Relocating from Suburb of DC to somewhere between Chicago and Batavia, IL (Aurora: real estate, apartments)

[HuGirls]

I recently got a promotion and will be moving to Illinois at the end of October. The office I'll be working out of is in Batavia, IL. I went out there last weekend to look for a place to live in Geneva and St. Charles. Both beautiful towns but am not sure if they are right for me. I am a 28 years old single professional, and don't care for long morning commutes (otherwise, I would look for a place in Chicago). Any suggestions??

[prairiestate]

You're pretty much out of luck. Oak Park would be a great option, and you could take the train to Geneva, but their would probably be no way for you to get to your job in Batavia. The drive would be unbearable, at least an hour each way. Your best option might be the south end of Lombard, around Yorktown Mall. Yes, it's more suburban sprawl, but there are a ton of single young professionals in the many apartments in that area. There are also a lot of restaurants and entertainment options that attract young professionals. The commute could still be a pain, at least half an hour on a good day.

[chitown85]

Does anyone here know if Lisle has a young professional population? I figure it would due to its proximity to Naperville and the vast number of apartments in that village. Commute from Lisle to Batavia is about 30 minutes. Almost forgot about downtown Naperville. The nightlife there is the largest in the suburbs. There are plenty of bars and restaurants that are walkable. It is also close to Batavia.

[chet everett]

I think some of the reflexive responses about towns that border Chicago fail to recognize the reality that traffic is a horrendous , trains that go against the prevailing commute are sparse, and the costs to live in a desirable part of Oak Park are out of line with the rest of the region.


Lisle is much more affordable, pleasantly situated for several different commuting options that do not rely exclusively on jam packed tollways, convenient to Naperville and its night spots as well as having a few spots of its own.

Dependeing upon where exactly in Batavia the OP's new job is located it may be smart to also look at North Aurora or Geneva. While Geneva is not know for it's affordable rentals, North Aurora does have some solid values, is safe and quiet. Distances to nightspots in Naperville and Geneva are very tolerable.

Heading east, especially for some one that expresses no interest in anything that is uniquely available in Chicago itself, really has no benefit. The employment centers in a place Lombard make for some horrendous traffic, and then plowing through the other regional employment hubs that lie between there and Batavia would only serve to lengthen ones time in nerve wracking traffic....

[TempesT68]

I'd suggest looking into st. charles again. It's a great city and one of the best nightlifes in the burbs. Lots of 20-30 somethings, mainly more yuppie types that frequent there.

[HuGirls]

Real estate prices in St. Charles seem a lot more reasonable than Glen Ellyn and Lombard, but I like the fact that they are both so much closer to Chicago. How's traffic from areas like Lombard to Batavia??

[chet everett]

The difficulty of getting to Batavia from Lombard is that if try to take surface streets you going through MANY fairly congested choked towns, and if you try to rely of tollways you are still going to need to go out of your way and get back on the surface streets.


While Lombard is not as far from Chicago as Batavia, you are not gong to be able to make it from Lombard into any part of Chicago for nightlife without somem MAJOR traffic delays...


If you can find a spot that is less than ten - fifteen miles from work that should keep things under 30 minute drive. Even the traffic in St. Charles can be a hassle if you need to cross the river....

[chitown85]

If you want the nightlife aspect, choose downtown Naperville. It has the best in the suburbs. Commute to Batavia is reasonable, around 30 minutes each way. Naperville also has METRA access to the city, while it does take close to an hour, you can take the train and they run frequently.

[sgresident]

I think you will have to choose what is really most important to you..an easy commute to work, or the social/nightlife. Although we are now in our 50's, when we were just out of college and living the single life, we lived in the naperville/warrenville area. There was a lot of nightlife, and now there is plenty of it! depending where you will be working in Batavia, your commute from the naperville/warrenville area should only be around 20-30 minutes. in this day and age, that is not much of a commute!

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

You're pretty much out of luck. Oak Park would be a great option, and you could take the train to Geneva...

She might as well live in Chicago if she is going to take the Metra.