Relocating with 3 kids from Central IL to Chicago (Elgin, Arlington Heights: to rent, house)

[StacyR86]

My husband is looking at jobs in Chicago and most of them are downtown, one in Lake Forest which is looking pretty promising. We live in Champaign right now with 3 young girls. My husband doesn't want to live too far away from his job, but I also don't want to live in the city with kids. Good schools, neighborhoods are a must. Any suggestions on what towns that aren't too far of a commute for him? I am a stay at home mom so I want to make sure there are plenty of things for us to do. Right now we are going to rent our house out and rent another house in the Chicago area for about a year or so. I'd like the rent to be around the $1500 range, give or take.

[knitgirl]

You should probably start a thread in the Chicago Suburbs board if you haven't already.

[Vlajos]

If you don't want to live in Chicago, you really should post in the suburban forum. Most suburbs will bore you to death, FYI.

[chet everett]

I think the difference in quality of life between the quieter / safer parts of Chicago and the suburbs is overstated by some folks. There are ways to live in either and not endanger yourself physically or adventure-wise...

The real challenge of relocating to region and having school age children is the overly complicated process of trying to find a Chicago Public School that has acceptable performance. While some do have admirable performance the test based admission happens basically a year ahead of time. Much more straightforward to move to a suburban district where are the schools perform well.

I have more comments in the thread in Chicago Suburbs Forum.

[dewthedru]

i have 3 kids, live in the city, and have a wife that is a SAHM. we love it. we live in the far NW part of the city and have a pretty good school. if you're a person that wants everyone to look like and speak like you, it's probably not what you're looking for. but if you're wanting a great place to raise kids, easy access to downtown via the kennedy or blue line, and a fairly good public school, i'd recommend the norridge/schorsch village area.

our school Chicago Public Schools: Bridge

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

If you don't want to live in Chicago, you really should post in the suburban forum. Most suburbs will bore you to death, FYI.

Where as some Chicago neighborhoods will actually shoot you to death

[Chicago60614]

I'm pretty sure moving from central IL to the suburbs of Chicago wouldn't BORE YOU TO DEATH.

I know people like the city here, I'm certainly one of them who would never live in the burbs, but 7 million people live in them and do just fine.

If he's going to be up in Lake Forest and you want a setup similar to what you'd find where you're from (house, yard, schools, etc) then I would focus on areas to the west of Lake Forest. I'm not sure what's best, but Wheeling, Palatine, Arlington Heights, are a bit cheaper.

If he's working in the city, you can always just take Metra to work. I'd look in the suburbs forum.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Where as some Chicago neighborhoods will actually shoot you to death

So many ways to die.

One of the many benefits of living in a large metropolitan area.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

So many ways to die.

One of the many benefits of living in a large metropolitan area.

Right, like a car accident on the highway near Elgin!

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Right, like a car accident on the highway near Elgin!

Or walking across Howard from Chicago to Evanston and WHAM, boredom slices your jugular and you die instantly. Oh, and I guess fatal car accidents don't happen in the city
I get the attraction of Chicago; I was younger and single once. But, believe it or not, there are millions of us in the suburbs who not only DO NOT die of boredom, but really enjoy our lifestyle. We do not have to "put down" others preferences to feel good about ourselves or justify to ourselves that "we really are cool".