Maximizing Rural feel vs distance from city

[dlong1991]

Lockport/Joliet/Crest Hill

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Originally Posted by dlong1991

Lockport/Joliet/Crest Hill

I'd second Lockport as a place to look at, but it's not an easy drive to the loop during the rush hours. OP would be wise to be wary of the Illinois south suburbs and their ever-rising property taxes, a friend at work bought a new home in Mattson in about 2018, and I believe he said he is paying something like $15K per year - not something I would call "sustainable". Personally, I'd be looking hard at northwest Indiana, there's got to be a place somewhere around Whiting (about 40% Hispanic but only 4% African American) or Hammond that would look appealing. If you go much further south from there (to Dyer / Schererville) it turns much more Caucasian. I don't think Gary is a place anybody would move to on purpose (due to poverty and crime), but who knows.

OP, I think the only thing you can do is to get in your car and start taking road trips, and look for a neighborhood that gives you a "this is the place" feeling. Personally, I always had an affinity toward Joliet as a kid because of all the old bridges, it reminds me of downtown Chicago in that respect. The neighborhoods there are very similar to a "mini-Chicago" as well, you can find whatever mix of humankind you are looking for in Joliet, but I'm not sure about your desired density.

[RamenAddict]

One thing to keep in mind with Homer Glen is that it has some insane water costs. I work in Orland and drive through Lemont a lot since I live in DuPage. I think it could fit the bill- it definitely has a rural feel to it in parts.

[summerboredom]

Monee/Crete would be good options. Not sure what your budget is but you can get a nice house with plenty of space for 200k or under, Plenty of open farmland nearby as well. These towns are also both in Will Co., so property taxes are not as bad as Cook Co. Hope this helps!

[carrie1148]

Channahon...on the Grundy side for lower taxes but the Will side is fine too. You are less than an hour from the city. Top ranked park district, farm fields, nature preserves, forest land, rivers. It's VERY quiet. But driving distance to everything. Good schools, low crime, could be a little more diverse. We love living here.

[DamenVChicago]

Originally Posted by carrie1148

Channahon...on the Grundy side for lower taxes but the Will side is fine too. You are less than an hour from the city. Top ranked park district, farm fields, nature preserves, forest land, rivers. It's VERY quiet. But driving distance to everything. Good schools, low crime, could be a little more diverse. We love living here.

Channahon is way far out.... further than Joliet. And when you say "less than an hour" from the city, I can only assume this is with I-55 completely free of traffic... which unless you're driving at 2am, is very unlikely.

There are several more rural and closer in towns than Channahon.... Lockport, Crest Hill, New Lenox, Frankfort, etc..

[reppin_the_847]

Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink

I'd second Lockport as a place to look at, but it's not an easy drive to the loop during the rush hours. OP would be wise to be wary of the Illinois south suburbs and their ever-rising property taxes, a friend at work bought a new home in Mattson in about 2018, and I believe he said he is paying something like $15K per year - not something I would call "sustainable". Personally, I'd be looking hard at northwest Indiana, there's got to be a place somewhere around Whiting (about 40% Hispanic but only 4% African American) or Hammond that would look appealing. If you go much further south from there (to Dyer / Schererville) it turns much more Caucasian. I don't think Gary is a place anybody would move to on purpose (due to poverty and crime), but who knows.

OP, I think the only thing you can do is to get in your car and start taking road trips, and look for a neighborhood that gives you a "this is the place" feeling. Personally, I always had an affinity toward Joliet as a kid because of all the old bridges, it reminds me of downtown Chicago in that respect. The neighborhoods there are very similar to a "mini-Chicago" as well, you can find whatever mix of humankind you are looking for in Joliet, but I'm not sure about your desired density.

With the COVID-19 situation & Chicago's crazy taxes & the ability to work from home, I have heard that real estate is booming even in the Dunes region of NW Indiana (on Lake Michigan) that approaches the Michigan border.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by reppin_the_847

With the COVID-19 situation & Chicago's crazy taxes & the ability to work from home, I have heard that real estate is booming even in the Dunes region of NW Indiana (on Lake Michigan) that approaches the Michigan border.

Yes, there was a Chicago Tribune article about that. However, I would caution people and journalists from leaping to conclusions about the current real estate trends. The year-over-year stats aren't necessarily telling the whole story of the current market given the fact that there were so few home sales in the 2nd quarter of this year. Much of the demand in the second half of the year could simply be pent up demand.

[whakru]

Palos Heights has a bit of rural feel if you are looking in the south/southwest. Not sure how far out you want to go but you might want to check areas like Elburn, Sugar Grove, Yorkville, Montgomery, etc. You can look at the demographics and see if they fit your other criteria. I personally like Sugar Grove and Elburn.

[ToriaT]

I just bought a lot in Door County and the agent said real estate was booming there. Places were going for asking price and above as people are working at home permanently so they can really work from anywhere. Like us many are feeling plane travel to distance places won't be on our agenda for a few years. So we are going to focus on a place that is easy to get to where we can spend some time.

In other developments, two lots sold in my subdivision recently and new houses are being built. These places go for 800 K to a million dollars so they are not cheap. They have sat on the market for a while but it looks like there is finally movement.