confused Naperville? (Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Mount Prospect: for sale, houses, neighborhood)

[rdb123]

We have been looking at places for quite some time primarily in the NAPV area in the $400 range. Unfortunately either the houses are small, no yard or need major work in the main north napv area. The house that we love is in south napv area ~95th street. It has everything we need and is in our budget. basically no work needed it is a move in ready with nothing to be done and lower taxes compared to north napv

I currently work in Schaumburg and my wife works in naperville hence we decided to live in naperville besides all the benefits the town has to offer schools etc.

I know the commute to work will be 55 mins (based on google maps at 8 AM) and 1 hr back home in the evenings.

Is this a crazy move? will this commute me out? Anyone here has had a similar experience commuting from NAPV area to NW suburbs? We have a 1 yr old boy hence the NAPV decision

Thank you

[4122]

I used to commute between Highland Park and Oak Brook, which is almost the exact same distance as Southern Naperville to Schaumburg, and I hated it. Check out the parts of Lisle im the Naperville 203 district. Lisle is more affordable and it's closer to Schaumburg. If you don't find anything you like there, check out Downers Grove and the parts of Lisle and Westmont in the Downers Grove school district.

[holl1ngsworth]

What's your budget?

I'd recommend investigating Wheaton and Glen Ellyn before Lisle, Westmont and Downers Grove.

[Vasily]

I spent five years commuting from Naperville near rt 59 and i-88 to Arlington Heights, and a best case non rush hour commute (weekends or after hours) was 45 minutes. But a normal rush hour was maybe an hour, and if there were bad weather or traffic problems, it could run up to 2.5 hours (one way).

In your case, Schaumburg is closer than AH. But if you live in south Naperville you have to deal with the drive to get on the tollway.

[whakru]

I spent 7 years commuting from Naperville to Mount Prospect and it was pure hell. It was an hour and 15 minimum during traffic and some days up to 2 hours. There were days when I would reach the Schaumburg part of my trip and wish that I worked there because it was closer.

Honestly, the drive up to Schaumburg is not the worst in the world but you will sit in traffic on 355 if you are going during rush hour. There is always the option of taking route 53 but that has its own issues.

As Vasily mentioned, the time it takes you to get to 355 from SW Naperville will be one of the biggest time sucks on your drive. It will take about 20 minutes or longer to get to 355. That is why SW Naperville is probably not the best idea for you.

Have you looked in the areas between Wehrli and Modaff and 75th to Royce/87th? I know that there are homes available in your price range. That is the 203 district and taxes are generally lower than 204. It's a lot closer to 355 and will help with your commute. The Green Trails area is also a nice option.

[vishkey]

2417 Pepper Tree Ct, Lisle, IL 60532 is For Sale | Zillow

203 school district, I'm not sure how the taxes compare to Naperville.

I just bought a house around the corner

[chet everett]

I agree that it largely DOES NOT MAKE SENSE to pick a house that is so far from one's work location that you will have to deal with hour+ commute times. The time spent in traffic really cannot be offset by any "feature" of the house or even the neighborhood.

It makes a whole bunch more sense to spend more time HOUSE SHOPPING in some of the areas that will shorten your commute. The suggestion from vishkey to search in the parts of adjacent towns like Lisle that feed into the desirable school district is EXCELLENT -- you get the benefit of quality schools while putting yourself MUCH CLOSER to easy 355 access via Hobson Rd/63rd St OR Maple Ave (both are full interchanges). The relative trade-off is minimal, as you'd also be closer to the nice amenities of downtown Naperville.

[ToriaT]

Its not terribly bad from Wheaton especially north Wheaton and its just as nice as Naperville if not nicer. Its easy to get to Naperville from Wheaton as well.

[4122]

I like Wheaton, but it won't be easier to something nice in your budget, it will probably be harder.

[moderngnome]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I agree that it largely DOES NOT MAKE SENSE to pick a house that is so far from one's work location that you will have to deal with hour+ commute times. The time spent in traffic really cannot be offset by any "feature" of the house or even the neighborhood.

I agree completely with Chet.

We bought a really nice house out in Huntley when we were first married. My DH worked in Elmhurst. The commute started at less than an hour each way, but got worse and worse as everyone else moved out there, too.

Finally, when my kids were 2 & 3, I got fed up, and he walked in the door one night and I said, "That's it, we're moving!". And we moved to Elmhurst. We sacrificed on house - but he works two miles away. I would never, ever go back to the days when he sacrificed two plus hours each day on the road.