Elgin vs Bloomingdale vs Wood Dale vs Palatine (Schaumburg, Wheaton: renting, condos)

[zzz69]

Hi all.

I finished school last spring and took a job in Schaumburg. I live in Elgin right now and plan on buying a home in the 175-250 k range after one more year of renting. My desires in an area are relatively straight forward:

-Open spaces for running (Forest Preserves)
-Short commute
-should be accessible to the Metra as I go downtown for work about once or twice a month.
-I am not the type of person that requires a SFH and am perfectly fine living in a TH/Condo
-averse to high taxes

My wife is finishing up school and has a f/t job but will not be staying at the position once she graduates so her work location is relatively moot to our decision and she is looking for a community more so than a work location - as long as where we live is reasonably close to a Metra stop in case she takes a job downtown.

Most of my co-workers choose to live in Dupage County which gives me positive vibes about the area and I like the forest preserves of Wood Dale and the small town feel. Everyone I have talked too has said great things about Bloomingdale and I can get to it quickly from my job. Palatine has a couple nice forest preserves and 53 N-Bound seems pretty light in the evenings from my observations a couple times driving north to visit friends after work.


Right now my commute from Elgin is pretty hit or miss - it can be as little as 20 minutes and it has also taken up to an hour. There are two pretty decent Forest preserves in communities surrounding Elgin but not in Elgin itself. I know that one of those FP's are in Streamwood but I have heard bad things about it from friends and co-workers. Are the things about Streamwood that I have heard exaggeration?

Assuming that Streamwood is not that nice (from my own observations it doesn't seem too bad but you never know unless you have lived there and I have only lived in Elgin for 8 months) which of those 4 places would you reccomend, and why?

Thanks in advance!

[Prairie]

WoodDale is a lovely area, Bloomingdale is quite different in small town living. It is more a metropolis than small town. If you like small town feel and forest preserves look at Warrenville. The home price point you are in would be a good fit. Good luck with your quest!

[zzz69]

Warrenville looks a bit far from Schaumburg - is there a specific reason why you suggest it?

[nanannie]

You are right, it would be a hassle of a commute to S'burg from Warrenville.
Palatine has some wonderful forest preserves and a nice village area.Your idea about Woodale seems to fit your criteria as well. B'dale, meh. You might take a peek at Arlington Hts as well. Good luck to you.

[mendelman]

I would go with Elgin or Palatine.

In Elgin, you have a larger supply of nice houses (or condos and townhouses) in your price range especially in the older part of the city, but Elgin still has somewhat of a stigma (a bit of hyperbole in my opinion). And Elgin has several Metra stops, great parks and near some Forest Preserves, if I remember correctly. Also, the bluffs on the westside of the Fox River offers wonderful views, and although the downtown is a bit sleepy, it is sizeable and fairly intact.

Palatine is nice also, but the supply of decent housing in your price range is much smaller than Elgin, but the schools are more highly rated. Its downtown is small and a bit spotty, but they are working on that.

[zzz69]

I've been living in Elgin for about 8 months. The supply of quality affordable homes is pretty substantial. However, my commute can get pretty long and to get anywhere you have to take the tollway which just feels wrong.

[Al Hung]

I've lived in Bloomingdale with my wife for about 6 years. Some things that we've found:
-We chose Bloomingdale over other nearby towns such as Carol Stream, Streamwood, and Roselle due in large part to the lower taxes.
-In the 6 years living here, we haven't ever felt unsafe and have experienced any crime directly or indirectly either (theft, home burglary, etc) so from our standpoint, it is a very safe place too.
-There are several preserves along Lake Street that are good for running and biking and that are easily accessed. -Bloomingdale does have some very nice looking SFH's and from my research they were not crazy expensive but like you, we weren't looking for a SFH and we ended up in a Townhouse community.
-From our house, it takes 7 minutes without traffic (at most 10 with) to get to the Roselle Metra Station, the closest to us. The other choice is Medinah. The problem with the Roselle station is the parking situation for non-regular commuters (read: pay per day). The spots are nearly non-existent so they fill up quick during peak, and even if you are lucky to find one they are FAR from the platform so you've got a long walk if its raining or cold. Medinah seems to be even worse, though I've only (thankfully) only ever had to pick people up from there, not use it myself.
-Bloomingdale lacks any sort of walkable downtown area to speak of, and consists primarily of strip malls and large "shopping centers" with anchor stores. Its a drive-everywhere sort of place. We do appreciate the closeness of Costco in Carol Stream (though there is one in Schaumburg too), lots of supermarket choices nearby, proximity of the post office, library and police station.
-There is a dearth of "premium" food shopping in the immediate area, if you're looking for that. The closest Trader Joe's is the one on Golf Rd, and WF and Mariano's require a minimum of 20 minutes drive to Wheaton, Elmhurt or Schaumburg. -
-There are a decent amount of restaurants in the area, but nothing that is spectacular. The only exception (and WHAT an exception) is Pho Ha on Bloomingdale Road, easily the best Vietnamese I've had since moving here from NY. Hong Ning is good Filipino food also. Otherwise, meh.
-Shops and stores seem to close, re-open as new and then close seemingly a year later with shocking frequency, or simply stay closed. It gives the Bloomingdale the appearance of a very unhealthy town (see the corner of Lake and Fairfield, the barren Bloomingdale Town Square shopping plaza, Tapas Valencia, or the apparently newly closed Crave Cafe). For residents, its downright depressing.
-Housing prices seem to have stopped falling but they do not seem to have recovered either. Our TH is 1100sqf, 2 br / 1.5 bath, with a single-car garage and is worth probably $160k at the moment if we're lucky. I suspect the upper end of your price range will get you a very decent place in the area if you choose Bloomingdale.
-If you do go with a TH, beware the HOA. If you get a badly managed one such as ours, you will regularly find reasons to regret your decision.
-We most often use Roselle Road to get up to Schaumburg but its two lanes in both directions with plenty of lights and plenty of 25/35mph zones, as well as cops, so its a slow drive. The other option is 290, which gets easily congested during rush hour.
-When the snow comes, I find that Lake Street remains decently well-plowed and the fact that it is 3 lanes in either direction with lots of turn-off lanes makes it pretty easy to use even when the weather is bad.

For what it's worth, my wife and I have found good and bad living in Bloomingdale but we have ultimately decided not to set our roots too deep here. Our goal is to be out of this TH before our soon-to-be daughter is ready to enroll in grade school, and find a more walk-able suburb or urban environment. Hope that helps.

[bigsmoke3238]

I would avoid Elgin. I would suggest Lombard and also Palatine.