Which city do you recommend to live near Chicago? (Aurora: townhouse, employment)

[bluebluehouse]

Hi,
Our family is moving to Chicago suburbs in May.
We have a 10 years old daughter so our main concern is to move to a city which has a great public school system. Especially middle school and high school are important. We enjoy entertainment culture such as Opera and musicals. If you had choice among these cities, which city would you live in? Or, can you recommend us a city you think is great?

1. Geneva
2. Batavia
3. St. Charles

Thank you very much for your help.

[tonythetuna]

The title of city is misleading. None of them are really cities. They are more like villages and towns.

[chet everett]

Living in the Fox Valley is going to make for some very long treks to downtown Chicago. Even matinee shows on the weekend will be over an hour away. Getting to the opera for weeknight performances would be a brutal commute back home.

Towns like Elmhurst, Western Springs and Downers Grove in the western suburbs would put you much closer to downtown Chicago's cultural offerings while still have some affordable homes. If your budget will allow towns like Hinsdsle have higher performing schools.

More info about your budget and family situation would be helpful -- moving during middle school is always challenging, depending on your daughter's talents / interests it might make sense to consider some of the north burbs as well, some have fairlynstrong arts programs...

[westburbsil]

Oh Chet, why are you so negative on our beautiful Fox Valley area Yes, Downers Grove and Elmhurst are closer to Chicago. Elmhurst is much closer. I used to live in Elmhurst. Downers Grove does have a cute downtown, but IMO and yes I am being biased here, but Geneva, St. Charles are wonderful areas that will offer you everything you want. The train is a little over an hour to downtown Chicago from Geneva. Downers on average might save you 15-20 minutes.

Housing is much cheaper in the tri city area and the schools are excellent! Yes we all get that Hinsdale has great schools that score well along with New Trier, etc. But those are probably the top 2 in the entire state.

My recommendation, come and visit the fox valley. To me it is the most charming, affordable suburb of Chicago with great park districts, schools, scenery, just a great vibe. Best of luck to you!

[chet everett]

in fact a few days ago I was singing the praises of North Aurora as a nice alternative where one can afford a single family detached home with lots of potential for growth compared to a townhouse in Warrenville that may be all but unsellable for decades.

If the OP had said they want access to bike trails that criss cross the area, a nice mix of shops and restaurants that are the centerpiece of towns like St. Charles or Geneva, an opportunity to get a sei-rural site in Batavia and still have good access to high tech employment at Fermi or Naperville than Fox Valley is high on the list. Even when it comes to helping folks evaluate the private school options in that region I have nothing but good things to say.

Access to professional theatre and opera pretty much means you need towns much closer to Chicago, and the quality of schools in the towns I suggested is first rate...

An express train from Downers Grove is literally more than twice as quick as anything out of Geneva, and the drive time commute is also much much more manageable.

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by westburbsil

Oh Chet, why are you so negative on our beautiful Fox Valley area Yes, Downers Grove and Elmhurst are closer to Chicago. Elmhurst is much closer. I used to live in Elmhurst. Downers Grove does have a cute downtown, but IMO and yes I am being biased here, but Geneva, St. Charles are wonderful areas that will offer you everything you want. The train is a little over an hour to downtown Chicago from Geneva. Downers on average might save you 15-20 minutes.

Housing is much cheaper in the tri city area and the schools are excellent! Yes we all get that Hinsdale has great schools that score well along with New Trier, etc. But those are probably the top 2 in the entire state.

My recommendation, come and visit the fox valley. To me it is the most charming, affordable suburb of Chicago with great park districts, schools, scenery, just a great vibe. Best of luck to you!

It's the same in all his posts. "Hinsdale" "New Trier" "Test Scores" "North Shore" did I mention "Hinsdale"?

[TempesT68]

I think St. Charles is the best choice out of those three. SC has the arcada theater that has shows and concerts all the time, as well as the pheasant run. Though most of the major broadway plays and shows are going to be in downtown chicago.

[westburbsil]

Having lived in Elmhurst, you will not get the type of home you can get out in St. Charles for the same price. I have lived all over the Chicago region and everyone is biased to what they think is the "best" area. I kinda consider the fox valley area to Chicago when comparing Chicago to say New York City.

Chicago is priced a heck of a lot cheaper than New York city, yet offers an abudance to do. The tri city area offers housing a heck of a lot cheaper than towns like Elmhurst, Glenn Ellyn, etc., but has an excellent quality of life and a ton of things to do.
Plus the big question is how many times are you going downtown?

If it is everyday, than yes you will want to live closer in, but if it is for weekends only to see an opera or play, does a 20 minute longer train ride impact your life that much more? In my opinion the pro's outweigh the cons.

Again, just my opinion and I am certaintly biased living out here Now if we can just change this weather!!!!

[chet everett]

I would hesitate to suggest that the only differences are a longer train ride.

One reason that I started my list of alternatives with Elmhurst is that I truly do believe the amount space and public support in Elmhurst for the arts makes it much more likely that folks moving there would not be alone in their desire to see professional theatre and opera while still having a fairly wide range of housing choices. Currently there are distressed properties on the market in Elmhurst listed under $300k -- a price point that was 100% tear downs just a few years ago and remains pretty much the price of raw land in towns like Hinsdale and the North Shore. Just to be clear, I make no secret that I reject the simplistic "oh the schools that my kids go to are WONDERFUL" tripe that spews forth from the majority of clueless parents. Most schools are doing a pretty poor job of preparing students for college. It may very well be that the parents that choose to live in towns like Hinsdale or the North Shore do much more to ensure their kids are well prepared but the independent resource that I put the most credence in is the analysis done by US News & World Report. The consistencty of the performance of the schools I recommend is indisputable. I generally will also recommend towns that are served by other schools in the "silver" category, which is why I specifically recommended Western Springs in this thread. I would not think other towns like those served by Stevenson or otherr farther out towns in Lake Co would allow the OP to enjoy frequent trips to the opera or professional musical theater in Chicago...

If anyone consistently reads my recommendations I do not believe that they can honestly acccuse me of either turning a blind eye to any area nor do I think I give any indication area is "perfect" for every home shopper. Trade offs are inherent in choosing any area and I firmly believe I assist folks in understanding how to assess those trade offs...

[westburbsil]

Well Chet, we will have to agree to disagree. To 99.9% of the population, they cannot afford to live in the North Shore and Hinsdale.

There are plenty of very good schools outside those two areas and wonderful communities. The near western and north shore area is absolutely beautiful suburbs and have a great deal to offer. That said, so do many others.
I am very satisfied with my kids going to St Charles schools and I believe where I live has just as much, if not more to offer. Again, I am admittedly biased