Relocating. Are there suburbs a gay couple should avoid? (Chicago: real estate, affordable apartment)

[Lyndale22]

My husband (same-sex) was just notified that he's being transferred to the company's Batavia office in September. We want to find a home where we can stay long-term. We have looked at many areas and Naperville seems to be an attractive option, however we've noticed that many of the homes there have annual property taxes of 10k or more. We've also looked at some listings in the Wheaton/Glen Ellyn/Lombard area, which seems to offer lower property taxes.
What are some of the pros and cons of the areas? School reviews look great and both seem to provide easy freeway access. Is there any reason to believe our family would not be welcomed in any of those areas?
Is there anything else that would be helpful for us to know before we get there?

[chet everett]

First, if work is in Batavia I would lean HEAVILY on staying CLOSE to Batavia or Geneva / St. Charles. Commuting from parts of Naperville would probably be OK, but the more charming spots near the center of town can be a bit of hassle when you need to go west...

I generally like Wheaton as well Glen Ellyn and think that Lombard offers some decent values BUT if you can stay closer to Batavia it really will be a much easier commute.

As to any problems that a family headed by two gay parents would encounter I can say that of the gay / lesbian couples I know in the western suburbs they have mostly good experiences when they are able to buy / rent amongst neighbors of similar economic backgrounds / values. The more affordable apartment complexes with a more transient crowd of renters sometimes attract a slightly less open minded crowd. Not so much open hostility as lack of friendliness and bit less likely to let their kids play with yours...

[linicx]

Chicago suburbs are a mix. Some are uber-conservative and some are more liberal. Most of the communities you are looking at are predominately white and have an average median family income of $100,000 or higher. Illinois real estate taxes are obnoxious because the real estate tax money collected supports schools and city services to a lesser degree. The good news is IL income tax is a flat 5% and grocery tax is 1% - except in Chicago. . .

The largest gay community in Illinois is Boystown in Chicago. Oak Park has a smaller gay community; it is 26 miles from Batavia. Naperville is a predominately white community with a large Asian and Indian population. It is about 16 miles to Batavia. Geneva is predominately white and located on the Fox River 3 miles from Batavia. I have gay friends who live in Geneva with long time partners and like it very much. You'll find theatre, parks and schools K-12 with good reputation. As Geneva is a popular tourist destination you should find plenty of variety.

[nikitakolata]

I personally don't know of any suburb that would really be hostile toward a gay family. Two of my best friends are gay and they live in St. Charles and are really happy there. So, if work is in Batavia, I see no reason not to really consider St. Charles. My friends live in the downtown area. One of them grew up in St. Charles; he and I are friends from high school. Between the two of us we've lived on the east side of the city, the west side of the city and right in the middle. The schools in St. Charles are great, in my experience (went to HS there, my sisters went to middle and HS there). So, I would definitely look there in addition to Naperville. The commute from St. Charles would be shorter, most likely.

[usagisan]

Surprisingly Aurora is very gay friendly, especially on the old west side north of the Aurora Country Club. We have three openly gay couple on our street within two blocks of us. There have never been an issues; no one cares. Frankly they have elevated the area with their beautiful landscaping. It sort of created a bit of competition in terms of beatifying the homes. The entire area looks better as a result.

[BurbstotheCity]

Given that Wheaton has the most churches per capita in the nation and is super conservative, I'm guessing that the likelihood of encountering some static is greatest there, though even then I don't think it would be too significant.

[Lyndale22]

Thank you for your feedback! We looked up Batavia, Geneva, and St Charles and we really like what we see!
I see the Fox River goes through all three. What is the flood risk in those three cities? Is the river pretty low in a valley or is it close to the same elevation as the city?

[linicx]

I've never seen the Fox flood, but I seen several other floods. Generally speaking any one on a hill or elevated site will fare better than those living along the river banks. The Fox will not be near the problem the Mississippi or Illinois Rivers are when they flood. The Mississippi wreaked havoc in 10 states when its flooded waters were released. I've heard of the Fox leaving its banks, but I didn't hear that there was an enormous amount of damage. These are gorgeous small towns. Rent for a year. You will know more about where you went to live next summer.

[chet everett]

There is a noticeable change in elevation from the homes alongside the river to those further up the banks. Flooding is not much of an issue for most homes in the towns as far more folks live pretty far away for the river; the whole area is termed "the Fox River Valley" even though the actual "basin" is pretty well confined...

[Lyndale22]

We have whittled our listings down to 3 great homes. One is in Geneva, in the unincorporated Mill Creek subdivision, one is in Naperville with 204 schools, and one is in Plainfield with 308 schools.
The Naperville home is the most expensive, but it's in the great 204 school district, and also could be the most stable neighborhood.
The Plainfield home is by far the nicest home, but it's the farthest away so the commute could be anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes, and it's in the 308 school district.
The Geneva Mill Creek home is the lowest priced home, and would have a commute of only about 15 minutes, but we're not sure what to think about being outside the corporate limits of Geneva, as we would have a community well & septic.
How do these 3 areas stack up against each other?