Good rental place in chicago suburbs (Naperville, Wheaton: apartments, rentals, home)

[m_thacker]

We will be moving from NYC to Chicago. We are looking for a rental place in the suburbs with the following in mind:

1. Good Elementary School
2. Safe Neighborhood
3. Walking distance to the station
4. Max 30 mins of commute time

we would really appreciate if anyone can help us on this.

Thanks
Monika

[chet everett]

Budget? Necessary size? Lease term?

There are LOTS of nice suburbs where you might be able to rent a 3br/2ba single family home that fits your needs, but without a budget it is impossible to know whether you'd be shocked to pay $5000/mo for a year long lease or be content with a tiny apartment for a fraction of that...

[JJski]

Uptown La Grange if you can wait that long...

[ToriaT]

There are many good rental spots in the suburbs but most that are kid friendly are not within walking distance to the train. That's because many of them are higher rise type buildings built in the down town core areas of suburbs. For example in Wheaton, you have Wheaton Center and Wheaton 121. They are marketed to singles, the childless, or empty nesters.


Welcome to Wheaton Center Apartments | DuPage Apartments


Apartments in Wheaton For Rent | Wheaton 121 Apartments | Downtown Wheaton Luxury Apartments


There are some other nice complexes that might be better for someone with children but they are away from the train station. Its a short drive though.


Apartments in Wheaton For Rent | Crossings at Danada | Apartments in Wheaton

[m_thacker]

a 2 bedroom apartment for a lease of one year; rent could be anything between 1000-1500 $ a month

[m_thacker]

A short drive to the station is definitely okay. But the main criterion is good school, safe & kid friendly neighborhood . hope you can help me.

[chet everett]

There are lots of good options that would work for the given budget of around $1500 / 2 bd / safety & good schools.

Towns like Wheaton have some decent options, and there are CURRENTLY plenty of nice rental options in LaGrange too. Naperville has many good rentals, as do Downers Grove and Elmhurst.

I would lean toward towns along either the BNSF or UP-W lines of Metra. The larger towns I've already listed almost certainly have the best combination of availability of units in your price range, together with desirable schools and family oriented amenities.

There are smaller towns that also rental too, the challenge is that those towns tend to have fewer options for apartments and/or higher prices. Older apartment buildings in Glen Ellyn, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Riverside or Brookfield are all safe and served by desirable schools, but you likely will face both tighter availability and generally less up-to-date units -- might be worth the trade-off for a year, but if longer term plans include eventual home purchase then you want to factor in the costs to purchase...

[oakparkdude]

Commute time to where?

[ToriaT]

Chet gives some good advice as well. It would help to know where you will be commuting too. Since you mention trains, I am assuming downtown city of Chicago. It would really help if you could visit some of the towns. The ones Chet mentioned are all pretty close to each other so it would be easy to hit many of them in a one or two day visit.

[m_thacker]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Its a great help. Will definitely visit all the places mentioned.
Yes commute would be to the downtown Chicago.

Thanks once again.