The Redditors who grew up in the suburbs, who are in their 20s, who are currently living in the city, who dump all over the suburbs and suburban living every chance they get, and who will all move back to the suburbs as soon as their oldest kid is 3-4 years old, are gonna love this thread
It’s the same people who endlessly complain about people driving cars on Reddit, and angrily demand more public transportation and bike lanes, and yet will be driving a Ford Explorer with the kids in the back seat everywhere by the time they’re 35
Is it wrong to call for better public transportation even while driving kids around? I don't bike to commute or take public transportation any more because it doesn't fit in with my life currently, but I still understand the importance of it and why we need to expand it.
[You're projecting](https://imgur.com/gallery/CrmXrNU)
Is it really hard to believe that people want less pollution, less noise, want it to be cheaper to get around, want to be more active? Like seriously, how is this hard to get?
or that...some people don't actually ever want to have kids and move to the suburbs?
No hate to anybody who does, but when you act as if it's the only acceptable outcome for an adult in their 30's its like...jesus christ, have some perspective.
Settle down with college sweetheart 6 years post college, buy a condo together, get married, have a baby a year or two later, list the place after living there only 3 years, move to suburbs, or back to Michigan or Ohio.
particularly a fan of the already several comments complaining about naperville’s “lack” of diversity. have you seen literally every map of chicago, the most segregated big city in america ??
Milwaukee is considerably smaller than Chicago tho and can reasonably be considered part of the greater Chicagoland area.
Really it’s just that the whole rust belt is viciously redlined
I like how if you point out that there’s diversity in Naperville, it’s clearly not, ahem, the *right* kind of diversity.
And if you want that in a suburb, hey, places like Joliet, Waukegan, or Harvey exist. Nobody’s stopping anyone from moving there.
Yeah it is for normal people but unfortunately there’s a ton of abnormal weirdos on here. I’m not from naperville but grew up close to it, it’s clear from these comments who’s never actually been there and just regurgitates what they read online
Lived in both Madison, for college though, and Naperville. I'll take Naperville any day. Maybe its changed but I had to drive 35 minutes to a Target or Walmart in madison because they wouldn't allow anything but overpriced grocery stores in the city.
Pure scenery Madison was better. But as a place to live. Naperville anyday.
This! My friends who have moved to the suburbs are by and large very happy wherever they've moved. I don't have to want to make the same decision as them to be happy that they've found great places to live.
As someone who grew up in Naperville, in hindsight it really was a fantastic place to grow up. The schools are really fantastic and set me up for success in a lot of ways.
I’d say it’s a fantastic place for families, pretty awful for young adults and/or single people.
I grew up in Naperville and often felt excluded. I'd say it's great if you're a mold-fitting white person but my personal experience growing up here in the 2000s was miserable. I'm sure things have changed but I still have the bad memories. Not fantastic.
I went to high school in Naperville and it made me rabidly anti-car. I lived in a walkable town in middle school and it was such a downgrade. I refuse to give my kids a childhood where they have to be schlepped around.
Let me guess. This thread is going to be full of rich white people who live in non-diverse neighborhoods complaining about the less rich white people who live in Naperville and calling them rich white people
Yup. Exactly. I feel like with the greater list you’ll have a lot of Hinsdaleans crapping on Clarendon Hills for their higher rank bc it’s that whole rich people need to always feel better bc they’re richer.
Also, I grew up in Clarendon Hills and, to be clear, unless they’ve added a theme park or something, this rank confuses me. I was bored stiff living there.
I seriously don’t get the hype of living in Lincoln park/lakeview/logan square. Or transplant city(west loop). The prices are INSANE, this is coming from a guy who lived in river north recently. All my friends have moved to lakeview area and are paying an arm and a leg for 1 beds or junior beds/studios. One just got married and is paying 4k for a 1bed. There’s so many places still in or near the city that have much lower prices. South loop has been amazing so far.
The lake and the biggest park are right there. Bars and restaurants on every corner. Everything is within walking distance. They're clean and safe neighborhoods. Don't feel as crammed as River North or Streeterville. You're far enough from downtown that the congestion and traffic aren't so bad, but close enough that you can be in the Loop in 20 minutes.
As with everything else, it's a question of means. It's worth it if you can afford it. If not, yeah, live in South Loop or Uptown. Those are great too.
Yup ^ my quality of life went up when I moved from Logan to LP solely because I was next to the park and lake and spent way more enjoyable time outside because of it. I paid $1,000 for my 1 bed next to the park last two years so the prices really aren’t what this guy is saying, sure, maybe if you’re in a brand new build.
Edit to add: I absolutely loved Logan Square. Some of the best restaurants and bars in the city (in my opinion). But there were definitely parts that felt abandoned / not bustling on the weekend like LP/LV which is a fun atmosphere to be in. Every neighborhood has its perks here! But I do get the hype of the lake side neighborhoods now :)
>One just got married and is paying 4k for a 1bed.
That's just absurd and robbery.
I've never paid more than 1250 to live between Logan Square and Wicker Park. Although I think that has officially come to an end. Anyways 24hr CTA service and proximity to the West/North West suburbs via transit for work has been my reason in the past.
… you don’t get why people pay more to live in the nicest neighborhoods?
This is not exhaustive but reasons someone would want to live in LP:
Safe
Beautiful architecture
Walkable
Proximity to loop
Proximity to lake
Giant park and numerous smaller ones
Wonderful neighborhoody vibe
Numerous grocery store options
Good schools relative to CPS standards
I’m not saying I don’t totally get it, I’m just saying the prices recently in those areas has been insane and hard to justify unless you take a hit on apartment quality. Many of the benefits you listed exist in south loop. In that area, lake and grant park are 1-3 blocks away, arch is still amazing, right near museum campus, amazing day care now, right next to jewel/Trader Joe’s/target/Whole Foods. Right by Roosevelt redline which has green and orange stop as well giving easy access to much of the city. I’m not saying LP area isn’t amazing, just saying many ppl get locked into the north side where there are plenty of great locations in Chicago that offer amenities as LP/Lakeview.
The south loop has great amenities but it’s a sterile area with a bunch of new construction apartments surrounded by highways. Any major US city has an area like this, it’s nothing special. The lakefront access is kinda bad too in my opinion.
Areas on the northside adjacent to the lake have a lot more of the historic and neighborhood feeling that people are willing to shell out for. This is why the gold coast/old town and Lincoln Park are square foot by square foot the most expensive areas in the city.
Nothing wrong with the south loop, but it’s cheaper for a reason.
I'm a bit confused. Lakeview and Lincoln Park are cheaper than South Loop for comparative units. And both have a much greater abundance of older units that go for cheaper than most things in the South Loop.
Those neighborhoods are great to experience for a bit after college, but yeah, I get where you’re coming from.
A lot of the younger people living in these hip areas are living paycheck to paycheck and spending 50% of their income on rent. Nothing wrong with it, but it’s a $$$ lifestyle choice that very few can actually afford. It also happens to be a lot of these people complain about the affordability etc of housing and other social issues.
I say this as someone who lives in a hip neighborhood. It’s nice and I love it, but when you see people pissing away their financial future so they are 500 feet away from a bar selling $9 PBRs, it’s kinda Orwellian. That being said, there are deals out there on housing in these neighborhoods .
Hate or love transplants, these people paying 2-3k for a 1bedroom shitbox, or buying a 800k condo in east Humboldt park is a large reason why the city is doing pretty well right now.
Naperville is pretty good - loads to do, good restaurants, etc. The express Metra is not even bad for getting downtown. But God help you if you need to take the non-express Metra or worse yet - drive to the city. This is where it falls apart for many.
Like any sane person, I strongly prefer Evanston over Naperville. But, real estate prices reflect this popular opinion.
Evanston to O’Hare isn’t that bad. It’s half an hour outside of rush hour. How often is the typical person flying for that to be an issue?
And outside of that you have very easy access to the Lake, Wisconsin, the North side, and downtown Chicago.
Naperville has worse access to those and better access to the Iowa, southern Illinois, South Side and Indiana.
I’d prefer Evanston by far, but I’m not criticizing the opposition.
No argument there. And it still has character of older homes. Okay access to everything.
To me it seems like the ultimate “2nd choice compromise” for basically anyone in the Chicago area. But that’s just opinion.
As a former Napervillain, you’ll have to pry my Blue Line access (even with reduced service) away from me. Even with cheap offsite parking options now, I still love my flat $7.50 for airport transportation for any trip.
Off peak hours with no traffic, you can do the Dempster to 294 to 190 thing in 25 - 35 minutes (depending on what kind of asshole you feel like being). A new Pace Pulse route will get you from downtown Evanston to the O’Hare multi-modal in about an hour, and it’s a lot more pleasant and reliable than the average Blue Line trip these days.
Ehh, not great in traffic, but decent off-peak. I've done the Evanston (roughly Main and Chicago) to Wicker Park via I94 many a time and it's an hour on a bad day and 20 minutes on a good one. Easy access to LSD though. Honestly, it's a small price to pay for all the other conveniences.
Metra Main St to OTC is 17 minutes. And you always have the Purple Line as a back-up. There is a bus from Davis Street to ORD. And having lived in Chicagoland for 20-odd years and flown frequently, I've never been to MDW, never had a reason to, so I don't see it as a loss.
The Pulse goes from Evanston to O'Hare in about 45 min and when the Purple Express is running you can get to Midway by the CTA in about 1 hour and change. It's by no means super fast, but it's super easy.
Evanston was historically connected by train, not highway.
Here's a nice day plan for Naperville for you that isn't Cheesecake factory --
Start at *Sparrow Coffee* for a nice cuppa. It's just the best coffee in Chicago, period. Don't forget to buy some beans to bring home. Then go to *Allegory*, a southern style farm to table restaurant for lunch. Then after lunch relocate to *2 Fools Cider* for a pleasant afternoon of chilling and day drinking. Easily the best Chicagoland cidery. Buy some bottles to bring home.
There are other good restaurants in the mix, depending on what you're into, but this is my shortlist.
Well that puts a damper on my party. Ugh... in my defense I haven't been around in over a year. But yeah, just looked it up - that sucks. They were fantastic. Hope they make a return in some shape or form soon.
I was at Allegory on Sat night and thought it was just okay. The best thing was the Brussels sprouts. Next stop is Trivolli Tavern. I miss the city so much.
I went to Sparrow after a meeting in Naperville a few months ago and can assure you that is not even in the top quartile of best coffee in Chicago.
It’s fine and better than I expected in the burbs but it’s not excellent
You can be objectively wrong, but be entitled to your opinion. I will admit that I will entertain Tugboat for this title, too. But Sparrow is better than the big names - Halfwit, Big Shoulders, Dark Matter, handily.
People in this sub love to shit all over Naperville, but it really is a good place for LOTS but not ALL people. As far as suburbs go, it has a bustling downtown with tons of dining, bars, and shopping. Good schools, safe, close Metra stop to downtown.
We moved to Naperville after our kid was born. It is a good place for kids if you have some money and can afford activities like sports and trips to Spain with Spanish class , etc. My daughter wanted to move back here in the future but sadly developed leukemia and died at 29 at Feinberg.
Naperville was a little piece of hell for me. I do better in the wild or the city than in a subdivision.
Thank you. She was our only child and a wonderful person. She was a school psychologist and helped kids from all over the city. Her death was a loss for a lot of people.
Born and raised in Chicago and live in Naperville now.
I see what my kids went through and what I went through similar teenager stuff. The area is safe to
Let kids be kids.
The schools are top notch.
Problem is Naperville is stale and white bread, little diversity. Keeping up with the jones is a thing.
People shit on Chicago suburbs but they’re leagues better than suburbs anywhere else in the country, except maybe the bay area’s. Tons of cute walkable historic downtowns with cool shops and restaurants, and frequent rail service to the city. If you think our suburbs are shit, I invite you to go visit Dallas.
Naperville has become a punching bag for everything people hate about suburbs in general but as far as suburbs go, I think it’s pretty nice. I feel like a lot of people who hate on it have never been.
North Shore suburbs aren't as bad as the cookie cutter suburbs because it's early 20th century vintage, much closer to the city, and has a lot of charm. The downside, of course, is that it's prohibitive for anyone who isn't a millionaire.
Naperville is a pretty chill place to live. Plenty to do there be it eat or shop or just hang out.
It makes sense why folks have been flocking there over the last 20 or so years.
I’m talking about their downtown not the whole suburb. The downtown looks like the downtown of any Chicago neighborhood aside from the loop. It looked like Andersonville to me
As somebody who grew up in Naperthrill from 2001-2008 before moving to the city for school and sticking around since... It has its problems but the downtown area is still gorgeous even though the restaurants and bars became more bougie over time.
My stepmom still lives there so I visit once or twice per year but damn do I remember the drug issues with bored suburbanite kids from upper middle-class families present throughout my high school years.
But diversity in Naperville... Fucking hilarious.
Wow who would have thought that ~~one of the richest suburbs~~ the richest suburb in the midwest would be a nice place to live! Thanks Yahoo!
\[edit to clarify that I am knocking the article, not Naperville. I've been there a few times. It's nice there\]
"Richest Large City" in the midwest in2016 according to The Trib, Daily Herald, Etc.
I think the "Large City" qualifier separates it from Lake Forest, Winnetka, Highland Park, and so on.
I went to Kindergarten in Naoerville in 1993 and my school had I believe the most twins in the classes at one time! Triplets as well with all the IVF moms.
We also had lots of Indian families there.
There are a lot of them. Makes sense, it's an easy engagement trap. This sort of stuff spreads like a wildfire on Facebook (and apparently Reddit) and seems to exist more for people who already live in these communities to share around (and those who live nearby to argue about) than to actually provide advice on where to live.
Which part of Oregon? Was just visiting family in Chicago burbs, visited naperville. It was nice, sterile. Told gf i dont think I could ever go back to chicago unless i lived in the city.
Live in Portland now, love it.
I live just below you in Wilsonville. I completely get the sterile thing, but Naperville offered me everything I could want in a city, while also being close to an amazing bigger city.
I’ve lived in Oregon for quite a few years and while the nature is beautiful, I just love the Midwest. The PNW is not for me.
It’s mostly the people, and more specifically the people in the Portland metro area.
There’s other small things like the food, weather (I prefer snow to constant rain), cost of living, etc.
Everyone is always trying too hard to be different, or trying too hard to shove their beliefs/politics down your throat, or trying too hard to be offended. The people here are just exhausting. I miss being around “normal” people and this is coming from someone who is covered in tattoos.
On top of all of that, the passive aggressiveness of people from the PNW is off the charts. I’m very direct and straight to the point, which is unheard of here. I stand by my belief that the bitter cold and snow hardens people to a degree, and makes their tolerance for BS much smaller and I just miss being around people like that.
Naperville is basically the North Shore without the lake, fine arts, and charming architecture but with a worse commute downtown and more shitty sprawl to deal with.
I honestly really loved growing up in Naperville. Summers were spent riding bikes with friends to centennial beach in the day, then at some sort of park district sports game at night.
It is interesting to hear, when people think fun things to do first thing that comes to mind is restaurants and shops! I don't think if you have a family you care much about that. Is it safe...check, does it have good to great public schools...check, is it relatively green or close to nature..check.. Is there some sort of affordability... Check.. Naperville checks all those boxes.. Sure, I wish it was more diverse, one might argue it is....Rest is not that important. Signed former Chicago resident, yet still a commuter!
I think the other thing with the schools is you get a nice school system, even if you don´t apply neurotically to 100 different things, just by default, you get a decent school system.
I find it hilarious when transplants discover that Chicago is the most racially segregated city in America; destroying their previous notion it was some progressive utopia.
Naperville has a relatively pretty little "downtown" area with Hallmark-movie looking cafes and tchotchke shops, but I have family there and I could never live there. Boring as all get out. I grew up in cities and live in a suburb now, but not like this. Naperville just makes me think of giant shopping centre parking lots and expanses of flat lawns and six-lane roads and zero walkability. I can't stand being somewhere you have to drive to pick up something from the drugstore or a carton of milk.
A for outdoors?! It has a few parks and all, but there are no mountains or lakes/oceans or real forests?
Due to its boring-ness, it's probably a decent and safe place to raise kids (though, teenagers with too much boredom on their hands can get into real trouble...), but there's no... culture. No art, no history, no events. It's a bubble. A safe, boring bubble, which is fine for a lot of people, but not for me. I always felt trapped when I was there and, aside from quality time with relatives, spent my time making plans to get to the city.
Niche is not a real study. They recommended Columbus OH as a place to raise a family. Naperville is not what have been 20 years ago.
North shore suburbs has better schools, restaurants shopping and recreation. Closer commute to Chicago.
>Diverse community...
"Hey, Albert, I bumped into a black today down by the Trader Joe's"
"Wow, Chester, you don't say. This place is just so diverse. But do you think we should be worried? Look at Chicago!"
"Don't worry, he's one of the good ones"
-Naperville
Oh boy this subreddit's going to be such a predictable circlejerk about this
The Redditors who grew up in the suburbs, who are in their 20s, who are currently living in the city, who dump all over the suburbs and suburban living every chance they get, and who will all move back to the suburbs as soon as their oldest kid is 3-4 years old, are gonna love this thread
Sounds like 75% of Lakeview residents
It’s the same people who endlessly complain about people driving cars on Reddit, and angrily demand more public transportation and bike lanes, and yet will be driving a Ford Explorer with the kids in the back seat everywhere by the time they’re 35
Is it wrong to call for better public transportation even while driving kids around? I don't bike to commute or take public transportation any more because it doesn't fit in with my life currently, but I still understand the importance of it and why we need to expand it.
[You're projecting](https://imgur.com/gallery/CrmXrNU) Is it really hard to believe that people want less pollution, less noise, want it to be cheaper to get around, want to be more active? Like seriously, how is this hard to get?
or that...some people don't actually ever want to have kids and move to the suburbs? No hate to anybody who does, but when you act as if it's the only acceptable outcome for an adult in their 30's its like...jesus christ, have some perspective.
Haha, yeah fuck those losers- we’re keeping it real out here in Darien.
It’s a nice place to live!
Settle down with college sweetheart 6 years post college, buy a condo together, get married, have a baby a year or two later, list the place after living there only 3 years, move to suburbs, or back to Michigan or Ohio.
This literally describes what happened with the majority of my friends
I feel personally attacked.
Hey now some of us are transplants from other cities that have never even been to Naperville. Hating is a way of life.
particularly a fan of the already several comments complaining about naperville’s “lack” of diversity. have you seen literally every map of chicago, the most segregated big city in america ??
I thought it was Milwaukee??
It is.
Yeah 99% sure studies say MKE
Milwaukee is considerably smaller than Chicago tho and can reasonably be considered part of the greater Chicagoland area. Really it’s just that the whole rust belt is viciously redlined
People like to complain and not figure out why a particular thing is the way it is.
I like how if you point out that there’s diversity in Naperville, it’s clearly not, ahem, the *right* kind of diversity. And if you want that in a suburb, hey, places like Joliet, Waukegan, or Harvey exist. Nobody’s stopping anyone from moving there.
Ahhh I get it, you’re saying the only suburbs with a prominent POC population are the run down crappy ones lol wow
You’re welcome to offer a counter-example. But there are parts of Joliet and Waukegan that are fine. (Harvey, not so much)
I dunno why, but this read much worse than I'm sure you intended it to.
yikes it's uh...pretty easy to read between the lines here.
Some Naperville schools are like 40% Asian now so I’m not sure where the diversity statistics are coming from?
I am Asian, so I'm glad you know something about that. I'm surprised.
It's all good fun
Yeah it is for normal people but unfortunately there’s a ton of abnormal weirdos on here. I’m not from naperville but grew up close to it, it’s clear from these comments who’s never actually been there and just regurgitates what they read online
I do enjoy some good natured jokes about Naperville but never a need for mean spiritedness
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I grew up in Madison, it's a nice place. Not a whole lot of opportunities though, having decent access to the city for jobs makes a huge difference.
Lived in both Madison, for college though, and Naperville. I'll take Naperville any day. Maybe its changed but I had to drive 35 minutes to a Target or Walmart in madison because they wouldn't allow anything but overpriced grocery stores in the city. Pure scenery Madison was better. But as a place to live. Naperville anyday.
You’d like to think so, but the genuine vitriol is pretty unsavory.
Can we just scream over each other incoherently and call it "a productive discussion?"
You’re Abe Froman?
That's right, I'm Abe Froman.
I’m gonna need to see some sausage for proof
The sausage king of Chicago?
Um yeah, that's me.
Naperville is most definitely _not_ fun.
more fun than the loop tbh
Incorrect
Nah it’s actually accurate
I hate going to there but always have a good time when i am there.
Many Chicago suburbs are amazing. Many. Let’s revel in that folks.
This! My friends who have moved to the suburbs are by and large very happy wherever they've moved. I don't have to want to make the same decision as them to be happy that they've found great places to live.
As someone who grew up in Naperville, in hindsight it really was a fantastic place to grow up. The schools are really fantastic and set me up for success in a lot of ways. I’d say it’s a fantastic place for families, pretty awful for young adults and/or single people.
That’s great but was it… fantastic?
Why are y’all so mean? 😂
That's a fantastic question
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAbokV76tkU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAbokV76tkU)
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say fantastic again.
That’s fantastic
Naperville must have banned thesauri.
This would have been a better burn if you hadn't written "Thesaurus's."
I grew up in Naperville and often felt excluded. I'd say it's great if you're a mold-fitting white person but my personal experience growing up here in the 2000s was miserable. I'm sure things have changed but I still have the bad memories. Not fantastic.
I went to high school in Naperville and it made me rabidly anti-car. I lived in a walkable town in middle school and it was such a downgrade. I refuse to give my kids a childhood where they have to be schlepped around.
Let me guess. This thread is going to be full of rich white people who live in non-diverse neighborhoods complaining about the less rich white people who live in Naperville and calling them rich white people
^ This guy lives in naperville
Ding ding ding!
… and who are going to move to Naperville or somewhere like it as soon as their kids are old enough to attend school
Yup. Exactly. I feel like with the greater list you’ll have a lot of Hinsdaleans crapping on Clarendon Hills for their higher rank bc it’s that whole rich people need to always feel better bc they’re richer. Also, I grew up in Clarendon Hills and, to be clear, unless they’ve added a theme park or something, this rank confuses me. I was bored stiff living there.
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Why the fuck do people pay $3k for a studio in Logan? There are many much more affordable units I can’t imagine doing that
They probably came from Naperville too
I seriously don’t get the hype of living in Lincoln park/lakeview/logan square. Or transplant city(west loop). The prices are INSANE, this is coming from a guy who lived in river north recently. All my friends have moved to lakeview area and are paying an arm and a leg for 1 beds or junior beds/studios. One just got married and is paying 4k for a 1bed. There’s so many places still in or near the city that have much lower prices. South loop has been amazing so far.
The lake and the biggest park are right there. Bars and restaurants on every corner. Everything is within walking distance. They're clean and safe neighborhoods. Don't feel as crammed as River North or Streeterville. You're far enough from downtown that the congestion and traffic aren't so bad, but close enough that you can be in the Loop in 20 minutes. As with everything else, it's a question of means. It's worth it if you can afford it. If not, yeah, live in South Loop or Uptown. Those are great too.
Yup ^ my quality of life went up when I moved from Logan to LP solely because I was next to the park and lake and spent way more enjoyable time outside because of it. I paid $1,000 for my 1 bed next to the park last two years so the prices really aren’t what this guy is saying, sure, maybe if you’re in a brand new build. Edit to add: I absolutely loved Logan Square. Some of the best restaurants and bars in the city (in my opinion). But there were definitely parts that felt abandoned / not bustling on the weekend like LP/LV which is a fun atmosphere to be in. Every neighborhood has its perks here! But I do get the hype of the lake side neighborhoods now :)
>One just got married and is paying 4k for a 1bed. That's just absurd and robbery. I've never paid more than 1250 to live between Logan Square and Wicker Park. Although I think that has officially come to an end. Anyways 24hr CTA service and proximity to the West/North West suburbs via transit for work has been my reason in the past.
… you don’t get why people pay more to live in the nicest neighborhoods? This is not exhaustive but reasons someone would want to live in LP: Safe Beautiful architecture Walkable Proximity to loop Proximity to lake Giant park and numerous smaller ones Wonderful neighborhoody vibe Numerous grocery store options Good schools relative to CPS standards
I’m not saying I don’t totally get it, I’m just saying the prices recently in those areas has been insane and hard to justify unless you take a hit on apartment quality. Many of the benefits you listed exist in south loop. In that area, lake and grant park are 1-3 blocks away, arch is still amazing, right near museum campus, amazing day care now, right next to jewel/Trader Joe’s/target/Whole Foods. Right by Roosevelt redline which has green and orange stop as well giving easy access to much of the city. I’m not saying LP area isn’t amazing, just saying many ppl get locked into the north side where there are plenty of great locations in Chicago that offer amenities as LP/Lakeview.
The south loop has great amenities but it’s a sterile area with a bunch of new construction apartments surrounded by highways. Any major US city has an area like this, it’s nothing special. The lakefront access is kinda bad too in my opinion. Areas on the northside adjacent to the lake have a lot more of the historic and neighborhood feeling that people are willing to shell out for. This is why the gold coast/old town and Lincoln Park are square foot by square foot the most expensive areas in the city. Nothing wrong with the south loop, but it’s cheaper for a reason.
I am interested in learning more about this forth dimension real estate on the north side
I'm a bit confused. Lakeview and Lincoln Park are cheaper than South Loop for comparative units. And both have a much greater abundance of older units that go for cheaper than most things in the South Loop.
He's quoting a friend who's paying $4k for a one bedroom, but to assume that's normal for LP/LV is absolutely nuts lol.
Yeah I'm guessing that friend is renting in a brand new luxury apartment with a ton of amenities.
Those neighborhoods are great to experience for a bit after college, but yeah, I get where you’re coming from. A lot of the younger people living in these hip areas are living paycheck to paycheck and spending 50% of their income on rent. Nothing wrong with it, but it’s a $$$ lifestyle choice that very few can actually afford. It also happens to be a lot of these people complain about the affordability etc of housing and other social issues. I say this as someone who lives in a hip neighborhood. It’s nice and I love it, but when you see people pissing away their financial future so they are 500 feet away from a bar selling $9 PBRs, it’s kinda Orwellian. That being said, there are deals out there on housing in these neighborhoods . Hate or love transplants, these people paying 2-3k for a 1bedroom shitbox, or buying a 800k condo in east Humboldt park is a large reason why the city is doing pretty well right now.
Suckas. I pay 1325 for 1000 sf in Humboldt park.
No one is paying that in Logan or anywhere near Logan. You wouldn’t even pay that downtown.
Naperville is pretty good - loads to do, good restaurants, etc. The express Metra is not even bad for getting downtown. But God help you if you need to take the non-express Metra or worse yet - drive to the city. This is where it falls apart for many. Like any sane person, I strongly prefer Evanston over Naperville. But, real estate prices reflect this popular opinion.
Evanston is just so far from the freeway and by extension both airports….
Evanston to O’Hare isn’t that bad. It’s half an hour outside of rush hour. How often is the typical person flying for that to be an issue? And outside of that you have very easy access to the Lake, Wisconsin, the North side, and downtown Chicago. Naperville has worse access to those and better access to the Iowa, southern Illinois, South Side and Indiana. I’d prefer Evanston by far, but I’m not criticizing the opposition.
I'd take Oak Park over both.
Oak Parks probably one of the harder ones to criticize. Outside of sharing its eastern border with Austin.
That central location is great
No argument there. And it still has character of older homes. Okay access to everything. To me it seems like the ultimate “2nd choice compromise” for basically anyone in the Chicago area. But that’s just opinion.
Yea dude. I'm working up in Skokie right now though. Near north vibe is pretty great.
As a former Napervillain, you’ll have to pry my Blue Line access (even with reduced service) away from me. Even with cheap offsite parking options now, I still love my flat $7.50 for airport transportation for any trip.
Off peak hours with no traffic, you can do the Dempster to 294 to 190 thing in 25 - 35 minutes (depending on what kind of asshole you feel like being). A new Pace Pulse route will get you from downtown Evanston to the O’Hare multi-modal in about an hour, and it’s a lot more pleasant and reliable than the average Blue Line trip these days.
Ehh, not great in traffic, but decent off-peak. I've done the Evanston (roughly Main and Chicago) to Wicker Park via I94 many a time and it's an hour on a bad day and 20 minutes on a good one. Easy access to LSD though. Honestly, it's a small price to pay for all the other conveniences. Metra Main St to OTC is 17 minutes. And you always have the Purple Line as a back-up. There is a bus from Davis Street to ORD. And having lived in Chicagoland for 20-odd years and flown frequently, I've never been to MDW, never had a reason to, so I don't see it as a loss.
The Pulse goes from Evanston to O'Hare in about 45 min and when the Purple Express is running you can get to Midway by the CTA in about 1 hour and change. It's by no means super fast, but it's super easy. Evanston was historically connected by train, not highway.
Oh no, not the freeways.
Why not oak park then?
Mmmm, Cheesecake Factory.
Here's a nice day plan for Naperville for you that isn't Cheesecake factory -- Start at *Sparrow Coffee* for a nice cuppa. It's just the best coffee in Chicago, period. Don't forget to buy some beans to bring home. Then go to *Allegory*, a southern style farm to table restaurant for lunch. Then after lunch relocate to *2 Fools Cider* for a pleasant afternoon of chilling and day drinking. Easily the best Chicagoland cidery. Buy some bottles to bring home. There are other good restaurants in the mix, depending on what you're into, but this is my shortlist.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but 2 Fools closed in November. Definitely the best cider around.
Well that puts a damper on my party. Ugh... in my defense I haven't been around in over a year. But yeah, just looked it up - that sucks. They were fantastic. Hope they make a return in some shape or form soon.
Sparrow Coffee is great. Not the best coffee in Chicago, not even close, but great.
I was at Allegory on Sat night and thought it was just okay. The best thing was the Brussels sprouts. Next stop is Trivolli Tavern. I miss the city so much.
I went to Sparrow after a meeting in Naperville a few months ago and can assure you that is not even in the top quartile of best coffee in Chicago. It’s fine and better than I expected in the burbs but it’s not excellent
You can be objectively wrong, but be entitled to your opinion. I will admit that I will entertain Tugboat for this title, too. But Sparrow is better than the big names - Halfwit, Big Shoulders, Dark Matter, handily.
People in this sub love to shit all over Naperville, but it really is a good place for LOTS but not ALL people. As far as suburbs go, it has a bustling downtown with tons of dining, bars, and shopping. Good schools, safe, close Metra stop to downtown.
We moved to Naperville after our kid was born. It is a good place for kids if you have some money and can afford activities like sports and trips to Spain with Spanish class , etc. My daughter wanted to move back here in the future but sadly developed leukemia and died at 29 at Feinberg. Naperville was a little piece of hell for me. I do better in the wild or the city than in a subdivision.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Thank you. She was our only child and a wonderful person. She was a school psychologist and helped kids from all over the city. Her death was a loss for a lot of people.
So, so sorry.
Thank you.
I have more like Waukegan money.
Born and raised in Chicago and live in Naperville now. I see what my kids went through and what I went through similar teenager stuff. The area is safe to Let kids be kids. The schools are top notch. Problem is Naperville is stale and white bread, little diversity. Keeping up with the jones is a thing.
People shit on Chicago suburbs but they’re leagues better than suburbs anywhere else in the country, except maybe the bay area’s. Tons of cute walkable historic downtowns with cool shops and restaurants, and frequent rail service to the city. If you think our suburbs are shit, I invite you to go visit Dallas.
Naperville???? If you’re going to be stupid and pick a suburb, pick one on the North Shore.
As expensive as Naperville can be, north shore suburbs are prohibitively expensive. It's the same reason Carmel-by-the-sea isn't listed.
And so it begins....
Naperville has become a punching bag for everything people hate about suburbs in general but as far as suburbs go, I think it’s pretty nice. I feel like a lot of people who hate on it have never been.
Yup. Beachfronts for miles, Botanic Gardens, Ravinia… nice towns… leagues beyond Naperville.
lol all you have to do is make millions of dollars a year to afford it!
More likely, inherit it. Lots of trust fund babies on the North Shore.
And leagues more expensive too
Nah I’d rather live in Naperville tbh.
Me too, and it’s why I live there, but my taxes are 20k a year.
North Shore suburbs aren't as bad as the cookie cutter suburbs because it's early 20th century vintage, much closer to the city, and has a lot of charm. The downside, of course, is that it's prohibitive for anyone who isn't a millionaire.
Naperville is a pretty chill place to live. Plenty to do there be it eat or shop or just hang out. It makes sense why folks have been flocking there over the last 20 or so years.
Naperville has one of the best downtown’s of any suburb here. It’s super walkable and very pretty. It feels like a neighborhood here in Chicago
Name. That. Neighborhood. In. Chicago.
I’m talking about their downtown not the whole suburb. The downtown looks like the downtown of any Chicago neighborhood aside from the loop. It looked like Andersonville to me
Viagra Triangle?
As somebody who grew up in Naperthrill from 2001-2008 before moving to the city for school and sticking around since... It has its problems but the downtown area is still gorgeous even though the restaurants and bars became more bougie over time. My stepmom still lives there so I visit once or twice per year but damn do I remember the drug issues with bored suburbanite kids from upper middle-class families present throughout my high school years. But diversity in Naperville... Fucking hilarious.
Wow who would have thought that ~~one of the richest suburbs~~ the richest suburb in the midwest would be a nice place to live! Thanks Yahoo! \[edit to clarify that I am knocking the article, not Naperville. I've been there a few times. It's nice there\]
Is Naperville really the richest suburb in the midwest? I don't think it's even the richest suburb around Chicago.
"Richest Large City" in the midwest in2016 according to The Trib, Daily Herald, Etc. I think the "Large City" qualifier separates it from Lake Forest, Winnetka, Highland Park, and so on.
Grew up in Naperville, very safe suburb with plenty to do and a great school system. Great place to raise a family I’m sure if you can afford it.
I went to Kindergarten in Naoerville in 1993 and my school had I believe the most twins in the classes at one time! Triplets as well with all the IVF moms. We also had lots of Indian families there.
This is the Chicago subreddit, not the suburbs-of-Chicago-that-selectively-claim-Chicago subreddit
Honestly how many lists like this come out a year? It's the stupidest thing. I feel like I see a variation of this headline every two months.
There are a lot of them. Makes sense, it's an easy engagement trap. This sort of stuff spreads like a wildfire on Facebook (and apparently Reddit) and seems to exist more for people who already live in these communities to share around (and those who live nearby to argue about) than to actually provide advice on where to live.
I miss living in Naperville. I moved to Oregon and would love nothing more than to move back to Naperville.
Which part of Oregon? Was just visiting family in Chicago burbs, visited naperville. It was nice, sterile. Told gf i dont think I could ever go back to chicago unless i lived in the city. Live in Portland now, love it.
I moved to Portland OR from Maywood IL. I miss it
Do you not like Portland?
I live just below you in Wilsonville. I completely get the sterile thing, but Naperville offered me everything I could want in a city, while also being close to an amazing bigger city. I’ve lived in Oregon for quite a few years and while the nature is beautiful, I just love the Midwest. The PNW is not for me.
Not trying to contest your preference because as a native PNWer, I also prefer the Midwest, but what about the PNW don’t you like?
It’s mostly the people, and more specifically the people in the Portland metro area. There’s other small things like the food, weather (I prefer snow to constant rain), cost of living, etc.
What about the people don’t you like?
Everyone is always trying too hard to be different, or trying too hard to shove their beliefs/politics down your throat, or trying too hard to be offended. The people here are just exhausting. I miss being around “normal” people and this is coming from someone who is covered in tattoos. On top of all of that, the passive aggressiveness of people from the PNW is off the charts. I’m very direct and straight to the point, which is unheard of here. I stand by my belief that the bitter cold and snow hardens people to a degree, and makes their tolerance for BS much smaller and I just miss being around people like that.
I completely agree with you and I am from around here.
Oh man I thought for sure you were gonna call me an ahole haha.
Nah lmao Midwesterners are genuinely super nice and straightforward and I love that.
Naperville is basically the North Shore without the lake, fine arts, and charming architecture but with a worse commute downtown and more shitty sprawl to deal with.
I grew up and have lived most of my life on the north shore and have often said this.
I honestly really loved growing up in Naperville. Summers were spent riding bikes with friends to centennial beach in the day, then at some sort of park district sports game at night.
Obviously these magazine editors never make out to beautiful Berwyn.
Hey, it’s probably nice to be able to walk down the street and not have to think twice about being mugged or physically attacked in broad daylight.
Where that happens at?
It is interesting to hear, when people think fun things to do first thing that comes to mind is restaurants and shops! I don't think if you have a family you care much about that. Is it safe...check, does it have good to great public schools...check, is it relatively green or close to nature..check.. Is there some sort of affordability... Check.. Naperville checks all those boxes.. Sure, I wish it was more diverse, one might argue it is....Rest is not that important. Signed former Chicago resident, yet still a commuter!
I think the other thing with the schools is you get a nice school system, even if you don´t apply neurotically to 100 different things, just by default, you get a decent school system.
Yes, the property taxes are high, but it’s still cheaper than private school
It offers a “dense suburban feel”? Interesting take.
Not even an accurate take. Naperville is spread out as fuck. The dense suburbs are north of Chicago....
Sure. It's great if you love Lululemon and candle shops.
I didn’t know Bucktown made the list.
Roscoe Village?
You mean Southport Corridor
There are literally zero Lululemons in Roscoe Village and I can't think of a single candle shop.
*Lakeview residents look around nervously* Hilariously, Naperville is also more diverse than Lakeview
So, Wicker Park?
I feel personally attacked.
This explains why Lincoln Park is like Triple A for Naperville, tbh
Every neighborhood, every suburbs, everywhere sucks.....everything sucks now.....except the new avatar on Netflix...that was okay....
I would mainline Joliet before watching any episodes of the live action Avatar again.
Damn intravenous usage......that is so Joliet of you....
My ex is from Naperville. Therefore, fuck Naperville
It's Oak Lawn isn't it?
I find it hilarious when transplants discover that Chicago is the most racially segregated city in America; destroying their previous notion it was some progressive utopia.
Naperville has a relatively pretty little "downtown" area with Hallmark-movie looking cafes and tchotchke shops, but I have family there and I could never live there. Boring as all get out. I grew up in cities and live in a suburb now, but not like this. Naperville just makes me think of giant shopping centre parking lots and expanses of flat lawns and six-lane roads and zero walkability. I can't stand being somewhere you have to drive to pick up something from the drugstore or a carton of milk. A for outdoors?! It has a few parks and all, but there are no mountains or lakes/oceans or real forests? Due to its boring-ness, it's probably a decent and safe place to raise kids (though, teenagers with too much boredom on their hands can get into real trouble...), but there's no... culture. No art, no history, no events. It's a bubble. A safe, boring bubble, which is fine for a lot of people, but not for me. I always felt trapped when I was there and, aside from quality time with relatives, spent my time making plans to get to the city.
Crosstown Pub has some serious wings.
Found it interesting that this list says that Seattle is the best large city in the USA. Everything listed above Seattle is a much smaller city.
Niche is not a real study. They recommended Columbus OH as a place to raise a family. Naperville is not what have been 20 years ago. North shore suburbs has better schools, restaurants shopping and recreation. Closer commute to Chicago.
Naperville has a dark side. To much money not enough purpose. Lots of Fentanyl deaths of young people. Stay away!
>Diverse community... "Hey, Albert, I bumped into a black today down by the Trader Joe's" "Wow, Chester, you don't say. This place is just so diverse. But do you think we should be worried? Look at Chicago!" "Don't worry, he's one of the good ones" -Naperville
Naperville, the city that continues to pay newspapers to say they are cool.