Plainfield, Naperville, or somewhere else? (Chicago, Springfield: best city, real estate, 2014)

[alibaba1579]

Hello! We're looking at being transferred to Channahon (Exxonmobil refinery down there) in the near future. My husband grew up in Naperville (went to Madison and Central, lived off of 87th and Naper Blvd), so I just always assumed we'd live there if we ever got sent back to the area.

We have 3 kids, ages 5, 3, and 1. I stay home, so commute won't be a factor for me. My husband is looking for 30 mins or less down to the refinery. We need a 4 bedroom house with some decent square footage, not wanting to spend more than $550,000. Elementary schools are important for now, high schools matter more in terms of resale - we tend to move every 3-5 years so I doubt my oldest will even make it to Jr. High in the area.

I've been looking at houses on the far south end of Naperville that seem to meet all of our needs. But as I read more and more on this forum, I'm wondering if we should be looking in Plainfield, or maybe even Channahon? Seems like the same house in Plainfield is $100,000 cheaper than one that has a Naperville address. I totally get wanting to live in north Naperville if you're communting into the city, but since we're going the opposite direction we need to live on the south end, and I have to wonder if it's even worth it. Maybe we'd be better off saving some money, and commute time and living further south.

On the flip side, I spend my days taking kids to various activities/ appointments, etc. And really want to live in a nice area with lots of options for shopping, kids stuff, great preschools and elementary schools, that I'm happy in too. Opinions?

[mattywo85]

It terms of schools Naperville school district is one of the best in the area, and definitely better than Plainfield. That is true that houses in Plainfield will be cheaper because Naperville is a more desired area and commonly has nicer higher priced houses but have higher resale value. Both Naperville and Plainfield have a downtown and both are at least somewhat lively on the weekends although I'd take downtown Naperville over downtown Plainfield.

Your commute from Naperville to Channahon will be a bit longer(about 30 minutes depending on where in Naperville you are), for Plainfield to Channahon knock off 10 minutes. In your price range for up to 550k you can find a nice home in either. Maybe also look into the west side of Bolingbrook (Naperville schools), or even Shorewood or parts of Joliet to be closer to Channahon. If you are looking for a drive a little over 30 minutes maybe Yorkville/Oswego.

How far south in Naperville are you looking? If you need help finding a home I work in real estate so feel free to pm me.

[alibaba1579]

Yeah, Plainfield schools aren't looking so great. Maybe Shorewood though - there's a nice neighborhood on the south side that is serviced my minooka schools which looks pretty good. Naperville still may be our best bet, I'd think we'd look down past 87th though, no further north than 75th. Is that not a good idea?

[hellothereIN]

I wondered why there are so many car accidents!!

Heroin epidemic plaguing DuPage County | WGN-TV

DuPage County set an unwelcome record in 2013 with 46 heroin-related deaths.
In response, several Republican lawmakers and DuPage County officials on Thursday unveiled proposed legislation they hope will ensure that record is never broken.


The package, scheduled to be introduced piecemeal next month in Springfield, first calls for repurposing the former, 40-bed, DuPage County Youth Home in Wheaton as a treatment facility. It also recommends new reporting requirements for coroners and medical examiners across the state and extending the sunset date to 2022 for Illinois’ RICO statutes, allowing prosecutors to go after high-ranking gang leaders and use gang-siezed assets to fund substance-abuse treatment programs.
https://www.dailyherald.com/article/...ews/140219224/

[mattywo85]

Originally Posted by alibaba1579

Yeah, Plainfield schools aren't looking so great. Maybe Shorewood though - there's a nice neighborhood on the south side that is serviced my minooka schools which looks pretty good. Naperville still may be our best bet, I'd think we'd look down past 87th though, no further north than 75th. Is that not a good idea?

No it's not a bad idea at all, there aren't that many "bad neighborhoods" in Naperville and you should be able to find a nice home regardless. Feel free to send me a private message and I can help you find a place.

[Jimmyp25]

i use to work in downtown naperville..wasnt a big fan of their ego. They think they are the best city on earth..yet people are getting stabbed in the bars in the downtown area..

[drss01]

According to my friends that live in Naperville, Naperville "hides" a lot when it comes to Naperville

[tolovefromANFIELD]

Originally Posted by alibaba1579

Yeah, Plainfield schools aren't looking so great. Maybe Shorewood though - there's a nice neighborhood on the south side that is serviced my minooka schools which looks pretty good. Naperville still may be our best bet, I'd think we'd look down past 87th though, no further north than 75th. Is that not a good idea?

Plainfield School District 202 is a huge district servicing 30,000+ students, while Plainfield only has 40,000 residents. PSD 202 serves kids from Naperville, Plainfield, Romeoville, Bolingbrook and Joliet. So the variance in schools for such a big School District is to be expected.

That being said, If you can get into north side of Plainfield neighborhoods that feed into Freedom, Echielberger, or Walkers Grove Elementary-those are all top notch schools that feed into great middle schools that feed into Plainfield North High School.

Plainfield has one of the most underrated downtowns in entire Chicagoland and is truly a gem! All Naperville used to be 20 years ago, before blowing up with trendy retail stores and clubs.

Naperville-there isn't much to say about that town that hasn't been covered million times.

Good luck.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Jimmyp25

i use to work in downtown naperville..wasnt a big fan of their ego. They think they are the best city on earth..yet people are getting stabbed in the bars in the downtown area..

"People" are getting stabbed? That was ONE incident, and it was a weird one. There is not a pattern of stabbings to worry about.

Nine years ago there was a wacko who shot someone at an outdoor cafe in Wilmette. Guess how many people have been killed in outdoor cafes in Wilmette since then... That's right, zero.

Wilmette struggles with cafe shooting - Chicago Tribune

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

"People" are getting stabbed? That was ONE incident, and it was a weird one. There is not a pattern of stabbings to worry about.

Nine years ago there was a wacko who shot someone at an outdoor cafe in Wilmette. Guess how many people have been killed in outdoor cafes in Wilmette since then... That's right, zero.

Wilmette struggles with cafe shooting - Chicago Tribune

I know! It's usually only predominantly minority areas that get defined by isolated incidents. What's this world coming to