Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-11-2016, 09:25 AM
 
3,468 posts, read 2,136,307 times
Reputation: 1929

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by RJA29 View Post
Totally agreed about the Metra, but it's really subjective.

That house on Johnson is a tiny corner lot, and on a major street (without a real significant setback). Not to mention it's also very close to another major street, which will increase traffic back ups and noise. I'd be wary of spending 900K on any major street unless there was a big lot and some remove from the traffic.

I think it still comes down to the fact that, for what the OP wants, with a budget of circa 900K, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Western Springs, are going to have big trade offs. Downers, Elmhurst (to an extent), and Glen Ellyn will offer more property and house for the money.
It appears there is a house on 47th Street that separates this home from 47th Street so I don't believe it is a corner lot or directly adjacent to 47th Street. While 47th Street is busy, I'm not sure I would classify this section of it as "major". More like "intermediate" similar to traffic along County Line Road and Garfield Avenue through Hinsdale, which have no shortage of multi-million dollar homes.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-11-2016, 10:42 AM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,323,796 times
Reputation: 573
The OP's wishlist is topped by newer home, large lot, and family-friendly community with "down to earth" feel. Those points are easiest to achieve in middle-distance suburbs like Downers, Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. Wheaton probably offers the most to young families, and Glen Ellyn by far sees the most $900k+ sales. That said, there's no escaping the fact that a $900k+ budget is a better "fit" in Hinsdale, Clarendon or Western Springs.

RE budget in Downers v. Wheaton, a snapshot of the current market: There are 270 four-bed homes for sale in Downers Grove. Of them, 57 are pending, and of the pending, 3 are over $900k. In Wheaton, there are 264 four-bed homes for sale. Of them 75 are pending, and of the pending, 8 are over $900k.

There are many attractive homes for sale in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn that check all the OP's boxes and then some. Like this new construction on a half acre lot, backing to nature preserve, and less than 3/4 mile from Metra and downtown:
41 Circle Avenue WHEATON, IL 60187 | Redfin

Or this one, the same distance to train and town in Glen Ellyn:
448 Carleton Avenue GLEN ELLYN, IL 60137 | Redfin

Longfellow (Wheaton) and Ben Franklin (Glen Ellyn) both have a history of performance that far exceeds that of any Downers Grove elementary.

Last edited by holl1ngsworth; 08-11-2016 at 11:09 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-11-2016, 10:49 AM
 
3,468 posts, read 2,136,307 times
Reputation: 1929
Quote:
Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth View Post
The OP's wishlist is topped by newer home, large lot, and community with "down-to-earth" feel. That's definitely easiest to achieve in middle-distance suburbs like Downers, Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. Wheaton probably offers the most to young families, and Glen Ellyn sees the most $900k+ sales. That said, there's no escaping the fact that a $900k budget is a better "fit" in Hinsdale, Clarendon or Western Springs.

RE budget in Downers v. Wheaton, a snapshot of the current market: There are 270 four-bed homes for sale in Downers Grove. Of them, 57 are pending, and of the pending, 3 are over $900k. In Wheaton, there are 264 four-bed homes for sale. Of them 75 are pending, and of the pending, 8 are over $900k.

There are many attractive homes for sale in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn that check all the OP's boxes and then some. Like this new construction on a half acre lot, backing to nature preserve, and less than 3/4 mile from Metra and downtown:
41 Circle Avenue WHEATON, IL 60187 | Redfin

Or this one, the same distance to train and town in Glen Ellyn:
448 Carleton Avenue GLEN ELLYN, IL 60137 | Redfin

Longfellow (Wheaton) and Ben Franklin (Glen Ellyn) both have a history of performance that far exceeds that of any Downers Grove elementary school.
Agree. Definitely get more for your money in towns like Wheaton and Glen Ellyn, which are really great options for a young family, but I still stand by my opinion that OP would be making a mistake by hastily ruling out towns like Hinsdale, WS, and CH with a budget up to $1MM. It doesn't appear OP has seen any homes in these three towns from what I can gather in this thread.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-11-2016, 10:52 AM
 
2,029 posts, read 2,334,399 times
Reputation: 4702
Quote:
Originally Posted by ConcreteRooster View Post
I was surprised to see that too; I got those numbers from this site itself. In both cases, scroll down just a bit to see the quoted text.

City-Data.com Hinsdale, Illinois:




City-Data.com Downers Grove, Illinois:




Could be bad/inaccurate data of course. Note it's also from 2013.

My intuition says the data is probably wrong or somehow skewed.

As for distance to the train being a negative due to noise: that's a worthwhile consideration. Although, right now, we're quite literally a stone's throw away from: the UPNW Metra, the CTA Blue Line, and the 90/94 Interstate. The highway is actually the loudest of all three. So I think just about anything will be an improvement. (Actually, train and road noise doesn't really bother me, what bothers me is my extremely discourteous neighbors who like to throw loud parties in their parking lot... on Sunday nights.)

On the other hand, that's another motivation for us getting a lot (or teardown) and doing a custom build. If we go this route, I'm going for a high performance/energy efficient build. This kind of construction is tightly sealed and super-insulated, and has fancypants windows. Besides the obvious thermal benefits, a side benefit is noise insulation as well.


Anyway, Downers remains for us the top pick, but we will give some of the other named burbs a taste-test.


Thanks again for all the feedback everyone!
I find it sad for someone to use an obviously wrong figures to make their points on these boards. Hinsdale's sale price in 2013 (of all years to pick) at a low $300,000? Come on now, you cannot find a home for that price in that town. Movato, which keeps monthly current records, has the median at $894, 000 and I believe the average for a SFH at well over a million. If you look at the schools, the location, the three train stops, the activities and the beauty of the town, there is a reason that it is more expensive than other towns in the area. CH and WS have the same sort of appeal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-11-2016, 11:07 AM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,323,796 times
Reputation: 573
Quote:
Originally Posted by My Kind Of Town View Post
Agree. Definitely get more for your money in towns like Wheaton and Glen Ellyn, which are really great options for a young family, but I still stand by my opinion that OP would be making a mistake by hastily ruling out towns like Hinsdale, WS, and CH with a budget up to $1MM. It doesn't appear OP has seen any homes in these three towns from what I can gather in this thread.
Budget could drop a little in Wheaton or Glen Ellyn, while picking up a bit more amenities, nature and elementary quality. Hinsdale-CH, and to a lesser extent WS, would be the safest bet for the OP's max budget. Hinsdale-CH have the most desirable set of schools.

Last edited by holl1ngsworth; 08-11-2016 at 11:43 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-11-2016, 11:47 AM
 
748 posts, read 822,409 times
Reputation: 508
Quote:
Originally Posted by My Kind Of Town View Post
It appears there is a house on 47th Street that separates this home from 47th Street so I don't believe it is a corner lot or directly adjacent to 47th Street. While 47th Street is busy, I'm not sure I would classify this section of it as "major". More like "intermediate" similar to traffic along County Line Road and Garfield Avenue through Hinsdale, which have no shortage of multi-million dollar homes.
I don't think that's right.

The home at 4700 Johnson Ave is a corner lot on 47th (according to Redfin, Google, and Zillow). I didn't look up the parcel # on the map, but Google Earth clearly shows the house on the corner lot.

That said, a house that has access from 47th (which is a 4-lane road) and doesn't have a set back (like many homes on County Line road in Hinsdale) is, at least to me, not ideal for the kind of noise the OP doesn't want to have.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-11-2016, 11:51 AM
 
748 posts, read 822,409 times
Reputation: 508
Quote:
Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth View Post
Budget could drop a little in Wheaton or Glen Ellyn, while picking up a bit more amenities, nature and elementary quality. Hinsdale-CH, and to a lesser extent WS, would be the safest bet for the OP's max budget. Hinsdale-CH have the most desirable set of schools.
Not sure what the OP's commute situation is, but DG - downtown is indeed faster than Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. Depending where in the city OP works, it could be as much as 20 minutes each way.

Regarding elementary schools, Pierce Downer (once you look at subgroup comparisons) is at or near most GE and Wheaton schools. The others in DG I would stray away from. With the huge uptick in tear down and new construction in Downers in that area, I suspect the more affluent students will continue to raise the performance of the school.

All said, a 900K home is still a safer bet in GE, I'd opt for 750 ish in DG.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-11-2016, 12:00 PM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,323,796 times
Reputation: 573
Quote:
Originally Posted by RJA29 View Post
Not sure what the OP's commute situation is, but DG - downtown is indeed faster than Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. Depending where in the city OP works, it could be as much as 20 minutes each way.
It could be approaching 20 minutes, but it could also be as little as just a few. If the OP shops homes closer to the station in Wheaton, and works closer to Ogilvie (UP-W) than Union (BNSF), it could make the times a wash.

I'd rather have a longer train ride than a longer walk. Time on the train is easy and productive.

Last edited by holl1ngsworth; 08-11-2016 at 12:16 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-11-2016, 12:07 PM
 
748 posts, read 822,409 times
Reputation: 508
Quote:
Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth View Post
It could be approaching 20 minutes, but it could also be as little as just a few. If the OP shops homes closer to the station in Wheaton, and works closer to Ogilvie (UP-W) than Union (BNSF), it could make the times a wash.

I'd rather have a longer train ride than a longer walk. Time on the train is easy and productive.
Absolutely true. That's perhaps the key consideration for UP-W vs BNSF. UP-W seems to be more convenient often times, although there are still many offices close to Union Station.

If it was 20 minutes each way (when OP works 9.5 hours a day) then I'd opt for BNSF. If it was the other way around, why not look to Elmhurst?

Those alleged 40 minutes a day with his children would almost certainly make up for any difference in educational differences in schools.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-11-2016, 12:16 PM
 
1,517 posts, read 2,323,796 times
Reputation: 573
Quote:
Originally Posted by RJA29 View Post
Regarding elementary schools, Pierce Downer (once you look at subgroup comparisons) is at or near most GE and Wheaton schools. The others in DG I would stray away from. With the huge uptick in tear down and new construction in Downers in that area, I suspect the more affluent students will continue to raise the performance of the school.
Here are the highest performing (2015) elementary schools from each town in question, with drag from low income students eliminated by looking only at non-low income students:

PARCC % Students Meet/Exceed Expectations

86: Longfellow (Wheaton)
80: Oak (Hinsdale)
79: Forest Hills (Western Springs)
76: Ogden Ave (La Grange)
72: Ben Franklin (Glen Ellyn)
72: Field (Elmhurst)
70: Walker (Clarendon Hills)
60: Pierce Downer (Downers)

I know these are PARCC numbers, but they generally match ISAT trends from the past few years.

Last edited by holl1ngsworth; 08-11-2016 at 12:25 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top