Moving soon to IL, Lombard area (Chicago, Naperville: apartment complexes, renting, home)

[daniello21]

Hello everyone!

I will be moving soon to state of IL for my job. The office is located in Lombard off of Butterfield Rd. I know nothing about that neighborhood but I want to live fairly close to the office within 10 miles range.
I don't want to commute, did that a lot in Atlanta where btw I will be moving out of.
Any suggestions? What kind of a place Lombard is? I quickly googled the area and other in the same vicinity are Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Napperville.
I have only been to Chicago downtown, so know nothing about its suburbs.
I'm young professional, that love outdoors and socializing. I will be missing Atlanta's close proximity to the mountains, so I'm looking for a place with some parks where I can bike, go skating and possibly ice-skating in the winter. This will be my first winter in like 6 or 7 years. Excited about it but also a bit scared from what I heard about the winters in Chicago.

Any suggestions about Lombard or surrounding neighborhoods will be appreciated.

Cheers!

[chet everett]

The section of Lombard nearest Butterfield Rd is fairly dense with offices. There are some characterless apartments nearby.

You can certainly look for a place near the core of Lombard, but it is mostly geared toward families.

If you are single I would probably recommend concentrating on places like Elmhurst (about a 10 minute drive in the AM), Downers Grove (a bit closer), Lisle (a bit further) or Naperville (about 20 minutes in the morning) . Frankly none of these is gonna be a good a spot for 'socializing' as Chicago itself, but you'd be looking at commute times tripling...

All the towns I listed have a nice variety of parks and some outdoor skating too. The best might be Elmhurst as it is on the Prairie Path which excellent for bicycling, but Lisle has a (small) ski hill inside the Four Lakes Apartment Complex, Naperville has the best mix of dining spots, and Downers Grove will be shortest for commute.

[linicx]

Chicago is mostly flat. You'll eventually explore the city and find skyscrapers, awesome lake views, the water taxi to Chinatown, the beaches, sports venues, lake cruises. and a long list of things to see do and eat.

The Ozark mountains is approximately 50,000 acres. I found it in NEOK,NWAR, and central MO. The southern most part of Illinois is said to the IL Ozark's. If you like to hike and enjoy nature the Starved Rock State Park is not too far away and you can find some beautiful waterfalls. Grizzly Jack's Resort is outside the entrance. It is home to an indoor water park that is open only to guests.

Naperville does have its young professionals and nightlife. It may not equal Chicago, but on the other hand 150,000 population is not exactly a dead zone either. The downside is the drive to work. The 20 minutes isn't a big deal until it becomes 60 on ice and snow. Some will tell you it can't happen. I can tell you the night it took over six hours to drive 150 miles to Chicago because of the ice and snow. It does not happen very often, but when it does it is very annoying.

I think your idea is the best. Live near work, and and explore your options for a year.

[daniello21]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions and the info. I'll check Elmhurst and Downers Grove for some apartment complexes. They seem to be close to Lombard. Don't want to end up in a boring neighborhood. I'd like to have options to go out to bars, restaurants and some parks where I live.
I was checking some other threads and looks like downtown Napperville is highly recommended for single young professionals but this seems like a longer commute.
I'm not going to miss Atlanta a lot but rather the surroundings like North Carolina or the coast line. I'm really excited about exploring Chicago.
One thing that I don't like is that it's gonna be more expensive to live there than here in GA but well... one can't have everything.

[Sarava]

Originally Posted by daniello21

Thanks guys for all the suggestions and the info. I'll check Elmhurst and Downers Grove for some apartment complexes. They seem to be close to Lombard. Don't want to end up in a boring neighborhood. I'd like to have options to go out to bars, restaurants and some parks where I live.
I was checking some other threads and looks like downtown Napperville is highly recommended for single young professionals but this seems like a longer commute.
I'm not going to miss Atlanta a lot but rather the surroundings like North Carolina or the coast line. I'm really excited about exploring Chicago.
One thing that I don't like is that it's gonna be more expensive to live there than here in GA but well... one can't have everything.

That stuff often equals out. You'll probably make more money here than you would in Georgia.

[mattywo85]

Lombard is decent but I would recommend checking out Naperville, Wheaton, Downers Grove, and Elmhurst.

[daniello21]

Thanks mattywo85.
Looks like most people actually recommend Napperville but that would extend my commute time. However my working hours will be more likely 7am to 3pm so traffic should not be that bad. But winter and rain still may be a hassle. I'm relocating from the South so driving in the snow will be something new to experience and may not be necessarily a pleasant experience.
So let's say out of these four: Downers Grove, Lombard, Lisle and Elmhurst has the best vibe? That is proximity to bars, restaurants, park - bicycle path and in general have more "city" than "suburb" feeling? Do parks have tennis courts?
Oh and reading through some other threads some people complain about a noise from the Airport leaving in Elmhurst due to its proximity to O'Harre?
One thing would be nice to have is a train station nearby that I would occasionally take a train if I have to go to the airport. But this is not a deal breaker since I will be driving pretty much everywhere.
Also in terms of renting which place would be the most or the least expensive to live?

[GolfLover2]

daniello21: I concur with Chet above to a great degree. There are differing "personalities" and opportunities available close by for you to consider. He mentions a handful, all of which are strong options. But for young and single ... I'd recommend Naperville first. Depending on your housing needs and what you are hoping to spend, some of the towns would be more favorable options for singles than others. It might be best to consider working with someone to find the home you want. If you need a referral, shout out ...
Best of luck ...

[whakru]

Originally Posted by GolfLover2

daniello21: I concur with Chet above to a great degree. There are differing "personalities" and opportunities available close by for you to consider. He mentions a handful, all of which are strong options. But for young and single ... I'd recommend Naperville first. Depending on your housing needs and what you are hoping to spend, some of the towns would be more favorable options for singles than others. It might be best to consider working with someone to find the home you want. If you need a referral, shout out ...
Best of luck ...

I am gonna have to agree with these guys...I live in Naperville and my commute takes me past Lombard every day. There are so many ways that you can go to get there and most of them it will be about 20 minutes. It mostly depends on where in Lombard you are going to be working.

If I had a second choice I would probably pick DG. It has a nice downtown (not like Naperville, but nice) and you still have access to a great park district and proximity to the train. Elmhurst also has a nice downtown but I personally would not want to mess with that whole Route 83 cross over during rush hour. It gets to be a real mess around North Ave and St Charles Rd on 83. I guess you could always shoot down to Roosevelt but I think that the commute would not be that much shorter than Naperville, depending of course on where you are located in Lombard.

They are all nice town with nice vibes so I think that you will really need to see what works best for you when you get here.

Good Luck and welcome to IL!!