Need Help Moving From Nyc To Illinois (Chicago, Aurora: apartment, rental)

[MOVINGOUTOFNYC]

Hi everyone!!!
My family and I have decided to move to Illinois....Don't know anybody there...Don't know the city....But we are very religious (catholic) and we prayed it over..It looks like the Lord wants us out of New York.....
Have been searching different areas..Aurora seems like a good choice...Not to far, not to close to the main city..
Please advice in terms of......you know, the general, schools, jobs, rent, houses, transportation; etc
How long does it take to get to chicago by public transportation...Is it expensive?
Will it be a good idea (Is it common there) to live in Aurora and work in Chicago???
Food,,,cheap or expensive???
Would like to find a job in the schools (GC.)
My husband is a computer instructor.....
Please help!!! Any information will be appreciated.
God Bless you!!

[j33]

Wow ... first of all, if you are from NYC you should realize that Aurora is a small town, it will be a big switch for you. I would strongly encourage you to research the town, what it is like, and the career opportunities before making such a move, and know what you are jumping in to. As far as your other questions, it is definately fair to to say that rent is significantly cheaper than nyc (you may be able to afford to buy something), food will probably be about the same, but you will have less options (as far as resturants go, you'll probably be stuck with a lot of chains), especially if you are the sorts that like food from all over the world ... and forget street vendors, small towns don't really have those.

Aurora will not have anything approaching the transportation options NYC has, you'd better buy a car and get used to sitting in traffic.

And finally, I'm sure Aurora has a Catholic community, but it isn't as common to be Catholic in smaller towns in the Midwest as it in smaller towns out east so you might not have as large of a community as you do in NYC or as large of a community as you would find in Chicago.

In fairness, I've not been to Aurora in a few years, but being from Chicago, and being familiar with NYC, having been there on more than one occasion, I'm pretty familiar with what our suburbs are like and what a switch that would be. Good luck.

[MOVINGOUTOFNYC]

Thanks a lot J33 for taking your time to reply....l
Honestly I don't think that nothing will be like NYC....This is something else!!!. But we definetly want out. We don't want to be in the middle of the city...But not too far from it either....How far is Aurora??? I thought that the train would take us from Aurora to Chicago??? ..How long will it take???
I'm thinking it may be easier to find a job in Chicago...
Do you recommend any other town, area, suburb maybe closer to chicago,,,,I don't mind the restaurants, but I DO MIND the church
Please help!!!!

[headinghome]

Hello!
We're living in NYC now, but grew up outside of Chicago. There are tons of great areas to live and you will be able to find a Catholic community.
I'm not real familiar with Aurora, other than I know it is the end of the line for the BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) line of the Metra commuter trains. Check out their website to find the time table. That should give you an idea of what the commute might be like.
Cost of living is significantly better. Our last apartment in LaGrange Park (a very nice community, closer to city than Aurora, same train line- express train gets you to the city in about 20 minutes) was about the same size as our Manhattan apartment, but the rent was a third of what we pay here. If you are looking to rent, check out houses too. After living in NYC they will look like such a bargain. Renting is also a completely different experience than NYC- no brokers fees, not so many hoops to jump through in applications. Check local papers online for ads. Some realtors have rental house listings also.
As for finding a church, you can check out the websites for the Chicago archdiocese and the Joliet diocese as a starting point. We were very happy with St. Francis Xavier parish in LaGrange Park. Before that we attended another great church- Ascension Parish in Oak Park (another really great town, even closer to the city than LaGrange and accessible by CTA trains (CTA in Chicago = MTA in NYC).
Good luck with your move. The Chicago area is a wonderful place to live.

[MOVINGOUTOFNYC]

Thanks a lot for your wonderful information.
I feel much relief now; specially about the church issue. Thanks for the name of the parishes.
Blessings to all of you and your families.

[jmlapearl]

I Was Living In Aurora And Commuting To Downtown. Driving Time Was Anywhere From 1 1/2 Hour - 3 (chicago Winters / Summer Construction). I Did Take The Train For Awhile. Going In Wasn't Too Bad If You Caught The Express...only About 1 Hour. Coming Home If You Didn't Get Out In Time For The Express You Had To Make 18 Stops Before Aurora...almost 2 Hours.

If Your Looking For A Religious Community...wheaton. It Is A Fact That Wheaton Has More Churches Than Any Other City In Illiois. You'll Also Be About 1 Hour From Downtown.

[BIGMB81]

I've spent a lot of time in Aurora and went to school there. There is a large Catholic community in Aurora, so you're good there.

The train station is located in the heart of downtown Aurora, and the ride to Chicago is about 1 hour and 20 minutes (depending on when you leave).

Aurora is small compared to NYC and Chicago of course, but it IS the 2nd largest city in Illinois (157,000). Downtown Aurora has a big city feel.

[bigl22]

look at Naperville- and Bolingbrook - just rated as 2nd best place to live in the USA by money magazine-- fairly large for midwest[ about 250K people now I beleive and it associated towns nearby-- trains run to chicago-- catholics are abundant in chicago and northern ill. everything will look cheap compared to NY

[peppepizza]

Wheaton seems to have a church every 2 blocks or so . Heard it has more churches than anywhere else in Illinois.

At the same time with all th e Churches the town is having a hard time due to lack of tax dollars coming in. Which could mean higher taxes real soon.

[jenrik2714]

If you are going to move to Aurora, I suggest you move on the far east side closest to the Naperville border (the Dupage or Will county portion). It would be cheaper to live in this part of Aurora than Naperville or Bolingbrook. That way, the kids can attend Naperville schools. Or you can live in the Will County portion of Aurora which feeds into Oswego Schools. I would stay away from the Kane County portion of Aurora because they schools are not that great and neither are the neighborhoods.

There is a church called Our Lady of Mercy. It is a fairly new church with alot of parishners.

If you live there, you will be close to the Fox Valley Mall, Wal-Mart, Super Target, Jewel, dominicks and other stores. You will be close to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Metra Line at Rt. 59. THere are plenty of PACE shuttle buses that will pick you up to take you there. I would not try to get a parking permit, because there is a waitlist.

You would have to pay for garbage stickers every week.

I live in Aurora so if you have any questions, let me know.