Which Chicago suburbs are the best? (Naperville, Arlington Heights: home, neighborhoods, high school)

[Joe107]

Dont overgeneralize the North, West and South suburbs. Usually people who do this are the ones who live in one of the less affluent north suburbs. They want to think that because they are near the North shore that their suburb is nicer. These are what I call the "North Shore wannabes."



Nicest suburbs in Chicago:

North Shore
Southeast Dupage County
Central Dupage county
southwest dupage county
Northwest cook
Kane county
will county

[vered4]

Holy cow....so many of you are so negative about Chicago....basically scaring away those who want to move to Chicago!

Oak Park is a delightful suburb which might just be more affordable than the North Shore. I would certainly NOT rule it out! It is beautiful as is the neighboring and more upscale suburb - River Forest. Chicago is VERY friendly and a wonderful place to live!!

[Mexi-in-Arlington-Heights]

It's true. Many people in the chicago area are not "nice". But if you talk with them some will be the most amazing people ever! And another thing many will put on plastic behavior. So don't worry about them not being nice.

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by vered4

Holy cow....so many of you are so negative about Chicago....basically scaring away those who want to move to Chicago!

Oak Park is a delightful suburb which might just be more affordable than the North Shore. I would certainly NOT rule it out! It is beautiful as is the neighboring and more upscale suburb - River Forest. Chicago is VERY friendly and a wonderful place to live!!

I dont think that is the majority here,thats why most bother to post as they have good things to say,or try to be helpful.Ignore the crabs There is the good and bad no matter where you live,and CHicago has much to offer/wonderful family towns,excellent schools,lots of housing choices and a world class city at your fingertips

[TruBluTopaz]

Home is where you find it. I live in Texas but my husband works for a company in Chicago so we go there quite a bit. I have found people there friendly and welcoming. I think if you expect people to make a big deal out of you without at least introducing yourself, you will get a cold shoulder. Plus, whether from Texas or where ever, I have found it to be very rude to constantly compare your new surroundings to whatever your have left behind. Stories that begin "when we lived in....fill in the blank..." tend to be a bit off putting. Bloom where you're planted. If life had been so much better elsewhere you would still be there. If we could afford it and if I had to move, I like Elk Grove and Elgin realistically. If we had the money I would move to Lake Forest or Winetka. Just my opinion as a frequent visitor there. There are so many cultural and local opportunities in Chicago that only a truly boring person would be bored there.

[sbooththesalient]

have you looked into Mokena/ Frankfort. The Lincoln Way School District is rated well.

[preppyboyofIL]

Originally Posted by chicagoland

North suburbs are the best. South suburbs are terrible and the crime rate is extremely high. The west suburbs and in-between the two. North suburban crime rates are very low. Northbrook, Glenview, Glencoe, Winnetka, Highland Park, Deerfield, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Northfield, and Lake Forest have the most expensive homes in the north suburbs. The less expensive north suburban homes can be found in Skokie, Morton Grove, Niles, Lincolnwood, Park Ridge, Des Plaines, and Evanston.

Well I have no idea where this person is getting their info from, but I can tell you the idea of all the south burbs being horrible is simply not true at all. Just for the record, Frankfort; a south burb, has property values skyrocketing much higher than that of the northern burbs due to the oncoming of I-355 and New Lenox is going the same way. Another couple of south burbs that are growing by leaps and bounds of which are almost all white, has crime nearly non-existant, and has many multi-million dollar homes is Orland Park and Palos Park. Another south burb which is also very elegant is Palos Heights, so I have no idea where this person is getting his info from. Here are some links to these horrible burbs.

Village of Orland Park OR Village of Frankfort

OR The Village of New Lenox - Home of Proud Americans

OR Palos Park, Illinois
OR Village of Tinley Park
OR City of Palos Heights, IL - Home Page

AND here is some more about Orland Park Orland Park - Economic Development

and it's awful schools District 230 and Carl Sandburg

oh and the ratings proving that Carl Sandburg High School has higher ratings than most any other school.

Carl Sandburg High School - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

oh and here is the news doing a report on how wonderful the school is ABC7Chicago.com: School Days: Carl Sandburg High School

Oh and Money magazine saying that Orland Park is one of the best places to live in the country... I don't see Skokie or Wilmette, or any of the other burbs being named in recent past MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2006: Orland Park, IL snapshot

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by vered4

Holy cow....so many of you are so negative about Chicago....basically scaring away those who want to move to Chicago!

Oak Park is a delightful suburb which might just be more affordable than the North Shore. I would certainly NOT rule it out! It is beautiful as is the neighboring and more upscale suburb - River Forest. Chicago is VERY friendly and a wonderful place to live!!

Anyone who knows anything at all, knows that Chicago's positives FAR outweigh its negatives. Some people just look at the negatives and nothing else, and use the negatives as scare tactics. Chicagoland is a wonderful place to live, trust me on that. Ive traveled every inch of this country several times (except Hawaii and Alaska and Maine) and IMO Chicagoland is still the best place to call home, and I dont just say that because Im a native. It really is a great place. Oak Park is wonderful, LOTS of fantastic architecture and the downtown is quite nice also. Sure there are parts that are shady, but you just do your best to avoid them, simple as that.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Joe107

Dont overgeneralize the North, West and South suburbs.

Now now. What fun would that be Overgeneralizing is a staple in this area, particularly when it comes to communities with larger minority populations and the south side of Chicago. We wouldn't be Chicagoland without that.

There are plenty of good suburbs in all three directions. You really have to look at each individual community and not draw stereotypes based on geography. To go back to the original thread question, I don't know if there is a "best" suburb. It just depends on what you want.

[FromTheOP]

I think Naperville was rated best burb in Illinois to live in and Orland Park was right behind it according to Money Magazine. I know that both burbs have alot to offer and are very nice. I think Naperville is probably a tad nicer, but I know it is more expensive too, so all things come at a cost. Anyways I wish you the best in your hunting.