Relocating-Many Questions- Downers Grove, Wheaton, St. Charles or other recommendations? (Batavia: house, schools)

[JJski]

Sparty, for sure Add Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Western Springs and La Grange on your list to check out with the others...

[ToriaT]

Downers Grove or Wheaton would be your best choices in my opinion. St. Charles is too far and I can't see any advantages it would have over the towns that are closer. It does not have a train station or access to a toll way or expressway as easy as some other places. Being close to I-88 is advantageous. Naperville is nice but its downtown is maybe too popular and crowded so parking is tight you either have to go to one of those giant garages or circle around. I'd add Glen Ellyn to the list and maybe Elmhurst. I think La Grange is too far away.

[JJski]

Toria,

isn't Oakbrook Terrace about 10-18 minutes from Clarendon Hills, Western Springs, Hinsdale, La Grange?

We go to Oakbrook mall all the time and its less than a 20min drive for us from LG...

[Kmanshouse]

OP, given you have relocated several times, I would advise you live in shooting distance to the BNSF train line, in case your job is relocated to Chicago (or you find a good job in Chicago after you've settled in). Lemont is not a great commuting town for getting to Chicago. I don't think I've ever met a commuter from Lemont (or really anybody from there).

But Downers Grove, Lisle, Naperville (northern half), LaGrange, Clarendon Hills would give you access to the train should you ever need that. Wheaton is on a different train line but doable (fewer expresses though).

You are on the right track overall. If you do pick Naperville (which is a fantastic town, I lived there for 17 years), stay in the northern half, where you'd be pretty close to I-88. It's a HUGE suburb that expands some 10 miles south of there, and the commute from that part of town to Oak Brook Terrace will be longer than 30 minutes and have frustrating traffic at times.

You may also try Glen Ellyn. That has a gorgeous downtown and a smaller feel. Though it's less of a transplant place and more insular.

The area overall is somewhat old. You will have much better luck finding an updated home to your liking than a new home. The schools in any of these towns are going to be very good.

You should feel good though, this is a very nice area of Chicagoland.

[RJA29]

I concur with the idea of being near the BNSF line for the following reasons:

1) Resale of your house in the event you want to move;
2) Ability to go into downtown without driving (for fun or for work if you move/ are relocated);
3) Areas clustered around transit are generally more built-up and will have better schools and amenities.

As to the commute, Wheaton might be the longer of a commute than you think (it can be difficult to go with rush-hour traffic East/ West). LG is certainly an option, but it is going to be much more expensive than the others. St. Charles is just too far away - there might be times you are in the car for 60 minutes in one direction.

I would recommend Lisle and Downers Grove. Lisle if you want to get a nicer house and still be near a newly-thriving downtown. I live in DG (Downers Grove) and for $600K you can get a ~2300 sq. ft. house built within the last 30 years that would only need minor updating, or a smaller house for that price. As far as the air-conditioning goes at the HS, there was just a bond approved to do MAJOR renovations on both DGN and DGS, which would take care of this issue. Specifically in Downers Grove, I would look in the Pierce Downer, Herrick, and DGN areas. You should be able to find something that affords you a good house in your budget and a commute of ~15-20 minutes.

[Lmartini14]

Look at Geneva! The downtown is quaint and beautiful. St Charles would be my pick as I grew up in Naperville and currently live in Batavia. Batavia, Geneva and St Charles are known as the tri cities and we’re right along the river. Schools are great and the people are friendly. Being I’m from Naperville, I find it overrated. The downtown is too packed and the people there aren’t the most friendly. Getting out of there was a breath of fresh air.

[mwj119]

I prefer Glen Ellyn to Wheaton or Downers Grove- Quick trip via 38 to Oak Brook Terrace/Oak Brook.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-52715?view=qv

Elmhurst and La Grange would be my top (realistic) picks in the general western suburbs, though you're not going to find an updated house in either for <$600k.

If you want larger lots and more sqft, I'd mention that Burr Ridge should be an area to consider. You should be able to find ~4000 sqft for $600k, with substantial bargaining power.

[holl1ngsworth]

There's no significant advantage held by either the BNSF (Downers, La Grange) or UP-W (Wheaton, Glen Ellyn Elmhurst). The BNSF has a few more rush hour trains, but that alone should not be enough to sway a home buying decision. They are both the best-serviced transit lines in Chicagoland.

I wouldn't recommend St. Charles on the basis that it lacks transit service and is too far removed from the west suburban corporate corridor and highways. Geneva should be looked at, as well as perhaps Batavia... though I think Downers and Wheaton are better values / would be better investments.

Between Downers and Wheaton, I think Wheaton has a larger and livelier downtown area and a larger percentage of charming, historic homes. Wheaton's schools have on average performed better than schools in Downers over the past 5 years. Depending on the desired location in either town, Downers might average around 5 mins faster to the Oak Brook area.

I live in Wheaton and would be happy to answer any specific questions.

[flamadiddle]

The only reason I'd pick St. Charles in your scenario is if you require a large lot. Easy to find acre+ lots out here. While St. Charles is certainly a nice area, the commute to Oakbrook would be a deal breaker IMO. Luckily my commute consists of two flights of stairs with the only traffic being one of my overweight dogs!

Anyway, looks like you have already received some good advice. Good luck and welcome to Chicago!

[Spartans95]

Thank you everyone! We visited the area over the Labor Day weekend. We ruled St. Charles out, without seeing it, due to the commute time. Our realtor took us to Naperville, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Lemont and Wheaton. We also saw ritzy Hinsdale...not our thing or budget. We saw a beautiful new build in Lemont but didn't care for the area overall, so we ruled that out.

We went back to Downers Grove, Naperville and Wheaton on our own and ate at a restaurant in each of the downtown areas/walked around. We liked Naperville and Wheaton's downtown vibes the best...although they're completely different. We also went to Batavia to drive by a reasonably priced home with a pool. For possible resale and commute time, we ruled out Batavia and as a result didn't bother driving up to Geneva.

mwj119 - No we definitely don't need 4,000 square feet...we have about 3,200 sq ft now and I feel that's too much to clean. ;-)

holl1ngsworth - Do you have any children that have gone to Wheaton North? We saw a few homes we liked in that area. The reviews on Niche seem favorable, just worried about the kids having a harder time to make friends in such a large school.

RJA29 - Good points, thank you. Our realtor mentioned Lisle too, I still have to look into that area.


Kmanshouse - Due to the commute, Northern Naperville is what we're focused on. My husband's coworker lives in Southern Naperville and said he wouldn't recommend it due to the commute. It seems the reviews for Central H.S. are better than North H.S. Since you live there, do you have any opinions on the two schools?

ToriaT - Our realtor mentioned the same thing you did about I-88.

Our house goes on the market tomorrow, fingers crossed it sells fast. Thanks again!