Oak Park is a small suburb located 9 miles west of downtown. It was established in 1839 and spans only 4.7 square miles.
Oak Park was the boyhood home of Ernest Hemingway and also boasts the architecture of the great Frank Lloyd Wright.
The affluent area was originally an “all white” suburb, but in the 1960’s the town began to see block-by-block integration. Over the years, the village has put in a lot of hard work to become a welcoming place for people from all backgrounds. Oak Park now has a reputation for ethnic integration and is thought of as a “gay-friendly” place to live. It is home to an estimated 50,000 residents that represent people from all over the world.
One can live a suburban lifestyle in Oak Park while experiencing many urban conveniences. It is accessible by taking the green line train to the end of the line at Harlem and Lake, and the town has several Pace bus routes that will help you navigate your way around to work, schools and even the malls.
The make up of the city is comprised of several factors. In the housing category we find that 50% of the residents of Oak Park live in households. Of that number, 30.3% have children under 18. On the other hand, many households are made up of married couples (42.5%), however there are also those that are female-headed that make up about 11.2% of the towns’ population. More than 50% of the residents of Oak Park own their homes while the other 43.7% rent. While women outnumber men, 53.6% to 46.4% respectively, there is a pretty good mix of residents overall. There is a good number of young people living there with the median age of 35.9. Many of the younger professionals own and rent condos because they don’t have the time to keep up with the maintenance of the home.
Education plays a key role as it would in any area. Many residents are college educated and therefore they make more money than high school grads. On any given day you can see students and business men and women commuting back and forth each day. The town really comes alive in the summer with several street fests and activities for the families.
Oak Park is a good place to live because there is a great mix of people and plenty of things to do. In downtown Oak Park there is the Lake Theater, The Frank Lloyd Wright historical district and countless restaurants and pubs. There are also a couple of bookstores and the great tasting Oberweis ice cream store. There are also shopping malls and grocery stores. Everything is relatively accessible and the people are friendly enough. You can keep yourself busy and always find good food. It’s just a matter of your own personal taste.