Wheaton, St. Charles, or Glen Ellyn ?? (Chicago, Niles: houses, neighborhoods, preschools)

[Chasesmom]

We are looking for a good town with other young families (we are in our late 20's and have small children). Our price range is 500K and we work from home so being in a certain location is not a huge deal. I do like the location of Glen Ellyn. I'm not sure about the town of Wheaton? Any thoughts?

Thanks!!

[ToriaT]

Wheaton is lovely. Its very similar to Glen Ellyn with maybe home prices a tad cheaper. Its larger than Glen Ellyn and has more stores such as those in the Danada area. Shopping is really good, the town has everything you could want. A nice downtown. Lovely trails such as the prairie path, a great park district and parks with 2 pools, good schools. Not much to not like. There are older homes in the north section of Wheaton, and newer ones south of Roosevelt Road. You should be able to find a good home for the amount of money you are citing. Look in Danada North which has large modern but traditional "family homes". For older homes look north of Roosevelt Rd. A great place to live.

[Honeyberdy]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

Wheaton is lovely. Its very similar to Glen Ellyn with maybe home prices a tad cheaper. Its larger than Glen Ellyn and has more stores such as those in the Danada area. Shopping is really good, the town has everything you could want. A nice downtown. Lovely trails such as the prairie path, a great park district and parks with 2 pools, good schools. Not much to not like. There are older homes in the north section of Wheaton, and newer ones south of Roosevelt Road. You should be able to find a good home for the amount of money you are citing. Look in Danada North which has large modern but traditional "family homes". For older homes look north of Roosevelt Rd. A great place to live.

You pretty much summed up what I usually say. Wheaton is a great town, especially to raise children. There are some lovely homes, and the downtown is great.

[JanuaryGirl]

I grew up in Wheaton, I like both Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. However, the real charm of Wheaton is really in the downtown area an the homes around there. Most of the newer areas were a little generic for my tastes and the areas weren't very "walkable," however the houses in Danada are nice. Especially with kids the area around the library/downtown/Adam's Park would be ideal.

One main distinction between the two is that Wheaton tends to be more conservative and more church-oriented. This could be a plus for some people and a minus for others, but just so you are aware.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by Chasesmom

We are looking for a good town with other young families (we are in our late 20's and have small children). Our price range is 500K and we work from home so being in a certain location is not a huge deal. I do like the location of Glen Ellyn. I'm not sure about the town of Wheaton? Any thoughts?

Thanks!!

I think the others have answered nicely, so Ill just say that you cant really go wrong with Wheaton or Glen Ellyn. St. Charles is also very nice in most areas, but might be a bit too far out for you. I have TONS of pictures of each of those towns here on the Chicago Suburbs boards if youre interested....

[irish setter girl]

Wheaton and Glen Ellyn are great towns. For 500k you have plenty of options. If you want old and charming there are plenty of choices downtown. By living in town you can walk to schools, parks, farmers market, train, library, etc... If you want more of a subdivision you will find a few areas in north Wheaton but most are south of Roosevelt (rt 38) Road. The area just south of Roosevelt is still walkable to town and has great schools and parks nearby. Parts of Wheaton attend Glen Elllyn Schools. You'll certainly get more house for your money in Wheaton over Glen Ellyn. I've lived in this area for almost 30years. Wheaton has a great park district just make sure you watch for pockets of unincormporated neighborhoods that are not in the PD boundaries. You can still attend PD activities, you just pay a non-resident fee. There are two pool, one on the north end and one one the south end of town. There is easy access to shopping from both Wheaton and GE. There are some great preschools in both communities and lots of family activites year round. I think you would enjoy this area and the benefits of living here! Feel free to DM me if you have specific questions and I'll be happy to respond.

[vandre]

Also take a look at Geneva (town next to St. Charles). It also has a charming downtown..

[acdevane]

Yes, Geneva, Batavia and Winfield would all be a tad more affordable...but there's always a trade off. It will all come down to what is more important to you. Schools? Backyard? Pricepoint? Walk-to-town? Thankfully you don't have the commute to work. That's usually the largest determining factor. With that removed the western suburbs is your oyster Good Luck

[gardener34]

If you are into outdoor activities, i.e. bikeriding, hiking, canoeing - I would recommend St. Charles. The kane county forest preserve system is really excellent as well as the bike paths. They have really good schools and you can get more house your money.

As long as you don't mind being farther from the city. We take metra in for our city visits (hour and ten minutes train ride - station is in Geneva). Or we drive to the el station in Niles (?) I think and ride in to the downtown from there. We don't visit the loop that often, a couple times a year. And drive to the MSI.