Young professionals move in for the energy, but the second a baby arrives half of them are eyeing Oak Park school ratings and two-car garages. Is fleeing to the suburbs a practical adult decision or a betrayal of everything that makes Chicago worth living in?
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Add your commentChicago's population has been shrinking for decades. If the city actually fixed the schools and made the neighborhoods feel safe enough to raise kids in, people wouldn't leave. The problem isn't the people who leave. The problem is the conditions that push them out. Get mad at City Hall, not at exhausted parents trying to figure out kindergarten options.
Moved to Naperville four years ago after our second kid and I am DONE apologizing for it. Do you know what our property taxes get us? A school district where my daughter is actually thriving, a backyard she can run around in, and a Costco I can reach without parallel parking on a one-way street next to a guy who's been honking for three straight minutes. That's not giving up. That's called resource allocation.
I'll tell you what betrayal actually looks like: it's living in Lincoln Park for eight years, voting against every affordable housing measure because it might change the neighborhood's "character," and then moving to Oak Park and calling yourself progressive. THAT'S the betrayal. Not the leaving. The leaving while pretending you stood for something you didn't.
Evanston isn't even a suburb, it's basically a northern Chicago neighborhood with its own zip code and an identity complex. Let's not lump it in with Naperville. One has the L. The other has a Cheesecake Factory as its cultural centerpiece.
Can someone who actually still lives in the city answer me this honestly: if the Chicago Public Schools in your specific neighborhood are genuinely strong, and your street feels safe, and you have outdoor space for your kids — are you staying? Because I WANTED to stay. I looked for two years. The math just didn't work on a teacher's salary and a toddler. I didn't give up on Chicago. Chicago and I had a budget disagreement.
grew up in pilsen, watched half my block gentrify, watched the other half move to bolingbrook. nobody asked whether THEY were betraying the city. funny how this conversation only comes up when it's young white professionals doing the leaving.
ok but real talk i feel like everyone who moves to naperville becomes a completely different person within 18 months. my college roommate lived in wicker park, ate at au cheval every other week, complained about tourists on the 606. now he's texting me about which leaf blower has the best torque. i'm not saying it's bad i'm just saying it's a transformation
That's not accurate at all — Chicago was incorporated in 1833 and Naperville was platted around 1831 but wasn't officially anything before Chicago was. And more importantly, who cares? The founding date of Naperville has nothing to do with whether leaving the city means you've matured or surrendered. Stay on topic.
I actually did the reverse — raised my kids in Schaumburg, they're grown now, and my wife and I moved INTO the city two years ago. Logan Square. Best decision we ever made. So maybe the arc just bends toward Chicago eventually if you're paying attention.
Fun fact: Naperville was actually founded before Chicago was even incorporated as a city, so technically Napervillians could argue THEY'RE the originals and Chicago stole their thunder. Just putting that out there.
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