naperville vs sycamore (Chicago, Downers Grove, Buffalo Grove: townhome, employment, to buy)

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by via chicago

just move to iowa and get it over with.

I'm thinking of starting a "Hug a Cornstalk, Save a Cornfield" campaign, hehe. Why would you want to live way out in Sycamore anyway? To me all of this sprawl seems kind of wasteful. Anyone else think this way or am I in the minority?

[sbd78]

Originally Posted by BRU67

I'm thinking of starting a "Hug a Cornstalk, Save a Cornfield" campaign, hehe. Why would you want to live way out in Sycamore anyway? To me all of this sprawl seems kind of wasteful. Anyone else think this way or am I in the minority?

It does, but I think a lot of it is due to housing prices. Everytime an area builds up and the cornfields are gone, then housing prices shoot up. People are constantly moving farther and farther out in search of affordable housing. I can remember my Mom taking me to Fox Valley Mall as a little kid and it was in the middle of cornfields. Look at that area today.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by sbd78

I can remember my Mom taking me to Fox Valley Mall as a little kid and it was in the middle of cornfields. Look at that area today.

Yeah, now its close to 400K people right in that area.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by BRU67

I'm thinking of starting a "Hug a Cornstalk, Save a Cornfield" campaign, hehe. Why would you want to live way out in Sycamore anyway? To me all of this sprawl seems kind of wasteful. Anyone else think this way or am I in the minority?

I think someone should be able to inquire about living there without getting a morality lecture. But hey, that's just me.

[cmoscinski]

I would never move to Naperville/Aurora. I go shopping there and I cannot even handle RT.59 bumper to bumber traffic, no matter where you move you have to deal with uptight & angry drivers. I think personally that it is too congested. Batavia, St. Charles and Geneva are quaint lifestyle communities with an organic town feel vs. commercialized town.

Sycamore is a very small town and unless you know what their plans are for development, I would not jump into anything. Ask or go to their website...Does the community offer good schools? Village/community improvement goals? Good real estate tax use? Are these tax funds being utilized correctly with community development and improvements? Does the community offer a balanced residential/retail and commercial land-use make up? If you don't have any retail i.e. shops, grocery stores, is it worth it to go 20 miles out of your way just to get groceries?

Remember too the old saying, sometimes "you get what you pay for".

Research before you leap.

[jessiegirl_98]

As people mentioned, those two cities are WILDLY different! My advice is to go and spend a weekend and visit both places and see what you think.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Drover

I think someone should be able to inquire about living there without getting a morality lecture. But hey, that's just me.

Fair enough, but if you make such an inquiry, you should expect all different kinds of opinions. I think that many potential homeowners consider the environment when making a decision on where to live, and that sprawl is an issue which impacts all of us who live in this region. It's worth commenting on.

Anyway, end of lecture. To respond to the original question, I'd personally choose Naperville. The school system is stronger, there are more amenities available, and you're still within commuting distance from Chicago, where most of Chicagoland's jobs are still located. Sycamore would be unworkable for all but the most dedicated commuter to the Loop.

For years, there has been talk about expanding the Metra out to Sycamore/DeKalb, which would make that area much more convenient (and environmentally friendly), but I wouldn't bank on that happening in the near future given Metra's financial state. I don't think that our public transit system will be expanding anywhere for some time.

[Drover]

Sycamore has been incorporated for 150 years. It has been settled for at least 170 years (that's how long it has been the DeKalb County seat.) It's not like it's nothing but brand new housing tracts that just spring up last Thursday afternoon. I fail to understand how choosing to live apparently anywhere outside of Chicago proper and maybe the inner-ring suburbs somehow contributes to sprawl. (I also don't accept the premise that sprawl is some unconditional evil that should be fought on all fronts, but that's for another day.) The substantial majority of people who move will move into a dwelling that's already been around for a while. Choosing Skokie over South Elgin is not going to magically "un-sprawl" South Elgin. Plus For all we know, the OP will be working in DeKalb or Morengo. If that's the case, Sycamore makes a lot more sense than Naperville.

[BRU67]

Sycamore may be 150+ years old but 1/3 of the current residents arrived in a 15 year span. It went from about 10k in 1990, to 12k in 2000, to an estimated 15k by 2005. And she shows no signs of slowing. I think it’s safe to say that many, if not the majority, heading into that community are moving into new subdivisions. Don’t know if I’d go quite so far as to say that sprawl is an unconditional evil that should be fought (we're probably about 50 years too late for that) but I think it has downsides, including what it does to the environment and the racial segregation (intentionally or not) it causes. Whether someone wants to consider that is up to them. As you said, that's a subject for another day. And more practically speaking, who’s to say the OP will work in Morengo or DeKalb forever? People change jobs all the time and, if you’re that far out, your access to the State’s largest job pool is restricted, unless you’re willing to move or face a long commute.

[MovingBack243]

STEVE-O great pictures! Thanks for sharing them! There really is no comparing these two cities. The people that live in each of them choose them for opposite reasons. That being said, I love Naperville for all the reasons mentioned. I love Sycamore because it doesn't have the over crowding, traffic etc. Sycamore does have good schools but they are having a hard time keeping up with the droves of people moving there and they are facing major overcrowding and can't build new schools fast enough. As far as amentities, drive 20 minutes to Geneva. It has everything that Naperville has and its less crowded. Actually, if you can afford Geneva, you will find you get all that Naperville has to offer but its only about 25,000 people vs 150,000.