Western Springs, LaGrange or Geneva? (Downers Grove, Elmhurst: neighborhood, buy, gas)

[gardener34]

If you are in downers grove, why don't you look into downers grove or Lombard?

Both are very nice towns and DG is cheaper (not by much though) than western springs) Also I believe WS and Lagrange are in cook county (is that true?) rather than dupage. I don't know if this is going to make a difference in your property taxes. But cook county did just increase their sales taxes. Something to consider also.

Honestly, geneva is pretty far from downers grove. I live in St. charles and used to commute to Oak brook. 1 hour each way in good weather - bad (rain or snow) it was 1-1/2 - 2 hours. And that was 8 years ago.

[OakBrookMom]

I love Geneva but honestly that commute will be difficult. I think the suggestion to do the hotel stay and actually do the commute back and forth is really helpful. I took clients out to Geneva and purposely drove back to Naperville at 5pm (not Downers mind you which is further away) from the downtown Geneva area (which has a beautiful selection of older homes too) and it was a solid 1/2 hour plus we came from the east side of Geneva so you need to almost double that time for a Downers commute in rush hour traffic to Mill Creek. Lucky for you the market is soft and you could get lucky with a nicer older home where in the past you would definitely be in a teardown on a busy street or backing to the expressway. I see that happening all over, including Elmhurst, Wheaton and Glen Elynn which might be other alternatives you could look at that others have not mentioned- they may give you slightly more home or at least a more updated home than LaGrange and Western Springs. First you need to see who is going to win the war over what type of home you buy because if he wins you will be out in the Fox River Valley for sure since there is no newer construction 15 minutes from Downers in that price range in the type of area you want. Good Luck!!

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by vicarebo

Well, my biased vote is for Western Springs! It was recently voted best town to raise a family ( or something like that) and district 101 (the public school for most of WS) was rated fourth best in Illinois. For 350k you would get a small, older home, no question about that. I lived in just such a home in WS and it was close to Ogden but It was not an issue at all. WS is close-knit and probably has the least snobby people you'll meet given the net worth of its residents! It is close to everything and really has a small town feel. Family is very important in WS, trumping material status.

There are only a handful homes of sub $500K, even with foreclosures and such, that are habitable in WS. BUT of that handful some can be purchased with the intention of fixing it up in a relatively cost effective fashion. Places that are currently 2bed/1bath places on a quieter street with a decent sized lot would be ideal. Such a place would see a far greater "return on improvements" than in a newer area. The ratings/ranking of WS will help to maintain value PLUS the limited range of properties means that a WS address is not really going to attract the same pool of buyers that a St. Charles would -- WS home shoppers will be 'primed' to accept that the home is not "brand new" so your improved home would be far more saleable than elsewhere.

Realistically there is no way that you are going to get a new home with 3 car garage and large lot ANYWHERE in the entire region for $350K -- frankly even at $500 that is not likely to happen... And what exactly would be the "new construction" in Geneva at that price point??? There is no way it is going to be high quality...

The OP says their concerns are about "sound investment" -- I can assure her that as long she and her husband are willing /able to buy a fixer upper and do put in the quality effort/material it will be a FAR more sound investment that a cheaply constructed new house.

I can also assure her that the VALUES she holds toward community (asking about schools AND Park District) are also a HUGE PART of why most people that live in WS choose the village. There are not really formal "associations" to pay dues to like in subdivisions but there are AMPLE opportunities to meet neighbors and GET INVOLVED. In my experience the odds of having neighbors in a subdivision of new homes that NEVER venture out of their giant-TV equipped basement is far higher than in a community with where people walk to the Oberweiss Store for ice cream, bicycle to the Community Pool, year round programs at the Community Theater and jog with their dogs while watching soccer or little league at Spring Rock Park...

Of course if the $350k is not just what you'd like to spend, but ALL you'll be able to afford that does make things MUCH tougher and limit the fix up potential. Do you have kids now? Will your family grow? Will your income be stable or likely increase -- those are important questions to ask when considering fix up vs move in ready.

BTW -- No one really knows or cares "who is the poorest on the block" so long as you put time into caring for the same things that are valued one's income is irrelevant. A well maintained home, time with one's family and getting a good education make one rich in spirit.

[prairiestate]

Have you been through Westmont? I've always thought it was an underrated town. The downtown area is pretty quaint, and developing nicely with new shops and restaurants. It's generally cheaper then your top three choices, and you can't beat the commute, being next to Downer's.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

Have you been through Westmont? I've always thought it was an underrated town. The downtown area is pretty quaint, and developing nicely with new shops and restaurants. It's generally cheaper then your top three choices, and you can't beat the commute, being next to Downer's.

While Westmont is somewhat more affordable than the surrounding towns, the principle reason is the quality of its middle school and high school -- both in terms of raw numbers and common perception it is less likely that an average student will get into a selective college/career than from neighboring districts. While one alternative would seem to be utilizing private schools and living in Westmont, the reality is that doing so still does not address the fact that ones neighbors are less likely to be as concerned about their child's academic success. There is a section that is part of the Westmont municipal limit, but utilizes a separate school district. Portions of this are in the Hinsdale South attendance area and are thus not exactly affordable...

Similarly, although there are a handful of restaurants in downtown Westmont there are really no shops that have the kinds of goods and services that are available in LaGrange, Western Springs, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove or Naperville. Especially sad is the lack of a decent ice cream shop -- they used to have a cheery little place that served soft cones that was swarming with little leaguers, but that is now one of those "mixed use" nightmares with vacant stores fronts at ground level and vacant over priced condos above...

[aragx6]

I live in, and haven't been overly impressed with, Westmont. After looking into it it does appear their test scores are well below those of their neighbors, a fact I might equate with the number of lower income individuals. There are quite a few older apartment complexes that haven't been entirely well kept up, you see these mainly on the south end of town.

Their downtown, which might by some be called quaint, is really just small and mostly run down, with the exception of a few restaurants.

That being said, you have pretty easy access to highways and major surface roads, there is a lot of big box grocery shopping in the area (including an easy trek to the Whole Foods in Willowbrook) and there's a metra station there for an easy commute into the city.

It is cheaper, so it's worth considering to be sure, but as with most things in this life, there is a reason for the price.

[skyeINIL]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I live in, and haven't been overly impressed with, Westmont. After looking into it it does appear their test scores are well below those of their neighbors, a fact I might equate with the number of lower income individuals. There are quite a few older apartment complexes that haven't been entirely well kept up, you see these mainly on the south end of town.

Their downtown, which might by some be called quaint, is really just small and mostly run down, with the exception of a few restaurants.

That being said, you have pretty easy access to highways and major surface roads, there is a lot of big box grocery shopping in the area (including an easy trek to the Whole Foods in Willowbrook) and there's a metra station there for an easy commute into the city.

It is cheaper, so it's worth considering to be sure, but as with most things in this life, there is a reason for the price.

This sounds absolutely perfect to me, aragx6. I know the topic isn't Westmont, but it sounds much more attractive than the three towns mentioned the topic. It sounds very similar to the town I currently live in. We're looking to move out of Cook County in less than two years, and Westmont is in our top 3.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by chet everett

While Westmont is somewhat more affordable than the surrounding towns, the principle reason is the quality of its middle school and high school -- both in terms of raw numbers and common perception it is less likely that an average student will get into a selective college/career than from neighboring districts. While one alternative would seem to be utilizing private schools and living in Westmont, the reality is that doing so still does not address the fact that ones neighbors are less likely to be as concerned about their child's academic success. There is a section that is part of the Westmont municipal limit, but utilizes a separate school district. Portions of this are in the Hinsdale South attendance area and are thus not exactly affordable...

I am utterly astonished by the logic I seem sometimes regarding schools. Let's buy a home we can barely afford and live beyond our means, because only one of the top 10 schools in the country is good enough for our precious little darling. And of course, junior needs to attend one of the top high schools so he can get into Harvard. After all, anyone without a Harvard education will be lucky to have a career flipping burgers at McDonalds. Then there's the side benefit of our friends and acquaintances knowing how wonderful we are because we live in one of the very best school districts available.

There have been over twenty Chicago Public School students shot this year. When they're not ducking gunfire, they're lucky if they have current textbooks, computer access or equipment in the science labs. A large portion of Chicagoland would be extraordinarily grateful to attend Westmont High School. I think junior just might be able to earn a living even if they don't attend Hinsdale Central.

[Drover]

Tell you what -- you go ahead and be as cavalier about your kids' education as you want and be as cynical as you want about those who think it's a rather serious issue. I'm not going to obsess over whether my kid goes to Harvard, but you better believe I'm damn well going to give him the best chance of doing so that I can. And all the while I'll marvel at the ironic pretension of those who think they're above all that and think I'm pretentious for doing what I can for my kids. Their opportunities are far more important to me than others' opinions of me.

[teddiey]

millcreek only has a geneva address. It is actually in blackberry township. It does have a Geneva address but the taxes are from blackberry. Just fyi