Moving from DC suburbs to Chicago (Evanston, Oak Park: houses, neighborhood, YMCA)

[claireVA]

Hi All,
We are planning to move to Chicago from DC suburb. My husband will be commuting to downtown for work. I wanted to find out what suburbs would be the best to look for houses so that he could drive to work and not take the train. I also want a suburb which has great schools(extremely important), young families in the neighborhood so that kids can have friends to play with. we have a second grader and a fourth grader. Looking for 4 bedroom homes , preferably build after 2000. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. If anyone can suggest subdivions in the areas would be great. Thanks

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by claireVA

Hi All,
We are planning to move to Chicago from DC suburb. My husband will be commuting to downtown for work. I wanted to find out what suburbs would be the best to look for houses so that he could drive to work and not take the train. I also want a suburb which has great schools(extremely important), young families in the neighborhood so that kids can have friends to play with. we have a second grader and a fourth grader. Looking for 4 bedroom homes , preferably build after 2000. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. If anyone can suggest subdivions in the areas would be great. Thanks

Your husband does not want to take the train? Provided your husband's job will be in the Loop, you may want to reconsider. Our suburban transit service is called Metra (Metra | Home) and it's more similar to Amtrak than your DC Metro. Roomy cars, large comfortable seating, etc. It's typically preferred to driving when work location allows. Traffic here is brutal.

Also:

How long of a commute?

And:

What's the house budget?

[claireVA]

Yes , job location will be in the loop. He would not mind driving 30-40 mins each way. House budget-650000-800000.

[nikitakolata]

There aren't too many suburbs that have excellent schools and are within a 30 to 40 minute driving commute to the loop that don't also have a metra station. Traffic is just insane during rush hour; it would probably take 45 minutes to drive to the loop from Elmhurst even though you can get there in 26 minutes on the train. Not to mention that driving costs much more and is more stressful.

With your budget I'd look at Evanston, Oak Park (older homes though), LaGrange, Elmhurst, Western Springs and maybe Downers Grove.

If you're set on driving then I'd consider Oak Brook, but the drive will take more than 40 minutes in traffic and could be very long if there is bad weather.

[nikitakolata]

I live in Elmhurst so that's the area I know best. These are some houses that are walking distance to the train station:

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Elmhurst/1.../home/18114707

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Elmhurst/2.../home/18114513

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Elmhurst/3.../home/18112764

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Elmhurst/2.../home/18113593

https://www.redfin.com/IL/Elmhurst/2.../home/18115514

If you were to get a house walking distance to the train you'll also be able to walk to restaurants, the grocery store, a hardware store, the library, the YMCA (pool), etc. Of course there's parking so you can drive to these places, but it's nice to have walking as an option.

[claireVA]

thanks nikita for all the info.

[JJski]

Claire, you first have to decide if you want the North Shore or West side - that is the most important first step then pick your best burb... ~ Have you researched (or visited) North vs. West chicagoland yet?

PS - I think he will quickly change his mind about driving after a few try's so don't rule out the importance of quick/easy/walkable Metra access. When we first moved here we thought we would be doing the drive too...

[ToriaT]

Keep in mind parking costs can be thirty dollars a day in the loop.

[chet everett]

The OP needs to supply a price range.

It would also be wise to explain if "house built after 2000" means you prefer the sort of treeless subdivision where everyone moved into what used to be a farm field about 14 years ago and now that there kids are mostly done with school are thinking about downsizing OR whether you just want a home in good repair that might include tear down in a traditional commuter friendly era / well maintained / updated older home.

As others have noted the Chicago region has outstanding commuter heavy rail -- one can live in a nice Western Suburb served by BNSF Metrarail and be whisked downtown in a comfortable railcar with plenty of room to relax of catch up on email in less than 30 minutes. Similar options exist in the North Shore suburbs served by the UP-N line, or the Northwest Suburbs served by UP-NW line. Technically the Southwest suburbs do have some rail options, they are significantly slower and driving is even worse, but those towns do have more of the generic tract developments that maybe are what the OP would prefer...

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

Keep in mind parking costs can be thirty dollars a day in the loop.

Three things to keep in mind:

1.) Driving is stressful and a poor use of time. On the train your husband can relax, read a book, write emails or get work done.

2.) Commuting by train will open up more housing options. 40 mins in the car during rush hour doesn't provide you with a long list of towns to vet -- you won't be able to live much further than 15 miles from the Loop. If the commute is 40 minutes by train, you could theoretically live much further away. Many towns 25 miles away have Metra service to the Loop in ≤40 mins.

3.) Driving is expensive. I drove to my job in the Loop for almost a year before switching to Metra. My monthly (group discounted) parking pass was $300/mo. Gas was almost $400/mo. The headaches were priceless. I do the kiss and ride Metra thing now and my only expense is a $150 monthly train pass.

Originally Posted by chet everett

The OP needs to supply a price range.

She did... their price range is $650k-$800k