New job in Wheaton, but where to move to in DuPage? (Naperville: condo, house)

[allyson4]

We love Geneva, St. Charles, and Batavia. We are not that familiar with DuPageCounty. I am wondering if any townscloser to Wheaton would meet what we are looking for.

The most important things to us are a cute downtown withrestaurants, close to bike paths/forest preserves, and safe. Now here is the challenge…we want a house nota condo for around $200,000. Thanks for the feedback!

[chet everett]

Even the most affordable towns within any reasonable distance of Wheaton are unlikely to offer many homes below $200k.

Batavia has no Metra station and very limited range of restuarant -- any towns with better amenities is almost to have higher priced homes...

There are some lovely homes in Wheaton itself, though honestly any that could had for >$200k is almost certainly in miserable condition and / or better suited to non-residential usage. Other towns with charming traditional feature have similar shifts toward tears downs.

Towns adjoining Wheaton like Naperville or Glen Ellyn are generally even more costly. Areas like Winfield or Warrenville lack the sorts of traditional walkable resturants / business districts that you desire and likely do not have any single family detached homes in your price range.

If you would consider areas further west in a more rural area I would caution that commute times may be excessive, especially with weather, property values are not as stable and the lower density / lack of transit do not really foster a nice mix of local businesses / resturants.

Bottomline -- if you don't raise your budget you will have a "needle-in-a-haystack" search for something with the qualities you seek..,

[TempesT68]

As long as you are realistic and not expecting a new or fully updated house and willing to flex on some things, you have a few different options.

West chicago, warrenville, north wheaton, and south carol stream will all keep you close to work, and have quite a few homes in your price range.

[la_missourienne]

The $200k mark will be hard, if not impossible, to get in any of the places you have listed, unless you want a fixer-upper (even those can be pricey if they are in the prime locations!). The cute downtown areas are a big selling point for that very reason; you will find that a house near one of the downtowns you have listed is going to cost quite a bit more than its equivalent in the towns that TempesT68 listed. Should you up your budget and go for a house in one of the areas you have listed, know that even though they are not far distance-wise from Wheaton and the commute may seem fine now when you try it out, school being in session brings a lot more traffic and winter conditions can really wreak havoc on commute times, even for short distances. Best of luck to you in your search!!