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We're originally from the Grand Rapids, MI area, currently living in Cincinnati. My husband will be working in Oakbrook Terrace and we're considering purchasing a home in Downers Grove, Wheaton or St. Charles (East side of the river). A 30 minute commute time would be ideal, although we realize the St. Charles option means a longer commute. We also are looking for a safe community. I was looking at Lemont as an option too but I read a post about crime being an issue from Cook County?
Our son is a freshman and daughter is in 8th grade so good schools are important. They both do well academically and take honors classes. Does one community seem to be more welcoming to new students? We've have relocated a few times and unfortunately our current community is odd in that it's not very welcoming to new residents. We don't want to move to another "island".
My husband thought he heard that some of the schools in Downers Grove are not air conditioned/run down? Is that the case?
We'd like to stay at/below $600k and prefer an updated or new home. I've been looking on Realtor.com and all the areas I mentioned have homes in that range. We like the idea of living close to a downtown area to walk to restaurants, shops, etc. Are there any other areas that we don't have on our list that we should consider? I initially was interested in North Naperville but have ruled that one because I have heard that it can be hard to find parking in the downtown area.
We're originally from the Grand Rapids, MI area, currently living in Cincinnati. My husband will be working in Oakbrook Terrace and we're considering purchasing a home in Downers Grove, Wheaton or St. Charles (East side of the river). A 30 minute commute time would be ideal, although we realize the St. Charles option means a longer commute. We also are looking for a safe community. I was looking at Lemont as an option too but I read a post about crime being an issue from Cook County?
Cook County is one of the most populous counties in the country, and it is largely very safe—suburban Cook County especially so.
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Originally Posted by Spartans95
Our son is a freshman and daughter is in 8th grade so good schools are important. They both do well academically and take honors classes. Does one community seem to be more welcoming to new students? We've have relocated a few times and unfortunately our current community is odd in that it's not very welcoming to new residents. We don't want to move to another "island".
Naperville has a lot of transplants from outside of Chicagoland and the Midwest. However, you will fine new families pretty much anywhere, but there is no doubt that some communities attract more relocators than others.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spartans95
My husband thought he heard that some of the schools in Downers Grove are not air conditioned/run down? Is that the case?
I can't comment on the condition of school buildings in Downers Grove. However, I do want to point out that a lack of air conditioning should not be conflated with being run down. I went to both public and private schools in one of the best-regarded public school districts in the area. Only one academic year of mine was spent in a school that was fully air-conditioned. It doesn't typically get hot enough during the academic year to warrant air conditioning retrofits in public school buildings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spartans95
We'd like to stay at/below $600k and prefer an updated or new home. I've been looking on Realtor.com and all the areas I mentioned have homes in that range. We like the idea of living close to a downtown area to walk to restaurants, shops, etc. Are there any other areas that we don't have on our list that we should consider? I initially was interested in North Naperville but have ruled that one because I have heard that it can be hard to find parking in the downtown area.
First off there are LOTS of variables that are VERY tricky to factor in when assessing the quality of Illinois schools and while I don’t really know / care too much about “rumors” the fact is nobody is seriously to be believed if they call Downers Grove schools “run down”. There is nothing to support such an assertion. Downers Grove does have a wide range of schools, some of which are significantly less “updated” than others but all are equipped to the sorts of standards that one would be expected in a town that ranks in the upper quintile of DuPage Co no matter how you slice things up. Air conditioning is a non-issue, and both the high schools, Downers Grove North & South (which make up District 99) have very much benefitted from well conceived renovations. The elementary schools may have a few spaces that are not “centrally air conditioned” because of limitations with older construction but all the D59 elementary schools are in very good condition.
Next I applaud your focus on being close enough to walk to shops / restaurant / entertainment BUT I would caution that it is highly UNLIKELY you will find any NEW CONSTRUCTION around $600k in any of the towns you’ve listed. There may be some newer homes and/or well renovated homes available in that price range that would still meet the 30 driving time to Oakbrook Terrace offices BUT THEY ARE NOT COMMON. Typically folks have to balance things like ‘walkability’ against affordability — for many folks they’ll accept a home that has mostly “good bones” in a great location and tackle the projects that bring them up to the level of the most highly valued homes. In Downers Grove, Naperville, and Wheaton it is much harder to find even homes that need some TLC within walking distance of the core “downtown” areas compared to St. Charles and a lot of that has to do with the SIGNIFICANTLY longer commutes from St. Charles to other suburban employment centers / Chicago’s Loop. {Flat out — there is no way that a drive from Oakbrook Terrace to St. Charles can be reliably kept to under 30 minutes in even perfect conditions. Factor in road construction / weather / collision related delays and travel times might be double that...}
There has been a sort of ‘concentration’ of employers that has meant even formerly attractive work locations in Naperville are severely under-utilized. A consequence is that folks absolutely want a walkable location to “fun things” in the heart of downtown are forced to pay a major premium.
The other factor that is sort of running counter to some of the “price increasing” trends is there is a “detachment from reality” effect among some folks who did build palatial new homes in very nice areas a decade or so ago. In the nicest parts of Hinsdale, Western Springs, Clarendon Hills, and Elmhurst some sellers expect that their homes are worth more than they built them for. The market is NOT really supporting these expectations. The degree to which this impacts buyers shopping in $600k range is probably not as strong as folks who can put another few hundred grand toward their housing budget. With record low rates perhaps that does include the OP. If so I would highly recommend looking at nice parts of the towns mentioned especially because schools in those communities do include many very recently renovated facilities and that seems important to them.
IAmEverywhere, no suburb in IL can rival Beer City, USA... GR unlike anything here IMO...
I would advise visiting all of them and hanging out, walk around neighborhoods/historic districts, feel them out your way, try dining and having a few drinks, some coffee. Include Wheaton (which i do like) + Downers (which I agree is a great fit) and Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Western Springs and La Grange. whichever you pick you most likely will hangout in the downtown a lot so make sure you like its vibe. 600K goes no where near as far here as it does in MI where COL is much lower...
We're originally from the Grand Rapids, MI area, currently living in Cincinnati. My husband will be working in Oakbrook Terrace and we're considering purchasing a home in Downers Grove, Wheaton or St. Charles (East side of the river). A 30 minute commute time would be ideal, although we realize the St. Charles option means a longer commute. We also are looking for a safe community. I was looking at Lemont as an option too but I read a post about crime being an issue from Cook County?
Our son is a freshman and daughter is in 8th grade so good schools are important. They both do well academically and take honors classes. Does one community seem to be more welcoming to new students? We've have relocated a few times and unfortunately our current community is odd in that it's not very welcoming to new residents. We don't want to move to another "island".
My husband thought he heard that some of the schools in Downers Grove are not air conditioned/run down? Is that the case?
We'd like to stay at/below $600k and prefer an updated or new home. I've been looking on Realtor.com and all the areas I mentioned have homes in that range. We like the idea of living close to a downtown area to walk to restaurants, shops, etc. Are there any other areas that we don't have on our list that we should consider? I initially was interested in North Naperville but have ruled that one because I have heard that it can be hard to find parking in the downtown area.
Thank you in advance for any help!
Lemont is maybe one of the safest towns in Cook County and in fact a portion spills into DuPage County. It is mostly surrounded by forest preserves and a river and even some farmland to the south. The schools are pretty good, and it is one of the towns you mentioned that currently has new construction single family homes in your price range. It's not a great commute if you need to travel on the train to downtown Chicago because the Metra only runs 3 times a day, but for traveling to the Oakbrook Terrace area by car, it's pretty solid. There is a very small downtown area in Lemont near the river. It's generally a smaller and quieter town than some of the other ones you listed. It's not too far of a drive to some of the other suburban downtowns you may find interesting. There is some shopping, bars and restaurants in town. I think most of the newer subdivisions are not walking distance to its downtown, but I know there's been some teardown activity or infill new housing in the older part of town that should be under $600k.
In Naperville you can easily find an updated home in your price range but probably not new construction and maybe not walking distance to downtown but maybe 1-2 miles away. Even if it's not fully updated, given your budget, you can likely afford to make plenty of updates. Naperville parking at its train station is pretty tight, but if you're going to downtown Naperville for a recreation/social purpose, there's 3 large parking garages and 2 surface lots. Street parking is also available with a 3 hour limit. I've never had an issue finding parking when going to dinner or to walk around.
Thank you to everyone for the great information! Downers Grove seems like it has a really nice downtown area so I'm glad to hear that there's nothing to worry about with the schools since they're highly rated.
Although it may not be realistic to find a home we like with walking distance to a downtown area, we're fine with parking a few blocks away. I was under the impression that the Naperville area is pretty congested, making it challenging to find parking. That one might be back in the running!
JJski - I agree, nothing compares to Beer City, USA! I miss so many of the breweries there! Especially the tacos/salsa at City Built.
IAmEverywhere - Looking forward to checking out Wheaton since you think the vibe is similar to G.R.
We will definitely be visiting the areas mentioned. I told my husband I want to get a feel of the downtown areas by walking around and checking out some restaurants, etc. The schools are my #1 focus, followed by the downtown areas.
Thanks again to everyone for their input, I appreciate the insight!
fusilliRob1983 - Good to know about Lemont being safe. I did see a lot of new construction in that area as well as a new home that is walking distance to the downtown area. With a new home, it's so nice not to have to worry about cleaning up after the previous homeowners!
As a result of the consensus being that parking in the downtown area isn't a big deal, I'm keeping Naperville on the list.
Thank you for taking the time to let me know about the two areas!
Thank you! I'll have to look into that. We hadn't considered La Grange but it looks like a nice area with good schools.
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