Arlington Heights or Elmhurst (Chicago, Naperville: apartment, condo, houses)

[Rightleftmiddle]

Hi everyone. Back on the website after a brief hiatus. North Shore turned Chicagoan, and now we are looking at permanent residence northwest. It seems to me like the schools are great, and you get more for your money.

I've narrowed it down to AH or Elmhurst. So, which would you choose? Better schools based on knowledge and rankings? More upside in the future as far as ROI? Better town amenities? What else?

[doodlemagic]

These places are polar opposites in both location and while both are nice communities in regards to the way they are as well.

I have a cousin who lives in Arlington Heights and while it's very nice it's quite a drive and we all hate when she has family events lol. If you like to entertain and have family parties and assuming your family is not all up near Arlington Heights that may be a check for Elmhurst. If you hate to entertain that may be a check for Arlington Heights as people won't be asking you to host stuff lol.

Arltington Heights more new construction, larger houses, larger yards, more of a rural feel in some parts but plenty of shopping and everything else.

Elmhurst great location in terms of access to expressways, not terribly far from Chicago, pretty close to Western SUburbs ie Lombard, Downers, Naperville, etc for shopping or kids sports leagues or whatever else you may want to do in the west burbs.

Elmhurst while there are some teardowns is more older homes, alot smaller homes, smaller yards, etc. I don't really know about schools there but nice community, good metra access, cute downtown and a nice town.

[Haaamburger]

Elk Grove village

[ToriaT]

Elk Grove Village is not as nice as either Elmhurst or Arlington Heights. But why just them? Why not look at Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Downers Grove, etc which are nicer arguably than either.

[ChicagoMeO]

Originally Posted by Haaamburger

Elk Grove village

Hoe is the airline noise? Love Elk Grove but worried about that.

[yogao]

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

Hoe is the airline noise? Love Elk Grove but worried about that.

Depends on what part of Elk Grove. I grew up on the very west side (went to Schaumburg school district schools), and you couldn't hear them. My parents still live in Elk Grove, and say the same thing today. While Elk Grove is a decent suburb, there are much better options around like the OP is looking at that have better access to the Metra among other things.

[nikitakolata]

Well, I'd vote for Elmhurst. I haven't been to AH's downtown in awhile, but Elmhurst's is quite nice. There is a lot of construction going on right now, too. I don't know how big of a lot you need to be happy, but ours is about .28 acre and I don't think it feels small at all. In general, there's a lot of construction near downtown Elmhurst right now, both commercial and residential. I walk past several tear downs everyday on my commute. So, to me, that points to some good upside potential and I'm sure we have a lot of equity in our house now.

Will you be commuting downtown? What do you like to do in your free time? Where are your family/friends located? I think those are important questions in deciding which suburb is a better fit. Another option is to look for a house and buy when you find the house you feel is right, regardless of which town it is in. That's how we ended up in Elmhurst, actually.

Edited to add - On a related note my husband and I met while both living in Evanston. Then we moved to Chicago. When we looked for our current house we considered Evanston and several other north shore towns, but ultimately we wanted a newer house that we could never afford up there. So, now we're in Elmhurst. We considered AH, too, but walking to the train was an absolute requirement for us and we never found a house that worked. Anyway, it sounds like you're on a similar path.

[chet everett]

I disagree that AH and Elmhurst are vastly different. It is true that they are distinct and function as part of separate parts of the various sub-regions -- AH is very much tied to the corridor that includes other NW suburbs ranging from EGV & Schaumburg through the towns along the 90 and into Lake Co. The status of Elmhurst is more anchored to eastern DuPage, sort of nexus of UP-W, 294, Rt 83, and the broader confluence of E-W arterials like North Ave and St. Charles Rd as well as being adjacent to Oak Brook.

Years ago Elmhurst was pretty much the "crown jewel" of DuPage. Many of the counties most prominent business leaders and politicians lived in town. Nationally famous firms like Keebler Cookie and Chamberlain Garage Door Opener had prominent HQ sites. The success of York HS following WWII was legendary -- it really out shined almost any other suburban school for several decades. There were strong ties between Elmhurst College and eastern schools like Cornell in NY. That dominance faded and probably hit a low point in the 90s when waves of "early retirements" drained the high school of its most dedicated teachers and indifference from families whose kids long since graduated resulted in a pretty shabby situation in everything from facilities and rankings to pay and athletic success. The declined was quickly turned around with younger families moving back into town. The facilities and overall desirability of the schools all increased dramatically and have been a part of the upturn of the town that includes a fantastic transformation of every part of the down town and redevelopment of the Elmhurst Hospital site with a huge new campus on the south end of town.

AH has had ups and downs too. There have been periods when it seems like the very wealthy owner of Arlington Park, Dick Duchossois, would either massively alter the town with deal with the McCaskey family for a Bears Stadium or shut down the whole operation. Dick Duchossois recounts his history with Arlington Park - Chicago Tribune Those things have been accompanied by various pushes and fights against the kinds of residential redevelopment in the core of the town that make it one of the most vibrant suburbs. So too have schools seen enrollment spike up and then fall off with the large high schools district the serves the super-region seeing both consolidation and expansion. Things like the massive expansion and subsequent collapse of Motorola's cell phone business have whipsawed the area... Township High School D214 | d214

If work is in currently in the N/NW suburbs or any of the traditional parts of Chicago office scene, from O'Hare to Loop and is unlikely to ever require relocation to the I-88 corridor AH is top choice. Conversely Elmhurst is a bit closer to the "economic center" of the region and probably will offer more balanced longer term prospects.

[mwj119]

In general, Elmhurst is probably held in higher regard (ever so slightly), and has boomed a lot in the last decade. It's kind of reestablished itself in that time period. Arlington Heights saw it's boom and population increase more in the 70's and 80's, and much less in the last decade or two. That said, it's been a very stable bet, one with minimal ups and downs. So, I think Elmhurst's boom speaks to the new desirability. I'd also bet on Elmhurst's location before Arlington Height's location as corporations and buzz moves back downtown.

Honestly, both schools are stellar. You'll typically see John Hersey ranked equal too or higher than York. As a total district, i'd say they are pretty comparable. As for amenities, AH is quite a bit bigger. So, from a pure numbers standpoint, i'd say AH edges Elmhurst. The AH park district is very well known in the Chicago area. I prefer Elmhurst's downtown for sure, although AH has made significant strides.

The makeup of the towns are remarkably similar. The densities of the town are exactly the same, with a slight walkability edge to Elmhurst as it feels a bit less broken up by major roads. I do really like some of the older and established neighborhoods in AH: https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...58_rect/14_zm/

[chet everett]

Technically all of incorporated Elmhurst is served by U205 -- https://elmhurstcusd205-il.schoolloop.com/boundaries There is also a sliver on the NW edge of town that has Villa Park address, as well the unincorporated areas known as Yorkfield on the south edge of town -- https://elmhurstcusd205-il.schoolloop.com/boundaries . Desirability is mostly a function of relative housing cost and that has moved up in all parts of town...

AH has the aforementioned D214 for high school and with either D25 or the multi-community D59 which covers the southern reaches of AH for of the elementary /middle school offerings -- https://www.sd25.org/ CCSD59 .