Moving to Chicago from Dallas - which suburb?

[svandoel]

We rented a lovely home in Evanston (walking distance to everything) for $2800 per month. It wasn't huge (1800 sqft 3/1.5) but it was great for us. Problem is owner wanted to sell it, and did. There was another house in a nice area to rent in Evanston, but it was $3000 and kind of falling apart.

Only problem with renting an actual house is the seller might want to sell it. This has happened to two of my other friends with children. That is always hard!

It's hard to find a good SFH rental under that price on the N Shore, IMHO

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by lvrpl

I'll be working in the Loop (by the Merchandise Mart stop) and am hoping for a commute of no more than 30-40 minutes. I'll also be going to ORD pretty regularly, so proximity to there is also important (also hope for no more than 30-40 minutes, but not sure if that's realistic).

That's a dilemma.

Suburbs convenient to the Mart are not convenient to ORD.

If convenience to the Mart wins, I vote for Evanston or Wilmette and using the CTA " Purple Line" to commute directly to the doorstep of the Mart. Both towns are great places for young families.

[SloopyJ]

I would echo the earlier posters who said that Naperville, Oak Brook, and Deerfield/Northbrook are probably most similar to the area you're used to (could maybe throw in Schaumburg for its land uses, but it's not as upscale as the others). Also agree that northeast Evanston and Wilmette would be good starting points for your search north of Chicago. Nice beaches, great access to City, good access to ORD...lots to like. Only other question is whether you've even considered looking for a place to rent in the City? The Ravenswood and Lincoln Square neighborhoods are very residential, very pretty, very safe, and offer good (great, really) connectivity to the Merchandise Mart via the CTA Brown Line. You might not get a townhome with a yard, but maybe a townhome with a park across the street.

[yoyoniner]

I vote Evanston and using the Purple line. Drops you right off at the Merchandise Mart doorstep.

[midwest1]

The walk from Union Station to Merchandise Mart is a breeze, less than 15 minutes and a nice stretch after sitting on a train and before sitting all day in an office. And the commute from Evanston to O'Hare is a bit of a drag.

I'd go with Glenview or Northbrook, both meet your criteria.

here is a cute house for rent just four or five blocks to Northbrook's Metra Station (which connects to Union Station) for 1800.

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent...63_rect/12_zm/

[minhan]

Hi, we're moving to Chicago pretty soon as well. Haven't finalized our budget yet. If $3000 doesn't give us a decent 3 or 4bd room townhouse, or single house, how much more should we top up?

We're also looking at Northshore. We have 2 children, 6 and 4 years old kids. We need an area with good school for the older one, the younger one will join his sister in September so for couple months he might stay home with me or part time child care.


We aim for 2-3 year stay then move back to Asia so renting is our option but reading comments about owners want to sell, few renting units, I'm a bit worried.

[ToriaT]

Naperville might be good as well as the train goes into Chicago. Keep in mind that most North Shore areas, while lovely, are older homes with the occasional new home that was built because of a tear down. Meaning very very expensive. If you are looking for the newer, nice subdivision of modern style homes, if that is what you are used to, then you might want to look into the western suburbs, such as Naperville, Downers Grove, Wheaton, etc. Glen Ellyn and Elmhurst are more of a mix. Oak Park and River Forest by and large have older style homes. I recommend you sigh up for a real estate web site like Redfin and you can browse through the different towns and see what kind of homes they have.