Which Chitown suburb?

[CGab]

Originally Posted by fusillirob1983

Agree about Naperville and Wheaton. Not sure why those would ever be mentioned as "reasonable commute to O'Hare".

Naperville to O'Hare is an hour, not that unreasonable. It also has the Metra into downtown, very reasonable. Naperville was also voted the 2nd best place to live and raise a family in America. They were ranked #1 in the past.


Naperville ranked 2nd best city to live in America - Naperville Sun

[camj10]

Originally Posted by CGab

Naperville to O'Hare is an hour, not that unreasonable. It also has the Metra into downtown, very reasonable. Naperville was also voted the 2nd best place to live and raise a family in America. They were ranked #1 in the past.


Naperville ranked 2nd best city to live in America - Naperville Sun

Without kids, it doesn't seem to make sense for the OP to consider Naperville given the other criteria listed. Naperville holds it's value due to the schools and town center, but there are equally as nice (and arguably nicer) areas closer to the city and O'hare as others have listed.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Agreed, Barrington may be an exception as it's tradition and reputation can likely carry the torch. Folks that work along 90 will always think of Barrington as a strong option to reside.

To the original point, however, in northern cities like Chicago/NY/Boston etc., the next generation of prospective home buyers want to be close to the city. The caramel macchiato lattes, authentic mexican restaraunts, and pilates classes are harder to come by as you move to the outer ring. Sounds like i'm being facetious, but modern conveniences and walk-ability are becoming more important than a big back yard.

The trend is not specific to Chicago, but if I'm getting ready to buy a house, I'm looking for a blend of conveniences, proximity to the city, and transportation.

There are three kinds of areas that are growing in value: inner cities, high-income inner-ring suburbs, and edge cities. Of these, the last gets the least amount of publicity but is probably the most reliable for real estate investing, because the political considerations that determine the future of urban investing are not as important there.

See https://www.amazon.com/Edge-City-Fro.../dp/0385424345 The book is 25 years old but the idea is still current. The I-88 corridor is the quintessential edge city with the I-90 corridor a little less so (because it is less dense).

[knitgirl]

Originally Posted by TheTimidBlueBars

Is that really that stigmatized? I grew up in the city and I've never noticed. I don't mind it; I like affectionate nicknames. Doesn't Kanye West (also from here) use it?

Why would anyone model their behavior after Kanye West?

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by CGab

Naperville to O'Hare is an hour, not that unreasonable. It also has the Metra into downtown, very reasonable. Naperville was also voted the 2nd best place to live and raise a family in America. They were ranked #1 in the past.


Naperville ranked 2nd best city to live in America - Naperville Sun

-I would guess 2/3 of the suburbs in the region allow for an hour or less commute to O'Hare if it's not rush hour. They never defined "reasonable" though, but in summary there's closer suburbs.
-There's several other suburbs that are a better fit than Naperville for this person based on the criteria they provided.
-They never mentioned raising a family or schools.
-I live in Naperville. My tunnel vision is set to "OFF". I am suggesting they look elsewhere.
-I struggle to find the appeal of Naperville for someone not from the Naperville area for this situation if there's no kids and schools aren't relevant.

That being said, you can get more house for your money and your purchase can go a bit further than some other suburbs as property taxes tend to be lower in Naperville than many other suburbs I've seen, but those don't appear to be criteria they're looking at. These answer questions that were never asked.


Going back to my suggestions - Park Ridge and Mt. Prospect. Metra express trains are comparable to Naperville. Non-express trains are faster than Naperville. Driving downtown may be comparable on the expressways in bad traffic. It's highly likely you can find faster routes from those towns to/from the Loop if you don't take the expressways. With no traffic, Park Ridge and Mt. Prospect are a shorter driving commute to downtown. There's others named in this thread that also better meet the OP's criteria, including La Grange, La Grange Park, Western Springs, Elmhurst, or maybe not mentioned (Glenview, Northbrook, Arlington Heights). Edison Park and Norwood Park neighborhoods in Chicago may also meet this criteria. Some of these, like Glenview or Northbrook, may be less appealing if the OP needs to go to the Loop 5 days a week as the express trains are a bit slower.

[Haaamburger]

Naperville is easily and by far the best suburb and it is number one on a lot of list Nationwide. One if my favorite things in Naperville is the praire preserve it is beautiful and has a long path.

I grew up in Bolingbrook and left the SW burbs because I wanted change but I know Naperville is the best of everything no argument hands down.

I kind if view naperview even as a metropolton area where it's nieghbirs on the fringe are good to like the part of Bolingbrook right next to Naperville is nice and Lisle close to Naperville is nice Wheaton close to Naperville nice and Naperville is the epacenter

[SouthSideRenegade48]

if you want something easy to sell, then save money by buying a cheaper home in the south suburbs.

less financial commitment for you.