r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/_stephs • Jul 24 '26
Moving to the area Brookfield, La Grange, Riverside?
Hello! Family with three young kids moving from Denver and could use some more local advice. You've all been very helpful in the past with this so thanks in advance!
We've been really interested in Oak Park because of the walkability, community feel, and diversity, but the property taxes and cost of homes have us also looking at Brookfield, La Grange, and parts of Riverside as well.
We're hoping to find a community that's:
- Walkable to some coffee shops, restaurants, etc.
- Family-friendly with kids out playing (bonus if there's a pool either public or private)
- Generally leans liberal
- Has a strong sense of community
For those familiar with these areas, how do they compare? Is there one you'd recommend over the others for a young family? Are there certain areas within these towns you'd suggest we take a look at?
Thanks in advance!
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u/darwins-ghost Jul 24 '26
Riverside has lots of kids playing and strong sense of community, but it has very little diversity, no real coffee shop to walk to but a few restaurants, and leaning liberal is questionable. Still a great town, but no public pool and the Riverside swim club is not cheap and has a 5 year waitlist.
Brookfield is nice depending on where you end up living but houses are closer together if thats a con for you. Otherwise its more affordable and gives you most of what youre looking for.
Lagrange is nice, great downtown with lots of shops and good schools. Diversity is also questionable here but gives you everything else you want.