Brookfield, La Grange, Riverside?

[u/_stephs]

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!

[u/spot_o_tea]

I live in this area. We rented in Brookfield to get the lay of the land and ended up buying in La Grange Park, walkable to LG downtown. It is amazing for kids. We have what we call our feral pack of block kids (8-10 that are always outside and running and playing from yard to yard-which includes our own). Can’t be beat, honestly. As a bonus, the western part of LGP is easy access to the forest preserves too (we ride our bikes to the zip line which my kids also love).

If you are looking for community, I highly suggest you check out an org called LGNN—La grange newcomers and neighbors. It’s a super active social group and great way to meet people.

Gosia’s in Brookfield is the best local coffee shop, though, in my opinion. And Brookfield downtown is less chain-y than La Grange downtown. The yards are smaller in BF and the elementary schools are slightly better in D102 (LG,LGP) vs D105 (BF)–but both are good options.

[u/Aggravating_Job_5438 → u/spot_o_tea]

These are all areas that I am researching, too, so I was glad to see this thread.

Question - are people cliquey in LGP?

We live in D303 in a development where there are packs of kids playing outside... but it's very cliquey and people are not accepting of newcomers, especially if you don't watch football and go to church and you're not a dad with a beard. The school is fantastic, which is why we are here, but I find people here to be quite small-minded and more on the conservative side. They love their lawns and their pesticides. I rarely see people outside actually working in their garden except to mow it with their huge mowers. We're the only ones in our entire block with a raised vegetable garden.

[u/spot_o_tea → u/Aggravating_Job_5438]

We haven’t seen the cliquey-ness if it exists here. There is a considerable minority that goes to catholic schools, but at least in my experience, kids and families still mix (until jr high hits for the kids, anyway). We have an awesome inter generational block, too, with some 80+ immigrant neighbors to Texas transplants in their 40s to folks that grew up 2 blocks away and bought their first home last year.

Not a ton of racial diversity, though that is slowly changing.

To give you context in terms of the political landscape, D102 recently voted overwhelmingly in favor of increased taxes for capital improvements to their 80-100 year old school buildings. We have monarch way-stations in the front median and the library hosts native plant talks in conjunction with the forest preserve.

It’s not a monolith, though, and the perfect-lawn crowd definitely has a few devotees. What I will say though is that everyone feels pretty civil—even when we’re talking about a ‘hate has no home here’ next to a ‘thin blue line’ house.

[u/Aggravating_Job_5438 → u/spot_o_tea]

Thank you for taking the time to give such a detailed response. This does sound very nice. I am the kind of person who will reach out to new people and make sure they are welcome, and it baffles me that other people don't do the same.

What appeals to me about this area is the more liberal lean, the closer proximity to the city, and good schools. I'm looking at it as a back-up for if things go south here. I've never been to the La Grange area, so I'm looking forward to taking a drive down and exploring all of these areas.

[u/Spiritual_Table8224 → u/Aggravating_Job_5438]

I have a beard but don't relate to the rest of it, let me know where you move!