Forest Park, Illinois SperlingViews

Forest Park is an excellent place to live, especially if you are young and single. While you can get to downtown Chicago in less than twenty minutes on the train or highway, the cost of living, parking, drink prices and traffic are much lower than any remotely decent neighborhood in Chicago. Despite having only 15000 people, there are over 30 bars and lots of different types of restaurants. However, these are concentrated on two major streets so most of the town is residential. We have a mixed population, both politically and racially. Violent crime is low, relatively speaking. Unless you are a lone woman, you can feel pretty safe walking around any time day or night. The climate is like Chicago, but we have slightly more warm weather due to being further from the lake. In addition to Forest Park entertainment, Oak Park is within walking distance of many places here and has lots of cafes, stores, restaurants and Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. Home prices are not cheap, but cheaper than most large cities. Condos are still reasonable and plentiful. The only downside to living here is that high school kids will have to go to a school in nearby Maywood, which I would not recommend anybody move to unless you like inner city crime and problems (although there are a few nice areas). There are outdoor swimming pools in summer and a nice forest preserve nearby. People are friendly here. Altogether, if you want lots of nearby entertainment without the innercity crowds and costs, check this town out. The absolute only downside aside from the high school situation is the typical midwestern winters. But you can't have everything!

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Heaven in Chicagoland - 2/3/2011

I've lived in Forest Park twice and love it. Convenience to Eisenhower and downtown or West Suburbs as I worked in Hillside. I was single male in late 20's with wonderful entertainment. Chicago Bears were the Monsters of the Midway. Excellent grocery shopping with Cub Foods as close as Melrose Park. Grocery and Sunday alcohol for games in one stop. Forest Park Law Enforcement are a breed of their own. Two attempted robberies, one liquor store, one drug store on Madison and Harlem. Forest Park cops busted them without them getting out of our suburb, with shootout against semi auto firepower, our Cops whipped em with their sidearms and had downtown Chicago pick them up for the downtown jail. From 1985 to 1988 two attempted crimes in Forest Park. Respectable young folks with very great business folks trying to make a buck offering a value. Great Bars. Incredible Restaurants so varied in Nationality Cooking along with just good eats. I love Forest Park and would move there now and I'm 51 and single again. Pretty White population, along with Oak Park, just across Harlem. Oak Park is first western suburb of City Limits, Forest Park second. Then Maywood next, poor black, Bellwood just west, Middle Class Black, and so on. Chicago is my kind of town for life in Business, and Forest Park will always welcome newcomers, even guess exactly where your from by your accent. Like me, Minnesota, I didn't know I had an accent. Got me, N. Minnesota.[read more...]

Best of almost everything - 12/26/2008

Forest Park is an excellent place to live, especially if you are young and single. While you can get to downtown Chicago in less than twenty minutes on the train or highway, the cost of living, parking, drink prices and traffic are much lower than any remotely decent neighborhood in Chicago. Despite having only 15000 people, there are over 30 bars and lots of different types of restaurants. However, these are concentrated on two major streets so most of the town is residential. We have a mixed population, both politically and racially. Violent crime is low, relatively speaking. Unless you are a lone woman, you can feel pretty safe walking around any time day or night. The climate is like Chicago, but we have slightly more warm weather due to being further from the lake. In addition to Forest Park entertainment, Oak Park is within walking distance of many places here and has lots of cafes, stores, restaurants and Frank Lloyd Wright architecture. Home prices are not cheap, but cheaper than most large cities. Condos are still reasonable and plentiful. The only downside to living here is that high school kids will have to go to a school in nearby Maywood, which I would not recommend anybody move to unless you like inner city crime and problems (although there are a few nice areas). There are outdoor swimming pools in summer and a nice forest preserve nearby. People are friendly here. Altogether, if you want lots of nearby entertainment without the innercity crowds and costs, check this town out. The absolute only downside aside from the high school situation is the typical midwestern winters. But you can't have everything![read more...]