Relocating from NYC Surburbs to Chicago Suburbs - Advice on towns? (Wheaton: lawyers, houses)

[snhmurphy]

Hello all. We are a young professional family with two children, ages 3 and 7, who are looking into Chicago suburbs for a possible move a year from now. We currently live in an affluent, small town north of NYC with not much economic or political diversity -- considering the fact we are slightly more right-leaning/Libertarian and Christian, we are looking for a community where we won't be a the minority in our views. (We get along with everyone but unfortunately some are not as tolerant as we are of differing views). The small town we are in has become very socially clique-ish, which is a turn off for us. We'd love for our kids to go to school with children of firefighters, police officers, etc as well as lawyers, doctors, and finance professionals.

Our #1 factor is commute, since my husband will be taking the Metra every day downtown we want to be within a 45 min train ride to the city.

Our budget is up to $1.2m, and we would ideally like a property that has some privacy to it (.25 acre minimum) but is also in an area where our kids can still play with other kids closeby outside. We love being just a quick drive away from a variety of restaurants and shopping. A great school system is of course important, and our daughter is into theatre/music so a school that has strong extracurricular programs such as the arts would be important to us.

Overall, just looking for suggestions at what towns we should look into - there seem to be so many great options with great schools, but its hard to find information on the more lifestyle side of the towns (type of people, political diversity, pros and cons of the different school systems, etc). We are browsing at properties in Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Glenview, Wilmette and would love more insight into any of these areas.

Thank you in advance for any intel!!

[JJski]

Add Western Springs and La Grange to your list... For us the definition of short commute is less than 30 minutes (home to office) and easy uber to city for fun on weekends as additional option to train... Make sure to visit these towns and feel them out... Get walking close to metra station/downtown (do not compromise walk-ability at that price point) and thank us later...

Best commute on west side is Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Western Springs, La Grange. The gold corridor where express is 18 minutes for example in LG/city closest...

There is a big difference in feel and weather bewteen north shore and western towns - make that decision first... do you want to be west or north...

We love Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills - Glen Ellyn, Wheaton are super nice also but a bit too far out for us... still love the towns but cant grab a babysitter on a thurs/fri/sat and hit the big city easily from there... also when we relocated here we started looking in the north shore but changed gears because needed to be more central + we just liked the energy of the west a little more...

Will work office be closer to Union or Ogilvie? Assuming its walkable if commute that high...

[snhmurphy]

Thank you that is excellent feedback!! Great point about babysitters and getting in and out of the city for nights out. As far as LaGrange goes - are there specific areas/schools that are better than others?

[JJski]

Originally Posted by snhmurphy

Thank you that is excellent feedback!! Great point about babysitters and getting in and out of the city for nights out. As far as LaGrange goes - are there specific areas/schools that are better than others?

We uber/lyft from La Grange/Western Springs to coolest parts of downtown for nicest restaurants/shows at 25$ and get there in 20 minutes...

Schools are all great in LG - we now have a 4 year old and a 2 year old - so that element really drove our decision also... In all areas you are looking just focus on train stations. La Grange has 2 both of which in great locations and walkable to downtown - Stone Station and La Grange Station. Especially at your budget do not compromise a premium hyper focused location where you can walk to station in less than 5 minutes. This really makes daily work commutes a breeze... Driving anywhere here is stressful...

If La Grange or Western Springs - target new construction/well executed rehabs in historical districts walkable (5 minutes most) to station - just use google maps to test walk time from any prospect home...

Search my posts and you can follow our journey (happened about 4 years ago) when we relocated here - similar young professional family.

*** Also pay attention to train schedules. Express trains might be 30 minutes from some further out burbs during certain hours but can easily be 1h normal... La Grange, Western Springs, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills - you are approx 18-20 minutes express with 30 minutes or less normal schedule...

[RJA29]

Wheaton. If you're looking for a Christian area, it's the ticket. Glen Ellyn if you want to be a bit closer. There are lots of churches and religious individuals in other affluent burbs, but you'll be at home there.

[nikitakolata]

Wheaton is the first town that came to mind for me based on what you posted. But, if that train ride is too long for you I'd suggest you consider Elmhurst. It's similar to La Grange in terms of the cost/time to Uber downtown on the weekends. I use Uber to get home from my adventures in Chicago all the time.

I second the recommendation to live waking distance from the train. It makes life much better.

[snhmurphy]

Thanks everyone. Is parking at the train stations difficult in general? Where we are here in NYC area it’s nearly impossible to get a permit to be able to park at the train lot.

[damba]

Originally Posted by snhmurphy

Thanks everyone. Is parking at the train stations difficult in general? Where we are here in NYC area it’s nearly impossible to get a permit to be able to park at the train lot.

It can vary greatly by suburb/individual station. Some popular suburbs, especially further out, have quite long waiting lists. YMMV

[JJski]

Originally Posted by snhmurphy

Thanks everyone. Is parking at the train stations difficult in general? Where we are here in NYC area it’s nearly impossible to get a permit to be able to park at the train lot.

There is a premium price attached to homes easily walk-able to stations - don't underestimate the high value folks place on making commutes as pain free as possible. That 15 minutes (for example) a day of driving/parking adds up...

We had it on our nice to have list when looking for homes here - luckily we ended up near station. But now that that we live and work in loop and know more - its a must have especially when paying 1M+ for a home to not only ease headaches but also to protect your investment...

[snhmurphy]

I agree, its very important to us the the commute is easy. We live in a similar situation now - 8 minute walk to the train station, BUT the downside to that is the lots are tiny and houses are so close to each other. We're looking for a little more privacy/larger lot size than what we have now. Its a trade off for sure, hoping to find something in between where if the drive to park at the train is 10 min or so, we would rather have a larger lot. But again, not sure what the parking situation is like at the train stations.