Winfield, Carol Stream, Warrenville, Geneva, Batavia, Wheaton, St. Charles...? (Chicago: apartments, income)

[sickofIL]

Yes, the cost of living here is very high. Why are salaries higher here? Because it is very expensive to live here. We will be moving to Arizona in the next few years to get away from it. (the weather too) My wife is a nurse and I am an engineer and with 3 kids we barely get by. In Tucson I would be able to take almost a 50% pay cut and we would live better in a much nicer house with a pool. Housing here is almost double than there if you figure in property taxes.
At work we have a few people working that are from the Iowa plant we closed and they don't want to stay because of this. They will not be able to live as well as they did in Iowa.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by sickofIL

Yes, the cost of living here is very high. Why are salaries higher here? Because it is very expensive to live here. We will be moving to Arizona in the next few years to get away from it. (the weather too) My wife is a nurse and I am an engineer and with 3 kids we barely get by. In Tucson I would be able to take almost a 50% pay cut and we would live better in a much nicer house with a pool. Housing here is almost double than there if you figure in property taxes.
At work we have a few people working that are from the Iowa plant we closed and they don't want to stay because of this. They will not be able to live as well as they did in Iowa.

Bogus. There are parts of Tucson that are more expensive than most suburbs here and the pay blows there. There are over 200 suburbs in Chicagoland, and to think all of them are expensive is ridiculous. And the reason you can find homes so cheap in AZ is because theyre built like junk with that cheap stucco that you can punch through, and there are tens of thousands of homes sitting vacant in AZ. You need to look at the reason WHY things are so cheap and expensive rather than having a "grass is greener on the other side" mentality. Wanna know why? Because there is no grass in Tucson. I hope the kids enjoy playing in gravel year round in hot, hotter and insanely hot weather. And whatever you do, get them in a private school down there, AZ has the worst ranked schools in all of the nation, be careful with what schools they go to.

[BUalumni]

Originally Posted by NYtoIAtoIL

My husband and 1 yr. old baby and I are moving to the West Chicago area for an unknown length of time. My husband's mom is sick and his parents live in West Chicago. We'd like to live near West Chicago, but I'm not sure about living IN West Chicago. Can anyone tell me what the surrounding suburbs are like? Winfield, Carol Stream, Warrenville, Geneva, Batavia, Wheaton, St. Charles...?
I'd like to live somewhere: safe, with other young families, near a decent-sized park, and not too expensive.
We'll probably be living in a rental duplex-type thing, so the "not too expensive" part would refer mostly to groceries and rent.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

I too have looking at the housing market up there. West Chicago is OK at best when compared to neighboring towns. It just isn't for us though. I would encourage you to look elsewhere even though it may not be closer. Geneva, St. Charles, and Wheaton are amazing! They tend to be pretty pricey though. I can't speak much for Winfield or Carol Stream, as I am not very familiar with them. Warrenville was just fake looking to us. Nothing to do, or see. Just sprawl, which we found to be cheap. We are almost ready to close on a house in Oswego, which is a very nice, up 'n coming suburb just south of Aurora. The town has an expert Strategic Growth Plan in place, which is the main reasons we are choosing it. Of course we love the added benefits that the entire town is clean, excellent schools, super friendly people, good outdoor attractions, and easy access to Aurora. It also has a gret small town feel that you are hard pressed to find in other suburbs in the area. Many of the city leaders that we have been in contact with have told us that they predict Oswego to grow rapidly like Naperville did, but are putting ordinances in place now to ensure that the town does not have the same problems. I guess that is the nice part about being able to watch and learn from bigger cities mistakes. Home prices are holding steady in Oswego, but are expected to rise fast. So if you plan on making the western suburbs your full time home, it might be wise to invest now. The drive to West Chicago might not be so much fun though. Best of luck, and let me know if you are interested in Oswego and I will give you help with the area.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by BUalumni

Warrenville was just fake looking to us. Nothing to do, or see

Yeah, "nothing" to do but hit up Blackwell Forest Preserve (hiking, swimming, kayaking, camping, fishing) or maybe Warrenville Grove Forest Preserve (paths, prairies, mountain biking trails, waterfall, fishing). You can bike/hike the Prairie Path for endless miles too. You can also hike, bike, kayak and fish at Herrick Lake Forest Preserve as well as do nature walks. Then if youre bored there you can stroll over to Cantigny and enjoy the immense flower gardens, the wonderful museum and army tanks for the kids to climb on. If youre hungry you have your choice of dozens of restaurants ranging from McDonalds to Wolfgang Pucks to Potbellys to Max n Ermas to Stir Crazy to Prairie Rock Brewery etc, etc, etc. Then there is the AMC 30 movie theatre....

[gardener34]

The older part of Warrenville is very nice and quite charming. A friend (and their kids) has lived there for a long time and like it.

And Oswego to West chicago won't be a walk in the park commute, if you are traveling down route 59 that is a traffic nightmare. I am not a big fan of the sprawl in Will county. I can just see the property taxes going to the moon too accommodate all the kids in all those houses.

Cantigny is wonderful - my fave place to go locally - speaking as a gardener.

[BUalumni]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Yeah, "nothing" to do but hit up Blackwell Forest Preserve (hiking, swimming, kayaking, camping, fishing) or maybe Warrenville Grove Forest Preserve (paths, prairies, mountain biking trails, waterfall, fishing). You can bike/hike the Prairie Path for endless miles too. You can also hike, bike, kayak and fish at Herrick Lake Forest Preserve as well as do nature walks. Then if youre bored there you can stroll over to Cantigny and enjoy the immense flower gardens, the wonderful museum and army tanks for the kids to climb on. If youre hungry you have your choice of dozens of restaurants ranging from McDonalds to Wolfgang Pucks to Potbellys to Max n Ermas to Stir Crazy to Prairie Rock Brewery etc, etc, etc. Then there is the AMC 30 movie theatre....

I'm confused. Are you saying that those things are exclusive to Warrenville only, or that they justify Warrenville being at the top of the Winfield, Carol Stream, Batavia....list? I'm sorry, but Warrenville has just never impressed me, and it is really only the overflow from Naperville. When I am looking for a town I want, a 'town', not places to go eat. Doesn't Naperville have enough of those already. There are forest preserves all over Chicagoland. That does not make Warrenville unique in the least. I'm sure you like it because you call it home. But Warrenville just can't hold a candle to cities like Naperville, Aurora, St. Charles, Geneva, Wheaton, Batavia, or Oswego. These towns/cities are unique in their own way. Warrenville is any suburban town USA. That is why the housing is cheaper there than the rest.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by BUalumni

I'm confused. Are you saying that those things are exclusive to Warrenville only, or that they justify Warrenville being at the top of the Winfield, Carol Stream, Batavia....list? I'm sorry, but Warrenville has just never impressed me, and it is really only the overflow from Naperville. When I am looking for a town I want, a 'town', not places to go eat. Doesn't Naperville have enough of those already. There are forest preserves all over Chicagoland. That does not make Warrenville unique in the least. I'm sure you like it because you call it home. But Warrenville just can't hold a candle to cities like Naperville, Aurora, St. Charles, Geneva, Wheaton, Batavia, or Oswego. These towns/cities are unique in their own way. Warrenville is any suburban town USA. That is why the housing is cheaper there than the rest.

Its readily apparent youve never been to Warrenville (I should have noticed that when you said theres nothing to do there). First off, Warrenville is comprised mainly of OLDER homes, on tree-lined streets, etc. Their tiny downtown is exactly that: TINY. The neighborhoods are charming, the schools are decent, the shopping and entertainment is there, etc. And its hardly overflow from Naperville. The ONLY part of town that is like that is the extreme southern end that butts up against Naperville. 85% of that town is old and very well established, I dont know what youre talking about. And the reason I pointed out the forest preserves is because theyre right there in town! Im completely aware that some other cities have access to forest preserves, but I was simply using them as a counter to your ridiculous "nothing to do" statement. I think Warrenville is a very nice and quiet town next to overpriced and overcrowded towns. The best thing about Warrenville? I can sit outside on my porch at night and enjoy peace and quiet (even had some coyotes run through our yard the other night), and be a 5 minute drive from Naperville and all the amenities it offers.

[BUalumni]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Its readily apparent youve never been to Warrenville (I should have noticed that when you said theres nothing to do there). First off, Warrenville is comprised mainly of OLDER homes, on tree-lined streets, etc. Their tiny downtown is exactly that: TINY. The neighborhoods are charming, the schools are decent, the shopping and entertainment is there, etc. And its hardly overflow from Naperville. The ONLY part of town that is like that is the extreme southern end that butts up against Naperville. 85% of that town is old and very well established, I dont know what youre talking about. And the reason I pointed out the forest preserves is because theyre right there in town! Im completely aware that some other cities have access to forest preserves, but I was simply using them as a counter to your ridiculous "nothing to do" statement. I think Warrenville is a very nice and quiet town next to overpriced and overcrowded towns. The best thing about Warrenville? I can sit outside on my porch at night and enjoy peace and quiet (even had some coyotes run through our yard the other night), and be a 5 minute drive from Naperville and all the amenities it offers.

True. I have only been to Warrenville once. There is a reason for that. Why are you so defensive on this thread? I never said Warrenville was an overall bad place to live. But compared to true western suburban gems, like St. Charles, Warrenville just seemed like anytown-anywhere.

Present day Warrenville sounds much like some of the towns that surround Peoria, and even though I live in one of them at the present time, compared to Peoria and Bloomington (or in your case Naperville and Aurora) there is nothing to do. There is a reason that Warrenville is not overpriced or overcrowded. Besides, I would hardly call Oswego, St. Charles, Batavia, or Geneva "overcrowded".

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by BUalumni

True. I have only been to Warrenville once. There is a reason for that. Why are you so defensive on this thread? I never said Warrenville was an overall bad place to live. But compared to true western suburban gems, like St. Charles, Warrenville just seemed like anytown-anywhere.

Present day Warrenville sounds much like some of the towns that surround Peoria, and even though I live in one of them at the present time, compared to Peoria and Bloomington (or in your case Naperville and Aurora) there is nothing to do. There is a reason that Warrenville is not overpriced or overcrowded. Besides, I would hardly call Oswego, St. Charles, Batavia, or Geneva "overcrowded".

Sorry if I got overly defensive, I just have no idea why you said "theres nothing to do" in Warrenville. For a town its size its very quiet, quite affordable, very safe, and surrounded by lovely towns that offer just about everything. Im actually surprised that Warrenville hasnt become more expensive, it sits in prime real estate and there arent many downsides to the town.

[gardener34]

Personally to me Warrenville is one of those towns, that no one talks too much about - that is in a great location for sure. It is actually good that it is not a "hot" town, cause then the prices, and your property taxes will go up! (ssshhhh...)