commuter times (Chicago, Evanston, Bolingbrook: house, neighborhoods, schools)

[amileigh]

we're moving to Chicago in a couple of months and I'm wondering about commute times from various suburbs. I used to live in the north shore (highland park) and would love to return, but I see that I can get more house for the $ in the western burbs. my husband will be working in downtown and wonder what average commute times are from:

schaumburg
hoffman estates
barrington
palatine
bolingbrook
northbrook
lake forest

also, what is bolingbrook like? never been there but the homes there look decent. what are the neighborhoods and schools like there?

any help is greatly appreciated!!

[Chinolala]

Honestly, I'm not a fan of Bolingbrook and if you used to live in Highland Park, you probably won't be either. I noticed that Lake Forest is on your list. If you can afford to live there, you can afford Highland Park. All of the places that you mentioned would be about a 90 minute drive into downtown or at least 1 hour on an express Metra Train. Some other areas that you may want to consider that are nice a bit closer in: Evanston, Wilmette, Lincolnwood, Glenview, Hinsdale, Oak Brook, La Grange, Oak Park, Western Springs. These are all further east and closer to the city.

[M TYPE X]

What's the difference between homes in Northbrook and those in Deerfield?

[outsider1]

Originally Posted by M TYPE X

What's the difference between homes in Northbrook and those in Deerfield?

The same home in Northbrook would likely be more expensive. Taxes would be some ~20% lower since it's Cook county. Otherwise it doesn't seem like there's any difference.

As for OP, if you lived on the North shore and liked it, I'd suggest that you stay in the area. Or look at Barrington or Lake Zurich, but not Boligbrook. If you intend to ride Metra, commute won't make a differnce. If you're driving, Northbrook has an advantage of being close to Edens.