mom2joshnalexis

Lyons is a great town, and Hawthorne is one of the best. It is a half-block from a great elementary school. It is close to gas stations, convenient stores, pubs, etc - but at enough of a distance to not disturb the neighborhood areas. Hawthorne is a side street, and where it intersects Joliet Avenue is where it starts to get a little more industrial - good to find jobs. Overall, it's just a nice, quiet place to raise a family, or retire.

There are some houses here and there located directly ON this somewhat busy 2 lane street, but most is just small shops, gas stations, churches, etc. There is a major hospital located on Oak Park, near the railroad tracks (which are often very busy - and long!) There is a gym and a small club located on Oak Park Avenue in Downtown Berwyn, which is also near the tracks and a small neighborhood restaurant. It's a great area to stroll around in the afternoon.

When all the surrounding towns shut down for the night, Ogden Avenue shines its brightest. With plenty of places to eat, drink, and hang around, Ogden is a great way to pass the time. There is a Mexican restaurant at the intersection of Ogden Avenue and Harlem Avenue that has the best food around for miles. Ogden is a few blocks south of MacNeal Hospital, and many professional buildings. There are tons of methods of public transportation.

While they are really trying to fix this street up (and have been for a looooong time), I just don't see it going anywhere anytime soon. There are pot holes everywhere, construction horses and barricades everywhere (which have been there since 2007). There are small, rundown local shops, a few banks and fast food locations, but otherwise, just a street to pass by. They are attempting to renovate the area by building half-million dollar condos, but that's not somewhere I'd want to live - especially for that amount of money!

Taking Harlem North-South through Berwyn is a nice drive. It's a 4 lane street at 35mph. There are many lights, which is a pain, but there are also many ammenities on Harlem. You pass a library, many gas stations, many restaurants, the Metra, many many bus stops, a shopping mall and a few shopping plazas, grocery stores, a gym, banks, just about everything. This is a busy, busy street. There are a few apartment buildings facing this street, but no homes in this area - it is just too busy. I'd recommend this street for shopping and public transportation only.

Cermak is a great place for the young and hip. It is a 4-lane street and runs East-West. There are plenty of places to eat many different nationalities of food, as well as many fast food restaurants. There is a gym, tanning salon, video store, post office, and plenty of pubs and banks. You can catch a bus just about anywhere down this street, and while driving you can take it all the way down into downtown Chicago. Going west, there is North Riverside Mall, where there are lots of places to shop.

31st Street runs East-West through the borderline of Brookfield and La Grange. It has its points of congestion during traffic hours, and isn't much of a street to live on with kids as it can be pretty busy at times, but it is one of the higher speed limits through this quiet town. It passes a church, an entrance to the Brookfield Zoo, a few local pubs, and Brook Park Elementary school, ranked one of the best in the state. This is one of the more active streets in Brookfield, as just about everything else closes up around 8 or 9pm.

Prairie Avenue is one of the busier 2-lane streets that run through Brookfield. It is busy during the day, but at night it is well-lit and nicely quiet. Prairie Avenue is only a few blocks east of the police station, forest preserve and small creek. The police are laid back, but safety doesn't seem too much of an issue. The schools rank as some of the best in the state, so this makes it a great place to raise kids. Not to mention Brookfield Zoo - the kids always love that!

Highland Avenue is a quiet one-way (heading South) side street than runs through Berwyn. Highland runs North-South and is 2 blocks East of it's busier 2 lane street, Ridgeland Avenue. There is one park located on Highland, one pool, and one water park play area. It is quiet and peaceful and there are always kids out playing.

1st Avenue runs North to South through Maywood, just west of Chicago. 1st Avenue runs past the courthouse and over I-290. The neighborhood isn't great, the people unfriendly, and the houses are unkempt. But most of all is the streets are the worst. Pot holes so big you have to swerve to avoid them. I have heard of many people getting a flat tire going through there, so be careful.