Recommendations for West suburbs

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by doodlemagic

Naperville, Lisle, Downers Grove, Oakbrook, parts of Lombard. Pretty much all these areas have good schools. There's alot of companies in general but also tech companies in the 88 corridor that runs through all these burbs. Also you have some decent size companies in all these cities such as Sarah Lee who has some great IT jobs, some large grocers have headquarters around here. This area will be packed with job opportunities for her, plus close to work plus good schools, low crime and overall nice place to live in any. To narrow it down I think will come to personal preferance ie Naperville most is new so if your looking for older home stock Naperville has more established neighborhoods but much is in the last 10 or 20 yeras. If you like established neighborhoods with trees and stuff maybe downers would be better. One tip I'd give you is live near an expressway. On the south end of Naperville it could take you 40 minutes in the morning just to get to I88, however if your near 88 you can make it downtown or to the airport in like 40 min.

Oak Brook is a very costly town that is served by several different school districts; homes in the most desirable portion of town (Butler D53 elementary / D86 High School) rarely are available for less than $500k and often exceed 3 or 4X. Even in the more affordable parts of town there are many many homes over $1M...

Do not confuse Oakbrook Terrace; its schools are significantly less desirable and the housing stock is also of a whole different character.

Naperville is a very very large town. With well over 100,000 residents and spanning a huge area there is understably many different regions. The most desirable portion tends to be nearest the well developed walkable core of town where there is good transit service to the Loop as well as a nice mix of shopping / dining / entertainment. This portion of town is served by Unit D203. Farther away from the core D204 also serves many neighboring communities.

Downers Grove is a fairly large town. Its north end borders Oak Brook and also serves some students from Oak Brook at Downers Grove North High School and D59 elementary schools. The core of DG nearest the downtown also has excellent transit service, first rate library and many walkable amenities.

Towns like Lombard and Lisle also have somewhat transit oriented cores but the range of development is not as desirable nor are the schools. Prices reflect these differences.

SaraLee formerly occupied a large office building on the north end of DG near the Lombard border the corporation is restructuring and offices are headed to Chicago...

[cubssoxfan]

If you are commuting to Naperville only once a week but traveling to O'Hare more frequently, Arlington Heights is a good choice. Focus on Elementary Districts 23 & 25. Our kids go to D23 and it is fairly diverse. The orchestra/band/choral program is outstanding and there are lots of clubs and sports also.

I can make it to O'Hare in less than 30 minutes from east/central AH and Naperville is about 45 minutes. If your wife works downtown Metra rail will provide commuting options.

[wideworld]

I would also echo just living right in Naperville, however, if you want a midway point between O'Hare with good schools and a very strong Indian presence (grocery stores and population-wise), go for Schaumburg.

[Lookout Kid]

I would think about living near I-294 or I-355. The housing budget is tricky for Hinsdale or Western Springs (great schools, but really high housing prices), but you might be able to find something in Elmhurst, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, or Downers Grove (all have excellent schools). Or as others have said, Naperville itself is a good option, though not necessarily that convenient to O'Hare. But I would definitely give it a close look. Going into newer neighborhoods might open up some family-friendly townhome options if you love stairs...

Good luck!

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Towns like Lombard and Lisle also have somewhat transit oriented cores but the range of development is not as desirable nor are the schools. Prices reflect these differences.

This is Chet's nice way of saying these towns are more down market than Naperville, Elmhurst, etc. Though there are certainly very nice neighborhoods in both of them, and probably some schools that are better than others in each town.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

If you are commuting to Naperville only once a week but traveling to O'Hare more frequently, Arlington Heights is a good choice.

I've always thought that Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect were great values for the housing stock and quality of the schools. Prospect High School and Hersey High School are really great, as are most of the elementary districts that feed in to them, and the home prices are lower than the North Shore suburbs to the east or the nicer western suburbs.

The question is, can you handle that drive to Naperville, even with the limited number of times you have to do it a month. I wouldn't want to do that with ANY regularity.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

This is Chet's nice way of saying these towns are more down market than Naperville, Elmhurst, etc. Though there are certainly very nice neighborhoods in both of them, and probably some schools that are better than others in each town.

LK is absolutely correct -- the reason I even responded is becuase too many folks start rattling off every town they can think of in DuPage Co as if each was exactly the same. That is not the case. There is a direct relationship between the average incomes of any town and the overall level of achievement the schools reflect. I know from first hand experience that some of that is due to things like the value that high income parents place on school achievement. Now it is not at all fair to say that no one from any of these more affordable towns will have a bright future or other reductio ad absurdem, but to give folks some quick guidelines as to what towns are worth the up charge. Frankly Naperville is so larger that is certainly is worth doing the research into which school attendance areas are most desirsble. I know that folks that take the time to understand the various drivers for school performance are often surprised by the makeup of some schools. There at certainly some areas that warrant determine if they'll be a good fit for ones expectations.

[f.cerberus]

Sorry for the delayed response - I saw new posts when I thought the thread was dead

For me the housing budget is of no consideration - I do not intend to buy, only rent. So as long as there are nice apartments (townhomes OK, but apartments preferred) that attach to good schools, I'm mostly done. I agree with the commute to O'hare may be a bit of a pain - but I will do it maybe twice a week or less, so the needs of my wife and child trump mine.

I also don't want to put too much emphasis on "strong Indian population" - it's good to have some population but I'm not looking to be surrounded I like some diversity too! Naperville seems to fit many of the needs, with the exception of a short ride to O'Hare. I've spent some time looking at the schools, apartments etc. and will post that on a separate thread.

You're all great!