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Old 03-15-2016, 01:07 PM
 
2 posts, read 2,441 times
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Well, I'm hoping to get a little help from any of you that are familiar with southwest suburbs of Chicago. It appears we are going to be relocating to the Chicago area from Green Bay in the near future for my wife's job. The person she is replacing lived in Orland Park, which is part of the work territory she will be taking over. We are not very familiar at all with the Chicago suburbs and are looking to see if there are any areas that can get somewhat close to what we are looking for. We have 2 young children so decent schools and safe neighborhoods are very important to us. It seems like that is not extremely hard to find, but we are looking for a more "rural" type area. Someplace where the lots are roughly an acre or larger. We are coming from Green Bay, so our "rural" is 10 to 20 acres, but we understand that's a little tougher to get in the Chicago area without being extremely far from the southwest suburbs where she will be working. She does outside sales so she doesn't have to commute anywhere specifically daily so we are just trying to stay within a reasonable (30 to 45 min or less) vicinity of her territory. I'm thinking our high end for a home would be around $400,000 to $450,000 but if we can find what a fit for less; all the better. We have been doing a bit of research, but figured it would be wiser to just talk to some people that are more knowledgeable of the area. We are going to be heading down in the next couple of weeks to look around, but are hoping to have some sort of direction before we get there instead of spending a bunch of time in areas that most likely are not a good fit for us. Any help or insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 03-15-2016, 01:37 PM
 
4,011 posts, read 4,224,231 times
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You are more likely to find something in that price range and semi-rural (really, exurb-like) on a smaller plot, such as a half to 3/4 acre. YMMV.

Your best bet would to figure out a specific suburb South or SW of Orland Park, then look at specific websites of real estate agents headquartered in those suburb. This can be sometimes even better than simply using zillow or realtor.com.
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Old 03-15-2016, 08:09 PM
 
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1 acre is MASSIVE for the suburbs of Chicago. If you want a rural feel and larger lot, you will want to be looking outside of the suburbs and essentially in small towns between suburbs and country. The downside is that these will be further away from your wife's work, and the schools will not be as desirable (in general).

Also, if you came up with a budget of 400-450k without really considering the taxes too much, take a look at the typical tax bills in the southwest suburb. They can often be crushing numbers of >10,000/yr which is probably very different than you're used to in Green Bay. It may or may not impact your budget.

Last edited by agallan; 03-15-2016 at 08:18 PM..
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Old 03-16-2016, 08:03 AM
 
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Thank you for the replies. Yes, we looked at a couple of places that seemed pretty close to what we were looking for and the taxes are crazy high ha-ha. Is anyone familiar with Frankfort? It looks to be about 20 to 30 min south of Orland Park and there were a few places there for sale that looked interesting. I'm wondering if anyone has any opinion on Frankfort and if it's truly about 20 or 30 minutes out or if it's actually a longer ride due to traffic. Again, what one finds online is one thing, but people with real and practical knowledge are far more valuable than the internet so thank you again for any and all feedback. My knowledge of the Chicago area is basically a dozen visits there and passing through on 90 a bunch of times but that's about it.
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Old 03-16-2016, 12:43 PM
 
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I have spent more than bit of time in and around Frankfort and it is has some appeal if work location is primarily near Orland Park, but there are also some trade-offs to think about. The appeal is mostly due to the relative "newness" of the area. Prior to the 90s it was kind of outside the development path, but over the last three decades there have been LOTS of new homes constructed, most of which have quality features. There are little pockets of retail scattered around, but it is pretty much a necessity to drive most places. The routes into Orland Park are often somewhat congested, as all the traffic funneled along just as handful of roads that cross I-80. The pattern of development north of I-80 is not really that much more convenient, as there are an abundance of strip malls that together with the regional indoor Orland Square Mall lead to lots of retail traffic. The estimates that google has reflect the typical congestion that exists along the arterials, figuring about 20 minutes to go 10 miles...

A budget of $450k can get you a new 5 br 3500 sq ft home with a three car garage but it won't be even a half acre and the taxes could very likely start at well over $12,000 -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/Frankfort/.../home/23207564

The "boom" in growth has seen lots of spending on new schools, but the "bust" in local tax revenues means that some of the schools are scheduled to close and there are concerns about fiscal instability, though the way that Illinois political climate is going I expect more and more districts to face such issues -- State Targets LW210's Finances in Investigation | Patch
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Old 05-08-2016, 03:10 PM
 
1 posts, read 990 times
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Default My two cents.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooter0279 View Post
Thank you for the replies. Yes, we looked at a couple of places that seemed pretty close to what we were looking for and the taxes are crazy high ha-ha. Is anyone familiar with Frankfort? It looks to be about 20 to 30 min south of Orland Park and there were a few places there for sale that looked interesting. I'm wondering if anyone has any opinion on Frankfort and if it's truly about 20 or 30 minutes out or if it's actually a longer ride due to traffic. Again, what one finds online is one thing, but people with real and practical knowledge are far more valuable than the internet so thank you again for any and all feedback. My knowledge of the Chicago area is basically a dozen visits there and passing through on 90 a bunch of times but that's about it.
I lived in the Chicagoland area for 35 years before the military relocated my family to Oklahoma. We have been here almost seven years, and will be relocating back home next year when my husband retires. Frankfort is a great area, schools are great as well. Acreage is there but very minimal. Frankfort, Mokena and New Lenox are nice areas with great schools that will work within the price range you stated. However, keep those property taxes in mind, its definitely a game changer. South of Frankfort is Peotone, South of New Lenox is Manhattan those areas may have the land you mentioned. New Lenox has two train stations that get you downtown, Mokena has two and there are no trains in Frankfort, but its not a far drive to Mokena. Depending on where you look in Frankfort the expressway could be rather close. Rob Moss with Remax is a very knowledgable realtor in that area and can probably service you well.
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Old 05-08-2016, 07:12 PM
 
Location: Schererville, IN
143 posts, read 216,251 times
Reputation: 128
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooter0279 View Post
Well, I'm hoping to get a little help from any of you that are familiar with southwest suburbs of Chicago. It appears we are going to be relocating to the Chicago area from Green Bay in the near future for my wife's job. The person she is replacing lived in Orland Park, which is part of the work territory she will be taking over. We are not very familiar at all with the Chicago suburbs and are looking to see if there are any areas that can get somewhat close to what we are looking for. We have 2 young children so decent schools and safe neighborhoods are very important to us. It seems like that is not extremely hard to find, but we are looking for a more "rural" type area. Someplace where the lots are roughly an acre or larger. We are coming from Green Bay, so our "rural" is 10 to 20 acres, but we understand that's a little tougher to get in the Chicago area without being extremely far from the southwest suburbs where she will be working. She does outside sales so she doesn't have to commute anywhere specifically daily so we are just trying to stay within a reasonable (30 to 45 min or less) vicinity of her territory. I'm thinking our high end for a home would be around $400,000 to $450,000 but if we can find what a fit for less; all the better. We have been doing a bit of research, but figured it would be wiser to just talk to some people that are more knowledgeable of the area. We are going to be heading down in the next couple of weeks to look around, but are hoping to have some sort of direction before we get there instead of spending a bunch of time in areas that most likely are not a good fit for us. Any help or insight you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
If you're still looking I would suggest NW Indiana, Crown Point in particular. You can easily get a house there in your budget with 1 acre, and there are actually a few options with 5-10 acres as well. My wife makes the commute out to Orland Park every day from Schererville and it is about 45 minutes. Frankfort, Mokena, and New Lenox are all good options as well, but 5+ acres is really unattainable in those areas if that is a large consideration for you. They are much closer to Orland Park though, if that is more important to you. The taxes in Indiana are also much cheaper than in Illinois, again another thing to consider. Regardless though, you would be happy in any of these towns.
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