Sycamore vs Maple Park vs Elburn (Crystal Lake, St. Charles: good schools, live in, groceries) - Chicago Suburbs - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

bdwebb219 · 03-01-2015, 08:01 PM

We are considering moving to this area. Sycamore is charming and quaint, has the basic necessities and very friendly people/community feel (or as far as we can tell from our brief visit). We didn't have time to do as much exploring in maple park/Elburn, but we did drive through and noticed our dollar might stretch a bit further in these places. But from what we could tell, there isn't really a downtown here and they didn't really feel like communities as much as a collection of spread out hours. Are we missing anything? We've had a short visit this weekend but have to go back out of state tomorrow and so we are simply getting a feel for things right now. We are outgoing people who want to make good friends, and that is our only real concern about moving to these smaller areas.

aga412 · 03-01-2015, 09:23 PM

So you are vehemently opposed to Batavia?

4122 · 03-01-2015, 11:05 PM

Small towns like Elburn and Maple Park have more of a everybody knows everybody vibe which can make it easier to make friends. Because of the very friendly vibe. Elburn is 10-15 minutes away from the medium size suburbs where you will do most of your errands. Maple Park is 15 minutes away from Dekalb where most of your errands will be done. Most small towns aren't as close to shopping, groceries, etc. as Elburn/Maple Park are.

I recommend making another visit to the area soon and explore Elburn/Maple Park and see if you mind the size of these towns. If you decide they aren't for you, then choose Sycamore.
Would you consider the towns near I-90 or would they be too far north for you? I like Elburn, Maple Park and Sycamore, but I think there's a lot of great towns near I-90 worth considering.

bdwebb219 · 03-02-2015, 06:48 AM

Thank you, what towns near I-90 would you suggest?

And aga412, it's just too busy for us, our dollar goes further, we get more space in the sycamore area. If batavia wasn't right up against Geneva abd st charles it might be more of a consideration, but hubby has been annoyed with the congestion since we got here lol.

aga412 · 03-02-2015, 07:54 AM

You can live in unincorporated Blackberry Township, Campton Hills/Wasco, or LaFox and still feed into Batavia, Geneva, or St. Charles schools while having less congestion. If highway is still important, you can get on easily at Rt. 47 or Orchard Road from unincorporated Blackberry Township in Batavia.

4122 · 03-02-2015, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdwebb219

Thank you, what towns near I-90 would you suggest?

And aga412, it's just too busy for us, our dollar goes further, we get more space in the sycamore area. If batavia wasn't right up against Geneva abd st charles it might be more of a consideration, but hubby has been annoyed with the congestion since we got here lol.

I would look at Huntley and Hampshire. Huntley is more of a small-medium sized town, but not as congested and big as Batavia. Hampshire is also a small town like Elburn and Maple Park except it may be a bit bigger than Elburn. Hampshire is also around 10-15 minutes from most errands which are in Huntley and Crystal Lake. Both Hampshire and Huntley have easy access to I-90 and good schools.

knitgirl · 03-02-2015, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bdwebb219

Thank you, what towns near I-90 would you suggest?

And aga412, it's just too busy for us, our dollar goes further, we get more space in the sycamore area. If batavia wasn't right up against Geneva abd st charles it might be more of a consideration, but hubby has been annoyed with the congestion since we got here lol.

Oh good grief! If he's fed up with the congestion near Batavia, he's going to hate his job driving all over the area.

aga412 · 03-02-2015, 09:19 PM

Yeah, I don't think I've ever heard Batavia referred to as "congested" outside of Randall Road.

4122 · 03-02-2015, 10:10 PM

I don't think of Batavia as congested, but I think the OP is just trying to look for a suburb that's not as big as Batavia and where they can get more space.

bdwebb219 · 03-03-2015, 11:06 AM

4122, thank you. Guys, I really appreciate all the help but I don't think it's necessary to make assumptions about him not liking his job. Just because his job will include a lot of driving doesn't mean he wants to deal with congestion when he is *off* work. And Batavia itself wasn't bad but being hooked up to Geneva and St Charles gives it the feeling of being larger/busier area than what we want. "Oh Good Grief" is just a bit unhelpful...