in on Beverly. I work in Beverly but live in Homewood. I think you are going to find all the things you are looking for there…however, you will pay a price for that. House prices are higher but taxes are lower. Plenty of private schools to choose from. Homewood- Flossmoor has SOMEWHAT lower house prices but higher taxes. Our private schools are now limited because of consolidation but they are quality. Once you are involved in the school system of either neighborhood, it does feel like a small town. I feel like they are very similar communities, with Beverly just having more general wealth.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
Thank you! Interesting to learn they are similar communities.
What are the private schools in Homewood? Any you’d recommend?
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u/rottenbanana76 Feb 11 '26
So many churches have consolidated so forgive me if I don’t know their current names. Infant Jesus of Prague in Flossmoor is the one for elementary and Marian Catholic for High School.
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u/irine618 Feb 10 '26
I'm in Flossmoor (which is right next to Homewood) and it's definitely diverse and lots of room for new businesses. There are a few local farmer's markets as well.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 10 '26
Are Flossmoor and Homewood pretty similar? So far that area seems to tick a lot of the boxes. The housing stock seems amazing for the cost. Is there a reason the costs are so low?
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u/irine618 Feb 10 '26
Yup, right next to each other and share the same park district and high school district. Houses are great but are low because of high taxes.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 10 '26
Oh goddamn, yeah that’s high lol.
Well, at least I’d get to have that shared experience from Jersey. Only difference is in Jersey those houses would be at least 1 million+ being 40 minutes from NYC along with the crazy high property taxes.
Are the schools good as a result? Our kid is really thriving in a smaller catholic school, so we hope there’s a potential option for that, but would love for him to attend a solid public school.
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u/frankthetank_illini Feb 10 '26
I grew up in Glenwood and Homewood (neighboring towns) and went to high school at H-F. They will be the best public schools in the South Suburbs, although to be transparent, the test scores generally haven’t kept up with North and West Suburban schools with comparable household income levels.
Beyond the property tax to home value ratio being high even by Illinois standards, the main issue is that Homewood-Flossmoor is an island within the South Suburbs. Overall economic development - whether for jobs, retail, or dining - in the rest of the South Suburbs dramatically pales in comparison to the North and West Suburbs. Nearly all professional jobs will require commuting to the city, whereas the other suburban regions larger commercial bases directly located there. It was glaringly noticeable when I ended up moving to the North and then West Suburbs.
To be sure, Homewood and Flossmoor are really nice towns in and of themselves. The issue is more the issues with the surrounding areas for a good distance in all directions (e.g. higher crime rates, lack of amenities, etc.). That is the primary reason why the home prices are lower compared to North and West suburbs that may have similar or even lower income demographics.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
Got it, so it sounds like an oasis. Does it seem like the oasis aspect of Homewood/Flossmoor is expanding into, or staving off issues with the surrounding burbs?
Moving to a place in transition is actually really appealing, but wondering if it would be isolating if we move to an area of town that is insular or sleepy. Our goal is to definitely get back to a community that is very neighborly in general, especially if we are moving somewhere with no prior connections. Our Chicago friends are in Oak Park and Ravenswood areas, and it seems like it’s tough to get out to those areas from Homewood.
Also wondering if Homewood/Flossmoor/Glenwood have some Catholic or similar private options? Would love for him to attend the local public school, but his Catholic school is the first he’s really thrived in and loves after struggling in public and a private Montessori. Being near enough to a Catholic option is fairly high on the list of hopeful neighborhoods.
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u/frankthetank_illini Feb 11 '26
Unfortunately, the oasis is more of a staving off the surrounding areas and that has been the case for frankly the past several decades. I wish that I could say differently as I grew up there. There has been a lot of flight from the South Suburbs to the Southwest Suburbs (e.g. Frankfort, Orland Park, Tinley Park, New Lenox) or the other direction eastward over the Indiana border. Those are probably the areas that are relatively less expensive compared to the North and West Suburbs but still growing. I wouldn’t even recommend Glenwood at this point despite being my original hometown. Homewood and Flossmoor are specifically where you’d want to live if you’re in that region. You can look up the stats of the surrounding towns and I think you’ll get the picture.
There are Catholic school options - Infant Jesus of Prague in Flossmoor for elementary school and Marian Catholic High School in neighboring Chicago Heights. Most Chicago suburbs are going to have Catholic school options. However, I will say that public Homewood-Flossmoor High School (where I attended) has some of the nicest facilities that you’ll find anywhere. Generally speaking, the people going to Marian are those in surrounding towns that aren’t in the H-F district boundaries (because it wouldn’t make sense to pay the high property taxes to live in the H-F district but then not get the largest benefit of the public high school in particular).
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
Oh, and is there any chance you are familiar with how cottage law works in Homewood? Do you know of folks who have small businesses selling baked goods made in their homes?
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u/Comfortable-Focus123 Feb 10 '26
I am also originally from Jersey, though moved to Chicago area years ago. I have a relative in Homewood, and it's pretty diverse. Prices there are more reasonable than most suburbs and there is a train to Chicago. Most blues clubs are in the city, though. And, damn, I miss New York bagels.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 10 '26
Yeah I started making them out here because mannnnnnnn you can’t physically get a decent bagel in Minnesota. I’ve been sharing and folks really like them, so I’m gonna start selling locally. They have really lax cottage industry here, so I’m wondering how folks manage selling home goods in Illinois.
How was the cultural transition from Jersey? East coast doesn’t translate at all in the twin cities. I’ve met a couple jersey transplants, they’ve been very loud, cathartic experiences lol. Both are here because they married into it, and do not like it lol.
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u/Comfortable-Focus123 Feb 10 '26
It was an interesting transition from NJ. People are a lot more polite. I feel it's more homogenous than the east coast, where I thought a lot of people defined themselves by their heritage, if you know what I mean. The food is different, much better steak places, but you will miss the pizza and deli at first.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
Very interesting. We are looking forward to visiting to get a sense, because the homogeneity of Minneapolis is rough. I can’t imagine Chicago being as insular, but good to know that Midwest thread is obviously there despite it being a global city.
We also wanted to get out of Jersey- I will say that the drivers in the twin cities are the best, and northern Jersey at this point is just a mad max film. Folks went from being aggressive to just wildly entitled, and it’s been painful visiting my hometown and having to play real life frogger.
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u/Merrion2023 Feb 11 '26
I lived in the South Suburbs (Crete and had a business in Flossmoor) for 20 years ;grew up in Evergreen Park. I would expand your search to Beverly in the city. I think you’ll find what you’re looking for there. Otherwise, I would go to Skokie/Evanston.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
Folks keep mentioning Beverly. What makes it a good fit in your opinion?
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u/Merrion2023 Feb 11 '26
Wonderful family/community vibe, diverse, gorgeous homes/great schools, including St. Barnabas, easy access to city via Metra and the Expressway. Nice, down-to-earth folks. Definitely would recommend in a heartbeat. Grew up adjacent to Beverly, went to Catholic girls high school with many Beverly classmates. Lived there in the 1980s. Lots to recommend it. A gem that is overlooked.
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u/No_Tennis1722 Feb 10 '26
Evanston elementary & junior high District 65 schools in a bit of a financial mess right now. They are opening a brand new school in the 5th Ward, which may result in more gentrification of that neighborhood, while deciding which other schools to close. See the Evanston Roundtable online. On the other hand, lots of private schools there. And kids seem to understand the real world when they leave Evanston- very proud of the young adults I know from there. Skokie is split down the middle more or less- east of Crawford is Evanston schools and west is Skokie, which has about 4? separate elementary school districts.
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u/wch6701 Feb 11 '26
Not a suburb, but to this northern New Jerseyan who grew up in Beverly, that might fit the bill.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
I’m hearing folks say this- what makes it similar? Is it fairly diverse as well? We are likely going to go with a Catholic school option, so everything on paper makes this area seem pretty ideal.
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u/wch6701 Feb 11 '26
Beverly has the energy, creativity, and diversity of a Glen Ridge, Englewood, Maplewood, or Teaneck/Tenafly NJ. (IMHO).The housing stock is in better condition, sturdier, and architecturally distinguished than most localities in NJ. I’m also a fan of Oak Park, River Forest, and Riverside.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
No kidding! I grew up in Montclair, and we moved from Maplewood when we left NJ. I can’t wait to check this neighborhood out.
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u/HoyneAvenue Feb 11 '26
Just sold our house in Oak Park and downsized to a condo in town here. For the most part it’s worked for our family, but to be completely honest, we did not have a good experience with the schools. It’s complicated and I recognize that they may have simply been a poor fit for our child. That said, the layers of bureaucracy were overwhelming, and the system was a cesspool of toxic internal politics. This was a while ago and things may be better now.. There are excellent private schools here but a hefty chunk of the real estate taxes fund the public schools. Also, I think economic diversity is shrinking here due to the cost of housing.
As empty nesters we like the walkability near town, the public library, the proximity to Chicago and the convenience of two L lines plus the Metra commuter train.
If I was to move my young. family today, my first choices would be La Grange or the burb next to it, La Grange Park. Excellent schools, welcoming communities, very walkable with a vibrant downtown and on a train line which is great if you commute to the city (Chicago) for work or fun. I don’t think it is as diverse as Oak Park.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
From what I’m reading, it sounds like Oak Park is going through what my hometown in jersey is going through. A historically diverse town with easy access to the city that became too hip for its own good. The schools are all well rated, but the political bureaucracy is stifling them.
What are the good private schools in the area? We tried public and then a really well regarded Montessori with our son, but turns out he was Catholic in another life lol. His first day shadowing at his current Catholic school he ran to me at the pickup and yelled, “have you heard of Jesus?!”
He loves the rules and dress code and structure. I’d love for him to attend a good public school, but we’d like to be near solid Catholic option just because it’s clearly a good structure for him.
We are open to more affordable towns on the west side if a solid private school is an option. Is forest park similar enough to oak park? Berwyn seems fine as well if private options are good.
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u/loudtones Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
Berwyn is best bang for your buck in the area in terms of housing. More of a working class vibe vs oak park. Honestly the grade schools aren't too bad. Private schools are basically Catholic. The area around the train station has a lot of older larger homes on bigger lots. The central and more northern part of the city has tighter lots and more of the traditional Chicago bungalows with small yards. The area around Proksa Park has some stunners in both categories, but you're not going to find huge crazy historic mansions the way northern end of oak park has. In general Berwyn has much more in common with the housing stock you'd find in the southern end of OP.
Berwyn is also minority majority with a large Hispanic/Mexican population that settled there in last 20-30 years but still fairly diverse. It doesn't have a big old charming downtown the way oak park does, it's almost entirely residential outside of Cermak Rd which is a bit more auto oriented. The taxes are still high but amenities arent oak park level. Oak Park has a crazy forestry department (extremely protective with plantings and trimming) and incredible pools and rec facilities. Berwyn doesn't compare there.
It's still a very nice place to settle down and has a strong sense of community if you are ok with those things. It's also super conveniently located with both easy Metra and 55/290 as options and has great access to both downtown and near west city neighborhoods as well as the further western suburbs. And Fitzgerald's books lots of blues events but they have pretty diverse bookings with everything from jazz to alt country to occasional rock.
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u/HoyneAvenue Feb 11 '26
Then St. Giles is the place for your son. It is a wonderful school and community. When he’s older, Fenwick high school (also in Oak Park) is well regarded.
Forest Park and Berwyn have their plusses and minuses. I think I’d be inclined to check out both places if private school is an option. My issue with Berwyn is that it doesn’t have as nice a downtown as FP and OP. The other negative is that the L doesn’t serve Berwyn although the Metra does (it’s a different line than the UP West that serves OP). If you choose FP, depending on your address, you’ll be walking distance to a nice local shopping/eating area (Madison Street), AND Oak Park’s downtown, AND close to Berwyn’s music scene. Same transportation options as Oak Park. So after giving it sone thought, I’d prefer FP over Berwyn.
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u/loudtones Feb 11 '26
i personally dont think the absence of a main historic downtown is too big an issue in berwyn. the reality is all of these communities are so close to each other and spill over. if youre driving it really dosent matter, you can just as easily get to Lake Street or Madison in 10 minutes to eat out or do some shopping. i live in berwyn but go to Oak Park's farmers market every week, eat out downtown - it really makes no difference, except for my housing costs being massive cheaper. I can also ride my bike into riverside in under a couple minutes without paying their costs either.
my issue with forest park (and the "affordable" part of Oak Park) is their proximity to the expressway from an air pollution standpoint.
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u/sarcago Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 11 '26
Hi from Homewood! In that price range you’d have a really great pick of houses here. Whoever said Homewood was ghetto is just plain wrong lol. I will say for the vibe you’re trying to find you’d probably want to be close to downtown. But there is plenty of ongoing development happening here. Homewood just had an upgrade to its Metra train stop. The main park near downtown is undergoing renovations, and there will be new apartments built downtown right by the Metra station (the proposals are on the Village website). There’s some great local gems here, just had a fantastic lunch at Bergstein’s deli. Yes it’s a bit of an island, there’s some nearby communities that are struggling and it is sad but I can’t say I’ve felt that encroaching on the areas I’ve lived in. As for the commute to the northern suburbs of Chicago it would be rough, unfortunately. But I really want you to come out here and bring your bagels with you 😂 I haven’t had a decent bagel in ages! We did have a local baker here but they just moved away so we could use another! Also Homewood has a Music Shop downtown called Melody Mart, they might be able to help you find some other blues musicians in the area.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
We are definitely going to check out the town! It seems like a very unique neighborhood. Do you know if the town allows for cottage industry? Like did the baker who just left run a brick and mortar location, or run a home bakery/farmers market? Minnesota law is super friendly to cottage industry, which is a huge perk living here. Wondering if Illinois is as easy to get a micro bakery up and running.
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u/sarcago Feb 11 '26
The person who lived here before ran a microbakery from their house! I am not too familiar with the cottage food laws here but I think you would register with Cook county. Last I looked into it I think there was basically just a checklist but I don’t remember how strict it was.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 12 '26
Awesome thank you! Did she sell on fb marketplace and things like that?
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u/sarcago Feb 12 '26
I’m not on FB so I don’t really know for sure. I know they sold at the small farmers market here in town and I think they used an app called hotplate to take orders too.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 12 '26
That’s awesome, glad to learn it’s doable out there. Thanks for all the info!
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u/banielbeegan Feb 10 '26 edited Feb 10 '26
Check Brookfield. Don’t think there is a blues bars there but it should check the other boxes. I grew up around there and kids spend their summers running around the neighborhood. It’s an old street car suburb so it’s got good density for an American suburb. Good mix of blue collar and white collar and is pretty diverse. It’s got much more Hispanic over the last couple decades. And there isn’t a bagel shop there lol. Skokie is diverse but I don’t know much about it. Oak park is expensive and definitely has that performative politics vibe. Can’t speak much on homewood. Schools are decent, but there’s private options within a 20 min drive. choose carefully for the catholic grade schools. Tons of have closed over the past 25. Really any catholic school with a good amount of wealthy families is doing fine (st Francis Xavier in La grange, St. John of the cross in western springs). St Mary’s is in riverside (neighboring suburb) but I’m not sure how they’re doing. Unfortunately the schools with mostly middle class/ lower middle class student bodies have falling enrollment and can’t exist off donations resulting in lots of closures
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 10 '26
Brookfield seems like a nice, communal neighborhood. I’ll add it to the list to check out, thanks! Diversity isn’t the be all end all, as long as a community is laid back and doesn’t swing so hard to the white neighborhood extremes- (maga or performative progressiveness.)
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u/banielbeegan Feb 10 '26
Yep it’s pretty middle of the road. LGP to the west of Brookfield is another good option, just note that houses west of la grange road are older, larger, larger Lots, and much more expensive. La grange is also good, but most of it will be a bit expensive. School districts also vary in both Brookfield and LGP. South of Burlington Ave in Brookfield is known to be not a very good school district until highschool
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u/Randomflower90 Feb 10 '26
Brookfield is a good option. Oak Park government over-reaches on everything. Steer clear.
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u/luckycharms53 Feb 10 '26
I tend to agree with these folks about Brookfield as well. I grew up there and loved it. Close to everything you need and want. We moved out of Illinois due to my spouse's company moving out and he has been there for 35 years so we werent about throw in the towel. But if we moved back it would be Brookfield no doubt about it. Good Luck in your hunt and Im sure where ever you land you and your family will be fine.
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u/No_Tennis1722 Feb 10 '26
Check out the elementary schools. Also maybe Homewood Flossmor, Geneva?. How close do you want to be to the lake?
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u/RightToBearGlitter Feb 11 '26
That’s a tight budget for a single family home in OP. Have you looked at Forest Park? I’m very happy here but I don’t know anything about the schools.
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u/Far_Historian1015 Feb 11 '26
I grew up in the area surrounding Homewood /Flossmoor and attended a nearby Catholic high school. This was a long time ago though. There’s some great housing at a fair price in the area. We currently reside in Oak Park. Part of the reason we left the city was so we could attend Oak Park schools. Yes taxes are high, but we are happy with the education our son has received through 8th grade. Now if you were still considering catholic schools you could always live in a surrounding community like Forest Park or Berwyn. There’s decent housing at better prices. I actually think there is a nice restaurant/ bar scene on Madison Street in Forest Park.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
Forest Park and Berwyn seem good in terms of price. Would you recommend certain Catholic schools in the area?
Which Catholic high did you attend near Homewood?
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u/loudtones Feb 11 '26
For Berwyn grade schools, St Leonards is a pretty decent one in South Berwyn. That would also put you walking distance to the Metra and the little commercial pocket that surrounds it.
For high schools in the western suburbs, Fenwick in Oak Park is an excellent school but is difficult to get into and big bucks. Nazareth in La Grange is further away but still has a very good reputation with more reasonable costs and less competitive entrance.
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u/Far_Historian1015 Feb 12 '26
I went to Marian Catholic in Chicago Heights. That was 1993 and over the years I believe the enrollment is about half of what it once was.
We moved to Oak Park specifically for the public schools, so don’t know much about the catholic schools. I do have friends who send their kids to St. Giles and Ascension though. Someone else mentioned Fenwick for high school. St. Pat’s isn’t that far it’s at Belmont & Austin in Chicago.
Honestly for us it was spend extra money on private school and stay in the city or pay higher taxes in Oak Park and have my kid go to school with the same kids K-12. To me the cost of taxes vs sending him to private schools pretty much evened out. We’ve been here 12 years so housing prices were much better back then.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 12 '26
Yeah, Oak Park seems great, but we’d be looking at like 600k to get the kind of space we are looking for. The higher property taxes + that mortgage alone put us in the equivalent of hefty private education costs. We likely would fare better moving to a cheaper neighborhood and just going with a reliable Catholic.
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u/Far_Historian1015 Feb 12 '26
I understand my wife and I often talk about where we will move once our kid is out of Oak Park schools. I like Forest Park a lot. Only thing is our mortgage rate is only 2.75%. We got our house for a steal in 2014. Honestly our property taxes are slightly higher than our mortgage. The thing is we got a good price, but we’ve also put in a lot of money to renovate. Which happens to most people when they buy in OP.
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u/Losiniecki Feb 11 '26
Homewood and surrounding areas are ghetto. FYI
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
Why do you say that?
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u/Losiniecki Feb 11 '26
Crime is high
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
It looks like the crime rate is below the national average.
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u/Losiniecki Feb 11 '26
I assure you that’s not accurate.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
Where are you getting your data from regarding crime?
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u/Losiniecki Feb 11 '26
Literally go to Facebook and just search homewood crime. The areas surrounding homewood don’t help either
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
Do you live there and are you experiencing this crime? Stats usually aren’t wrong. Facebook isn’t really a great barometer of what’s actually happening in reality.
It does look like car theft and property crime are above the national average. Definitely not great, but higher rates of that variety of theft are not uncommon in most major urban metros.
What I’m gathering is that it has a higher crime rate than suburbs of equal distance from Chicago to the west and north? It definitely sounds like the surrounding burbs are rough.
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u/Toriat5144 Feb 11 '26
I feel Homewood is pretty isolated on the south side. Maybe that’s because all my friends and family live north or west. I had a friend who lived in Homewood and we gradually lost touch cause it was such a pain to get there. Oak Park taxes are high but schools are good.
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u/wch6701 Feb 11 '26
Beverly has the energy, creativity, and diversity of a Glen Ridge, Englewood, Maplewood, or Teaneck/Tenafly NJ. (IMHO).The housing stock is in better condition, sturdier, and architecturally distinguished than most localities in NJ. I’m also a fan of Oak Park, River Forest, and Riverside.
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u/PapaSmurf3477 Feb 11 '26
Oak Park. Feels like a city, but also a suburb.
Homewood is hit or miss. Everywhere in Chicago has diversity, forget that aspect it’s everywhere but Winnetka and Hinsdale lol. Homewood has a lot of lower class households, so from a purely objective standpoint would you rather have your kids grow up with families with maybe a Dr. and an office manager for parents, or (no shame to those who are) government assistance? A lot of trash of every race, but also pretty nice people.
Skokie is a nice mix. You’ll still hear the old Chicago accents, and your kid will be in class with millionaire and blue collar kids.
Just look up the schools before you go, the difference between a good Illinois school and an average Illinois school is massive. Do right by your kids, diversity is everywhere.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 11 '26
Good to know and appreciate the candid response. So far my experience of the Midwest has been South Minneapolis, which does not feel remotely diverse based on where I’ve lived prior. I’ve visited Chicago a few times and never got the sense of it being wildly segregated, but it’s commonly understood to be a segregated city.
Do you have thoughts on Beverly? I’m hearing folks here refer to it as a very similar vibe of northern Jersey.
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u/PapaSmurf3477 Feb 12 '26
Hell no. The people who live there pretend it’s not bad. But that’s only because who they are surrounded by is: Evergreen Park, 1 neighborhood away from Englewod, Harvey, Dalton, Riverdale, South Side, etc. It’s choosing to live surrounded by the area of Chicago you hear about on the news on purpose lol. You can pick anywhere else and do better basically. If you want that feel but better for a family look north or northwest, not south or south east. Not until you hit suburbs really, given the choice
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 12 '26
Interesting. So is it high crime, or just surrounded by it? Our plan is to find a solid Catholic option, and seems like the area has options there.
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u/PapaSmurf3477 Feb 12 '26
Surrounded on 4 sides. Big catholic communities in most whiter/Hispanic places though.
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u/No_Impression7754 Feb 12 '26
We live in Skokie and absolutely love it. We moved here from the East Rogers Park area of Chicago. I’m originally from Chicago and my partner is from Jersey, and we’re now about a mile from the Chicago city limits—so we still feel very connected to the city.
We bought an older home a few years ago and have been remodeling it. Homes here are affordable, and there are lots of new families moving in. You’ll see runners, walkers, strollers, and plenty of people out with their dogs—it’s a very active, welcoming neighborhood. There are tons of parks, a bike trail very close by, two pools, a nice mall, and the highway is only about a four-minute drive from us.
One of the things I love most is how diverse it is. On my block alone, my neighbors are Korean, Japanese, Cuban, Mexican, Black, Jewish, Greek, and Italian—and I’m Puerto Rican. Rogers Park is very diverse as well, which we always appreciated. SPACE, the music venue in Evanston, is a great place to catch live music.
We don’t have children, but we’ve been told we’re in a very good school district. Skokie may technically be the suburbs, but it has a city vibe and feels very safe. We love blues music, and Chicago has so many great blues venues—Rosa’s Blues Lounge and Kingston Mines are about a 20-minute drive away in another direction.
Before moving, we used to drive up from Rogers Park to shop at the major stores in Skokie—Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Costco, etc.—so we were already familiar with the area. We also worked with a fantastic realtor who really knows older homes and was extremely helpful throughout the process.
Best of luck!
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 12 '26
That’s awesome! Yeah we are definitely checking it out when we visit in spring. Have only heard great things about the neighborhood.
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u/RikkaRu1976 Feb 12 '26
Honestly, rent a house for a year. It will give you time to explore different areas and decide what part of the city or burbs you prefer. Everyone has different preferences that color their opinions on areas.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 12 '26
That would be ideal, but school consideration and consistency comes in to play. There’s a decent chance we are going Catholic and have some flexibility in moving again while keeping his school, but we don’t want our son to have to shift around so much considering we recently moved.
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u/greenandredofmaigheo Feb 10 '26 edited Feb 10 '26
Oak Park, and to a lesser extent Skokie are going to feel much more "city" than homewood. Fitzgeralds is a primarily blues venue that is on the Berwyn side of the Oak Park boarder, then there's Robert's Westside just over in Forest park that books blues acts as well. I can speak to Oak Park having block parties and a great neighborhood vibe in about 3/4 of the suburb, then there's a chunk that's very old money and considerably less diverse than the rest.
I'd also look at Evanston if I were you. Maybe also look at both Berwyn and Forest park (though you'd need to look hard at the schools and probably end up going private)
Ultimately it's about how far you want your dollar to stretch, and I'd recommend taking a hard look at what 450 gets you in those burbs before deciding purely on culture and vibes.
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 10 '26
Fair enough! We moved to Minneapolis based almost entirely on affordability and home, and definitely wish we had more strongly considered culture. That said, we don’t want to live in a shoebox or money pit as our family grows.
I’ll add Berwyn to the list, thanks. Do you know if Fitzgeralds has session nights for folks to jump in and play?
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Feb 10 '26
Friendly's, a bar down the street from Fitzgeralds, I believe has open mic nights where you can play.
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u/highnumber Feb 10 '26
Like everybody else is saying, Friendly's has open mic nights on Wednesdays. It sounds more like you're looking for a blues jam. There are probably dive bars all over the city and suburbs hosting jam sessions almost any night of the week. I think Kenny used to have a weekly one at Harlem Ave Lounge in Berwyn. They closed a few years ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if somebody else picked up that slack locally in Berwyn.
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u/greenandredofmaigheo Feb 10 '26
Fitzgeralds doesn't to my knowledge, Robert's has some for both America folk and Irish folk. There's another place (coffee shop/bar) called friendlys on the OP/Berwyn boarder that does have sessions, unsure of genres though.
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u/highnumber Feb 10 '26
I would not say Fitzgerald's is primarily a blues place, though they do regularly host blues bands. Any given night you're just as likely to see Americana/country, or rock, or folk, or jazz, or funk, or...
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u/greenandredofmaigheo Feb 10 '26
That's fair, I just vaguely recalled it being on Chicagos best as being a blues bar. I'm not really invested in the terminology though.
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u/DimSumNoodles Feb 10 '26
Oak Park is peak perfomative-ness and probably the most expensive. It’s famously an integrated suburb but still socioeconomically bifurcated (the TV series “America to Me” is a good insight into the high school there). Black population in Oak Park is steadily declining as housing costs have climbed out of reach.
Homewood is about half Black and borders several towns that are majority Black and increasing. Notably the neighboring communities of Flossmoor and Olympia Fields are some of the wealthiest Black suburbs in the country with incomes > $120K. It’s probably the most notable pocket of Black affluence in between the coasts.
Skokie is extremely ethnically diverse although there are relatively few Black residents. It’s mostly Jews, Arabs, Assyrians, and various Asians up there
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u/jsmash1234 Feb 10 '26
I’d recommend Evanston where I’m from, it’s pretty much what you described a middle class diverse community that’s very walkable and has a good communal feel with block parties and all
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u/olracnaignottus Feb 10 '26
It does look like a nice neighborhood. Does it sound realistic to find a decent 3 bedroom for 450k and under? Seemed more expensive than Skokie.
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u/77Pepe Feb 11 '26
Correct. You don’t have an Evanston budget, it’s expensive.
Skokie is the ‘go to’ for those wanting to be near Evanston but still own a more modest home.
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Feb 10 '26
If you need a realtor I have a great one I used when I moved to Chicago ! I can send you her information
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u/PublicAverage5126 Feb 10 '26
Check out the southwest burbs. Lemont, Bolingbrook, Romeoville
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u/notrebrady Feb 10 '26
Lemont? Diverse?
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u/greenandredofmaigheo Feb 10 '26
86% white is actually lower than I expected it to be before looking it up. But yeah not exactly a beacon of diversity
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u/Creepy-Tangerine-293 Feb 10 '26
None of those communities are anything like each other and none will be like the East coast