NC to Chicago (Aurora, Naperville, Joliet: chapel, house, dorms)

[rmshill]

Still trying to decide whether to take a job in IL. Is anyone from NC (around raleigh) that can give me an idea about the changes in life from NC to chicago? We would probably live in naperville or a town with a similar feel. Of course, other than weather!

[cubssoxfan]

Still trying to decide whether to take a job in IL. Is anyone from NC (around raleigh) that can give me an idea about the changes in life from NC to chicago? We would probably live in naperville or a town with a similar feel. Of course, other than weather!

Friendly word of advice. Don't live in Naperville, or anywhere else, unless it is a convenient drive to work. The scale of this area is huge. Naperville to downtown by car can take you 1 1/2 hours when traffic is bad. So start looking at homes based on where you work. If you work downtown choose a town that not only has Metra or CTA into downtown, but also has parking available at the train station. Naperville offers a decent lifestyle. But don't let the Money Magazine rankings lure you into an unsustainable commute. There are many, many comparable towns to choose from.
Have you compared cost of living yet? That will probably be higher than in Raleigh.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by rmshill

Still trying to decide whether to take a job in IL. Is anyone from NC (around raleigh) that can give me an idea about the changes in life from NC to chicago? We would probably live in naperville or a town with a similar feel. Of course, other than weather!

Things to consider:

1) Higher cost of housing - most other expenses are similar to Raleigh.

2) Weather - if you cannot tolerate the weather, forget about it.

3) Commute time can be wicked. Personally, I would not not write off Naperville, if you work in Naperville. Never buy a house in Chicagoland UNTIL you have the commute a couple times DURING RUSH HOUR. Also, do consider where your spouse (if married) lives. Live close to work and commute for fun.

4) In general, people are not as friendly in Chicagoland area as you will find in Raleigh. They are not UNfriendly by any means but it is hard in a lot of communities to meet up with your neighbors.

[chet everett]

I don't think I would consider the Metra to Naperville to be "unsustainable". If the OP were talking about driving from Naperville to Lake Forest or something (and I know people that DO have the very commute...) that would be different.

Without knowing the stage of life the OP (and their family) is in, the sector they will be employed in, the work location it is silly to rule out any town.

Generally the scale and pace of life in the Chicago region is vastly different than in North Carolina. You can choose from hundreds of mature, well developed suburbs, a multitude of City of Chicago neighborhoods, a dizzying range of housing and trade-offs. Once in the Chicago region there range of employment options is HUGE. Our winters are obviously quite different. That makes for some lifestyle differences.

Some major differences in the numbers of transferees in certain areas too -- some of that is driven my economics too. Certain towns are much more likely to be home to those who have roots in the region, while others have a "this could be anyplace" sort of feel. Depending on employment (sector) it may be easy to find others in your situation.

[ihynes]

The one thing I think is important to know about Naperville is it is uber-Catholic. If that's your thing, then they also have a great quality of life and express trains to Chicago for easy commutes.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by ihynes

The one thing I think is important to know about Naperville is it is uber-Catholic. If that's your thing, then they also have a great quality of life and express trains to Chicago for easy commutes.

Not sure what data would show that Naperville is "uber" any religion.

There are about 130,000 residents in Naperville.

According to city-data there are a handful of private schools. It would appear that a very tiny number of students attend religious schools:

• SS PETER - PAUL ELEM SCHOOL (Students: 627; Location: 201 E FRANKLIN; Grades: KG - 8)
• BETHANY LUTHERAN SCHOOL (Students: 384; Location: 1550 MODAFF; Grades: PK - 8)
• ST RAPHAEL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Students: 309; Location: 1215 MODAFF ROAD; Grades: KG - 8)
• CALVARY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL (Students: 244; Location: 1155 AURORA AVE; Grades: KG - 9)
• MONTESSORI MOPPET CENTRE INC (Students: 176; Location: 25 W 530 75TH ST; Grades: PK - KG)
• DU PAGE MONTESSORI SCHOOL (Students: 165; Location: 24 W. 500 MAPLE AVE; Grades: PK - 5)
• KREJCI ACADEMY (Students: 113; Location: 619 E FRANKLIN; Grades: UG - UG)
• KINDERCARE LEARNING CENTER (Students: 82; Location: 1239 RICKERT DRIVE; Grades: PK - KG)
• MONTESSORI SCHOOL OF LISLE (Students: 79; Location: 23 W 550 HOBSON ROAD; Grades: PK - KG)
• MERITOR ACADEMY PRESCHOOL (Students: 73; Location: 1190 SOUTH NAPER BLVD; Grades: PK - 4)

There are over 60 churchs/places of worship in Naperville: Naperville Convention & Visitors Bureau

For a point of refernce, Downers Grove, a few cites to the east, has less than half the population and has a greater percentage of Catholic churches: Church List for Downers Grove, Illinois


Of the folks who live in Naperville born overseas 21% are from India, not a very Catholic country --

• India (21%)
• China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan (11%)
• Taiwan (7%)
• Canada (6%)
• Mexico (5%)
• Korea (5%)
• United Kingdom (4%)

That is in comparison to some place like Joliet:

• Mexico (77%)
• Philippines (3%)
• India (2%)
• Poland (2%)
• Germany (1%)
• Yugoslavia (1%)
• Italy (1%)

Lots of Catholic schools in Joliet, and it is a smaller City too:

• CATHEDRAL OF ST RAYMOND SCHOOL (Students: 507; Location: 713 DOUGLAS STREET; Grades: PK - 8)
• ST PAUL THE APOSTLE SCHOOL (Students: 404; Location: 130 N WOODLAWN AVENUE; Grades: PK - 8)
• ST MARY NATIVITY ELEM SCHOOL (Students: 328; Location: 702 N BROADWAY; Grades: PK - 8)
• SAINT JUDE SCHOOL (Students: 301; Location: 2204 MCDONOUGH STREET; Grades: PK - 8)
• ST PATRICK GRADE SCHOOL (Students: 301; Location: 110 WILLOW AVE; Grades: PK - 8)
• ST JOSEPH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (Students: 224; Location: 409 SCOTT STREET; Grades: KG - 8)
• ST MARY MAGDALENE ELEM SCHOOL (Students: 150; Location: 201 S BRIGGS STREET; Grades: 1 - 8)
• JOLIET MONTESSORI SCHOOL (Students: 127; Location: 1600 ROOT STREET; Grades: PK - 4)
• ST PETER LUTHERAN SCHOOL (Students: 90; Location: 310 N BROADWAY; Grades: PK - 8)
• FRANCISCAN LRNG CTR (Students: 85; Location: 1734 THEODORE STREET; Grades: PK - KG)

And a Catholic University:
FastWeb: University of Saint Francis - Illinois



Naperville it home to one college, with dorms and football and all the rest, its affiliation is United Methodist: FastWeb: North Central College

[MSioux]

I lived in Chapel Hill for two years before moving out to the west suburbs.

Couldn't agree more on the commuting point, good god. I've lived in cities before, and thought I was used to bad traffic, but there really is nothing like the Chicago-area drive. Coming from NC it's an even sharper contrast.

Imagine driving eastbound on 40 on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, through a construction zone. That is your commute here on a good day.
If you can't see your workplace from your home you'll spend your life in your car. It's easily the most important factor in determining where to live.


People here are extraordinarily warm and polite, despite whatever reputation. Even moreso than in NC it seems to me.

[almost3am]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Friendly word of advice. Don't live in Naperville, or anywhere else, unless it is a convenient drive to work. The scale of this area is huge. Naperville to downtown by car can take you 1 1/2 hours when traffic is bad. So start looking at homes based on where you work. If you work downtown choose a town that not only has Metra or CTA into downtown, but also has parking available at the train station. Naperville offers a decent lifestyle. But don't let the Money Magazine rankings lure you into an unsustainable commute.

Sorry if I take this thread off since I am not the OP, but I am just trying to understand...don't people that live in Naperville and work downtown typically take the train?

I will work downtown when we move and the first thing I did was look at the train schedule and I picked cities we would search in based in that. Then I looked at schools and choose the ones that seem to score well. I then talked to some people about burbs and eliminated a few from there. Anyway, this led me to the following list in no particular order:
- Glenview (unlikely, seems a little rich for my pocketbook)
- Arlington Heights
- Palatine (maybe)
- Mt Prospect (maybe)
- Naperville
- Wheaton
- Glen Ellyn

...I may be missing one or two here, but I think that is my list. Help me if that was a bad way of selecting.

[chet everett]

Good list. I might add a few, but no real klinkers.

Train is a good option for those that have a regular schedule and the total of costs and time come out less than driving. A fairly large percentage of people live so far from train station parking that they are reluctant to "switch modes" and have to spend as much (or more) time driving too /from station as they spend on the train. Not my way of thinking but that is what survey from Metra and the Tollway show. Another factor is that a fair number of people pick-up /drop off things on their way to/from work, sometimes even kids, and they prefer to just stick with car for the whole commute.

Other big group of folks are those who work outside the convenient connection to Union Station -- the spread of business district to inlclude areas in the Gold Coast, west side medical centers/UIC campus/ corridor along the kennedy mean that people have to deal with an either a "multi-mode" public transit commute or drive....

[almost3am]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Good list. I might add a few, but no real klinkers.

Thanks, I appreciate the response. What would you add?

We just did our first tour on Saturday in Naperville. My wife really liked it there, but we have more places to check out. We drove through Wheaton on the way back with no plan and I think we may have missed the downtown area I heard about, but it was dark and we were driving without knowing where we were exactly. The homes seem older in Wheaton, which I like, but my wife doesn't.