Rich Gloor is living the dream in Western Springs. He's raising his three boys — ages six, eight and 10 — and serves as the primary manager and broker at the family real estate business. Every day at the office, Gloor is surrounded by 60 years of family history and watches the third generation of Gloor Realty clients come in the door.

Gloor spoke with BlockShopper.com about how his grandfather's service in World War II led to him working in real estate, how he learned the business without really trying and why people are being drawn to Western Springs.

BS: How'd you get into real estate?

RG: Real estate is a family business. My grandfather started this real estate company in 1946. I had all kinds of different plans and pipe dreams about what I was going to do, but I got into the real world and decided that real estate might be a good opportunity. I tried it out and grew to love it. I started working in real estate in 1995. I found it a pretty easy thing to jump into. I grew up around my dad doing it and just hanging around the office as a kid kind of taught me real estate by osmosis.

BS: Why did your grandfather originally start the business?

RG: He was an attorney and after he got back from the Navy after World War II, he needed some extra money because he had three kids. He went into real estate with a friend of his to take home some extra income. It was Decker and Gloor Real Estate for a few years, but Decker decided to move on. Gloor Realty sprang from that. It's not a corporate thing, which I think is great. We're pretty streamlined and more flexible than larger corporate offices might be.

BS: What was your first sale when you got started?

RG: My first sale was actually one of my friend's parents taking pity on me. It was a really nice condo in Oak Park. They gave me the listing on their condo but they really put me through the wringer first. I had to go through the whole routine and do the whole deal before they'd give me the listing. We laugh about it now. They told me they were going to give me the listing no matter what.

BS: Are you originally from Western Springs?

RG: I was born and raised in Chicago's western suburbs, and I went to Oak Park River Forest High School. I've been a resident here in Western Springs sine 1999. It's a great area to enjoy everything that Chicago has to offer and it has wonderful schools, beautiful housing, tons of parks and it's a safe community with low crime.

BS: What attracts buyers to Western Springs?

RG: The area is a really friendly community that's not a tract-style community so there's all kinds of housing stock. There are at least 30 styles of homes — it's not cookie cutter at all. The city, which has about 15,000 people, has a great little shopping area downtown with bakeries and stores and a historic water tower. It has some of the highest rated schools in Cook County.