Moving to Chicago from west...where to live (Evanston, Skokie: house, neighborhoods)

[westcoastgirl29]

My husband and I are moving to the Chicago area next year. He will be working in the financial district. We lived downtown (in a high rise) last summer and I am afraid that it was a little much for this west coast girl. Right now we have a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house and no children. We are looking for a nice area to live, outside of the city. I want it to be SAFE, clean, fun, with good access to transportation, shopping, etc. We have a dog and need a single family home with a yard. Any suggestions?

[reppin_the_847]

I'd put a vote in for Evanston (just north of Chicago). Oak Park is decent too, and it's west of Chicago. I guess I'm partial to Evanston since I'm from the northern suburbs of Chicago (and put in brief stints in the north side Chicago neighborhood of Rogers Park as well). You also get the benefit of the lakeshore (beach, great running paths, sidewalks, Lake Michigan without the extreme urban hassles of Chicago or the super pricey, too tranquil, exclusivity of the North Shore suburbs further north). It's anchored by its own very high-quality downtown area, as well as plenty of CTA & Metra trains (I highly recommend Metra for reaching downtown quickly and reliably). Oak Park also has Metra & CTA access as well. Its neighboring suburb Forest Park has CTA access. Oak Park borders some very gritty areas (especially the west side of Chicago and the Austin neighborhood). Evanston borders some rough areas such as the Howard St corridor along the Evanston / Rogers Park border, and the Dodge Street area near the western border before you cross the river into Skokie. The nice parts of Evanston, however, seem extremely well buffered from a lot of the riff raff from these more questionable areas.

Originally Posted by westcoastgirl29

My husband and I are moving to the Chicago area next year. He will be working in the financial district. We lived downtown (in a high rise) last summer and I am afraid that it was a little much for this west coast girl. Right now we have a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house and no children. We are looking for a nice area to live, outside of the city. I want it to be SAFE, clean, fun, with good access to transportation, shopping, etc. We have a dog and need a single family home with a yard. Any suggestions?

[Drover]

What's your price range and how long of a commute (time-wise) is your husband willing to tolerate? Do you prefer "newer" neighborhoods or "legacy" neighborhoods?

[westcoastgirl29]

Originally Posted by Drover

What's your price range and how long of a commute (time-wise) is your husband willing to tolerate? Do you prefer "newer" neighborhoods or "legacy" neighborhoods?

We are in the $500,000- $600,000 range and I would say that I prefer legacy neighborhoods.

[westcoastgirl29]

Thank you for the helpful info.

[ahava]

I'd suggest Western Springs, La Grange, Wheaton, and Glen Ellyn, and if schools aren't a priority I'd add Lombard and Elmhurst to the list. All are on a Metra line to downtown and are safe with lots of shopping and access to major highways.

[trailerguy]

Libertyville and Gurnee offer all of what you say you want. Great shopping and restaurants, good school, convenient Metra connection to the city. Beautiful older homes near downtown Libertyville, and some nice well-settled subdivisions in Gurnee, well within your budget.

[westcoastgirl29]

Thank you to all that have responded. It is great to have insight from locals. Mjks, it could be worse. You could be trying to sell a house in Nevada like I am.

[kleer]

$500-600k... Glen Ellyn, look it up.

[WildWestDude]

If you want the most bang for your buck and lower taxes, look for NW Indiana. Many people overlook this part of the Chicagoland area, but asides from the older industrialized areas in the northern part of the two Indiana counties near Chicago, everything else is very nice. There is a bit of a stigma for this region in general due to Gary Indiana which is a ghetto, but again the rest is pleasant and affordable and some places are country/rural like. If you want something cosmopolitan you won't get it here, but it could be a place where you could first settle and save some money. But again, Chicago is close, a 40-60 min. commute. Many of these towns are bedroom communities for people working in Chicago. People in general are nice and welcoming

Communities such as Munster, St. John, Scherreville, Dyer, Highland and Crown Point are great suburbs with a reasonable commute to downtown Chicago. Valparaiso, a bit further out, is a college town with a small town feeling and a nice downtown.
Indiana Dunes State park is a great place to go in the summer and enjoy Lake Michigan.

Check out this thread for more:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/india...ce-needed.html