The oc to il suburb pros/cons (Chicago, Naperville: foreclosures, low crime)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Planning on moving back to the Chicago suburbs. I love the area NW of Schaumburg. Have researched some nice houses for $200,000 to $300,000 in that area. Most of these cities are near big box stores, so not much of an issue there. I'm 49 yrs old, still go out to pubs, dancing etc.. Schaumburg is always an option if I want The OC lifestyle, but tired of the over the crowding in CA. No children and enjoy the relaxing, historic districts now and then. Naperville has a great downtown, but do not want to go that far South. Love the tree line streets of Downers Grove, but again too far South. Any pros and cons of Crystal Lake, Lake In The Hills or Huntley? I will be visiting La Grange in August, but realize it's near Oak Lawn, Willow Springs and Burbank. Grew up in the Oak Lawn area and do not want to deal with the over crowding. Maybe it's not wanting to go back that far in time...ha ha. Appreciate any replies from NW surburbans.
Schaumburg doesn't have much nightlife compared to Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, etc. There are a few bars, a few bar & grill type restaurants, and a couple of clubs, but you might get somewhat bored. Chicagoland is pretty densely populated, the traffic is horrific in general. Being in Socal, you probably are used to that.
I do like the NW burbs as well. I personally don't sit well in McHenry County because it is far from everything I want and need. Huntley, Crystal Lake, and Lake in the Hills are all growing massively in size. Problem is the traffic getting anywhere into Schaumburg per se. Plus, they are mostly younger families.
The Southwest suburbs like Oak Lawn are exploding in size. The SW burbs are similar to the NW burbs. Huge streets, tons of shopping centers.
Planning on moving back to the Chicago suburbs. I love the area NW of Schaumburg. Have researched some nice houses for $200,000 to $300,000 in that area. Most of these cities are near big box stores, so not much of an issue there. I'm 49 yrs old, still go out to pubs, dancing etc.. Schaumburg is always an option if I want The OC lifestyle, but tired of the over the crowding in CA. No children and enjoy the relaxing, historic districts now and then. Naperville has a great downtown, but do not want to go that far South. Love the tree line streets of Downers Grove, but again too far South. Any pros and cons of Crystal Lake, Lake In The Hills or Huntley? I will be visiting La Grange in August, but realize it's near Oak Lawn, Willow Springs and Burbank. Grew up in the Oak Lawn area and do not want to deal with the over crowding. Maybe it's not wanting to go back that far in time...ha ha. Appreciate any replies from NW surburbans.
Well, that area is developing, and there really isn't much going on. You can't really get your idea of "not crowded" and have things going on. Because you are single (I assume) why not try Hoffman Estates, Palatine or even something closer to Chicago like Des Plaines?
The area that you have mentioned (Crystal Lake, Huntley, Lake In The Hills) does have a gang presence that is noticeable (not bad) and a lot of the houses are those same cookie cutter ones.
I agree with the gang presence. Every city has it's problems, some more than others. Crystal Lake has crime but not has bad as Blue Island, Evergreen Park or Elgin. Hell, I live in Northern Orange County where it reminds me of suburbia. What happens is all the East LA trash come in to my city to commit crimes and return home. Let me clarify a little bit. I'm looking for a quiet area. I drive to downtown when I visit, but have many local band friends that perform in restaurants. Not into the ultra lounges.....can't get away from them in Vegas, LA or parts of Orange County. I don't mind driving to see good entertainment, so it's not being 30 min away is OK. To sum it up, looking for tree line suburbia but not out in 'green acres.' My sister lives in Lake In The Hills, so I'm familiar with that area. I only mentioned Schaumburg because of the mall/restaurants. It is faster paced than Algonquin! Looking for a more simplier lifestyle. Heck, if I need an adreneline rush, I fly to Vegas....!
If you still go out to clubs, dancing, etc. why would you be looking at Crystal Lake, LITH, and Huntley? Huntley has a Del Webb development, so if you consider water aerobics a reasonable substitute, you're in! Also there is slow traffic and these towns are far from employment (although these days, so is everywhere!).
Where are you going to be working? I know LA has bad traffic, but ours isn't great, either. You really have to keep work location in mind. My impression of Huntley is that there isn't much to it beyond the recent development started by Del Webb. At least Crystal Lake has a bit of a downtown. If you really want to go a ways out, Woodstock has a town square. I haven't been out there recently enough to know if it's active or not. There is an awful lot of fairly new development out there too, though I think everywhere it has slowed or stopped due to the economy.
Some people on this thread REALLY need a geography lesson. The vast majority of Oak Lawn lies EAST of 294 and since the SW suburbs with the greatest growth generally lie west of La Grange Rd and along I-80 it is pretty hard to lump "old" areas like Oak Lawn in with the "new" SW 'burbs. Anybody that does not understand the cahnges in population that separate older areas like Oak Lawn and Burbank from more recently developed areas also needs a lesson in "demographic shifts"...
The dominate force for development in just about every town that has commuter rail is without question that rail line. Thus Downers Grove is rightly classied as a WESTERN Suburb as it is on the BNSF. Ditto for Naperville, though technically the southern limit of Naperville is in Will Co. If you are searching for a town that is solidly "WEST" and not the least bit "south" the obvious choice is to center your search around the UP West line which runs from Oak Park through Elburn (the last two stops of La Fox and Elburn are almost too rural to call 'em "boom towns", though the city fathers would like to believe they are thisclose to the development on Geneva's west end...). Geneva has some of the nicest options for dining and just enjoying its Fox River location in the whole of Illinois' FRV... In the UP West corridor you might investigate Elmhurst, which does have a very "tree lined" feel, is mostly quiet and safe, has excellent transportation options into Chicago and other points in the region, is blessed with a small college campus that does tend to make the entertainment options a little better and has a well developed walkable downtown. If you prefer being even closer to Chicago and do not mind the extra density / crime Oak Park itself may be appropriate, as MOST sections are quiet / low crime...
A similar sort of split between the "more established" NW 'burbs that run from Park Ridge through Barrington is clearly centered around the UP NW line -- the towns farther out (Fox River Grove through Harvard) are definitely much more accurately described as part of the post 90s 'boom', the towns that experienced rapid growth during that period do have large amounts of traffic and some pretty noticeable congestion. It is simple not possible to avoid "crowds" and still have amenities. The developed portion of the Chicago suburban region now stretches well across the Wisconsin state line to the north and Indiana to the southeast, virtually no portion of which can be said to be "uncrowded" but in a distinctly different way than the pattern of development that one finds in Orange Co. CA, it would be hard to argue that there is any of the same issues with crime or congestion. The Chicago suburbs have consciously avoided being too youth oriented.
When one looks at a Schaumburg, which covers a large swath of the area north of DuPage Co and around the NW Tollway, it is unique in that it has no Metrarail service, is clearly too far north to be considered just a "western" burb and has a awfully broad range of housing prices. At the low end the choices lean toward townhouses and other multi-family developments, which have not shown as a good a record of value retention as single family detached. At the high end the higher end housing built in the early 2000s was probably aiming for too high a price point relative to the schools and other amenities of the area. That said I believe it is unlikely that the housing priced under $300K in Schaumburg is not very desirable / representative of the town as a whole: http://www.city-data.com/city/Schaumburg-Illinois.html Frankly there is no suburban area in the region where a wide variety of housing priced that low could be found together with good schools, safety, and other amenities.
Schaumburg doesn't have much nightlife compared to Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, etc. There are a few bars, a few bar & grill type restaurants, and a couple of clubs, but you might get somewhat bored. Chicagoland is pretty densely populated, the traffic is horrific in general. Being in Socal, you probably are used to that.
I do like the NW burbs as well. I personally don't sit well in McHenry County because it is far from everything I want and need. Huntley, Crystal Lake, and Lake in the Hills are all growing massively in size. Problem is the traffic getting anywhere into Schaumburg per se. Plus, they are mostly younger families.
The Southwest suburbs like Oak Lawn are exploding in size. The SW burbs are similar to the NW burbs. Huge streets, tons of shopping centers.
I hate to pick on your posts, I'm promising I'm not doing this to bug you, but although I would agree with your first paragraph, the next two I just don't see.
Oak Lawn exploding?? I would say if anything Oak Lawn has decreased slightly. A lot of empty nesters and some younger hispanic families too. Oak Lawn is buily out, and younger white families have moved to places like Orland. Orland is a little more booming. But honestly nothing is "booming" in the present economy. Even still, the SW burbs are not like the NW burbs in terms of office complexes and white collared employment. In the SW burbs, people more likely commute to the Loop. The only reason why everything east and south of the Stevenson doesn't more like the Detroit and Cleveland suburbs is because people have the loop to commute to.
Same goes for McHenry County (in terms of booming). I'd say right now there are a fair number of foreclosures. And in my humble opinion, I don't personally like the NW burbs. I think most of the NW burbs, particularly Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Streamwood are the most sprawling, characterless suburbs in the Chicago area. I would actually much rather live in Crystal Lake and McHenry county than in those places. Considering all the growth along Randall Rd. you can get more house for your money. Its not like Schaumburg has unique charm that can't be replaced like Oak Park, Evanston, la Grange, etc.
Points taken about the SW burbs. You look at places near Oak Lawn like Tinley, Orland, Lemont, even the Palos suburbs, there were until recently growing fairly quick. But also by newer, I meant areas growing since the OP has left. The SW burbs are way more built up than 25 years ago.
Nowhere right now is really booming because of the economy. But, say 2000-2008, the far NW burbs like McHenry grew leaps and bounds. Lake in the Hills was one of the fastest growing communities in the US, with Huntley not far behind.
The NW burbs did not have any character, but I think we have built it for ourselves. I personally like the NW burbs (Cook and Lake), albeit, it is anywhere USA, with lots of subdivisions, shopping centers, and malls. Personally, I like the "newer" look, the availbility of shopping, and the wide streets. I agree, it has little cultural character, but at the same time, you can clearly tell the difference between someone from the NW burbs versus the SW or North Shore burbs.
I also like the diversity of the population (Jewish, Mexican, Greek, Italian, Polish, Japanese, etc) that we have in the NW burbs.
Thanks for the posts. Yep, maybe my geography is a little off. Knitgirl...thanks for the info. I'm visiting again in August and will check out Elmhurst. Last few posts were helpful. Te?I and Chitown85, I totally agree with your post. My sister lives in Lake In The Hills and I'm amazed how much as grown in the last 5 yrs along Randall road. Hope I'm not confusing everybody with my post. At the present time, I'm not worried about work commute. My interest is in buying a vacation home. I'm not looking for an 'active' nightlife town. I get enough of that in LA and Vegas. I have no problem driving to Des Plaines, Waucanda, Carol Stream or La Grange to see my favorite restaurant bands. Hell, I drive 45 min to Hollywood or 4 hours to Vegas. I just want a small town, not touching my neighbor's house village to relax. Every town has grown, but you can't compare driving down La Grange in Orland to the main streets in Crystal Lake area. There are many nice towns, but I grew up in Oak Lawn, hung out in Burbank, Palos, Hickory, Bridgeview and Worth. I still go back to my old hang outs, but way too crowded to live in these places. Yes, these towns are old. I enjoy the newer feeling of McHenry County. Downer's Grove is my 'ideal' historic district but housing is a little up there. I enjoyed Downers Grove district better than Naperville. Nice homes in Southern Naperville, but was not impressed with Northern Naperville. Downtown area was hoping. I could see myself there, but it appeared to be a lot of tourist. Hope this gives some better perspective of my post. I've been told La Grange has the DG vibe too. Again, look forward to the community functions weither it's young starting families or not. Young families is different than living by a college and dorms. Loved driving the back roads from Algonquin to Barrington/Woodstock. Wish Crystal Lake had a better historic district for eating, but the neighborhoods were quaint.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
