Moving back to Chicago area (Aurora, Naperville: apartments, houses, neighborhood)

[chgodon]

I was born and raised in IL. Grew up in the
Oak Lawn, Palos Hills area. After 20 yrs living
in The OC, I'm ready to return to IL.

I've been coming back every year for the food
and people. I'm looking for the old towne feel, but
close to shopping/entertainment. I do not want to
be in farm land 30 min from the nearest shopping.

My sister suggustions:

Downer's Grove
Naperville
Willow Springs
La Grange
Barrington
Schaumburg
Crystal Lake

Appreciate any pros & cons of above cities. I'm single
with no plans for kids, so schools are not a priority.

[Avengerfire]

Good Luck.

[rose125]

Originally Posted by chgodon

I was born and raised in IL. Grew up in the
Oak Lawn, Palos Hills area. After 20 yrs living
in The OC, I'm ready to return to IL.

I've been coming back every year for the food
and people. I'm looking for the old towne feel, but
close to shopping/entertainment. I do not want to
be in farm land 30 min from the nearest shopping.

My sister suggustions:

Downer's Grove
Naperville
Willow Springs
La Grange
Barrington
Schaumburg
Crystal Lake

Appreciate any pros & cons of above cities. I'm single
with no plans for kids, so schools are not a priority.

So you say you're looking for food and people as well as old town feel. I can only speak on a few of the above towns my thought process is

I would eliminate Naperville- I think it's much more "new" town feel than old town.

Crystal Lake to me seems far out and might be venturing into what you call "farm territory" although it is being built up. It's kind of a hike even to get to schaumburg for food/shopping.

Schaumburg is close to food & shopping, not neccesarily old town.

Barrington is close to schaumburg, not too far from the city, and certian parts can have that old town feel.

You haven't specified a budget and that might limit you in your search but I would check out Barringon, Downtown arlington heights, I would say Glen Ellyn might be another place to look into.

I've heard some nice things about the towns of St.Charles, Geneva etc. having cute downtown areas, but then that's a bit of a hike again to get to the city etc.

[ngrome]

All are good choices, but Downers Grove stands out, as well as neighboring Woodridge. They're all so close together, with their own Home Depots and Best Buys, LOL. We're going back "home" too in a few years. Cant' wait! Good luck!

[SubaruFiend]

when I think "old town" feel close to shopping and what not I think of like Hinsdale.....

Or even out by where I'm from.... Geneva/Saint Charles. It's a little farther out then most (but it's closer to stuff then Crystal Lake) ... and Geneva has some REALLLLLY great shops downtown on 3rd street. And Saint Charles has new shopping up and coming with their "refacing" of their downtown. Both of these towns have a cozy "old town" feel to me and there's lots of shopping close by (Geneva Commons on Randall Road, Premium Outlets by Route 88, Stratford Square Mall isn't far, Westfield (previously Fox Valley Mall) in Aurora is not far, And Woodfield Mall and Oak Brook are about a half hour away. But all the other shopping I listed is all REALLY close (especially Geneva Commons and the Premium Outlets) not to mention Geneva and downtown St. Charles have all kinds of little shops.

I love this area, it's about a 35-45 minute drive to downtown (that's NOT during rush hour, and I don't think that's all that bad)....... I like that I'm out away from the hustle and bustle of most of those CRAMMED suburbs (like Schaumburg) but still within distance that it really doesn't take me long at all to get to all those places. It's nice that driving through the downtown areas of Saint Charles and Geneva doesn't take a half hour like it does to drive from one side of Schaumburg to the other. There's SSOOOOOOO much traffic congestion up in a suburb like that it's just ridiculous!

I love love love STC and Geneva for that "old town" feel too

(OH, and all of us STC people hit up Naperville all the time to go out if that gives you kind of a brief "snapshot" of how far away STC and Geneva are from those places you mentioned.... Naperville is nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Again, another REALLY crammed suburb, with too many people, too much congestion, the downtown area is nice for shopping and if you like to go out at night, but it's EXPENSIVEEEEEEE to live in Naperville (and schaumburg).......

STC and Geneva aren't CHEAP, but they ARE cheaper then Schaumburg and Naperthrill (i mean ville) :P

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by SubaruFiend

when I think "old town" feel close to shopping and what not I think of like Hinsdale.....

Or even out by where I'm from.... Geneva/Saint Charles. It's a little farther out then most (but it's closer to stuff then Crystal Lake) ... and Geneva has some REALLLLLY great shops downtown on 3rd street. And Saint Charles has new shopping up and coming with their "refacing" of their downtown. Both of these towns have a cozy "old town" feel to me and there's lots of shopping close by (Geneva Commons on Randall Road, Premium Outlets by Route 88, Stratford Square Mall isn't far, Westfield (previously Fox Valley Mall) in Aurora is not far, And Woodfield Mall and Oak Brook are about a half hour away. But all the other shopping I listed is all REALLY close (especially Geneva Commons and the Premium Outlets) not to mention Geneva and downtown St. Charles have all kinds of little shops.

I love this area, it's about a 35-45 minute drive to downtown (that's NOT during rush hour, and I don't think that's all that bad)....... I like that I'm out away from the hustle and bustle of most of those CRAMMED suburbs (like Schaumburg) but still within distance that it really doesn't take me long at all to get to all those places. It's nice that driving through the downtown areas of Saint Charles and Geneva doesn't take a half hour like it does to drive from one side of Schaumburg to the other. There's SSOOOOOOO much traffic congestion up in a suburb like that it's just ridiculous!

I love love love STC and Geneva for that "old town" feel too

(OH, and all of us STC people hit up Naperville all the time to go out if that gives you kind of a brief "snapshot" of how far away STC and Geneva are from those places you mentioned.... Naperville is nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Again, another REALLY crammed suburb, with too many people, too much congestion, the downtown area is nice for shopping and if you like to go out at night, but it's EXPENSIVEEEEEEE to live in Naperville (and schaumburg).......

STC and Geneva aren't CHEAP, but they ARE cheaper then Schaumburg and Naperthrill (i mean ville) :P

Holy crap! I have a twin!

I agree 100%!

[crbcrbrgv]

I would have to say La Grange hands down. It's full of older houses and charming old apartments, two flats and duplexes near the train tracks. It has a beautiful downtown with great restaurants, a small movie theater and a lot of things to do. It is also very close to Brookfield Zoo and a lot of forest preserves with bike trails. One thing that would stand out in my mind compared to the other towns you mention is La Grange's proximity to downtown Chicago. It's the easiest drive out of all those towns and hands down the best train commute. Many parts of La Grange are within walking distance of the train. Those that aren't are an easy drive.

[becoming trees]

Off that list I'd pick LaGrange too.
On top of the other reasons --- I'd add Trader Joe's. haha

Also, I think you should check out Geneva. Really beautiful downtown area with lots of pretty houses. I think it has that "old town" feel. It's on a Metra train line from Chicago, and also fairly close to other Western suburbs like Elgin, Napeville, and such. Maybe even check out Elgin? I just think the Fox River Valley area is beautiful.

[knitgirl]

I love Elgin and I live in the older part, but downtown isn't much, when I want to visit a cute downtown, I usually go to Geneva. Some people get scared off by Elgin because OH MY GOD, poor people live there! If you'd be comfortable living in the city, you'd be comfortable in Elgin. If you are more comfortable where just about everybody is the same skin tone and income group as you, forget it. There are some gorgeous houses in the northeast neighborhood that are really very reasonable. We've got a fantastic library and the Elgin Symphony is second to only the CSO in Illinois. We've got some great parks. I grew up in Roselle, but came regularly to Lords Park as a kid. Metra takes you right to Union Station, we've got 3 Metra stations in Elgin.

[cubssoxfan]

I'm looking for the old towne feel, but
close to shopping/entertainment.

Do you want the Downtown area to be "old towne" or the entire community?
Schaumburg is not "old towne" in any way.
Without knowing where work is or budget or family consdierations it's hard because there are many choices. My choice for "old towne" would be Evanston. It certainly has newer developments but is an older, established city that is walkable and has a vibrant downtown along with several other neighborhood shopping districts. It's also convenient to Chicago and the lake.