West Highlands in Naperville (Wheaton, Downers Grove: cliquey, homes, neighborhood)

[mjc1111]

Hi,
We are considering a few higher end homes in Naperville (900K--999K range) and one is in the West Highlands. We are not at all familiar with the West Highlands specifically and would appreciate some information. Questions we are asking ourselves include: is it family oriented, will tear downs pick up, is it anticipated that it will become something similar to the East Highlands, is it a good investment from a resale standpoint, how horrible is Washington traffic between West Highlands and the train station during rush hour (aka is it worth the extra 100K and no yard to get into downtown), etc? We've been out there a few times in nice weather and neighbors have not been out and about. We plan on knocking on some doors to talk to people in a few weeks but thought we'd start here. BTW -- We have two small children and do not want to build.

We are also considering homes in Cress Creek, East Highlands, and downtown Naperville, but would prefer to stick to our budget. We follow this forum a lot and know Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove, Western Springs, Hinsdale, etc are often recommended as alternatives to consider. We've been researching and searching for 18+ months now. We've considered these alternatives and then some and have firmly landed on Naperville - as close to downtown as possible.

Thanks in advance for sharing your opinion!

[Threes-A-Charm]

I know East Highlands but not West Highlands. What are the bordering streets? Is Highlands Elementary the assigned school there too?

[mjc1111]

Best I can tell the neighborhood is just south of Edward hospital bordering Washington, Gartner, and Emerald streets. The schools are Elmwood, Lincoln and Central.

[divakat]

East Highlands is generally more desirable and has more teardowns. I'd focus there or the area served by Naper elementary on the West side of Washington. It may take a very long time for West Highlands to catch up to those other two areas. Cress Creek has the whole county club scene. If you're into that type of thing, you may like it. We definitely were not into that type of thing and found that neighborhood cliquey. Plus, for that kind of money you may as well live closer to downtown Naperville.

[Walnut99]

We moved to Cress Creek from the West Coast and have lived here for a year and 1/2 now. We didn't know that much about the neighborhood before we bought our home, but have been very happy with our move here. We wanted a neighborhood that would offer lots of school friends for our grade school and middle school kids, be near a forest preserve, and in close proximity to the highway and the train station. The Cress Creek golf and swim options are amazing, but they are not the only such options in the neighborhood. The thing that I love about Cress Creek and Naperville in general is that there is a plethora of families and kids, which makes a move with a family quite easy. I haven't sensed a snobbiness or 'country club' weirdness living here. People are friendly, but busy, and have interesting, diverse and active lives. Some choose the country club, but others do not. There are so many recreational options in the West suburbs. Good luck!