Wanting to move back to Chicagoland (Naperville, Elgin: apartments, for rent, low crime)

[storey13]

My family(3 of us, only 1 child) lived in a 3rd floor Oak Park apartment last time and enjoyed it(well, except for the stairs and taking the laundry to the basement and taking the dog out) but we are looking to live in a single family home/townhouse(no apartments) this time and unfortunately we are not wealthy enough to rent a 3 bedroom house in most places in Chicagoland. What I need to know is what towns are an option to rent a house for less than 1100 a month(would prefer to be under $1000) for a 2 or 3 bedroom house that is close to metra(walking distance prefered but not a deal breaker), good elementary schools(top 20% percentile, we currently live in Nashville so the schools are not so great here), safe with a low crime rate(of course!), and I also need to go back to school for IT degree(Computer Networking ), so being somewhat close to an appropriate school would be nice. We are wanting a more suburban feel this time as Oak Park was too urban for us. We really enjoyed all the things Chicago had to offer and are saving up money as I type. Also if you know of any public/private services that offer temporary housing not for a steep price for a few days while we look at some properties for rent that would be great too. I realize that we will have to live farther out to achieve this but we are ready to leave Nashville today. We are open to any suburbs in any direction as long as they meet the requirements above. We can't wait to eat some Portillos, go see Fire games at the new stadium, and go on our fun day drives around the city as a family. I've been reading this forum for a long time and love the feedback you give. In the past a couple of people suggested Antioch, but I would like to hear some more suggestions as well. Thank you so much for the responses.

[NSH]

Palos Hills would be where I would start looking. Palos Hills is more of a suburban wooded area. Nearby Moraine Valley Community College has an excellent IT curriculum. Rents are mid-tier and schools are very good. Plus, the "Firehouse" is only about 2 miles away!

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by storey13

My family(3 of us, only 1 child) lived in a 3rd floor Oak Park apartment last time and enjoyed it(well, except for the stairs and taking the laundry to the basement and taking the dog out) but we are looking to live in a single family home/townhouse(no apartments) this time and unfortunately we are not wealthy enough to rent a 3 bedroom house in most places in Chicagoland. What I need to know is what towns are an option to rent a house for less than 1100 a month(would prefer to be under $1000) for a 2 or 3 bedroom house that is close to metra(walking distance prefered but not a deal breaker), good elementary schools(top 20% percentile, we currently live in Nashville so the schools are not so great here), safe with a low crime rate(of course!), and I also need to go back to school for IT degree(Computer Networking ), so being somewhat close to an appropriate school would be nice. We are wanting a more suburban feel this time as Oak Park was too urban for us. We really enjoyed all the things Chicago had to offer and are saving up money as I type. Also if you know of any public/private services that offer temporary housing not for a steep price for a few days while we look at some properties for rent that would be great too. I realize that we will have to live farther out to achieve this but we are ready to leave Nashville today. We are open to any suburbs in any direction as long as they meet the requirements above. We can't wait to eat some Portillos, go see Fire games at the new stadium, and go on our fun day drives around the city as a family. I've been reading this forum for a long time and love the feedback you give. In the past a couple of people suggested Antioch, but I would like to hear some more suggestions as well. Thank you so much for the responses.

I'm with you!!!! Only problem is my wife told me as early as last night if I go back to Chicago it will be as a single man
She hates the cold

[storey13]

Thanks NSH. Is there any part of Palos Hills I might want to stay away from?
Georgia I guess I am lucky, my better half wants to move back as badly as I do. We are in Nashville now and we feel like we are dying culturally. Any advice from our forum regulars in dupage, lake, and mchenry counties?

[Steve-o]

DuPage is my favorite county here, and I often get slack for it. There are MANY reasons to love ALL Chicagoland, but DuPage, to me, offers just as much in a more rural setting (well, certain areas at least). Kane is lovely too with many nice towns that are unfortunately experiencing major growth. Anyways, here goes...

Towns Id recommend (both DuPage and Kane Co):

The W's: Wheaton, Wayne, Winfield, Warrenville, parts of West Chicago. There are many cheaper homes in West Chicago, but the school system is kind of lacking and parts of the town are overrun with illegals (17% of the town is estimated to be illegal). If you love Hispanic culture, youll love West Chicago, LOTS of great restaurants, etc...

Bartlett, St. Charles, Geneva, South Elgin, Barrington, Bloomingdale, Glen Ellyn, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Schaumburg (Cook), Carol Stream, Plainfield, Naperville, Lisle. Im sure Im forgetting some, if I remember some more, Ill add to the list. All of the above mentioned towns fall into the category youre looking for. Housing is expensive, but you shouldnt have troubles finding something to rent in that range Id imagine. As for being close to the metra, I have underlined the towns that are the best.

[NSH]

Originally Posted by storey13

Thanks NSH. Is there any part of Palos Hills I might want to stay away from?
Georgia I guess I am lucky, my better half wants to move back as badly as I do. We are in Nashville now and we feel like we are dying culturally. Any advice from our forum regulars in dupage, lake, and mchenry counties?

No ghettos or anything in Palos Hills. The area of the village I hear people complain about the most is where I used to live, Green Oaks about ten years ago. The demographic of the complex is about 75% white 15% black 10% Hispanic. It wasn't the best as the buildings were all over 30 years old and lacked amenities like central air and dishwashers, and I had my car broken into once in the parking lot, but the views of the forest preserve more than made up for that. A 10 point buck once walked past my patio door while i was eating breakfast. Scared the daylights out of me. That's about as bad as it gets out there.

Nightlife consists of a local pizza place Franks Pizza? I think that was the name? on Roberts road. Again this is more a family orientated community than a single rock star community.

My rent ten years ago for a 1 bedroom apt was $600 a month, I would guess it is more now

[ITChick]

I deleted the above post because I mentioned Prospect Heights, but realized that you didn't mention wanting to be in Cook County. If I'm wrong storey13, I think you should look there as it is a suburb with rents in your price range.

[storey13]

Cook County is fine as long as it has the features that I ask for above!

Steve-O I will have to check a little more deep in some of those towns. I found a place in Glen Ellyn within our price range and I was about to pay a application fee to get the ball rolling and then I read about 6 years worth of bad reviews on an apartment rating website. It was right next to College of Dupage. I am checking the local paper's online and craigslist, but it is so difficult doing a move and all because you can only tell so much by looking at pictures online, then you have drive or fly up there for a few days and look at places which takes a decent chunk of your moving budget to do this. If anyone knows an inexpensive place to stay for a few days in the burbs let me know. We are targeting a moving time of late February/Early March.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by storey13

Cook County is fine as long as it has the features that I ask for above!

Steve-O I will have to check a little more deep in some of those towns. I found a place in Glen Ellyn within our price range and I was about to pay a application fee to get the ball rolling and then I read about 6 years worth of bad reviews on an apartment rating website. It was right next to College of Dupage. I am checking the local paper's online and craigslist, but it is so difficult doing a move and all because you can only tell so much by looking at pictures online, then you have drive or fly up there for a few days and look at places which takes a decent chunk of your moving budget to do this. If anyone knows an inexpensive place to stay for a few days in the burbs let me know. We are targeting a moving time of late February/Early March.

Those apartments are notorious for partying, Id steer clear. You can check into Amli Apartments, theyre near Danada Square in Wheaton, about a 5 minute drive to CoD. Therye a bit pricey, but theyre worth every penny.

[storey13]

I'll check them out. We really want a townhouse or single family home which of course is higher rent, but what are the chances of that happening in dupage county with my rent range?