Honest advice needed...

[4122]

Oak Brook, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, and Naperville would be good choices for the west suburbs. Southwest Naperville and near downtown Naperville are the wealthiest parts.

[damba]

Ah, but that's not necessarily true.

There are unincorporated areas around Chicago
that do not have resident access to things like park districts (etc).
Anyone coming here from CA looking for amenities likely won't be
looking for NWI tax bills, especially if it means their kids don't have
access to park district trappings.

Originally Posted by wase4711

disagree; I live in unincorporated Burr Ridge, and there are a ton of great houses around me..
my point about trying to find an unincorporated area is that my taxes are about 50% LOWER than the same exact house is in INCORPORATED Burr Ridge..you don't get less of ANYTHING by living in an unincorporated area, except when it comes to the TAX BILL!

[jtamay3]

If you are looking for suburbs, then I'd say downtown Naperville would be at the top of my list.

Here's one thing you have to remember (I currently live in LA, and I was born and raised in Chicago). In LA or SoCal in general, there's a sprawl. Many outsiders see it as a negative, but I, for one, see that as a positive. I don't have to go to the same place everyone else is going to have the fun times.

Chicago is the opposite. Everything that's happening is happening near downtown. Therefore, there are tons of transit options to get you there, and there's driving. This means, lots of the suburbs are just that - suburbs. This is where people go home to rest and get away from the hustle and bustle. Santa Monica, Westwood, etc., are their own places where you can get a lot done, and do a lot of fun things. With Chicago and it's suburbs, many of these neighborhoods/suburbs are not good enough to stand alone.

Downtown Naperville is one of the few that have a legit downtown and will make you not care about having to go to downtown Chicago. It's walkable, has the riverwalk which is beautiful, great school district, great libraries, lots of programs, lots of people watching and a man-made beach. There's also a nice large park.

Another place I would consider based off of your budget would be Evanston. It's north of the city, right along the lake. Northwestern University is there as well. Very beautiful place to raise a family and you'll find stuff to do.

The main thing as Chet and others have said or alluded to, is that these places are along major transit corridors, meaning you won't have to drive to get in the city (which is inevitable), nor will it take you 3 hours to travel to and from the city because of it. But in these two places (Evanston and Naperville), you won't be dying to leave at all as they are vibrant towns.

[LakeCountyBang]

NORTH SUBURBS: All of North Shore(Winnetka to Lake Bluff)
NW SUBURBS: Barrington Communities
WEST SUBURBS: Hinsdale, La Range, Oak Brook

Evanston is really not too fancy, and it is nice, but not in your category.