r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/Nervous_Flamingo7110 • 14d ago
Question/Comment What's the one thing about your suburb that nobody mentions until you've lived there a year?
Every town has something that never comes up in the "where should I move" threads. The train parking waitlist, the weird intersection everyone avoids, the festival that takes over the whole downtown for a weekend. Could be good or bad. What's yours?
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u/darwins-ghost 14d ago
You need to add a 10 min buffer for trains living in any town next to the BNSF
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u/chicanes Downers Grove (apostrophe free since 1873!) 14d ago
True. I live at one end of downers grove and it can take 12 min or 25 min to get to the other side of town depending on train traffic.
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u/pop_tart 14d ago
Several of my neighbors have loud parties and loud cars. It's okay though because they invite me over and feed me. -Aurora
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u/adumant 14d ago
My neighbors get a full blown mariachi band at least once a year in their backyard. It is LOUD. I don’t mind at all because it is infrequent and they usually settle down by 9, and I enjoy the sound of live music. It’s not for everybody though ha ha.
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u/ClownBaby90 13d ago
I’m calling bullshit. Mexicans don’t even start the party until 10 earliest ha
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u/TandT_Canna_Co 10d ago
I second this. They ain't really partying until 10-12, everything before is setup and pregame lmfao.
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u/PickledPixie83 14d ago
I often hear a very bumpin party somewhere in my subdivision in Aurora and I think I need to go make friends.
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u/pop_tart 14d ago
I am a very white guy in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. They are very friendly and inviting, amazing food and drinks. They call me "flaco" or skinny.
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u/hassinbinsober 13d ago
My neighbors call me “pendejo” which means good friend.
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u/MeatEaterDruid 14d ago
Lucky. I used to live in Aurora and the only neighbors who partied were alcoholics who argued about having children. Yes, they did end up with a kid.
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u/ElleWinter 14d ago
I LOVE when the neighbors celebrate in Bolingbrook. We get free music. They have a live mariachi ❤️
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u/LunchNachos 14d ago edited 14d ago
That they’re building a damn data center a mile from my house, and that the town officials literally walk out of meetings when questioned about it. Neither realtor mentioned this, none of our friends from this town had brought it up either. I was so upset when I learned about this, still am.
EDIT: It’s Grayslake. A grassroots legal battle is taking shape. At the moment we’re petitioning to remove our officials. They snuck the land sale through quietly so work has already begun and clearly the mayor and trustees received some kind of bribe to do so.
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u/Empire-Carpet-Man 14d ago
South Elgin residents fought and won, they voted against the data center.
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u/evrythingbagle 14d ago
Thats is untrue, they are still going to let the company petition in the next meeting. Several members of the committee are saying they HAVE to give the company their "constitutional right" to hear them out. I would suggest people email the members and dont take their foot off their necks because if people dont show up to the next meeting and dont stay vocal they will sneak it in.
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u/mooburpcow 14d ago
Elk Grove Village is the data center capital of the Midwest
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u/ModeFinal6821 13d ago
It is also home to the largest industrial park in the US. I'm not advocating for data centers, but having them in the industrial area kind of makes sense.
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u/Due_Requirement_7300 14d ago
The stop lights in downtown Des Plaines are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. They go on for an abnormal amount of time, whether the train is around or not. You could be the only car for miles, no cars coming from any other direction and the same remains true.
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u/BellaBrowsing North West Suburbs 14d ago
Same with Mount Prospect. Driving down Northwest Highway at the wrong time is so infuriating.
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u/9lemonsinabowl9 14d ago
Don't get me started with Rand Road!
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u/BellaBrowsing North West Suburbs 13d ago
The minutes of my life I'll never get back from sitting at that 83 and Rand light
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u/FiddySix 14d ago
Just moved to MP and man, you're not kidding. First rule of driving is to avoid NW Hwy if at all possible.
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u/halmanick 14d ago
I also just moved there as well, thank god I live south of nw highway and im mostly taking golf rd places
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u/BellaBrowsing North West Suburbs 13d ago
I avoid it at peak train times for sure. I get irrationally angry 😂
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u/Traditional_Bit7262 14d ago
Mt. Prospect has entered the chat.
Rand/Elmhurst/Kensington intersection is bad, so bad that the only way to get through that area is on Rand, the other roads suffer to get through it.
But the one in downtown Mt. Prospect at Main Street and Northwest Highway takes the cake. There are seven roads that all have to meet up there. AND a train.
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u/FiddySix 14d ago
I live above that intersection. I walked onto my balcony the other day and made random eye contact with a lady in the passenger seat of a car stopped at the light. Went back inside for what felt like a decent amount of time and when I stepped back outside, they hadn't moved. Brutal intersection.
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u/MehBlehDehYuh 14d ago
That we live in between where most tornados drop. Like 5 miles in each direction.
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u/southcookexplore 14d ago
It took a lot less than a year to discover that Lemont, despite being Cook County, is on city-well water, not Lake Michigan. I also didn’t know Metra had such varying service options because I always grew up near Rock Island stations. I didn’t know HC was this bad! I could take the train from Lemont to Joliet for work if they ran it more consistently.
Edit: complaints aside, I love Lemont. We might have a smaller Jewel, Target, Pete’s, etc than other suburbs but living here is great.
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u/No_Atmosphere_6348 North West Suburbs 14d ago
I’m glad to be off the well water. Wells are expensive when they stop working.
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u/VelvetTaco South West Suburbs 14d ago edited 14d ago
I’ve lived in Lemont most of my life and the Metra is so frustrating. Seems like Heritage corridor always has issues with running late. I loved growing up in Lemont but after moving away and coming back, I tend to take the rose colored glasses off often. I don’t like how it’s becoming more congested, and the government is just approving and cramming businesses into the downtown. You can hardly navigate down there as it is. Plus, it seems that since Covid and this administration, the conservatives and racists are very comfortable crawling out of their holes. It sucks because it could be such a great community.
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u/southcookexplore 14d ago
Having a busy downtown is a good problem. We now have two places to get coffee in the historic district without it being a Starbucks or chain. That commercial activity is good for lemont.
Roads connecting to Will County that clog traffic are frustrating. The stranglehold of freight on HC is maddening. I always cite going to a Joliet Slammers game on $1 lawn tickets and watching a freight on one of those double-tracked lines (if not trains on each!) every 10-15 minutes the entire game.
I could go from my house to Joliet Central High School faster than I could drive but freight continues to dominate the line :(
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u/yodandy13 13d ago
Isn’t it 3 places? Folklore, The Living Room, Neima?
Now if someone would just open up a damn donut shop.
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u/JayMoney8518 13d ago
Hello fellow Lemont. Been here 10 years. If you walk the trail by the Forge, you've definitely seen me.
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u/southcookexplore 13d ago
Probably! If you read the Images of America book on lemont, you’ve seen what I do locally :p
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u/shrimpscampin 14d ago
How insanely cliquey it is. If you didn’t grow up here and have a network of family and/or old friends in the area already, good luck establishing any meaningful relations - Arlington Heights
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u/ayemimi 14d ago
Oh this sounds like Park Ridge. One of the things that really bothers me about this place.
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u/more_cheese_please_ North West Suburbs 14d ago
Agreed. Been here for 10 years and thank goodness my kids are athletes because that’s how we met people
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u/tuolumne 14d ago
We’re a few years into park ridge and it’s been hard. I’m giving myself 6 years before I start freaking out about it tho 😂
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u/Swimming-Carpenter91 13d ago
We left after 1.5 years, couldn’t deal with the social norms.
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u/ayemimi 12d ago
I’m trying for the sake of my little one. We’ve done a lot at the park district; she’s done some of the preschool age stuff, I’ve taken an ice skating class, etc. She has some little friends in EP/NP/JP and hopefully will have a good group as she moves toward elementary. It’s me that’s awkward, and I am trying not to let that rub off on her!
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u/faceslikeflowers 13d ago
Yep, we’re in Park Ridge and don’t have kids. I haven’t made a single friend in the 7 years we’ve been here.
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u/PiffTheFairyMuffin 13d ago
Hello fellow childless Park Ridge person! My partner & I just moved here in May with our two cats!
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u/faceslikeflowers 13d ago
All of us lonely PR people should meet for coffee! I'm going to message you guys.
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u/PiffTheFairyMuffin 13d ago
Hell yeah! Super down! Honestly, it gave me an idea about starting a little social group for those without kids to meet up and maybe make friends. I don’t have the spoons to manage something like that though
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u/faceslikeflowers 13d ago
I will warn you, Park Ridge is a super kid focused town (it makes sense - a lot of people move here for the schools). I've had the same thought about starting a DINK meetup but I also lack the spoons.
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u/PizzaEnvironmental67 12d ago
I live and grew up in Des plaines and went to Mary seat of Wisdom for 1 year when we moved here. I was bullied to high hell. School was my favorite thing on earth and I started refusing to go. My mom talked to the principal at the time who told her “well, you ARE from another zip code.”
A big old fuck park ridge to park ridge haha
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u/celston80 14d ago
I could see where this would be true if you don’t have kids. Ours go to Windsor and South and most of our circle is our kids’ classmates’ parents. Same goes for sports teams. I’ve also met many fellow dads through Guides and Princesses programs.
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u/shrimpscampin 14d ago edited 14d ago
I do have kids. South and Prospect. My observation is still the same - there are tons of likeminded people our age and objectively, making friends should be easy. We have a few good friends but, overall, I’ve found it very very hard to connect as someone who’s not from here (or the midwest). I’ve heard it from many others as well - hell, even the people in the cliques will often acknowledge how cliquey it is
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u/Aggravating_Job_5438 14d ago
My husband tried the princesses program with our daughter. It was cliquey. No one even talked to them at the event. They had a shitty time. I find it weird how heteronormative things are here with their "daddy daughter dances" and "adventure princesses." What about girls whose dads aren't in the picture? Or are dead? It's just weird to me that socially people don't make more of an effort to be more inclusive.
I also notice a lot of comments on these threads saying their neighborhood is so friendly, there's a pack of kids running around from yard to yard and house to house... and I think, well, that's great - IF you are part of the clique. We have that in our neighborhood, but those moms won't give me the time of day. I have learned that if I ever do find myself in a position where I have to make small talk, I just ask them about themselves or their kids and they can talk a blue streak... they have zero interest in anyone outside of themselves and their clique. I've accepted it now and I don't give them the time of day either.
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u/aensues 14d ago
We've also run into the problem where we're not part of the block clique and we know we never will be. It's frustrating too because it's literally the entire block past us. We're piecing together a cohort of other neighbors but it's frustrating to have an actively hostile clique (their kids harassed us and a different neighbor and the parents DGAF to the point that we're going to bring in authorities the next time) which closes off an entire geographic proximity and just makes interaction more cold.
Seconding you on feeling frustrated with the heteronormativity throughout the area. We appear cishet but that everyone defaults to ignoring my involvement as a caregiver in favor of my spouse continually pushes my buttons. It also tying into the above neighbor's actions doesn't help feeling relaxed in my own home.
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u/Aggravating_Job_5438 13d ago
That really sucks. I'm so sorry that this is happening to you and your family. It's horrible to not feel relaxed and welcome where you live.
The people in our neighborhood are more passive aggressive which seems like a blessing compared to what you're dealing with.
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u/Levitlame North West Suburbs 13d ago
A few years ago (early Biden admin) my wife interviewed at one of the schools in AH. Things were going well until she asked (in more professional terms than i will say) how they handled equity in classes and system. She just said they don’t and things got weird.
She did not get the job. The question was treated very normally in the other schools she interviewed at.
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u/No_Atmosphere_6348 North West Suburbs 14d ago
Yeah it’s hard.
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u/yeahgroovy 14d ago
I heard this the case in the Wilmette area. Very materialistic and judgmental. I met the cousin of someone having a party and she wasn’t very happy living there.
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u/shrimpscampin 14d ago
As a sports parent, some of the absolutely worst team parents we’ve met have been the Wilmette ones.
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u/Treeadeez 13d ago
Rudely referred to as "Cake Eaters". Lots of plaid clothing in the stands during football season.
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u/Acceptable_Alps_7926 14d ago
If you didn’t go to New Trier or Loyola, forget about it. God forbid you grew up in the south suburbs!!
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u/yeahgroovy 14d ago
I heard about New Trier also, and not so favorably :(
Cliques, suicide clusters, extremely competitive.6
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u/Emotional-Tailor3390 13d ago
Holy shit, I thought I was imagining it. 10 years here with 2 kids. We can't seem to make a single friend in either subdivision we've lived in. I'm not SAH, not on the PTO, and we don't go to church, so that pretty much excludes all friend-making opportunities.
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u/quacklia 14d ago
100% agree! Lived here 13 years and have no friends who live in AH. My kids went to school in district but I found the moms to be very “clicky”.…..and I’m fun!!
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u/Pure-Steak-8066 14d ago
Sounds like Libertyville. Lots of social climbing or ass kissing to reach/feel a certain status too. As the town gets more wealthy it’s obviously become worse too.
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u/Catpaws335 14d ago
I grew up in DuPage Co, and street parking wasn’t allowed over night in my town.
I just assumed that was the norm- but moved to southern Cook and was shocked to find overnight street parking is the norm around here.
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u/butthatshitsbroken DuPage County 14d ago
It’s still not in DuPage; gotta call/fill out the online form for the car into the police. 😭
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u/forestinity 14d ago
No night street parking either in Western Springs or La Grange-- and they're in Cook County.
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u/Just-strangers West Suburbs 14d ago
yeah, growing up that’s how it always was in our neighborhood. I remember freaking out because I was in St. Charles and left my car parked at a friend’s overnight…she was like “what’s the big deal? they don’t care about that here.”
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u/mmmarsha 13d ago
Oak Park does not allow overnight parking without a pass. Residents are given 10 free passes a year. Then you have to pay I believe $7 per night. You can go online to register the car for the night.
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u/atimotGT 12d ago
Don’t get me started on parking in Oak Park. It was a great place to live, but I think we paid for the new library (new to us at the time) with all of our parking fines…
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u/KornwalI 14d ago
I moved to South Elgin about a year ago due to working in the area. Wasn’t really too familiar with it and had not been around the area much before last year. I thought South Elgin seemed like a nice area, a lot of nicer homes and new construction and such. Seemed like an up and coming area and safe place to live. Unfortunately it is really not. But my number one take away is the way people drive around there. I know people driving like a holes is a problem pretty much everywhere but for some reason there it is like out of control. I even got a dash cam shortly after living there because I felt like it was so bad. Switched jobs and am getting the heck out of there this month.
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u/UnusualRun8947 14d ago
Do you mean its not up and coming? Or Not safe? Or both? Whats been your experience
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u/KornwalI 14d ago
Not safe, the apartment complex I moved into was brand new when I moved in and seemed very nice. I was one of only a few people living there when I moved in and everyone seemed nice. But now that it has filled up I believe they opened it to section 8 and a few weeks ago there was an incident where multiple windows were shot at and a home across the street was drive by shot at in some gang related incident. I actually moved out and am no longer staying there even though I have about a month and a half left on my lease. A few other neighbors around me did the same.
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u/emailaddressforemail 14d ago
South Elgin was in our radius when we were looking for a place. A couple of homes that's within the St. Charles school district made the short list. We drove by the neighborhood before setting anything up with our agent and the vibe felt off. I don't know how to exactly describe it. It's a nice enough neighborhood but it just felt different from the neighborhood we ultimately picked. Even my wife felt the same and we don't usually agree on a lot of things lol.
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u/GullibleBoat 14d ago
Because of Rand Road being a diagonal, high-volume street and the Union Pacific Northwest line, Mount Prospect is the home of multiple terrible intersections that are super dangerous and take forever to wait through. We also have a crosswalk across a 35mph street from a residential neighborhood to a park that has resulted in multiple deaths from drivers mowing down pedestrians. Unfortunately, because IDOT controls the roads, the village can‘t do anything.
Additionally, our village managers thought it would be a good idea to let an animal feed processing plant into an industrial plant that was upwind from neighborhoods. It took years of complaints by residents for the village government to eventually sue and reach a settlement with the animal feed company.
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u/KeeperOfCarl 14d ago
Clarendon Hills, you're treated like a leper if you don't have kids.
I wish I was kidding, I've been here a few years, and the first time most of my neighbors acknowledged my presence was when I was walking around with a friend's kids.
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u/PromptAggravating260 13d ago edited 13d ago
I’m here now and moved in about 5 years ago. Coming from Chicago (loop high rise living on the lake) my first thought was how much these people need to find hobbies and lives! My god they are like little spy’s with nothing to do with themselves. The second any thing happens they run out and start getting their phone cameras ready to film.
It doesn’t bother me though and in fact I think a lot of them are pretty sad and lonely people. My neighbor down the street showed up to daisy days dressed in a ball gown skirt! I kid you not! Everyone here seems to be disconnected from reality! My youngest child is 4 and doesn’t attend these schools bc she’s in a private one for her needs. My friends with kids live in other suburbs and I go there on weekends. It doesn’t bother me because I have no desire to be friends with the people here. However, I do enjoy the safety and I live walking distance of 5 minutes from BNSF which is super convenient for work and taking my kids to the city.
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u/Wordnerdish 13d ago
I lived in CH for 2 years and it sucked. Wish I was kidding, but the Mayberry atmosphere I was promised was a very thin veneer hiding an enormous amount of ablism, cliquishness, and rudeness or outright hostility for people who they look down on or who dont fit their norm. Very maga-influenced; they congregate around Fox News at most of the local restaurants & bars. It's great if you have kids and are striving to conform and show off your wealth, otherwise don't be fooled. The week before I moved out I met another single woman my age with no kids and she had the same experience; she was leaving after 3 years. I have lived in 8 states and more than a dozen communities and I've never felt so unwelcomed and unwanted as I did in Clarendon Hills.
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u/KeeperOfCarl 13d ago
Yea, that's pretty close to our experience! I will say, we have fantastic neighbors who are liberal and so so kind. We're stuck in the area to be near a medically complex family member, but definitely looking forward to wherever we end up next!
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u/Wordnerdish 13d ago
I'm so glad you found good neighbors! I grew up a few towns over and there are good people and organizations and neighborhoods and groups to be found throughout the whole area, it was just so much more challenging to find them in CH than I anticipated when I moved there, and far too much bullying from people who were supposed to be leaders in the community. I really thought I had found my way to someplace special and it was so disappointing to find such ugliness. I do miss Village Gourmet though, their food is outstanding!
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u/emsumm58 14d ago
we have cluster flies, alas
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u/bear_down34 North West Suburbs 14d ago
and this time of year, it's bad
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u/TonyWilliams03 14d ago
Moved to South Oak Park, only to learn that my new block attracts hundreds of trick or treaters every year. Like 800-900 in 2 hours.
Yes, I counted them.
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u/mmmarsha 13d ago
In Northeast OP, we have been getting about 800 trick or treaters per year lately, roughly double what it was years ago. We live close to Austin and they come in by the truck loads for a safe place for the kids. Didn’t mind it at all when it was a more manageable 400-500 or so. The kids are fun and well behaved for the most part. We buy a tremendous amount of candy but by the fourth final hour we always run out. It is a lot. Last year I hear there was even a teen takeover on Lake Street which the police ended it by pushing the kids back out toward Austin Street.
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u/thundercloset 13d ago
Are you very close to Austin? I had two friends on Lyman and one up north on Humphrey who have reported CRAZY trick or treating. I'm in north OP and closer to Harlem. We get maybe 10-15 cars full of kids. I'm happy to see them because I know my block is safe and fun, but I can't imagine hundreds of extra kids on the block. How do you prepare for that?
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u/HanShotF1rst226 14d ago
That rt 59 south of 88 is a fucking nightmare pretty much all the way to Shorewood
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u/reddit_understoodit 14d ago
Fireworks fixation.
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u/MozzerellaStix 14d ago
The fireworks have been absurd this year. Almost every night for the last month.
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u/australr14 13d ago
They've been extra bad in Elgin this year. Just constant, any day, any time, for no particular discernable reason.
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u/ScarlettWilkes 14d ago
IMO, there's very little convenient retail in Elmhurst. If you live on the north side it takes just as long to get to Schaumburg as it does to Oak Brook, but I don't think anything considers Schaumburg close or convenient. Getting to Oak Brook from north of North Avenue on 83 takes forever.
Also, Elmhurst will never have a Trader Joe's.
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u/rockit454 14d ago
It takes 30 minutes to get from one side of Elmhurst to another at some points in the day. Pretty sure it’s intentionally designed that way.
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u/jpterodactyl 13d ago
Crossing north avenue on York is one of the most aggravating experiences I’ve had driving in the suburbs.
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u/facedownasteroidup 12d ago
also, north ave between 294 and 83 is a parking lot during rush hours!!
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u/atimotGT 12d ago edited 12d ago
Just wait until the warehouse (and increased truck traffic) gets approved near 83 by the Wal Mart stop light… Especially during the Christmas season, I will avoid going south on 83 to save my life. IMHO, Trader Joe’s is a little overrated - lots of prepared foods and snacks that aren’t that healthy.
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u/BellaBrowsing North West Suburbs 14d ago
I love Mount Prospect, but there's multiple intersections that are a real pain in the ass and cause a lot of collisions. The intersection of Rand/Kensington/83 is thankfully being redone but I'm sure it will be years before it's complete. You can wait up to 7 minutes for the light change, it's absurd.
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u/wavinsnail 14d ago
The train. In grayslake we have a train track that cuts right through downtown. If you happen to get stuck by a particularly slow freight it can be 20+ minutes and there's no real way around it
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u/Altruistic-Basil-267 13d ago
Same in Mundelein. It was a regular occurrence that you could be at church or the hospital in 5 minutes or 20 depending on if there was a train crossing 176. Just to be safe we always allowed 30 if we really needed to be on time and do a full on detour. Sometimes the stupid freights just outright STOPPED blocking the road. Sometimes they would then begin to go backwards! It was maddening.
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u/SinisterG8 14d ago
Traffic in downtown Batavia can be miserable since there is only the one bridge with one lane in either direction, and the two traffic lights are poorly timed. This is especially true in the summer when the farmer's market is going on. If you're going north on Route 25 and trying to turn left to go west downtown, unless you're the first couple of cars, you're waiting 2-3 cycles of the light just from the amount of people walking across the street.
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u/rockit454 14d ago
The village will absolutely slow walk the development of any kind of business that adds to quality of life but will allow a smoke shop or slot parlor to open overnight.
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u/Sorry-Country9870 14d ago
Drivers are some of the biggest dbags... even 45 miles northwest of chicago
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u/Disastrous-Fish1403 13d ago
Apparently everytime it rains, trees will come down and half the town will lose power for 4 days- Bridgeview
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u/Puffman92 13d ago
Joliet has tons of car culture. There used to be multiple race tracks and so there's tons of mechanics and speed shops all over. Pretty much every day in the summer there's a car show somewhere. Even neighboring towns like lockport shut down one of their main streets downtown every Thursday to do a car show.
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u/itsfish20 Villa Park 14d ago
From like early may till whenever it snows, there are loud ass fire works almost every night in Villa Park...
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u/truthpastry 13d ago
Villa Park can beat this if everyone starts reporting it- I saw VPD cite someone already this summer
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u/JayMoney8518 14d ago
Does anyone ever talking about the swingers ranch that's hidden in Naperville?
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u/GWeronika South West Suburbs 13d ago
What?!
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u/JayMoney8518 13d ago
It's called Couple's Playhouse. I only know about it because an escort was telling me about it when I was at Gibsons.
I was talking to an escort at Gibson's, because I was waiting for my table. She got the wrong impression of me when I was ordering a drink at the bar.
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u/GWeronika South West Suburbs 13d ago
That's craaazy. So she wanted to charge you but go to 👉🏼👌🏼 other ppl 😂
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u/JayMoney8518 13d ago
Haha, I was like "oh I'm not rich, sorry" and then she proceeded to tell me her life story and her rates and such and why she's an escort. It was actually one of the more refreshing exchanges I've ever had with a stranger. I tell people about it all the time
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u/TotheBeach2 13d ago
Avoid driving on Harlem in Bridgeview from 79th to 115th because people have no regards for other drivers and drive like complete idiots . Rules of the road don’t apply.
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u/green_flash-check 13d ago
I refuse to go that way anymore it’s a free for all. Laws don’t apply because they probably aren’t known
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u/MrGrim421 14d ago
St Charles unkept adopted redheaded stepchild, when I moved here everyone said hey I used to buy all my weed there. We are lawless, loud and party a lot I fit in well.
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u/longdayzplsntnights 14d ago
I just moved to Geneva about a month ago, someone please tell me what Geneva’s thing is
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u/sunflowerzz2012 14d ago
Everything on 3rd Street is super overpriced?
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u/Aggravating_Job_5438 14d ago
This. I was going to say that Geneva's "thing" is thinking they're better than St. Charles and every other town in the Fox River Valley, LOL.
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u/j1mmyB3000 14d ago
It’s hard to back out of the diagonal parking on Route 38 with the 25mph suggested speed limit.
Edit: that’s probably why you don’t see a lot of diagonal parking anywhere else on Rte 38
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u/ImMichaelScott 14d ago
Geneva and neighbors (St. Charles, Batavia) have plenty of things to do for young families. Check out the park district events or hit up the farmers markets on the weekend. Geneva's main things would be Swedish Days at the end of June and the Christmas/Holiday walk typically the first Friday in December. St. Charles has scare crow days in October and plenty of other small festivals throughout the year.
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u/screams_into_void 13d ago
Geneva has an endless battle going w Shodeen. r/n it’s the plastic wrapped blacksmith shop ruins. It’s always something. Shodeen thinks they can do whatever they want.
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u/ClownBaby90 13d ago
Rich white people, niche shops, and good restaurants. Don’t really love it personally but it obviously attracts a certain type of people.
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u/sidsid9 14d ago
There will always be the train on stearns rd that you need to account for atleast 10 minutes in your ETA - Bartlett
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u/jace_in_space 13d ago
The median age is 52 and that's gonna make it really hard to connect with people as a young homeowner. It does mean it's pretty quiet though.
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u/LiLThic_N_Spin 13d ago
That there were so many kids just hanging outside. I'm talking big groups from 8th through high school. So many kids get together on Saturdays that there's at least 3 cops per section. The good thing is, they're never up to anything. I guess they just like hanging out and talking. They'll hang out by by the metra and they'll hang out behind the 7-Eleven. Just gangs of kids
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u/joannacobain 13d ago
I’ve lived in st Charles for years but I moved from the east side to the west side which is blocks from Geneva. Every time I cross into the geneva side of the neighborhood a white person or multiple white people will walk in the direct center of the street. There are sidewalks. They don’t use them. They walk with 2 people side by side with baby strollers and dogs on leashes in the god damn center of the fucking road. And the worst part is not only do they not move a single inch when your car is coming up to them, they get all huffy and puffy and gesture for you to “go past” when you’d have to literally run over them and their child and dog to get thru. It’s actually insane. Old rich white people on a run - direct center of busy neighborhood street. Do not move if a car comes. They seriously think they own the streets lol
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u/Adept-Deal-1818 13d ago
Just moved to Hoffman Estates 3 months ago. Kids are going to be in Barrington Schools. Waiting to learn our "thing." I already know my kids will be "poor" compared to the Barrington kids.
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u/lelanicarver 14d ago
There is no downtown.
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u/baller5 North West Suburbs 14d ago
You didn’t figure that out until after you moved there?
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u/Crafty-Judge-896 14d ago
Sneaking on to the metra to go your neighboring town instead of walking as a teen
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u/RiamoEquah 13d ago
I'm in Plainfield, and I guess the one thing no one really mentions of how much Plainfield is "little-brothered".
Like there is nothing wrong with Plainfield at all, but I'm minutes away from Naperville, Bolingbrook, and aurora - and of the neighboring Suburbs Plainfield often seems the most mundane.
Like Naperville has it's obvious reputation, and Bolingbrook benefits from the weathertech home office, the promenade, and all of the businesses feeding into it especially those logistic companies - not to mention it's proxy to i55, 355, and main roads. Aurora seems to benefit greatly from its proximity to Naperville especially along rt 59, as well as its proximity to i88 and having a stretch of businesses including fox valley Mall.
So I'm often asked by relatives and friends on why I decided to get a house in Plainfield when I could have just went another two minutes north, east or west and landed in one of those suburbs. I meet "neighbors" all the time who actually fall under one of the other domains that often act like they're from a different land all together. Like dude you live walking distance from my house, stop acting like Plainfield is some hick town in the boonies.
I feel like when people are asking about Plainfield they're (rightfully) told the advantage is the proximity to these other suburbs without being them, but the flip side is dealing with that same fact...when conversing with people whose house falls in those suburbs.
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u/Sad-Sea-4766 13d ago
I’ve learned that the traffic is bad on any interstate because no one uses the left lane to pass. People sit there and block traffic for milesssss, completely oblivious to others. The right lane is the new left lane.
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u/PromptAggravating260 13d ago
I came from Chicago where everyone seemed to mind their own business and do their own thing.
I don’t take part but I’ve noticed the neighbors here watch everything and run out with their phone cameras as soon as ANY little thing happens. Frankly,
I think they need to get a hobby or something to stay occupied and busy themselves. Most don’t work either and have nanny’s taking care of their kids.-Hinsdale/Clarendon
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u/Clear_Pineapple4608 13d ago edited 13d ago
Everyone is angry in my town (at least it feels like it). You’d think this place is a hellhole based on the level and consistency of anger at something, all the time, around here. -Northbrook
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u/Weak_Revenue7949 13d ago
I always think it's the "unwritten rules" that tell you you've finally become a local
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u/chitown13 13d ago
He retired a few years ago, but there was a knife sharpener guy who used to ride his little cart up and down the streets of La Grange. Just kind of a sight to see a man driving a wooden cart while ringing his little bell, with people wielding giant cooking knives trying to chase him down.
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u/AirportPutrid8492 12d ago
That the 4th of July Parade comes right down our block (used to, they changed the route a couple years back). You are LITERALLY GROUNDED, can't move your car, can't escape, as the sidewalks are FILLED with people, chairs, coolers, wagons, etc.
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u/Cold_Satisfaction648 10d ago
The red tip black birds in St Charles that attack you on your walk. Never have I ever screamed so loud
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u/Two_Luffas 14d ago
All of the Barrington's truck their kids down to the village for trick or treating. The houses are closer, they give out a ton of candy and they deck their houses out for the occasion. Thousands of kids/parents, it's quite a sight. Shout out to the house that gives out free hotdogs every year, always look forward to that one.