Moving to Chicago suburbs 2021

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by Nearwest

There are 2 synagogues located in Du Page County. Cong. Etz Chaim is in Lombard, and Cong. Beth Shalom is in Naperville. I believe that both of these congregations adhere to the Reform tradition.

Naperville is also home to the Chabad Jewish Center, which welcomes members of the Jewish community regardless of philosophy or level of commitment to Judaism.

I have never heard of Beth Shalom. It is apparently independent. Even so, there are two major Reform synagogues in little-old Glencoe with a population of less than 9,000. Meanwhile, Du Page County has apparently one or two and a population of more than 900,000. The point being, the western suburbs are not home to nearly as many affiliated Jews as Chicago and the north and south suburbs.

[Gaylord_Focker]

If I may piggyback off of this thread. I've lived in some of the more popular suburbs across the US: Irvine, Greenwood village, Arlington, and Bellevue. I know they're all different in their own ways but as you can see we prefer cleaner, slightly more urban and educated suburbs. What are the Chicagoland equivalents? Shaumburg, Evanston, Naperville, Buffalo Grove, etc? Thanks in advance. A breakdown of each would be helpful. Cheers.

[garyjohnyang]

Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker

If I may piggyback off of this thread. I've lived in some of the more popular suburbs across the US: Irvine, Greenwood village, Arlington, and Bellevue. I know they're all different in their own ways but as you can see we prefer cleaner, slightly more urban and educated suburbs. What are the Chicagoland equivalents? Shaumburg, Evanston, Naperville, Buffalo Grove, etc? Thanks in advance. A breakdown of each would be helpful. Cheers.

Hmm, interesting question.

I'm familiar with Irvine so can talk about that. Chicagoland doesn't have nearly as many edge cities as Southern California does, but if I were to make a comparison among the suburbs you listed, Schaumburg might be the closest. Both are upper-middle class, relatively de-centralized suburbs with a large Asian population relative to the surrounding area, though the Asian demographic in Schaumburg skews more Indian than Chinese/East Asian. Schaumburg, like Irvine also has a major mall that serves as a regional attraction and a freeway corridor characterized by sprawling suburban office campuses.

Naperville also sprawls, but unlike Schaumburg it has a small charming downtown area. It's very similar to Schaumburg demographically, but somewhat wealthier with some more upscale areas in the city (If you're on Google Maps - the areas adjacent to downtown + Hobson Road have some fancier homes). It's a commuter city with the busiest rail stations locally outside of Chicago. Not sure what the best LA area comparison would be.

I think of Evanston as a lakeside Pasadena. They both started out as streetcar suburbs and had a large population of affluent people early on in their history. Evanston, like Pasadena, is well-educated, has a well-known private university and a nice, walkable downtown. Between the university, downtown Evanston, & the lakefront neighborhoods there are a variety of lifestyles not typically available in a (developmentally) more homogenous suburb like Schaumburg or Irvine.

Some other Evanston-Pasadena linkages: Evanston is the gateway to the affluent North Shore, Pasadena is the gateway to the SGV. Both border their primary city. Both cities have neighboring suburbs with a major attraction (Huntington Library & Gardens in San Marino, Baháʼí Temple in Wilmette) that people often confuse for being in the larger suburb.

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by garyjohnyang

Hmm, interesting question.

I'm familiar with Irvine so can talk about that. Chicagoland doesn't have nearly as many edge cities as Southern California does, but if I were to make a comparison among the suburbs you listed, Schaumburg might be the closest. Both are upper-middle class, relatively de-centralized suburbs with a large Asian population relative to the surrounding area, though the Asian demographic in Schaumburg skews more Indian than Chinese/East Asian. Schaumburg, like Irvine also has a major mall that serves as a regional attraction and a freeway corridor characterized by sprawling suburban office campuses.

Naperville also sprawls, but unlike Schaumburg it has a small charming downtown area. It's very similar to Schaumburg demographically, but somewhat wealthier with some more upscale areas in the city (If you're on Google Maps - the areas adjacent to downtown + Hobson Road have some fancier homes). It's a commuter city with the busiest rail stations locally outside of Chicago. Not sure what the best LA area comparison would be.

I think of Evanston as a lakeside Pasadena. They both started out as streetcar suburbs and had a large population of affluent people early on in their history. Evanston, like Pasadena, is well-educated, has a well-known private university and a nice, walkable downtown. Between the university, downtown Evanston, & the lakefront neighborhoods there are a variety of lifestyles not typically available in a (developmentally) more homogenous suburb like Schaumburg or Irvine.

Some other Evanston-Pasadena linkages: Evanston is the gateway to the affluent North Shore, Pasadena is the gateway to the SGV. Both border their primary city. Both cities have neighboring suburbs with a major attraction (Huntington Library & Gardens in San Marino, Baháʼí Temple in Wilmette) that people often confuse for being in the larger suburb.

Thanks Gary. Repped.

[leonardo]

...just move in and thank me later...
...there is only one problem...
...as you said you planning staying around 10 years-you will never leave that gorgeous city...

...stay safe and all the best...

leonardo