By Tim Moran
Villager Editor
Like so many others have done before, new neighborhood residents Kristen and Sean Duggan recently made the move from Chicago’s North Side to Beverly/Morgan Park when deciding it was time to start raising a family.
The Duggans officially became among our newest neighbors when they closed on their new home near 104th and Campbell in late May, and they’re already noticing some of the major differences that come with living here compared to the North Side neighborhoods like Wicker Park, where they most recently called home.
“Having come from a small town myself, I feel like I’m back living in a small town,” Kristen said. “We’ve lived in the city for years, but this is the first time we’ve known the names, first and last names, of everyone on our block.”
The couple are expecting a baby boy in October. They’ve already noticed why Beverly/Morgan Park has its reputation as a great place to raise children.
“The kids being around is the big difference,” Kristen said. “In Wicker Park, you really don’t see any kids past 5 years old. Everyone is fleeing to the suburbs by then. It’s refreshing to see a group of 12 year-olds walking down Campbell here. Seeing kids and teens here every day is different, because up north everyone there seems to be 27-35 years old.”
Kristen is originally from Petersburg, Illinois, a central Illinois town about 25 miles northwest of Springfield with a population under 3,000. Sean, originally from near south suburban Midlothian and a 2010 graduate of Bremen High School, grew up with more familiarity of Beverly/Morgan Park and our neighborhood’s dynamic.
“My uncle has lived on 104th and Talman, so I’ve always been familiar with Beverly to a degree, with the old homes and how each of them has its own character and charm,” he said.
Kristen and Sean both lived on the North Side of Chicago when they met through friends. “My friend from high school is married to one of Sean’s college friends,” Kristen said, noting that their relationship first formed “the old-fashioned way… at a bar.”
The pair got married last November, and when they found out a few months later that Kristen was pregnant, they knew a move from Wicker Park would need to happen soon. But since Sean is a Chicago firefighter, remaining within city limits was “not just a priority, but a necessity.”
“We also wanted to look south,” Sean said. “My sister lives in Oak Lawn, and my parents are still in Midlothian,” so the family proximity element also played a role in their choice to make Beverly/Morgan Park their home neighborhood.
Sean is now five years into his career with the Chicago Fire Department, but that opportunity did not come right away.
“I worked in normal, white-collar sales jobs for 10 years after college,” he said. “From the time I took the firefighter test, it took 8 years for me to get the call, but once I did, I made the leap of faith. It was a crazy change of pace, but I’m glad I did it.”
“Every day is different, and far from being in the monotony of working in sales. It’s certainly not mundane or representative, and we meet great people of many different backgrounds.”
Kristen works for a worldwide top 10 accounting firm and is the athlete in the family, having competed in NCAA Division I cross country when she was a student at Eastern Illinois University.
Although they’re still years away, the Duggans look forward to getting more involved locally as parents, helping out with the schools and parishes.
“This is a very community-oriented neighborhood,” Sean said. “It feels kind of like a very small, big town. We’d like to get ingrained in that.”
