St. Charles VS. Geneva (Chicago, Elgin: to live, shoppers, estimate)

[dcsae]

I was surprised that it was mentioned as well, but not being from the area...yet - I wasn't sure what the local perception was.

[Drover]

Why on Earth would property values drop on account of a new jail?

Get a new realtor.

[dragonfly01]

My ultimate fav. is Geneva! There are soooooooo many quaint shops all within walking distance. They also have cute bistro's. It is to me the most adorable town. St. Charles has the mall and a few strip malls but Geneva is shop after shop and so beautiful. There is nothing wrong with St. Charles and it safe there. But my hubby and I love walk Geneva all day and into the night just enjoying the area and sitting on the benches and enjoying the coy pond late at night. I personally feel safer and enjoy myself much more in Geneva!

[Steve-o]

I also prefer Geneva, its more quaint and has less crime than St. Charles, too. Both towns are extremely safe, but Geneva is about as safe as towns can possibly come. Downtown Geneva (especially along 3rd St) is amongst the best in the burbs. Downtown STC is nice, but geared towards college kids it seems. Bar after bar after bar after bar. On the weekends its a miniature Wrigleyville... drunks all over the place. I will say that downtown STC is quite the recession-proof place it seems. Lots of places being remodeled (ie Za Za's, Miguels', etc), a new park being put in behind the Steel Beam Theater, new work on the city hall, an entire new shopping complex (just south of the Hotel Baker), new condo developments, new riverwalk being planned, etc. Go STC go! lol

[TennisDD]

Again, you cannot go wrong with either two. So much character in these two towns.

[sgresident]

the kane county jail is in geneva. home values have dropped because of the economy, not the jail. as far as crime, all-in-all..st. charles, geneva, elburn, sugar grove, batavia are all really low in crime. most of the crime that does occur is the crime of opportunity..taking things from unlocked cars, shoplifting etc.

[SubaruFiend]

I live on the east side of Saint Charles (and have lived here for 12 years) and I love both towns. (I'm a 26 year old female)...... here's my opinion on both.

Saint Charles downtown is definitely a LOT of bars (and I def go to them :P) But it DOES have a few shops and what not. Plus there's the Pottowattomie Park basically in the downtown area (right on the river). Downtown STC is def a lil bigger and will soon have even MORE to offer after the First Street Reconditioning is done. (We now have a big ole parking garage downtown, bout time!)

The lil festivals that STC has are DEF a big draw to the downtown area (Riverfest in the summer, Scarecrowfest in the fall, and just wait til you see how they decorate/light up the area during Christmas). There's always some lil concert being held at Lincoln Park on the west side of the downtown area during the summer.

Downtown geneva def has more shopping then bars then STC. I love a LOT of the lil shops, Cocoon is a fav of mine, so is About Face plus Body and Wild Roots. Geneva has a pretty good festival in the summer (Swedish Days) that is about as big of a draw as the ones in STC. Geneva has the benefit of having the train station which is a plus, but honestly it draws people from all over (STC, Batavia, etc)

The Tri-cities (which is what STC, Geneva and Batavia are called) all feel like one big town to me. Each has something a lil different to offer, but yet all manage to feel like one giant community. I have friends from ALLLLL over the Tri-cities.

Each city has its good points and bad points. In my opinion though, when it comes to livability I'd pick either STC or Geneva over Batavia.

[dcsae]

OKay, we just spent the weekend looking at the local area (we are relocating) - love it all! The one thing I found is the St. Charles homes are more spread out with bigger yards, tons with over an acre. Geneva has the most quaint downtown area, with beautiful old homes, but even the newer homes have very small yards. Just an observation. Depends on what you are looking for.

[atcshane2]

Thanks all for the great info. I will be working on the south side of Elgin, so both STC and Geneva will be okay commutes. (according to Microsoft streets and trips the north side of Geneva is a 15 min commute to work). We'll be looking for a home with trees and trees and hopefully more trees near the downtown area. Can't wait to get there!

[Drover]

I would at least double that estimate if you plan to travel during normal commute times. I used to live right on the Geneva/STC border and it would take me 15 minutes to get to the Elgin border even in the most ideal traffic conditions. Add even more time if you have to cross the river any time during that commute.