Returning to the Midwest

[BUalumni]

Originally Posted by Karrena

I have been living in California for many years now and was originally born, and raised in Elgin IL. I miss the Midwest and have been thinking of returning. California life style and I have grown apart. I have been looking at making Naperville my permanent home. Could anyone give me an honest opinion of Naperville: ethnic diversity, neighborhoods, crime, well you get the picture.

I am of Puerto Rican and Caucassion decent if that helps. I have a A.S. and B.S. in Business Communications and working on my Masters. Finding a good job either in Naperville or surrounding area's shouldn't be a problem. So I need to know if Naperville is a place to plant my feet for good. Thanks

I will try to be the counter balance for this thread and give a more real approach to the city. Naperville is not the town that you knew years ago. Naperville grew to a major Illinois city in about ten years and will never ever be the small, quaint, attractive town that it is once was. I have friends that live in the city, and the general area, and hate the negative impact that city has had on all the neighboring towns. As hard as it is to believe, you cannot fit another house in the area even if you tried. The planning for the city was poor, and sprawl was so rapid and uncontrolled that in the last ten years it has consumed every piece of land all the way to it's borders. The congestion is nothing short of an absolute nightmare, due to its lack of intelligent infrastructure when it was being built. There are few roads in and out of the city making for a permanent traffic jam at almost all times of the day. The roads are in bad shape, and you would think that with the heavy taxes that Naperville inflicts on its residents, that it could do something about them. The debt by both the city and the residents is high, with many families having both parents working only to afford minimum payments on their cookie cutter tract housing. For Naperville being so large there is no sign of any real big city ammenities, or big city feel. The schools are crowded and although high performing, will more than likely not keep that status for to much longer. Strip malls line the town, and big box stores are abundant everywhere. The downtown is great, if you can get to it. Aurora, Bolingbrook, and Plainfield are all next door, making the traffic and cultureless sprawl that much worse. Naperville is one of those towns that looks great on paper, but until you have compared it to the other towns, it wouldn't be wise to just simply jump in. Some of my favorite suburbs that are close to Naperville, are Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Lisle, Downers Grove, Oak Brook, and Elmhurst. I trust that the quality of life in these towns is far better than that of Naperville. If the city is really what you want then don't let me stop you. But I have been there are done that, and can not understand for the life of me why anyone would want that lifestyle.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by BUalumni

There are few roads in and out of the city making for a permanent traffic jam at almost all times of the day

Everyone knows Naperville's traffic can be bad. But to say there are "few roads" and traffic jams almost all day is absurd. The worst road in town is Rt. 59, far and away. And its ONLY bad there between 5pm and 7pm, 7am and 10am. Other than that, it moves along fairly well. I know, I used to live right off of RT.59.

[Windy City John]

Naperville is great place and recognized as being a great "family" city.

If you dont have kids or if you are not totally consumed about schools for kids you might find some other areas provide what you want.

Communities such as Batavia, La Fox, Geneva, St.Charles, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst, Lemont, LaGrange, Elburn, Lombard, Villa Park, Roselle, Wheaton, Lisle, Hinsdale, Homer Glen, Orland Park, & Western Springs all offer their own "personality" Some are closer to the city than others. Some are on Metra lines others aren't.
In general, you will find housing prices lower as you go west. You will also find newer homes in greater quantities the farther west you go and less expensive i.e. New home construction in Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville for a 4 br 2 1/2 bath starts around $650K-$700K where as farther west like in Osego, Montgomery, etc you can find same type of new home for $450,000-$525,000, maybe less.

You can pretty much anticipate 2% of value for taxes in Dupage. Will and Kane may be less now but their demand for infra-structure( schools, roads, sewers) is booming which translate to higher taxes required down the road.

Since you left nine years ago-- in general home prices have easily doubled.

[Jim J]

I have lived in Naperville for 8 years. The city has been growing but is now mostly built out. Before Naperville my family and I lived in a small town that was much more diverse. There are some adjustments when moving anywhere. Note Naperville is very prosperous, and some would say harddriving. I have found that after a year or so adjustment period Naperville is a great place to live and raise a family. Note there are many different neigborhoods within the city that you may consider.

[Chinolala]

Is it true that there is a waiting list for parking at Naperville's Metra stations? I haven't looked into in awhile, but I heard that even though Metra service is good, parking at the stations is a nightmare and that there were waiting lists.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by lisak64

Is it true that there is a waiting list for parking at Naperville's Metra stations? I haven't looked into in awhile, but I heard that even though Metra service is good, parking at the stations is a nightmare and that there were waiting lists.

Yes, there is still a lengthy wait to get on the parking list. Couldnt tell you how long it is though, sorry!

[Incognito Mosquito]

Originally Posted by BUalumni

I will try to be the counter balance for this thread and give a more real approach to the city. Naperville is not the town that you knew years ago. Naperville grew to a major Illinois city in about ten years and will never ever be the small, quaint, attractive town that it is once was etc. etc.

Wow. I will try to be the counter balance to the hyperbole from BU's post. Naperville is not Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Elmhurst, or Oak Brook and it isn't trying to be. If you want a rustic, more individualized older home (or a McMansion teardown) in a place with an old-school quaint downtown and old-growth trees then the latter towns are for you. If you're looking for a larger, newer home surrounded by more modern infrastructure and you don't mind the "sameness" or newness of it all then Naperville may be your choice. Different strokes for different folks.

BU, apparently the city didn't repair a pothole on your block quick enough for you but the condition of the roads in Naperville is no better or worse than in any other suburb. Inaccurate blanket statements about its residents having high debt do nothing to bolster your argument either. Yes traffic is bad and taxes are high, but show me a suburbanite who doesn't grumble about those things?

Naperville, like any other town, has its pros and cons. The best advice I can give is to you Karrena is to identify what factors are important to you and see if Naperville fits that bill.

[sukwoo]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Yes, there is still a lengthy wait to get on the parking list. Couldnt tell you how long it is though, sorry!

I've read that there is a multi-year waiting list for Naperville Metra parking. There was an article in the Trib a while back about an underground economy involving the rental of Metra-parking passes (i.e. individuals who had parking passes but did not need them would rent them out instead of relinquishing them).

[charlotteh]

Last I heard, the downtown Metra station (5th Ave) permit parking has an eight year wait. Rte. 59 has a 2-3 year wait. Both have $2 daily spots, but they fill by 6:30 am. This is part of the reason I moved to Downers Grove. I didn't want to be schlepping my husband to the station every morning and night.

[GloriaNow]

Hey, Naperville is really a great place to live. Life is what you make it. Your choice: ed snubs or deadbeats as neighbors. There are nice people here. check out my site glorianowotarski.com. I say, great small city, great schools, easy metra ride to chicago, great shopping, fox valley area, golf, activities, community, charming, safe and great property investment. Homes range in price depending on what you can afford and are looking for. Regarding working here, I say get the job first then make the move. There are lots of college educated people in Naperville so competition for spots is high, but not impossible. Check out the Chamber of Commerce for a start. Good luck!