Best Chicago suburbs for families? (Naperville, Arlington Heights: townhouse, employment, neighborhoods)

[katlan]

I know there have been other threads asking about good Chicago suburbs, but I was wondering if anyone could help me with my specific situation. Right now I live in eastern PA, about 45 minutes west of Philly. My husband and I would like to relocate in the next few years, and he loves the Chicago area. We have an 8 month old son, and good schools are very important to us. I'm a nurse practitioner and my husband is a retail manager. I would like to work in the city for the higher pay, so a relatively short commute time would be good. We would also like an area that is not too suburby,if you know what I mean....family friendly but not too conservative and stuck up. We can afford about $250,000 for a house. Thanks for any help you can give us!!!

[Michael3512]

Glen Ellyn is a very nice suburb, which i think may fit your criteria. So is Naperville, which was voted number one family friendly. Naperville may be a little too conservative for you, but it's a city in and of itself and you may be able to work there instead of chicago. Glen Ellyn is really nice, they have a beautiful lake, a small-town feel. it's nice.

[freshmtt]

Oak Lawn might be a good fit for you, although, I don't know if you could currently find a home for only $250,000 in Oak Lawn that would not be considered a fixer uper. Oak Lawn is by far the closest suburb to the City. Actually portions of Oak Lawn are right along the Chicago border by the Mount Greenwood neighborhood of Chicago.

Glen Ellyn and Naperville seem to be way out of your price range as well. Naperville is extremely expensive and very conservative and stuck up as many have put it. I don't have any direct comments about these communities as I don't live in that part of the suburbs, but I have heard from many people that Naperville is a fairly snotty area.

I live in Homewood a south suburb that is racially mixed, with mostly white and black. The homes are very reasonable and the public school district is top notch. The library and park district are also excellent. Although we are very suburban feel. Not at all Urban, and it appears you want almost an equal mix of this. Our Metra train commute to downtown is only about 35-40 minutes. So our suburb might be too suburby for your taste.

I was born and grew up in Oak Lawn and this seems to have a more mix of suburban and Urban feel because it does border the city of Chicago. Honestly, I think only the traffic in Oak Lawn is what makes it feel Urban. In my opinion it is very suburban and having lived in both Oak Lawn for over 20 years and having lived in the city near Midway airport for 4 years I feel there is a very distinct difference between the two places. The proximity between Oak Lawn and the city is much closer, however the heavy traffic can sometimes make the commute much longer.

Living in Homewood I now get home from work much faster than I did when I lived in the city by Midway airport even though living in the city I was much closer to downtown. The city public transportation system is awful. Mainly the buses, the El trains are fast and efficient but if you have to take a combination of both, then you are not getting the best out of your commute. There are several people I know that lived in Oak Lawn and did drive to the Orange Line and take that El train into the city. However, the Orange line is fast, but the drive home from Midway during rush hour is not fast and their commute is much longer than mine and I live much farther in Homewood.

I have posted several times on why I love living in Homewood and have given more detailed links to the village website and to the library and park district websites. You can find these posts by tracking my user name and showing all posts by me.

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by mike3512

Glen Ellyn is a very nice suburb, which i think may fit your criteria. So is Naperville, which was voted number one family friendly. Naperville may be a little too conservative for you, but it's a city in and of itself and you may be able to work there instead of chicago. Glen Ellyn is really nice, they have a beautiful lake, a small-town feel. it's nice.

I would add Lombard to the mix, as it might be more affordable.Your price range is rather limiting if you want a house, better chance with a townhouse. But in this buyers market, you never know. Closer to the city and less 'suburby' would be Evanston or Oak Park. These are both cities within themselves. I really like Evanston, easy quick train ride to the city and right on the lake!!

[sgresident]

i think that is a tough criteria to meet with trying to locate in the suburbs that are not too "suburby" and not have too long of a commute to the city and find a house in the $250, 000 price range. Most of the suburban commutes would put you around an hour each way, even on the train. (i am thinking western suburbs). there may be suburbs that are more to the south that might fit your criteria, however i am unfamiliar with those. the western suburbs are fairly pricey, even for older neighborhoods. good luck with your search.

[outsider1]

With your kind of budget I would probably pick Wheeling, the western part of it that borders Buffalo Grove and Arlington Heights. Neither stock up nor conservative. Close to practically all kinds of shopping/entertainment/etc. Has Metra rail and Pace bus connection. Payscale in the NW suburbs is not much different than in the city, and there are plenty of local(Arlington Heights, Schaumburg, Des Plaines, Palatine are just a few examples) employment opportunities for both of you. Also, if your husband likes Chicagoland for it's economic potential, this is the area to be, considering your financial situation.

Elementary and middle schools have been consistantly very good here over the years. High school is said to be just average if you compare it to the neighboring elite schools such as Stevenson(one of the best in the state as well as the country). The thing about Wheeling high school is that it's up to a student. If you show a distinct interest in academics, you'll be offered all sorts of guidance and assistance imaginable. But if you make it known that you're there just to get a diploma, then you'll be treated accordingly, no one will waste time and resources trying to change your outlook on life. Of the six Wheeling gradutaes that I know, four belong to the first category. Three of those four went on to Big-10 schools and one to UNC. The other two had no interest in studying through most of high school. Yet, on of those ended up in DePaul after two years in a community college. The other one went to trade school and is now an aircraft mechanic.

Having said all that, I must add that with your budget it's doubtfull that you'll find a single home in that specific area I mentioned. The best you could do would be a nice, spacious 25~30y.o. townhome. A 3bed, 2.5bath in a nice, convenient, family-friendly association like Tahoe Village, Lakeside Villas or Lexington Commons would probably be somewhere between $190-215K.
Good luck!

[LIS123]

If you don't need to relocate, you might wait it out until your price range for a home is higher than $250K. As mentioned, that does not go a long way in suburban Chicago (though it might not go much further in the suburbs near Philly). Based on your jobs, you should be making a strong total income and will be able to afford a house worth more than $250K down the line. It might be better to move later than in the near future.
Chicago has excellent and horrible suburbs. Your budget prices you out of the higher end suburbs and many of the lower end suburbs (where $250K goes fairly far) are not nice places to live. The 'urban' suburbs near Chicago (like Oak Park, Evanston, etc) are way too expensive. Even if you can buy a place in a reasonable suburb, it probably won't be that nice, so why go through all the hassle of moving and buying a place that needs a lot of work (especially with a young child)?
I'd recommend waiting it out, unless you need to move to the Chicago area.

[katlan]

Thanks to everyone! We have just bought our house here in PA, so my $250K was an estimate, but hopefully in a few years we will be able to afford one of the western suburbs. Anyway, I appreciate the info and advice!

[jessiegirl_98]

Naperville isn't conservative and is out of that range. I would also try some of the smaller towns, such as Plano. Places such as Lombard, Downers Grove, etc are out of the price range. Planfield is another option.

[Avengerfire]

If you can get a place for 250-300k(and you should be able to as prices continue to fall) in Morton Grove,Niles,Des Plaines,Skokie those might fit your criteria better than most other places.