Thanks, I’ll look into that. Never used one before, Didn’t know they came in stages.
Chicago winters are exaggerated. What really sucks are Chicago springs. You just keep waiting and waiting for it to get warm and it just won’t. And then it’s June and it’s 80 out.
Chicago summers are great. If you’re not going out in the summer (assuming this pandemic ends eventually), you’re really wasting life in Chicago. There’s ALWAYS something to do in the summer, usually for free/cheap.
There are people you can hire for this? What does that usually cost?
Yeah. Avoid the recent and increasing trend to identify neighborhoods by the nearest intersection of major cross streets. OP/FP are still on the Chicago “grid”, w/ main N/S and E.W streets pretty much every 1/2 mile.
So if - for example - you are looking at a house SW of the intersection of Oak Park Ave and Division, anyone can instantly understand reight where you are talking about. Far better than saying it is in (made-up name) the Forest View Estates area of OP. (No, I don’t think such BS names are as common in OP as in Chicago, but I never miss an opportunity to express my frustration w the practice! ;))
Not my opinion/experience at all. A single-stage is plenty form the vast majority of Chicago snows. A couple of snows per season you’ll need to do it more than once during the snow.
A 2-stage will be amazing in a record-breaking storm, but a pain in the ass to store and use in the vast majority of storms.
Unless - like kenobi, you live on a corner or something.
A “single stage” snowblower has one rotating impeller, near the bottom. Smaller/less-expensive snowblowers are nearly always single stage. They can handle lighter snowfalls, and fluffy snow, just fine.
A “two stage” snowblower also has a rotating impeller in the chute (the “chimney” that the snow is expelled through). It helps prevent clogging in that chute, which can often happen in a single stage snowblower, especially with heavier and wetter snow.
Pictoral comparison of the two types (the single stage is on the left):
Just 1 datapoint - bought my first snowblower 10 yrs ago as I passed 50 and al my kids were out of the home. Never lived on a corner. My garages have always been in the front of my homes, so driveways not overlong, with plenty of space to the sides to place the snow.
I shovel when possible, just to avoid hassling w/ gas, the noise, etc. But use the blower a couple of times a year, either when snow is extremely wet and heavy, or if it snows continuously for an entire day or more.
In the past 10 years, there have been at least a few years in which I had no need to use the snowblower, and when I have used it, the single-stage (very similar to the one pictured above) as been plenty sufficient.
If you buy a home w/ a long driveway to a garage in the rear, you may need a powerful blower to throw the snow a long way between the houses to the front or back yards. I know more people who initially bought 2-stage and then downsized, then went the other way. A big 2-stage is a SERIOUS piece of equipment. Again - just my experience.
But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The guy doesn’t even have a house yet! 
lol…yeah, plenty of time to geek out on power equipment after I close – I hope…
Augusta and Austin is just about a mile from the Austin el - so you COULD walk. But folk who take that train can tell you about that stop compared to the stops further west.
I assume you know that some pretty rough areas of Chicago are just E of Austin. Up in the area you describe, they’ve blocked off streets creating “deadends” to prevent through traffic. Lotta nice old houses up there - I used to regularly visit a friend right in that area before he moved to CA. But it wouldn’t be my favorite part of the town.
Just my opinion.
So Humphrey or Taylor blocks? Nice section. Not short quick walking to the el or Metra though if that is important.
According to google I can take a bus from there to the train – which is what I probably do.
Oak Park and Forrest Park will be forced to use Pace busses and not the regular CTA busses. Different ballgame. .3 miles is probably decent for the area, it’s not like he’s looking at a place on Lincoln Ave.
Make sure you talk to and trust your real estate agent. There’s quite a bit of daylight between houses in Oak Park and those in Austin. The west side is very much a good block - bad block situation.
Sections of Oak Park -
Northwest tends to be more expensive and higher taxes.
South near expressway and east closer to Austin less expensive and even just the one block west of Austin very safe. Lower taxes on those properties too.
We downsized to a condo in downtown Oak Park and are annoyed enough with condo association living that we will be considering a move back to a house sometime next year. South and east appeal to me most. Not yet seriously looking.
Waiting for a bus then a train midwinter though would not appeal to me.
Yeah, not fond of the idea either. But it seems to be the option at the moment.
What is the difference between pace and cta?
CTA buses largely (if not exclusively) only run in the city of Chicago; Pace is the suburban bus service. (The CTA also runs the L trains, but several of the lines extend into the suburbs, including the Blue and Green lines, which serve Oak Park.)
But, if the bus route you’re looking at to go to the L stop is going down Austin (which is the Chicago city border), it might well be a CTA bus.
OP, I think it’s kind of weird that people are claiming Chicago winters haven’t been that bad recently. Especially people who are from here and are used to it. I, in response to your thread, advised you that Chicago winters are good and goddamned cold, especially if you’re from Texas. It gets cold here, nevermind the locals claiming it wasn’t so bad last winter! Get a winter hat, hats are as important as layers of clothing are.
Hell, I don’t think anyone has come out and said Chicago winters don’t suck.
But its just cold weather and some amount of snow, and a bunch of grey gloomy days. Yeah, you are gonna need some warm clothes. Most people who have any kind of a commute - or who don’t want to spend 4-5 months indoors - say to hell w/ fashion and just bundle up and deal w/ it. On the odd day or too that it is deadly cold or impassable snow, you just hunker down and eat whatever is in the pantry.
And IMO a bit of cold and snow sure beats hurricanes, drought, wildfires, mudslides, tornados, earthquakes - or having to live in fucking Texas! 
Lol…Yeah, I’m about done with Texas. I’ve done my time. after living here half a century I’m ready to get out.