Possible move from Ontario, Canada to Chicago area (Waukegan, North Chicago: apartment, lofts)

[gamosa]

Over the past few months, my husband has been seeking relocation opportunities in the US, and I have found this forum to be of great value when it comes to finding out nice places to live, housing costs, things to do, etc in various cities throughout the US. So far the info posted about Chicago and area has been very useful, especially in terms of nice areas to live and housing costs. The cost of living seems comparable to what we have in Toronto, so I'm not surprised by housing costs, but the property taxes are twice the amount of what we pay here...ouch!

I need assistance in determining nice areas to live for a couple with no children. We've owned detached houses, condos and townhomes, so we're not too particular about the actual dwelling, more so the area - has to be relatively quiet, clean, and friendly, within a 30-45 min commute of downtown Chicago and close to shops and a library. We're willing to spend to a max of $400K on a home, and would like to find an area where property taxes would not exceed $3-4K per year. We're not looking for a large space, maybe something around 1000-1400 sq.ft.

If anyone has any specific feedback about nice lofts or condos, with private terraces/balconies I'd love to hear from you. What are condo/maintenance fees like in the Chicago area?

Thanks.

[dch66]

Well i have some bad news. You are not going to find it if you want to stay within 30-45min of the city. Well you can! but it would be an apartment type condo. Sq ft around 800-900 ft. There are some homes here and there that fit the 1000sq ft, but the taxes will be around 6-8k or more per year. The best place to find affordable housing is in Northern Lake Co. EXCEPT for Waukegan, North Chicago, Zion and Round Lake area. Drug & Gang problems.
Good Luck