Family moving to Chicago- where to live? (Arlington Heights, Schaumburg: for sale, condo)

[Chemba]

Hi all,

Our family is looking forward to moving to Chicago and I'd like to leverage the knowledge of the posters on this site to help focus on where to live. Some relevant info includes:

1. Looking to buy single family home with a max budget of $600K. Would prefer closer to $500 - 550K but would go up to $600K for the "perfect" home/town

2. I will need to commute to the Schaumburg-area. My wife will occasionally need to commute to the Wheeling-area. A place that is convenient to both would be ideal.

3. Have 2 small children. One will start school in 2011 and the other will need a quality pre-school.

4. Quality school system is a must. I've heard great things about the "Chicago" schools in general and am now trying to research specific systems.

5. Looking for a suburban, semi-rural type feel. Would like to have a yard with at least .25 acre for the children to play. House size should be a min of 2000 sq ft.

6. Would like to have a high-quality preschool program

Any thoughts on where to focus? I've quickly checked out Buffalo Grove, Glenview, Deerfield, and others. They all look nice on the internet but would highly value input from those of you who live in this area.

Thank you!

[Pete MUFC]

Originally Posted by Chemba

Hi all,

Our family is looking forward to moving to Chicago and I'd like to leverage the knowledge of the posters on this site to help focus on where to live. Some relevant info includes:

1. Looking to buy single family home with a max budget of $600K. Would prefer closer to $500 - 550K but would go up to $600K for the "perfect" home/town

2. I will need to commute to the Schaumburg-area. My wife will occasionally need to commute to the Wheeling-area. A place that is convenient to both would be ideal.

3. Have 2 small children. One will start school in 2011 and the other will need a quality pre-school.

4. Quality school system is a must. I've heard great things about the "Chicago" schools in general and am now trying to research specific systems.

5. Looking for a suburban, semi-rural type feel. Would like to have a yard with at least .25 acre for the children to play. House size should be a min of 2000 sq ft.

6. Would like to have a high-quality preschool program

Any thoughts on where to focus? I've quickly checked out Buffalo Grove, Glenview, Deerfield, and others. They all look nice on the internet but would highly value input from those of you who live in this area.

Thank you!

You have Arlington Heights written all over.
It definitely is suburban with lively downtown, but it just doesn't have the semi-rural type feel if you ask me.
For your budget you'll definitely find your perfect home here.
Schools are great (check SD 25 & SD 23 & HS 214).
Schaumburg is short ride to your west, Wheeling even shorter to the north.
Metra station is downtown for easy commute to Chicago (30 min express).

[CindyStrahota]

Glenview, Buffalo Grove and Deerfield might be a difficult commute to Schaumburg with traffic.

You might have to decide what your priority is...if it is a semi-rural atmosphere, I would advise you to look at the Barrington or Long Grove area. These areas have great schools and a semi-rural atmosphere where homes are situated on more spacious lots. But if it your commute time, the closer in suburbs, like Arlington Heights will probably meet most of your needs.

You will get more for your money if you come out to Kane County, specifically St. Charles (which is where I live). You can find a beautiful, newer home, with great schools (district #303) for the price range that you have mentioned. Your commute to Wheeling will be longer, but not too bad to Schaumburg (probably 25-35 mins depending on where in Schaumburg your office is at and traffic).

Since you have small children and schools are a priority, here are a few resources I advise my clients to research when searching for a home in the Chicago area:

Check the Chicago Magazine website and search for their annual school rankings to research for schools. Here is a link to the elementary school issue for Lake county:
Best Elementary Schools: Lake County - Chicago magazine - October 2010 - Chicago
For preschools, you will probably go private and good ones are available almost everywhere. But the public schools will influence your property values even if your children don't attend there, so choose a great public school district.

The State website (Illinois State Board of Education Home Page) has a lot of statistics available for all the schools. So check there as well for school information.

US News and World Report does a "Best High Schools in America" issue. Even though your children are small, the quality of the high school will influence your resale and your property value. Here is a link to the IL High School rankings. IL: Best High Schools - USNews.com

MOD CUT I would be happy to answer any questions you have about the various suburbs. MOD CUT
Happy House Hunting!

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by Pete MUFC

You have Arlington Heights written all over.
It definitely is suburban with lively downtown, but it just doesn't have the semi-rural type feel if you ask me.
For your budget you'll definitely find your perfect home here.
Schools are great (check SD 25 & SD 23 & HS 214).
Schaumburg is short ride to your west, Wheeling even shorter to the north.
Metra station is downtown for easy commute to Chicago (30 min express).

Check out Prospect Heights also. Large lots with semi-rural feel on many streets with suburban conveniences. Close to Schaumburg and Wheeling. Dist 23 schools and Hersey HS are excellent. Convenient to shopping and Metra.

[chicagojlo]

I'd also recommend Arlington Heights, just make sure you are correctly zoned for the better schools. Somewhere close to Dundee Road would probably be perfect with Route 53 and Wheeling nearby. Also check out Bright Horizons in Deer Park for preschool/daycare, my daughter went there and was very happy.

[nanannie]

Also, look into Barrington. Your mention of large yard and "rural", nice small town and good schools fit. Just finished a beautiful, brand new Pre School. Easy commute to S'burg and reasonable to Wheeling as well.
Some of the towns mentioned would be an atrocious commute to your work.

[Chemba]

Thanks, everyone, for your very helpful responses. I'm going to check out the suggested areas now.

Thanks again!

[chicagojlo]

Actually you might also look into the part of Buffalo Grove that is right by Lake Cook Road and Arlington Heights Road. If you stay north of Lake Cook Road that is Stevenson territory, while still maintaining easy access to both Route 53 and Wheeling.

[Chemba]

Again, thanks to everyone for the very helpful information. Your suggestions have been great.

We've recently learned that my wife may not actually need to commute to the Wheeling-area at all. With that in mind, would any of you change your previous recommendations? I'd like to keep my commute to Schaumburg in the 30 - 45 minute range.

Thanks again! We're excited about our upcoming move to the area.

[nanannie]

Barrington area would still fit your criteria. The large yard space in your price range,(semi rural) , brand new pre school, active family community, nice
"Downtown" village with metra to city, great park dist., very good school system, easy commute to S'burg etc. I see there are alot of homes in your price range in the area too.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...L/status-homes for sale/zip-60010