Diverse suburb, good schools, downtown or walkable shops (Schaumburg, Palatine: fit in, houses)

[mwrxcmo]

I grew up in Hillside (surrounding towns: Elmhurst, Westchester and Bellwood, known for all of the cemeteries). My husband grew up in Northlake so we are pretty familiar with most towns in that surrounding area. We would like to stick within the Western suburbs as he works in the city currently but will be relocating to Rosemont. I work in Franklin Park. I am caucasian (irish descent) and he is Mexican. We have a 2 year old son. I want to move to a suburb that has houses with some character (willing to do some work), good schools but also have diversity. I don't want to be known as the minority with the mexican husband. However, i am not going to move to a diverse neighborhood just to fit in and not have good schools. Price point would be between $300 and $375. We always thought we'd end up in elmhurst as that is where we met working in the hospital kitchen as high school students. However, i'm not sure its the right fit for us and i can only get a shack for my price point. I may be biased to the suburbs around me that i am familiar with so i am hoping i can get some ideas of areas i may not think of. Thanks!

[Lookout Kid]

Brookfield may be an option for you. It works with your demographic requirements and housing budget. It has a little downtown (though it could be better), and many of the schools are good. It mostly feeds in to Riverside-Brookfield High School or Lyons Township High School, but the elementary schools are of varying quality.

If you want something more upscale, Riverside may also fit the bill.

Some of the Northwest suburbs are quite diverse between Caucasians and Hispanics as well, and there may be some good school options in towns like Schaumburg or Palatine. Schaumburg is pretty much the epitome of "not walkable", but Palatine has a nice little downtown area.

[chet everett]

Honestly I would focus on homes in your price range in Elmhurst:

125 E Crescent Ave, ELMHURST, IL 60126 | MLS# 08569940 | Redfin

563 S Cambridge Ave, ELMHURST, IL 60126 | MLS# 08614700 | Redfin

ELMHURST, IL 60126 | MLS# 08566464 | Redfin


Are these are "fully updated"? Heck no, but only someone with some real issues would call these "shacks"...

[Wicket]

Berwyn?

[mwrxcmo]

At Wicket, Berwyn does not have good schools so i would not consider moving there.

[Wicket]

They have good private schools in their area and low taxes. Their HS is bad. Elementary schools I don't know about. Anyway, Oak Park? But taxes are crazy and you're at the low end of the market.