Do you like your subdivision in Naperville, IL? (Washington, Atlanta: cul-de-sac, best neighborhood)

[justnice]

We're thinking of moving to Naperville, IL. What do you like or not like about living in your subdivision? Thanks.

[Rikki Tikki Tavi]

Moved here August 2008, not far from 103rd and 59.

Like:
Elementary school inside our subdivision within walking distance
Neighborhood pride; well kept homes and yards
City services; efficient trash pickup, yard debris pickup, affordable utilities, snow removal, and most importantly…safety
Diversity; my cul-de-sac is an AA family, 2 Cauc. family, a Hisp. Family, 2 indian families and a mixed Hisp/Korean couple.

Dislike:
Not much. One thing, we have lived in Boston, NYC, Birmingham and Atlanta. It took longer here than any of those places to get to know the neighbors. Now we are not huge social butterflies, but it took almost a year to get to know our neighbors. In Atlanta, that would take about 2 days. We chalk it up to Midwesterners being a more reserved and social life shutting down for a few months while everyone hibernates in the winter, but not a biggie

[JustJulia]

We live in Maplebrook 2, off Washington and 75th. (Maplebrook 1 is on the north side of 75th.)

Likes:

Excellent schools
Elementary school and junior high are a few blocks awy from home without crossing any major roads
Safe, quiet neighborhood
Community pool with basketball court
Houses have retained value, with little turnover
Good mix of established neighbors who have lived here for 20 to 40 years and younger families with children
Proximity to several playgrounds, parks, creeks, a river and lots of nature preserves
Neighborhood, and my part in particular, is on somewhat higher ground, so no fear of floods despite being so close to the river
Mature maples, oaks, beeches and other trees
Neighborhood is nicely kept in every way

Dislikes:

Major construction at Washington and 75th has been going on for several months and will last another year or more
Subsequent increased traffic through our neighborhood (however, the streets are still mostly quiet, and the traffic will eventually go back to normal)
Pool dues are expensive
Raking all the leaves falling from those gorgeous matures trees

[almost3am]

We just moved to West Wind a few months ago, which is just east of Rickert, north of 75th.

Likes
Neighbors - We meet a bunch within the first month we were here...patio party and block party
The neighborhood seems pretty active socially, as there is even a community group that puts on events for the subdivision
Our street is pretty social
Lots of kids, of all ages
May Watts is in our subdivision, so we are less than 1 mile away
Every retail store imaginable is within 2 miles of our house, so we never drive far
We are 3 miles from Rte 59 train station, so I bike to the station
Downtown Naperville is about 2.5 miles away
People take care of their homes, which seems to be the way in Naperville, as far as I can tell

Dislikes
Nothing big that I can think of...maybe that the homes here are about 20 years old, so there seems to be a change within the neighborhood going on. The people that have kids that are going/ graduating college seem to be starting to sell. While that may be a negative (as I meet people and some move), we are seeing more little kids coming in, which is great for us.

I wish we had a community pool in our neighborhood...actually I don't care, but my wife wishes we did

[justnice]

Thank you so much for replying.

Over the last few years we've been to Naperville downtown several times for dinner, the ribfest, riverwalk... and always loved it. Have never really driven within the subdivisions, until couple of weeks ago, when we decided that Naperville might be a place we could move to. We loved the look and feel of the subdivisions, loved the cul-de-sac, and the fact that there seemed to be quite a lot of kids. We presently live in a very diverse neighborhood where people keep very much to themselves, and there's no kids playing outside or at the parks. Sad but true. It can get lonely for our 6 year old. We want to change that.

Living in a subdivision and being able to walk to the elementary and middle school would be great. Our budget is 350K - 425K.

[bulldawg1594]

longwood is the best neighborhood in naperville.

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by bulldawg1594

longwood is the best neighborhood in naperville.

Explain.

[JustJulia]

There are only a few houses in my neighborhood for sale in that price range, and due to the increased traffic right now, I wouldn't recommend some of them. After the traffic goes back to normal, sure, but not now, especially if you have a small child.

64 Flicker Ct, NAPERVILLE, IL 60565 | MLS# 07374116

1545 CHAT Ct, NAPERVILLE, IL 60540 | MLS# 07266453

The neighborhood surrounding Prairie Elementary (zip 60540) is very nice. We looked at a house there but it was quickly sold. My daughter went to Prairie for a year, and area is beautiful. It seems a little more expensive than our neighborhood, and it's close to some enormous houses off Hobson Avenue.

I would look over there, too, as long as you avoid busy through streets.

Edited: The Chat address above is wrong. My neighborhood's zip is 60565.

[bulldawg1594]

Originally Posted by ManheimMadman

Explain.

most diverse by a longshot, metra station, restaurants, golf course, bike paths, affordable housing, playgrounds.

[justnice]

Thanks for your help.
So far, we have decided on district 203, but are not certain of which subdivision within 203. We would appreciate more detailed comments about the neighborhoods you live in.

Also, we're not sure of the 203 high schools, Central and North.
Do you like one more than the other and why?
Thank you so much.