Naperville, Illinois

http://naperville.wordpress.com/category/naperville-unwrapped/

It's pretty crap. Oh look, you can ride your bike or go to the library or a park! Lots of McMansions with very little culture. Twenty years ago, it was a tiny suburban cowtown, but some industry moved in and it's now the second biggest city in Illinois. Still crap though.

the blog essentially admits that there's not much to do in naperville. oh well.

i feel just awful for you that you have to be there for a short time, you poor thing.
there's a couple good tapas places. Meson Sabika, in a restored 19th century mansion near downtown on Aurora Ave, and Macarena's Tapas, also on Aurora in a strip mall just before you hit Rt 59. for a quick lunch, there's a new European Deli (yes, that's the name) on North Aurora, just east of Rt 59. Only been there once and it was on their first day of business, so they weren't fully set up. Have an assortment of meats (esp hams and sausages) different than your typical bland sandwich shop.

Twenty years ago, it was a tiny suburban cowtown, but some industry moved in and it's now the second biggest city in Illinois.

This isn't really true. Plus, Aurora is 2nd biggest, then Joliet, then Naperville.

I was stuck there for about four hours yesterday while my wife was at a baby shower. I can confirm that there is not shit worth doing in that town. Be prepared to become very annoyed by soccer moms that have no clue how to drive their gigantic SUVs.

which is different from chicago, where the probable driving annoyances cannot be narrowed down to one group.

Precisely.

if you spent another 4 hours, you would've had time to been annoyed by the soccer moms' prickish "i work hard and play hard!" husbands in their mercedes who've dicked over so many people just that day in business dealings that cutting you off isn't even worth noting.

Although, awesome thing I did see in Naperville yesterday:

14 year old skater kid with the perfect circa 1988 shaved-in-back skater bob cut and a homemade Built To Spill t-shirt

I love that cut.

yeah I've been seeing quite a few skaters of the traditional mold lately. i think it comes and goes in waves.

http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/105386/America's-Best-Places-to-Live-2008;_ylt=AhD152G6vvf95g.yAH_Mj05O0tIF

Yeah, don't trust anything that ranks Plymouth #1.

During summer/winter breaks in college, I used to drive to this coffee shop to hang out and read. Closed now, apparently.

Make sure you check out the sculpture of the old woman on the bench in front of the Barnes and Noble. Read what she's writing in her book.

14 year old skater kid with the perfect circa 1988 shaved-in-back skater bob cut and a homemade Built To Spill t-shirt

I interviewed some skater kids in Naperville for a film project in high school. One cute girl and I bonded over the fact that we had both recently had dreams about Bjork.

I'm sure Record Swap isn't there anymore, but that place was pretty awesome.

I spent my entire jr high existence having crushes on boys with that haircut, particularly the nearing-tic-status gesture of flipping the bangs out of the way.

I feel like Granny Dainger may have had that haircut at one point, non?

nah Record Swap isn't there anymore. :( even though their selection never impressed me much, and the Record Swap in Champaign was way better.
jaymc is that the same spot where Cafe Trieste was during our HS years?

oh there's a Penzey's store downtown, if you're into that sorta thing.

xpost fer sure dude

Yeah, the Record Swap in Champaign ruled. But more at its original location on the second floor on Green Street then when it moved to downtown Urbana.

absolutely. what was the record shop that was across the street on Green? Had an excellent selection of new stuff downstairs, and pretty tiny amount of used stuff upstairs. That was my favorite.

Record Service! That place was pretty great too, but they couldn't compete with Swap's import or vinyl selections.

Sigh... memories. I remember my freshman year down there and being able to hit up four different stores within a block!

Record Swap - great vinyl and import selections, friendly counter dudes
Record Service - more snobby clerks, but solid selection and lots of used stuff for dirt cheap

Streetside Records - horrible selection, crazy overpriced - BUT the only place I knew of to buy bootleg hip-hop mixtapes in Champaign in 1995, understandably closed within a year

Discount Den - worst selection of the bunch, but they would always put new releases on sale for $9.99 or less

Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled Naperville stuff.

There used to be, not sure if its there anymore, a laughably overpriced vinyl shop in Naperville called Val's Halla or something like that.

Good place for lunch is Fontano's, an outpost of the Taylor St subs shop. Decent pastas, good meatball sandwich, but the best italian beef I've had anywhere, though you do pay handsomely for it.

There used to be, not sure if its there anymore, a laughably overpriced vinyl shop in Naperville called Val's Halla or something like that.

val's halla has been in oak park for like 30 years or so.

You're right. I'm thinking of a different one in Naperville that reminded me a lot of Val's Halla. Haven't been to either of them in 7 or 8 years now.

jaymc is that the same spot where Cafe Trieste was during our HS years?

Yes! I think I only went to Trieste once or twice. The place reeked of cloves.

I'd like to go to this Naperville.

I like Chicago and surrounding areas. must be nice right now, huh? bbqs, the lake?

i was in highland park on saturday, there were lots of mosquitos. we took green bay rd. so we passed through a bunch of other burbs too. yesterday i went to old orchard mall in skokie.

must be nice right now, huh? bbqs, the lake?

yes, this is almost enough to make me forget that this place in all but inhabitable for like 8 months of the year. almost.

But I live in Highland Park!

i guess you mean uninhabitable. is it really so bad?

i was in highland park on saturday, there were lots of mosquitos. we took green bay rd. so we passed through a bunch of other burbs too. yesterday i went to old orchard mall in skokie.

-- n/a, Monday, July 14, 2008 12:54 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Link

the burbs going up green bay road are pretty diff from how i imagine naperville to be

Uh, I was in Highland Park at Ravinia for Feist Friday night. Horrible experience. Apparently, judging solely by the crowd that particular night, Feist is the new Dave Matthews Band. Bunch of loud, drunken types with no interest in hearing the music. I might as well have stayed home, played the Feist CD's on my living room stereo, shut all my windows and doors, and sat in the neighbor's backyard.

that's what i meant and yes, it really is bad. this winter broke me i think. the unrelenting cold was the worst i've ever felt. so fucking bleak and it lasted forever. two friends have left the midwest and a third is leaving in september. i asked each of them what spurred it and the first thing they all mentioned was the winters. not the only thing but god damn... i don't know if i can take another one.

is Naperville near Joliet? if so you can go to this mexican restaurant thats supposedly the best in illinois:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4059

or there's Enchanted Castle in Lombard..

ha, my friend ben went to see feist also and had basically the same reaction you did, he said he's never going back

Naperville's not that close to Joliet, no. I mean, it's maybe 45 minutes away.

<3 Enchanted Castle, though.

i've only been to naperville once and it was to buy a small spruce tree that served as the first christmas tree for me and my ex. the plan was to plant it on some property her mom owned up in michigan. i don't think it made it to new years.

going to ravinia for pop shows is stupid ... its fun for jazz + CSO though

^^
Skip the hype shows and it's a great place to relax.

Naperville, though: the only people I've ever met who live there are folks who moved to the U.S. as adults to work in banking, science, etc. I'm kind of fascinated by the place.

yeah joliet is a bit of a drive. aurora is really close though and has it's own fair share of good mexican food. La Quebrada and El Pollo Giro, to name two.

kevin, this winter wasn't even that bad! relatively speaking. (jaymc can vouch for this)

green bay rd is by like Lake Forest and all those tony north shore burbs, right? naperville isn't too much different.

xpost there are a ton of peeps from the Indian subcontinent in Naperville now. which brings me to Lunch recommendation #3 (where I'm just about to go to now): this Indian buffet on Ogden where it bends around just north of 75th st, tucked away in the corner, next to the closed-down Kmart. Just changed names and is now under "famous" Schaumburg management (yeah, i don't know what that's about either). They have the standard north Indian heavy curries but also some interesting things I haven't seen at any other suburban Indian joints.

also if you need some new eyewear, my cousin owns a shop in lombard. nice stuff too. better than lenscrafters anyway

kevin, this winter wasn't even that bad! relatively speaking. (jaymc can vouch for this)

it was bad enough to drive away 2 native midwesterners (one from downstate, one from minnesota). the dude from florida, not much of a surprise.

straw that broke the camel's back, i guess. i only recall about a week of really frigid temps. and really, even single digit temps are tolerable so long as there's no wind (yes, windless frigidness almost never happens here, though)

i only recall about a week of really frigid temps.

were you out of the country or perhaps comatose for january?

i just went back and checked the temperatures, and i had totally forgotten about that three day stretch in january where the temps flirted with 60. i had vivid memeories of the single degree highs at the end of the month.

Yeah I was gonna say, a small mountain/desert town that was within an hour from a city would be perfect.

See, this I can understand. If you're turned off by concrete and noise, the idyllic peace and quiet of a small town can be very appealing. The suburbs, on the other hand, don't go far enough. This article about Naperville in Chicago magazine spends three paragraphs talking about the congested traffic in the town. And for all of the space devoted to parks or greenery, there's just as much devoted to shitty strip malls filled with stores that lack any character or history.

just as much = probably a lot more

there's nothing like broad generalizations about suburbs to counter broad generalizations about cities

I realize it's a broad generalization, I'm just trying to put things in perspective.

Like, I don't think my opinions about suburbs apply to Evanston or Oak Park.

again, it depends on the suburb. and again, i'm really not into suburb-bashing, having lived in one for 5 years that i liked a lot. i like skokie a lot too, with some reservations.

i have to admit i start to feel weird when i head past those "rim" suburbs. i was in highland park a few months ago and i just wasn't comfortable. this isn't to say that i don't like highland park, but i felt distinctly out of my element, like i was in a foreign country.

ha and see i'm never as comfortable as i am in those sort of suburbs.
n/a i think this thread has gone from talking about a specific suburb or city to talking about our generalized impressions of "city" and "suburb".

The suburbs, on the other hand, don't go far enough

totally agree, which is why they're are not my ideal place to live. tough to find a job in a mountain/desert small town though, whereas out here you can easily have a decent paying job fall into your lap.
Traffic around 59/Ogden/75th is RIDICULOUS. There are restaurants just 2 miles away that I won't go to for lunch only because I'd spend 20 minutes each way to get there. (otoh, I can head west into Aurora pretty far w/o much traffic to speak of.)

All sorts of big companies invested in building their headquarters in the outer-ring suburbs (on Lake Cook Road in the North, in Hoffman Estates and Naperville and Schaumburg to the west and south), presumably with the idea that the suburbs will keep spreading outward.

Now, considering that a round-trip drive into the city from any of these towns could cost $20 each way, and given all of the new construction in the city, I think these companies will have a hard time hiring, especially at entry-level and middle-management-type jobs that don't necessarily appeal to heads of households.

I also think the deteriorating neighborhoods of 2015 will be outside the city.

there's PLENTY of non heads of households living in the outer burbs. i seriously doubt they'll have any trouble finding employees out here.

I also think the deteriorating neighborhoods of 2015 will be outside the city.

-- Eazy, Tuesday, July 15, 2008 2:30 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

this is already the case

Dolton and cicero are both dealing w/ serious gang problems right now

cicero has been deal with a serious gang problem since the 20s. the history of that city is really pretty interesting.

I was gonna mention Dolton, which has been a shithole for years. All those near southern suburbs give me the heebie-jeebies.

western springs was mobbed up for years too.

lol richard roeper is from dolton

there was an article in this month's ATLANTIC about crime being dispersed from inner cities to suburbs and more sparsely populated parts of cities.

the article was interesting, though frankly it seemed to be conflating a few different trends.

Naperville really is horrible. There are maybe 10 decent places to eat, absolutely nowhere to buy records. if there wasnt the internet to buy things and my car to drive to the city for food, bars, etc... i would be the saddest person in the world.

there's nowhere to buy records anywhere anymore!*

*not technically true

western springs was mobbed up for years too.

Really? What? I live in Western Springs... There's nothing here but houses.

Oh look, you can ride your bike or go to the library or a park!

Too hilarious! That blog reminds me of the time I was bitching about having depleted all of Milwaukee's major resources to which a Milwaukee-sympathetic friend responded "Well, have you gone fishing yet?" As if fishing was somehow indigenous to Milwaukee. As if fishing wasn't ten times more boring than riding a bike or going to a Naperville library and/or park.

Still I'm really fascinated by this thread. The first half is kinda like watching Duras' Le camion - hypnotic in its excruciating dullness, the camera slowly tracking through the well-named European Deli which "ha(s) an assortment of meats (esp hams and sausages) different than your typical bland sandwich shop," leaving one to ponder the unfathomable blandness of our typical sandwich shops. And this remarkable post of phil-two's reads like a line from Duras' script (which she reads on camera thus heightening the hilarious boredom):

also if you need some new eyewear, my cousin owns a shop in lombard. nice stuff too. better than lenscrafters anyway

It would be so dada if amateurist actually trudged to Lombard to visit said eyewear shop preferably if he didn't need some new eyewear. And perhaps he could go when it was closed and just stare at it for a few minutes. (I'm being dead serious here. It'd make an awesome flick.)

Anyhoo, it's a bit odd to talk about a Chicago suburb as an entity unto itself, at least in relation to amateurist's original question. None of the burbs mentioned in this thread are so isolated that being there (esp. briefly as amateurist explains) would constitute some sort of hell on earth. Just keep skipping on over to the next burb until you find what you want.

Of course, this assumes you'll have transportation. And some time to get out of Naperville if boredom consumes you. In any event, do regale us with stories upon your return.

I also think the deteriorating neighborhoods of 2015 will be outside the city.

For more on this, check out The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream. More info (and tons of debate in the message boards here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446320/

As if fishing wasn't ten times more boring than riding a bike or going to a Naperville library and/or park.

such a suburban statement

I'm assuming Kevin lives in a city, which is one reason why I don't.

I think he lives in Austin.

Really? What? I live in Western Springs... There's nothing here but houses.

-- Melissa W, Wednesday, July 16, 2008 1:15 AM (Wednesday, July 16, 2008 1:15 AM) Bookmark Link

former western springs police official. according to the book they liked it better when there weren't even houses out there. they dumped bodies in the canal for years.

Record Swap was the best record store downtown Naperville had when I lived there, but there's not much competition for the title.

Blue Skies was great in the early 80s. Interesting indies and imports at very low prices, though the owner refused to stock 7"s, even special orders. The store eventually moved and the head shop side (and other "alternative" income sources) took priority and the LP selection stagnated before The Man shut him down.

Rose Records had a downtown location briefly in the 90s but this was when the chain was struggling against Best Buy's prices and B&N's selection and was was about to shut down altogether. Plus it was CD-only. Why bother when Record Swap was just a couple blocks over? It's barely worth mentioning.

That was pretty much it. We were usually better off hitting stores in Downers Grove or just going all the way into Chicago. Is it the same now?

former western springs police official. according to the book they liked it better when there weren't even houses out there. they dumped bodies in the canal for years.

Ahh. Amazon says Willow Springs, not Western Springs? Different places.

My mom lives in Willow Springs, lol.

oh, shit, yeah, probably!

definitely now that i think about it.

no disrespect meant to what i'm sure are fine, upstanding, law abiding folks in western springs.

I was gonna say... Western Springs is just a bunch of Victorian and post-war houses sandwiched between Hinsdale and LaGrange.

to the best of my knowledge i've never been to either.

having consulted a map i've probably been to both.

It seemed odd to me, too, but you never know what goes on beneath the placid exterior. I often find myself trying to spot the mobsters/gang leaders who've retreated from Chicago. I think places like Burr Ridge and other well-to-do south suburbs are where they mostly are, though.

Westmont, Westchester, Western Springs, Willow Springs, and Willowbrook are all pretty close to one another.

places like Burr Ridge

Eddy Curry used to live in Burr Ridge when he played for the Bulls.

I don't think I've ever even heard of Willow Springs! I read somewhere several years ago that there's over 6000 suburbs of Chicago, which seems impossible.

park forest
river forest
river park
river grove
elk grove
elk river
elk river forest
elk river park
elk river grove
etc.

sam "momo" giancana was murdered in his oak park home. al capone's brother ralph had a place at the corner of austin blvd. and roosevelt rd. tony accardo and a bunch of others lived in river forest.

long tradition of not shitting where you sleep.

from wikipedia:
Average Home Values
West Suburbs (DuPage County):

Burr Ridge $1,048,405
Clarendon Hills $813,796
Downers Grove $471,000
Elmhurst $549,000
Wheaton $441,000
Glen Ellyn $514,000
Naperville $511,371
Itasca $475,000
Oak Brook $172.48
Hinsdale $73.62

ignoring the wtf errors at the bottom, I'm thinking Clarendon Hills is an error, too? Have I missed all the multi-million $ homes there? I nearly rented a decent house there for $1400/month.

yeah gang leaders like to live and meet in quiet burbs, too

Barrytown people got to be from another world

my question re: traffic is where the fuck are all these people going to/coming from at 2pm on a Wednesday? (ie the time I go to lunch) Doesn't matter if it's summer or winter, it's nuts.

SOCCER MOMS BE GETTIN SHIT DONE.

haha well there are a sporting goods store and SUV dealerships around there

Naperville police have charged 69 people with underage drinking after breaking up a house party where a teenage girl was found unconscious this week, authorities said.

The arrests happened about 11:40 p.m. Monday at a home in the 2600 block of Blakely Lane. Police said Thang Vo, 19, of the 2500 block of Lexington Lane, Naperville, was a relative of the home's owner and host of the party. The unconscious girl found in the home was taken to Edward Hospital in Naperville, police said.

Vo was charged with criminal damage to property, criminal trespass to a residence, illegal possession of alcohol by a minor, illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor and providing illegal liquor access, police said.

Sixty-eight partygoers between 15 and 20 years old from Naperville, Aurora and surrounding communities were charged with criminal trespass, illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor, or under a city ordinance that cites teenagers for attending parties where there was underage drinking, police said. Some were also charged with possession of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.

Naperville and other similar towns such as Wheaton have this weird group of teens from affluent families who like to pretend like their lives are so miserable and they're so hardcore whatever. Maybe that's true for the majority of affluent American suburbs, I dunno, but I encountered a bunch as a teenager.

For a long time Naperville has been seen as an homogenous community of upper middle class whites, and while it's still pretty true, I think it's changed somewhat. Anecdotal evidence today: the Mexican place I went to for lunch (which isn't really any good, like every other Mexican place in the town) had the following clientele: an older Indian couple, a young Latino dude, two Polish women, a white guy (me), and a young East Asian dude.

like to pretend like their lives are so miserable and they're so hardcore whatever

yeah this is all teenagers everywhere

Old school