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Alright, OP here: since starting this thread, we have managed to squeeze in a few home tours in some western burbs. Now, if possible, I'd like to steer the discussion away from the "fitting in" stuff, and instead see if our general observations (based on our very limited experience) are reasonable...
La Grange: we started here, since it came up so many times in this thread, and also because of the deliciously short express trains to downtown. Sometimes it's hard to really know what you want until you seriously contemplate taking out a mortgage to buy it. And what we found: we have a preference for newer homes, if not outright new construction. And we are also increasingly setting our sites on bigger lots (but not bigger houses). Our current city lot is around 35x130, certainly not small by city standards, but when I think suburbs, I think big expansive lots. In LaGrange, new/newish homes within walking distance to the Metra on a huge lot appears to be a rarity (or way beyond our price range). Just my gut impression, LG feels more "city" than "suburb" to me.
And in general, walking distance to the train and big expansive lots seem to be somewhat mutually exclusive, at least at our budget. So I've relaxed the walk to train requirement to bike to train. (I was talking to a colleague of mine who is in a western suburb where there is a multi-year wait to get a permanent parking spot at the Metra station. This means he parks quite a distance from the actual train platform. He said it's about a five minute walk from his car to the platform. It's a shorter walk from my current house to the train platform! I know tons of people do it, but frankly the thought of driving+walking+train scares me.)
Anyway. Someone tipped us off to some new construction taking place in Elmhurst, so that was our second stop. It's a big residential development where there used to be a hospital. These homes are within walking distance to the train. A bit of a stretch for our budget but probably doable. We loved the floorplans. But at the price point, the yards were too small for us. If we're going to max out the budget (and then some), we better get everything.
We did a tour of a house in La Grange Park, which literally sits right on the forest preserve. Just over a mile to the train station, so a longish walk or a short bike ride. Loved the house, smallish yard, but the back yard was the whole forest preserve, so no complaint there! If we were further along in this process, we'd strongly consider making an offer. But it's too soon.
The realtor for the LGP house pointed us to Downer's Grove. Yesterday we stopped by an open house for a new build in Downer's Grove, off of Warren Ave (which literally runs right next to the train tracks). This house was on a massive 60x220 lot. Now that's what we're talking about! A few minor quips with the house/overall property, but I think I could see myself living there. Then we drove around that neighborhood---up and down many of the north-south streets between Warren and Chicago. We know nothing of this neighborhood other than what we saw, but we loved the look of it. Both my wife and I thought it had a nice, cozy, "home-y" feel to it. Did I mention the massive lots?
While casing that hood (hopefully we didn't look suspicious!) we ran across another open house. This house wasn't for us, but we had a long conversation with the realtor. She said DG is good, but said we'd also do well to look into Elmhurst, Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. Wheaton and GE were also mentioned in this thread, so we'll make it there eventually.
Back to Elmhurst, just looking at Zillow/Redfin, there's some definite potential there. There's a number of clearly new construction homes where the listing shows up as just the artist rendering of the final build; but also completed homes (of all vintages) with bigger lots that the new development we looked at, biking distance to the train, and within our budget. Would we find those neighborhoods as immediately cozy as the DG hood we drove through?
I skimmed over some older threads on Elmhurst, and two things concern me: some threads from a few years backed talked about the school quality slipping (high school in particular). Not sure if this has been turned around or is a continuing trend? And the flooding. It actually reminded me, when we talked to the realtor showing that new development, she mentioned how the builder worked with the city to put a dry well in every lot. Sounds good, though substantial, and also, what about all the existing lots?
So, just trying to revive this thread, and also change the tone a bit. If nothing else, it can become a living tour log of sorts, and might have value for others looking to move to the burbs.
Two things: I wonder how you'll like riding a bike to the train in your work clothes in the dead of winter. Secondly, if you haven't ever maintained a large yard, it can be quite time consuming. Unless you love doing that stuff, I'd think long and hard about taking that on.
Two things: I wonder how you'll like riding a bike to the train in your work clothes in the dead of winter.
Fortunately for me, we have no customers or dress code, so just about anything goes as far as "work clothes".
My current Metra stop is a bare platform (no building/shelter). Standing on it during the "polar vortexes" of two and three years ago prompted some investment in extreme cold weather wear. My Metra line was screwed up more often than not (especially three winters ago), so I spent a lot of time standing in the freezing cold on that bare, windy platform. I certainly don't enjoy it, but with the right clothes, it's not too bad.
But, yes, biking in extreme cold winter... we'll see. Of course I'd prefer a short walk, but it's looking like I'm going to have to compromise. We only have one car now, and I'd like to keep it that way. But I'm also looking at this as an excuse to buy a fat bike, and possibly an electric conversion kit...
Quote:
Originally Posted by knitgirl
Secondly, if you haven't ever maintained a large yard, it can be quite time consuming. Unless you love doing that stuff, I'd think long and hard about taking that on.
Well, I grew up in the country, so until moving out of my parents' house, I regularly mowed multiple acres. And then the first house I bought (before moving to the Chicago area) had a roughly one acre lot (about 90 minutes on a lawn tractor). We won't go for any fancy landscaping, and deliberately design the lawn around low maintenance.
Last edited by ConcreteRooster; 06-28-2016 at 08:35 AM..
Reason: typo
The realtor for the LGP house pointed us to Downer's Grove. Yesterday we stopped by an open house for a new build in Downer's Grove, off of Warren Ave (which literally runs right next to the train tracks). This house was on a massive 60x220 lot. Now that's what we're talking about! A few minor quips with the house/overall property, but I think I could see myself living there. Then we drove around that neighborhood---up and down many of the north-south streets between Warren and Chicago. We know nothing of this neighborhood other than what we saw, but we loved the look of it. Both my wife and I thought it had a nice, cozy, "home-y" feel to it. Did I mention the massive lots?
While casing that hood (hopefully we didn't look suspicious!) we ran across another open house. This house wasn't for us, but we had a long conversation with the realtor. She said DG is good, but said we'd also do well to look into Elmhurst, Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. Wheaton and GE were also mentioned in this thread, so we'll make it there eventually.
I live in that very neighborhood in DG. I love it.
For the affluence of the area - I bought a house and renovated it. Did not spend over 500K. My neighbors have a house that would sell for close to 1MM. They actively advocate for their children to interact with plebes like me. Lots of people drive Audis and BMWs, but just as many drive old Civics and Hyundai, and no. body. cares.
We just moved to the area, and the neighbors are super nice (we just had a child, and they've offered to cut our lawn, help with general house issues, etc). The village has also been great on permits for renovations and any other municipal issues. The schools aren't the best (see Hinsdale) but in the Pierce Downer area you're going to get very good schools and parental involvement.
You're going to get lower taxes in Downers relative to the other places you've mentioned. A new construction on a .3 acre lot will have taxes around 15K/ year. The same property in Glen Ellyn could be twice as much.
As far as the realtor telling you to look into the other areas (which are certainly worth looking into) -- no Realtor is going to steer you away from business.
Alright, OP here: since starting this thread, we have managed to squeeze in a few home tours in some western burbs. Now, if possible, I'd like to steer the discussion away from the "fitting in" stuff, and instead see if our general observations (based on our very limited experience) are reasonable...
La Grange: we started here, since it came up so many times in this thread, and also because of the deliciously short express trains to downtown. Sometimes it's hard to really know what you want until you seriously contemplate taking out a mortgage to buy it. And what we found: we have a preference for newer homes, if not outright new construction. And we are also increasingly setting our sites on bigger lots (but not bigger houses). Our current city lot is around 35x130, certainly not small by city standards, but when I think suburbs, I think big expansive lots. In LaGrange, new/newish homes within walking distance to the Metra on a huge lot appears to be a rarity (or way beyond our price range). Just my gut impression, LG feels more "city" than "suburb" to me.
And in general, walking distance to the train and big expansive lots seem to be somewhat mutually exclusive, at least at our budget. So I've relaxed the walk to train requirement to bike to train. (I was talking to a colleague of mine who is in a western suburb where there is a multi-year wait to get a permanent parking spot at the Metra station. This means he parks quite a distance from the actual train platform. He said it's about a five minute walk from his car to the platform. It's a shorter walk from my current house to the train platform! I know tons of people do it, but frankly the thought of driving+walking+train scares me.)
Anyway. Someone tipped us off to some new construction taking place in Elmhurst, so that was our second stop. It's a big residential development where there used to be a hospital. These homes are within walking distance to the train. A bit of a stretch for our budget but probably doable. We loved the floorplans. But at the price point, the yards were too small for us. If we're going to max out the budget (and then some), we better get everything.
We did a tour of a house in La Grange Park, which literally sits right on the forest preserve. Just over a mile to the train station, so a longish walk or a short bike ride. Loved the house, smallish yard, but the back yard was the whole forest preserve, so no complaint there! If we were further along in this process, we'd strongly consider making an offer. But it's too soon.
The realtor for the LGP house pointed us to Downer's Grove. Yesterday we stopped by an open house for a new build in Downer's Grove, off of Warren Ave (which literally runs right next to the train tracks). This house was on a massive 60x220 lot. Now that's what we're talking about! A few minor quips with the house/overall property, but I think I could see myself living there. Then we drove around that neighborhood---up and down many of the north-south streets between Warren and Chicago. We know nothing of this neighborhood other than what we saw, but we loved the look of it. Both my wife and I thought it had a nice, cozy, "home-y" feel to it. Did I mention the massive lots?
While casing that hood (hopefully we didn't look suspicious!) we ran across another open house. This house wasn't for us, but we had a long conversation with the realtor. She said DG is good, but said we'd also do well to look into Elmhurst, Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. Wheaton and GE were also mentioned in this thread, so we'll make it there eventually.
Back to Elmhurst, just looking at Zillow/Redfin, there's some definite potential there. There's a number of clearly new construction homes where the listing shows up as just the artist rendering of the final build; but also completed homes (of all vintages) with bigger lots that the new development we looked at, biking distance to the train, and within our budget. Would we find those neighborhoods as immediately cozy as the DG hood we drove through?
I skimmed over some older threads on Elmhurst, and two things concern me: some threads from a few years backed talked about the school quality slipping (high school in particular). Not sure if this has been turned around or is a continuing trend? And the flooding. It actually reminded me, when we talked to the realtor showing that new development, she mentioned how the builder worked with the city to put a dry well in every lot. Sounds good, though substantial, and also, what about all the existing lots?
So, just trying to revive this thread, and also change the tone a bit. If nothing else, it can become a living tour log of sorts, and might have value for others looking to move to the burbs.
Anyone have any thoughts to add?
I enjoyed reading your update. Your path mostly mirrors my own from just under three years ago. My expanding family landed in Wheaton and we love our new town.
Out of the group, Wheaton probably has the largest average lot size and lowest median home price <3/4 mile from downtown and Metra. The historic overlay district just north of downtown is beautiful, and many homes have expansive lots. The elementary school for the area is Longfellow, the top performing elem among the towns in question. I'd also argue Wheaton North is the best HS of the bunch, but I'm sure others would cry hairsplitting . Here's proposed new construction with >300' of depth, backing to the Lincoln Marsh Natural Area and awesome Illinois Prairie Path:
Great feedback / observations. There are trade-offs that come with any home and I completely agree that for folks whose idea of moving out of Chicago includes yards big enough to actually hit some pop-flys for the kids to catch the homes closest to Metra in Lagrange are not going to deliver unless looking in the pricey historic district.
I am familiar with the part of DG around Warren Ave and agree that is might be a great balance, though new construction is getting increasingly pricey (to the point where one might do better in even Clarendon Hills or Hinsdale, once you factor school quality & taxes ...).
Elmhurst does have some really interesting options, the redevelopment of the hospital site is certainly a positive factor, but there are all kinds of options for folks willing to consider the wide range of neighborhoods in what really is one of eastern DuPage's biggest towns. The relative fears of "flooding" can be separated into a few different categories -- Elmhurst and DuPage Co have worked very hard at addressing truly devastating effects of stormwater from sources like O'Hare being redirected into the former quarry, that made a HUGE difference for folks along the actual Salt Creek flood plain. There are really not many "low lying areas" in Elmhurst that are prone to "flash flood" type events but there are some parts of town where rains do result in some issues, smart builders that include things like an interior sump pump and backups connected to drain tile and appropriate discharge / buried gutter outflow or even exterior "dry wells" mostly address those situations. That does leave a handful of mostly older homes on less well thought out lots that still have some issues, but honestly given any understanding of the long standing geology of the whole region (the shores of Lake Michigan once stretched into the western suburbs in the most recent Ice Age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenwood_Shoreline ...) folks need to plan for this possibility in pretty much the whole 6 county area.
When it comes to "school performance" the data seems to suggest that York High is mostly on a positive or stable trendline -- YORK COMM HIGH SCHOOL: By Subgroups Compares well with DG North -- COMM H S DIST 99 - NORTH H S: By Subgroups or Wheaton North -- WHEATON NORTH HIGH SCHOOL: By Subgroups Generally better than Glenbard West, which traditionally has served the most desirable parts of Glen Ellyn -- GLENBARD WEST HIGH SCHOOL: By Subgroups
So long as a home shopper understands why one town might be more or less costly than others (mostly that well worn combo of schools & taxes ...) it would be hard to say that a nice home in any of these towns is other than a good option for folks thinking about starting their family. Each also has a very nice mix of local dining / entertainment options that really does provide a much more lively atmosphere than was once present. The various "upscale" restaurants are a huge plus for a couple that wants options for socializing within a short walk / quick ride or just a break from cooking for the family night after night. I remember when the only options for truly "chef focused" dinning would have meant a drive into Chicago and it really is a big important shift to have options in the 'burbs. The sorts of social connections that one fosters by "grilling out for neighbors" are great but it is also really nice to enjoy more sophisticated options.
OP, if you are interested in Elmhurst it might be worth looking for a new house north of North Avenue. The taxes are lower in the Addison township part of Elmhurst (same schools though) and the lots are generally a little larger. Walking to downtown is still easy, assuming you don't go too far west, and you're closer to Berns Park, which is nice.
We are really happy with Elmhurst and our ability to walk for almost everything, including to the train, of course.
TL;DR What are some good Chicago suburbs to consider where we prioritize safety/crime rate, commute time to downtown (Chicago Loop), quality schools, and "average" down-to-earth people? (Yeah, we want it all!) Or, more generally, in such a huge, sprawling metro area, how to find a community of like-minded folks?
We are currently living in the Old Irving Park (OIP) neighborhood of the city, going on seven years now. We chose to live in the city for one reason only: commute time to downtown. We live within walking distance of both the UP-NW Metra line and the CTA Blue Line. On the Metra, my commute to work is 30 minutes door-to-door. I have to be at work 9.5 hours/day, so additional commute time is just more time away from my family.
When we moved to the city, we didn't have kids, so schools and crime weren't our primary concerns. Now we have two kids (ages five and three). We are sending our kids to a small private school in our neighborhood; we like it, but class size diminishes each year because many families---wait for it---move to the suburbs. And the recent uptick in crime in the city (around our 'hood in particular) has us wondering if maybe I can give up the commute requirement for a presumably more kid-friendly environment.
It seems the "pricier" suburbs tend to top the safety and schools criteria. But we're worried about "fitting in". For example: I have a good friend that lives in the north shore area. I've met their friends from the area, and while they are nice, they lead lives that seem dissimilar to ours. E.g., "It's so hard to find a good nanny these days" (we don't have a nanny, wife is a SAHM); "My personal trainer cancelled on me again" (we don't have personal trainers); "Let's go to Denver next weekend for skiing!" (incompatible with our frugal tendencies); crazy-expensive birthday parties for kids; etc. Our gut feel was that these folks live conspicuously fancier lifestyles than we do. Nothing wrong with that, it's just hard to relate (and therefore develop friendships) when there's little common ground.
For example, my friend's wife also doesn't work, but they have a nanny. So it seems his wife spends most of her day in leisure: scheduled workout with the personal trainer, lunch with friends, napping, shopping, etc. Looking after two young kids and maintaining a household is a lot of work, so my wife doesn't have time for any of that.
Many years ago, before kids, my wife actually worked for a non-profit in the northwest suburbs. Her job was to manage volunteers and organize huge fundraising events in different communities. So she got a hands-on feel for the different types of people in the different areas. For example, Arlington Heights versus Barrington: the AH people tended to be more "hands on" and "grass roots" in terms of their approach to the events. The Barrington folks didn't do a lot, but were quick to write big checks. She worked a lot with the schools too, and found AH kids to be generally well-behaved and helpful, whereas the Barrington kids had lousy attitudes and caused the most trouble at the events.
With 6 million or so people living outside the city, I'm sure there's a community of folks "like us" out there, but how to find it? If we didn't have kids, we could just keeping moving until we found it... but obviously that ship has sailed.
FWIW, my family lives in central Illinois (Peoria) and hers in northern Wisconsin. So close access to highways is also a nice perk.
Thoughts, suggestions, ideas?
Thanks!
Your observations re: The North Shore are spot on. I actually laughed as I read your posts as I have had similar (and awkward) convos. ("You clean your own house?" "You don't have a sitter who can watch your kids while you grocery shop?) We were in your place a few years back and actually chose a New Trier feeder suburb over other suburbs. However, having lived here a few years we are considering moving again. Most people are nice but almost insincere... A bit Stepford-esque if you ask me. The North Shore has a totally different vibe than the suburbs you are considering. I am interested to see where you and your family end up. Good luck!
The whole north shore isn't insane like New Trier, amigo.
I feel bad you had such a bad 'stepford' experience, but it
would help if you stopped perpetuating the same crappy
stereotypes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Czem
Your observations re: The North Shore are spot on. I actually laughed as I read your posts as I have had similar (and awkward) convos. ("You clean your own house?" "You don't have a sitter who can watch your kids while you grocery shop?) We were in your place a few years back and actually chose a New Trier feeder suburb over other suburbs. However, having lived here a few years we are considering moving again. Most people are nice but almost insincere... A bit Stepford-esque if you ask me. The North Shore has a totally different vibe than the suburbs you are considering. I am interested to see where you and your family end up. Good luck!
The whole north shore isn't insane like New Trier, amigo.
I feel bad you had such a bad 'stepford' experience, but it
would help if you stopped perpetuating the same crappy
stereotypes.
And I will go even further and say that even New Trier, which encompasses a wide swath of area, isn't universally "Stepford" any more than Hinsdale might or might not be. But keep on with that North Shore is different vibe. I'm sure the per capita housecleaning stat is pretty similar in each of the most desirable suburbs.
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. Here's proposed new construction with >300' of depth, backing to the 
