Confused about "downtowns", and looking for advice! (Chicago: co-op, houses)

[jcbsews]

My husband just accepted a job in Chicago, so we'll be relocating from Atlanta. I was born and raised here in the northern Atlanta suburbs, so I have zero experience with what people keep referring to as "walkable downtowns" in Chicago. What does that mean?

I'd also like to pose our scenario so you can help me narrow the search. We want single family in a suburb with no more than an hour typical commute, and prefer nearer express trains if possible. He will be working in Greektown on Halsted which I understand is fairly close to Union Station, so any Metra line would be okay. Our budget is up to about $425K, we'd likely get approved for more but I want to stay below FHA limits since we can't put a lot down without selling our current home first, and we don't want to wait to do that before we leave here. I have two tween/teen children, but we homeschool so schools aren't important to us except for resale value and other kids in the neighborhood, and I'm fine with a "lesser" district to get a better home price. We are a three car family, so while a three car garage isn't necessary, off-street parking for three cars is. I like the look of homes in Bolingbrook and up into Lisle/Naperville - the newer europeans look a lot like the neighborhood we live in now, but since I don't understand the appeal of these "downtowns" you guys talk about, I don't know what else I *should* look at. And finally, the church we attend (Unitarian Universalist) has a location in Naperville, but not in Bolingbrook, what would the drive into Naperville be like? I also understand that Bolingbrook is actually in two counties, which is better in terms of taxes and services? We were also considering North Shore neighborhoods since there's a homeschool co-op in Skokie and a UU church in Deerfield, but I read something here yesterday that makes me think if we're not Jewish I'd be a bit of an odd duck up there, and the commute to downtown actually looks like it'd be longer than from Bolingbrook.

Am I looking in the right place, or is there somewhere else we should consider? I have to make a decision pretty quick, we'd like to close by end of January...

Thanks for your assistance! This is a HUGE change for our family and I value the opinions offered here at city data!

[cubssoxfan]

1) the commute from Skokie would be much shorter than from Bolingbrook.
2) Skokie is no longer Jewish majority. It is an extremely diverse community, I always joke that everybody in Skokie is a minority
3) I would not ignore local schools even though you home school. Your situation may change or you may decide that when you kids reach high school it is better to send them to school. Your re-sale will also be stronger in a community with stronger schools.
4) The appeal of a walkable downtown is that if you live close to downtown you can walk there and enjoy the amenities without needing your car. It is the opposite of some suburbs that are built strictly around strip malls and shopping centers where access is practical only via car.

Bolingbrook is OK, but IMO it lacks the charm of older, more established suburbs.
I noticed UU locations in Deerfield and in Palatine. Both, have "walkable" downtowns, good schools, park districts and Metra access. Both are older towns with a good mix of older and more recent homes, lots of trees and some charm. Both are more appealing to me than Bolingbrook. Skokie is not bad, but it is a more "urban" suburb with a traditional block style street grid and smaller lots. Some like that, others don't. You won't find many homes in Skokie with 3 car garages and almost all garages are in back of the house accessed via alley. Palatine and Deerfield primarily have no alleys and driveways accessed via the front.

[jcbsews]

Yes, the church in Deerfield was one of the draws to that area, but what's the commute to downtown like from there? And it's nice of you to consider it, but we are already homeschooling high school (I have one in 10th grade, the other in 6th), we see no reason to limit ourselves to the number of classes available in a single year at a public school. I do understand that schools affect resale potential, and care about them for that, but it's not a primary or even secondary concern vs. better home price and taxes.

I've lived my whole life in a "strip mall" type suburban community, and I'm not too fond of the style of the older urban type Chicago homes. But to get more suburban type homes in the North Shore, I seemed to need to look WAY out into Deerfield area. Is there anywhere closer in that I should look at?

Atlanta has no real public transportation to speak of outside downtown. Convenient trains and busses will take some getting used to, and I'm not sure I'm ready for the "charm" of an older community...

[cubssoxfan]

^^Depends on what vintage "suburban type" home you are looking for. The homes built in the 50's and early 60's seem to differ from those built in the late 60's and 70's. Same for homes built in the 80's vs. 90's. Then local zoning and price point will determine if it has nicer, cedar siding or crappy looking vinyl siding that looks sloppy after 5 years. Towns like Arlington Heights and Palatine will have many of the differing home styles. Closer to downtown will be the older homes and then as you go farther out you will have neighborhoods and sub divisions with homes from all the decades I mentioned as the town spread out from the rail line and claimed the surrounding farmland. Usually 10 year old or newer construction will be tear downs, since all the available land was built out by the mid 90's.
In this area, many older homes have been renovated and updated. The charm comes from having mature trees and landscaping around instead of saplings that take 15+ years to look good.

[chet everett]

I doubt that Skokie would be a good fit -- if you like newer / non-urban homes it does not have many and frankly I would not equate the religous climate of a UU church with the much more traditional type religous types in Skokie -- no longer just Jewish synagogues, but lots of Muslim mosques, Korean Christians and others...

I think Bolingbrook might off a good value in your budget range and there is a UU church in nearby Naperville -- DuPage UU Church Home

I would also suggest surrounding areas like Lisle, Woodridge, Darien and similar spots south of the BNSF. Lots of strip malls. If you don't like living in a walkable area with a train centric little downtown no one is going to convince you otherwise but you can still make good time on Metra from stations like Belmont or Lisle...

[almost3am]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I would also suggest surrounding areas like Lisle, Woodridge, Darien and similar spots south of the BNSF. Lots of strip malls. If you don't like living in a walkable area with a train centric little downtown no one is going to convince you otherwise but you can still make good time on Metra from stations like Belmont or Lisle...

I really only know the western burbs well, even though I spend a decent amount of time in Arlington Heights and Glendale to visit friends. Yeah, parts of Lisle may work. The Green Trails neighborhood is really nice, but it feeds into Naperville schools so prices may be higher. I don't know Darien at all, but parts of Woodridge may be good. You could look at the eastern part of Aurora, houses are a bit less expensive there. Also, I have a friend in Oswego, he says it takes him 1 hour and 15 minutes (maybe too long) to get from his house to his job in downtown Chicago. He says the houses are pretty cheap there and new and big...they overbuilt during the housing bubble.

[aragx6]

To add to what Chet said you might look in Westmont. Homes are likely to be older than you'd probably like (but, as I think you might be realizing, you'll have to go quite far out for newer contruction in Chicagoland simply because the suburbs were built up earlier) but it's an easy commute via BNSF metra to downtown and, because the schools aren't as well respected, there's a significant discount from what you'll find in much of the rest of DuPage county.

[mattywo85]

Bolingbrook is in Will and DuPage but mostly in Will. It doesn't offer a "older" downtown like that of Wheaton, Downers Grove, etc but has good growth with the new mall and IKEA. The property taxes in Will are high and DuPage is a little cheaper but not much. If you are looking in that area I would recommending looking into Plainfield, Romeoville, and maybe even Joliet(keeping in my Joliet is further away from Chicago). A walkable downtown is simply a downtown like that of Naperville were you can park and just walk from restaurant to bar or whatever. If you lived around the Bolingbrook area a commute without traffic would be about 40 minutes and with traffic would be 1.5 hours or so. The metra goes to Lisle, Naperville, Aurora, and Joliet....all close to the area.

[supportyourschools]

The problem with Bolingbrook is that there is no Metra service there. If your husband is planning on commuting by train, then Bolingbrook would not be ideal. If you like the look of the houses in Bolingbrook but want Metra service, look into:

--west side of Aurora--there is a Metra station in downtown Aurora
--far east Aurora/west Naperville near the Route 59 station

Both Aurora and Naperville have "walkable" downtowns, with Naperville's being much more desirable than Aurora's; however, both suburbs are very large and you would be able to find the type of house you are looking for without having to be in their downtown areas.

Some other spots to consider would be Tinley Park, Orland Park, Mokena, or New Lenox. These are all southwest suburbs with Metra service, newer housing stock, and fairly close to a UU congregation in Joliet.

[supportyourschools]

Also, there is a UU congregation in Geneva, which is not too far from the west side of Aurora.