Moving to Chicago (Aurora, Naperville, Arlington Heights: apartment complex, rental, townhomes)

[frenzyrider]

Hello everyone,

I am relocating to Chicago for job that will have travel Monday through Thursday and will require going to my regional office in downtown on some Fridays. We are a family of 3 with soon to be 4

So my prime considerations are -
1) Easy Access to both airports with relatively ok access to downtown, preferably train.
2) Top school district
3) I am planning to rent initially but plan to buy eventually.
4) good access to kids activities and nice restaurants.

Please advise.

[chirack]

You might want to mention budget.

1. Somewhere near or along 294 or maybe 290 if you go for the west burbs and don't mind a location more eqidistant to both airports. Metra is our commuter rail road check their site for locations of stations. Also becuase of the locations of both airports you need to choose which one you want to be near. One is on the northwest side of the city the other the southwest. Locations along 90 are also an option if you mostly want to be near O'hare.

[frenzyrider]

Thanks for the info. I would prefer closer to OHare. For rent, my budget is $2,200/month for SFH with 3 BR/2+ bath. My wife will prefer to work from home. She is a computer science engineer so will prefer to find a job to allow her to work from home.

[chet everett]

Your target budget is very modest for a single family home in a top tier school district. I doubt you could even get a three bedroom apartment in a town like LaGrange for $2200. LaGrange has excellent commuter train service via Mwtra to the Loop, great access to Midway and O'Hare, a nice range of dining spots, tons of family oriented activities.

Smaller older homes can be found for around $300k, those would probably need to be updated. There are some beautifully restored / maintained homes that would sell for perhaps 3x that, and a range of both new construction / tear downs and expanded / updated older homes that would fit between...


Some of the same characteristic s can be found in Park Ridge, it is nearer to O'Hare, it's train service is somewhat less convenient, access to Midway is tougher, but it also does have some access to the CTA...

I would not recommend going farther east if access to the airports is important to you and I would probably not venture out too much farther to the west for a routine commute to the Loop...

[frenzyrider]

Thanks, Chet. What should generally be the budget to live in Naperville, downer's grove or Lombard? These are some places I recently heard. Also, diversity is important because we are of Asian Indian heritage.

[linicx]

Naperville has a 12% Asian population, followed by 5% in Downer's Grove, and 7% in Lombard. Park Ridge Asian population is 3%, and 1% in LaGrange.

I did find Indian and Asian grocery stores and restaurants in Naperville. Indian Temple in Aurora about 7 miles. The airports are about 20 miles from Naperville. The Metra train ride to Chicago is about an hour. This might be a good fit for you as Naperville population is approaching 145,000. It looks like the rent on a a 3/2 single family home ranges from $1600 - $2400 per month. Naperville is located in two counties. It may be that one county has lower rents than the other.

[cubssoxfan]

Arlington Heights is 30 minutes or less to O'Hare-even during rush hour. About 50 minutes to Midway.
Here is a decent apartment complex I recommend: Brook Run Apartments and Townhomes
Schools are Elementary D25 and D214-Buffalo Grove High School. You are about 1 mile from Lake Arlington: http://www.ahpd.org/parks/lake_arlington/
Nice area with good access to Metra to commute into Chicago

[divakat]

I work near O'Hare and live in Naperville. You can get a rental in your budget, and be close to I-88. Stay on the North side (North of 75th and East of Route 59) so you have easy access to the highways. Naperville has top schools and a large Indian population as well. Sounds like a good fit for you.

I have two young children, and there are a TON of child-related activities through the park district, as well as ones for adults, too. The downtown has many, many restaurants and shops as well. I would visit and walk around the downtown area to get a feel for it. While you are there, be sure to check out Centennial Beach.

Other good options near O'Hare and probably within your budget would be Arlington Heights and Palatine.

[frenzyrider]

These are great suggestions. Thank you so much for these pointers. I will follow-up with more questions.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by divakat

I work near O'Hare and live in Naperville. You can get a rental in your budget, and be close to I-88. Stay on the North side (North of 75th and East of Route 59) so you have easy access to the highways. Naperville has top schools and a large Indian population as well. Sounds like a good fit for you.

I have two young children, and there are a TON of child-related activities through the park district, as well as ones for adults, too. The downtown has many, many restaurants and shops as well. I would visit and walk around the downtown area to get a feel for it. While you are there, be sure to check out Centennial Beach.

Other good options near O'Hare and probably within your budget would be Arlington Heights and Palatine.

How long is commute to O'Hare, including going around and into airport as OP will do?