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3. The realtor we're working with suggested that we consider Naperville as well. It's appealing as there are more housing inventory but it's such a big area and schools are large. It gives us all the things we're looking for except for a smaller school district. I also get a sense of GE being more communal as oppose to a large Naperville? That's just an assumption.
I think your assumptions are correct. Naperville is better known regionally (by realtors and shoppers alike) because it's just plain enormous. With just under 150k residents, it's population is similar to towns like Tempe, Fort Lauderdale, and Dayton. And it is sppprrrreeaadd out. Almost 40 square miles! The homes surrounding the downtown district are the most historic in town, and quite charming. The downtown district itself is highly developed and draws weekend revelers from far and wide. Personally, I think it's this size and regional popularity that prevent it from having the quaint, communal feel of neighbors like Glen Ellyn, Wheaton and Downers Grove, but it's nonetheless a very desirable place to live.
Honestly, if I'm a realtor and my client is charmed by Glen Ellyn, I'm probably not recommending Naperville. It's like someone wanting to live on a quiet interior street and their realtor suggesting they look at homes next to the highway. Ok, maybe not quite, but the scale is polar opposite.
Last edited by holl1ngsworth; 12-11-2015 at 10:57 AM..
1. The area around Benjamin Franklin elementary seems to provide us more housing inventory than by the Lake. Is Taylor Ave a busy street? It's the only one that head n/s and bypasses the train if there's one on the track.
Taylor does get traffic up by the underpass, but a lot of it comes off of Duane. It's probably not one of the more busy streets further south, but not exactly a quiet cul-de-sac either. The area around Ben Franklin elementary may get busy during school pick up/drop off times.
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Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston
2. Chet, could you elaborate on this " Glen Ellyn which has a few factors that while nice, do distort local options"?
Mysterious Chet-ism. Hmmmm.....
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Originally Posted by WannaBeinBoston
3. The realtor we're working with suggested that we consider Naperville as well. It's appealing as there are more housing inventory but it's such a big area and schools are large. It gives us all the things we're looking for except for a smaller school district. I also get a sense of GE being more communal as oppose to a large Naperville? That's just an assumption.
Naperville is fine too if you like. I personally like the scale and location of Glen Ellyn a bit better, but Naperville works for many people too. I would definitely say there's a spirit of civic pride in Glen Ellyn that feels like a small town, but that can get annoying too if you are trying to avoid someone.
The patterns of development in Glen Ellyn are a little different than some of the surrounding towns. When I look at the available housing stock there are sharp differences in homes that are in the core compared to homes that are just wee bit further. One of the reasons for this is undoubtedly the way that College of DuPage's massive campus impacts the portion of Glen Ellyn south of Roosevelt, while it is a "community college" and does not (yet) have dorms or other things that four-year colleges do, it generates an ENORMOUS amount of traffic and that is mostly a negative.
The other corner of town, closer to Geneva Rd and the Wheaton border, was developed with a bit of the "Atomic Ranch" (and the much harder to update "aluminum wrapped split level") era mindset. Though many of the homes have been replaced with some attractive tear downs there are still quite a few cul de sacs and and dead end streets that make it feel less traditional. While I suppose the same things could be said of both the eastern border of a town like Hinsdale or Elmhurst (which abut 294) as well as those towns western edge (which is more or less the near-highway of Rt 83...) I am struck by how small a percentage of homes are left in the "core of the core" in Glen Ellyn compared to these towns. On the one hand that does mean there is BIGGER premium for the real "tree lined grid" streets BUT it also means that shoppers end up sort of disappointed by lots more houses that seem to be in their price range but require a bit more sacrifice / trade off...
Mind you, the actual livability of the homes on cul de sacs / dead end streets is often EXCELLENT, as the lack of traffic means kids can play in the front yards and run around with little concern for traffic, but it does hurt things like "walk score" and other tenets of current planning...
When I look at the available housing stock there are sharp differences in homes that are in the core compared to homes that are just wee bit further. One of the reasons for this is undoubtedly the way that College of DuPage's massive campus impacts the portion of Glen Ellyn south of Roosevelt, while it is a "community college" and does not (yet) have dorms or other things that four-year colleges do, it generates an ENORMOUS amount of traffic and that is mostly a negative.
Keep in mind that most of the neighborhoods south of Roosevelt Road with Glen Ellyn addresses are not within the Village of Glen Ellyn. There is Rain Tree with it's 1960's-70' ranches and somewhat dated housing, along with a condo development. And then there is the upscale Maryknoll subdivision, with many "McMansion" type homes, but done with good materials and expensive finishes. Houses in that area go for quite a bit of money. Then there are just a handful of other blocks with homes that are actually within the village borders. COD certainly affects residents of Rain Tree, and the neighborhood association often does battle with the College, particularly under it's previous president Robert Breuder.
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Originally Posted by chet everett
The other corner of town, closer to Geneva Rd and the Wheaton border, was developed with a bit of the "Atomic Ranch" (and the much harder to update "aluminum wrapped split level") era mindset. Though many of the homes have been replaced with some attractive tear downs there are still quite a few cul de sacs and and dead end streets that make it feel less traditional.
The NW corner of town is also held back a bit by the fact that Churchill elementary is seen by many as less desirable. There are some low-income apartments near North and Bloomingdale with large numbers of kids, and that affects the demographics of that school quite a bit. Modest houses are still getting torn down and replaced at a pretty good pace, but it lags behind the other NORO (north of Roosevelt) neighborhoods in this regard. It also started out with more modest housing in the first place, though you can still find may craftsman and colonial charmers in the mix, particularly on the south end of that quadrant. And there are also a couple of upscale newer-construction subdivisions just off of Geneva/St. Charles Roads.
LK, thanks for confirming my gut perspective of GE vs. Naperville. GE just felt much more quaint and communal than Naperville. Naperville is lovely, don't get me wrong, but GE just had a better feel for which I could see raising the kids and spending time within the community. Naperville's size and sprawl is not for us.
Chet, your perspective is good. You're exactly right, when you boil down to what is the core of the core of GE, the inventory is very limited. I had wanted to focus on Forest Glenn Elementary but then started to look to Ben Franklin as an option as well since it actually put us closer to the downtown and the train, as well as having access to the Lake area.
Chet, the same vibe that I like about Glen Ellyn, would Hinsdale feel the same? Reconsidering Hinsdale as it puts my better half closer to commute into the Loop and the eventuality that it may be a daily thing as oppose to occasional. What we liked about GE was smaller schools/walkability and nice core downtown. Thanks.
Chet, the same vibe that I like about Glen Ellyn, would Hinsdale feel the same? Reconsidering Hinsdale as it puts my better half closer to commute into the Loop and the eventuality that it may be a daily thing as oppose to occasional. What we liked about GE was smaller schools/walkability and nice core downtown. Thanks.
Yes, I suppose it's all in the eyes of the beholder but I like the feel of the residential neighborhoods in Hinsdale better than GE. The housing just feels more uniform and the area more established. Not that GE isn't but I think Hinsdale takes it a step further. One thing I have noticed over the years is the average age of Hinsdale residents is a bit older than most of the surrounding suburbs. I think some of the older generation is starting to turn over to younger generations (have seen that on our block in the last 2-3 years) but, in general, I see more young families in suburbs such as Western Springs and LaGrange. I am not sure if this observation is supported by statistics but just something I have observed in 6+ years living there. We bought our house before kids in our mid-20s and were by far the youngest married couple on the block. Not bragging by saying this but it is unusual to see a couple buy a house in Hinsdale before age 30. This was apparent from the time we moved in and first started talking to the neighbors.
Boston, Now you are starting to see the primary reason Hinsdale, Western Springs and La Grange are so desirable... The connection to big city is an unbeatable element for so many of us that work in the loop... if you miss a train to WS/HD/LG you can easily catch a 25$ UBER and still be home in 25 minutes- not the case with Naperville/GE/Wheaton....
On the flip side Naperville/GE/Wheaton has a much better connection to more green/nature instead of the big city... So personal preference, country vs. city IMO... All the towns being mentioned here are truthfully top notch...
Chet, the same vibe that I like about Glen Ellyn, would Hinsdale feel the same? Reconsidering Hinsdale as it puts my better half closer to commute into the Loop and the eventuality that it may be a daily thing as oppose to occasional. What we liked about GE was smaller schools/walkability and nice core downtown. Thanks.
My perspective it that "vibe" means different things to different people. For folks looking for a place where they will bump into stroller pushing moms that might have moved out of Lincoln Park when the hassles of CPS selective admission or private school got to be too much, yes, you will find kindred families in Glen Ellyn or Hinsdale.
Similarly there are lots of families in both towns that do appreciate the sports, parks and overall recreational options that either town offers. Same can be said for what is considered "tasteful" in terms of newer home construction and decorating trends (as well as what is ostentatious / tacky...).
The lay out of each town has SOME similarities BUT ALSO some key differences -- though in some ways the effect of arterials slicing the towns into more / less desirable sub-neighborhoods is a factor. In my view, the postives mostly are with Hinsdale, and I suspect that is reflected in the higher housing costs. As I earlier alluded to, the relative range of homes that can be considered "core" in Glen Ellyn is rather limited, in Hinsdale, the fact that there are three train stations greatly enhances the walkable reach for rail commuters. Together with the way that homes north of Ogden are literally closer to the nice amenity of Fullersburg Woods / Graue Mill (which is a more "programmed" Forest Preserve than those north of Glen Ellyn) and 55th St is not really commercial at in through Hinsdale, contrasts to the heavily retail oriented Roosevelt makes dipping into the southern reaches of town more of choice for the more "estate sized" lots than a concession to dealing with traffic and other negatives of College of DuPage in GE...
To be sure, there are probably some downsides, one of which may very well be a demographic mix that
trends a bit older, though given data about everything from life expectancy to educational attainment how much of negative this is remains open for debate...
My gut feeling is that overall more folks in Hinsdale are more likely to feel connected to / comfortable with Chicago. Partly this is reflective of the fact that the eastern part of Hinsdale is in Cook Co, so vital records / voting requires knowledge of how things "work" in Chicago. The speedier trains to the Union Station are probably a bit of the appeal too.
In contrast Glen Ellyn residents probably feel a bit more comfortable with things in neighboring towns like Wheaton and Naperville, where the abundance of local dining options and such makes that subregion a bit more vibrant than the "average" suburb. The excellent access afforded by I-355 to the NW and SW suburbs also contributes a different mix of employment options to Glen Ellyn residents...
Overall there are nice reasons to choose either town.
Thanks My Kind, JJSki and Chet. Really appreciate your perspective. As mentioned in my previous post, the proximity to the Loop and ORD/MDW is what changed our minds about reconsidering the Hinsdale/Western Springs/LaGrange area. There's more inventory of homes, granted at a higher price point, then what we were willing to spend in GE. I think what resonated with me was that the core of core of GE is fairly concentrated and the availability of homes that were appealing to us was limited. While I still love the core of GE and will keep my eyes open for new inventory in the spring, there are more classic architectural style homes and less cookie cutter new development (based on online searches) in Hinsdale and surrounding areas than GE. Hinsdale/LaGrange are next on my tour list then.
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Ok, maybe not quite, but the scale is polar opposite.
Kind of hard to say, without more details...
