What is the chicago traffic like (Aurora, Naperville: crime, home, good schools)

[millkri]

We may be relocating to chicago, I am trying to find a suburb thats not to far for my husband to drive. The job is in Warrenville, and some of the suburbs I have been looking at are about 30-40 miles away. However, Mapquest says it will only take about 40 min to get there. Is that true? I don't want to move to close to his job, due to property taxes, crime, etc. I want a town thats smaller, good schools. so he may have to drive, but I don't want him to drive more than an hour. Should I not believe what mapquest says and try to stay a little closer? Appreciate any help.

[nanannie]

Warrenville area does not have a crime problam.I dont know what your price range is for housing so its hard to suggest a burb,but the areas around Naperville like Warrenville are very popular.Property taxes-another story.DuPage county is high.Cook county a bit lower.

[j33]

Mapquest lies. Definitely stay a bit closer. I looked up where Warrenville is on a map (I'm not as familiar with the suburbs) and see that it is by Naperville, and know for a fact that area is very congested with traffic. I can give no suggestions about towns (sorry) but I can tell you that 40 miles most certainly does not mean 40 minutes anywhere in the city or burbs. In fact, I've experienced worse traffic in the burbs on a Saturday afternoon than I've experienced in the city (I'll never forget visiting someone in the northern burbs one Saturday and feeling almost relieved to get home where the traffic was a bit less insane, and I live less than 3 miles from the LOOP). If you aren't used to heavy traffic (I don't know where you are coming from) approach the idea of moving far away from where you work with caution.

[nanannie]

Usually, you can side street your way around much week end traffic in your home burb.And dont drive the major roads during rush hour week days,,rush hour thru most any major area is tough! It would help to know your price range,,that determines where you could live

[moonhoney2]

In general, I'd suggest staying east of the burb. Going west-east in the morning (and reverse in the evening)is a nightmare in most cases. But east-west isn't bad at all.

I live by the airport. If I were to go east into the city, less than 10 miles IIRC, it takes me a minimum of an hour, often times, longer. That's on the expressway. However, I was doing a project in Morris and another in Kankakee. Both commutes, even tho they were about 40 miles away, only took about an hour. Smooth sailing. Even when we got hit with 12in of snow, it was still an easy commute.

[DonkeyTeeth]

If you want towns that are smaller, affordable, and have good schools I think you need to look West of Warrenville, not East. Areas like North Aurora and Sugar Grove have decent schools, lots of new housing, and are definitely small compared to other suburbs. Your husband will have to put up with congestion getting between there and Warrenville, but it'll certainly be under an hour commute.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by j33

Mapquest lies. Definitely stay a bit closer. I looked up where Warrenville is on a map (I'm not as familiar with the suburbs) and see that it is by Naperville, and know for a fact that area is very congested with traffic.

Its not really as horrible as everyone thinks. For starters, Warrenville's traffic is non-existent. The only area you really run into any kind of traffic is along Rt. 59 (near Butterfield and Warrenville Rd area) and on Winfield Rd and Diehl intersection. The rest of the town is a complete breeze. Ive never once been hung up in traffic in Warrenville.

Naperville on the other hand... stay clear of Rt. 59 between I-88 overpass allllll the way down to the city of Joliet between 7am-10am and 4:30pm-7pmm, its a congestion nightmare, especially around Rt.59 and North Aurora Road all the way down to 75th or so. Also steer clear of Ogden Avenue between Rt.59 and Naperville Road or so, that gets pretty crappy too. The rest of Naperville isnt that bad (traffic wise). I highly recommend living in that town, its a great place to call home.

[Chinolala]

Originally Posted by moonhoney2

In general, I'd suggest staying east of the burb. Going west-east in the morning (and reverse in the evening)is a nightmare in most cases. But east-west isn't bad at all.

I live by the airport. If I were to go east into the city, less than 10 miles IIRC, it takes me a minimum of an hour, often times, longer. That's on the expressway. However, I was doing a project in Morris and another in Kankakee. Both commutes, even tho they were about 40 miles away, only took about an hour. Smooth sailing. Even when we got hit with 12in of snow, it was still an easy commute.

I agree with this. I work very close to Warrenville and I live 13 miles east of where I work. I take Butterfield Road (Route 56) through Downers Grove, Oak Brook. etc on my way home. I take streets because by and large, the highways and tollways are a mess and I get around faster on streets. This is because most people live further than 13 miles from their job and they are inclined to take highways and toll roads. So when I leave work at 5:00, as I drive East on Butterfield, there is traffic bumper to bumper heading west on Butterfield. Those folks are trying to get to either I355 or I80. Highland Avenue feeds into Butterfield and it is a mess! On the other hand, my commute East on Butterfield is not bad. It's crowded, but always moving. If I work until 5:30, I can pretty much do 40 mph going East on Butterfield, whereas going West is still crawling.

Chicago's fastest growing suburbs right now are Plainfield, Joliet and Naperville. Those are all west. And most people who live on those areas are driving East to work since that's still where the majority of jobs are. Unless you live in Warenville, Lisle or Naperville, seriously consider moving East.

As far as Mapquest goes, use it a lot because I'm in outside sales. It's nearly always wrong when it comes to time estimates. It doesn't take into account rush hour at all. The times are accurate for late morning or late night travel times.

[gardener34]

Chicagoland traffic - yes - everywhere.

[prairiestate]

Traffic is staggeringly, incomprehensively bad. I've been working at the same place for over 7 years now. My 16 mile, suburb to suburb commute has gone up from an average of 25 minutes to 45 minutes and climbing.