Relocating /// NYC to CHICAGO. Safe Suburban Home Commutable to Downtown. (Evanston: mortgage, day care)

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by damba

PaperDolls-

I would look at Morton Grove too. Good schools, Pace bus access along Dempster St to shopping and Metra, etc.

Example:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/7...3/3474809_zpid

MG came to mind for me as well. Good schools, great locale.

Palatine? Libertyville if you're OK with a long train ride?

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by leroy217

I see that no one has mentioned any of the south suburbs. Oak Forest, Tinley Park, Homewood, Orland Park. I see that there is a lot of bias towards everything south of I-55. The communities that I listed marks a lot off of your list. You would definitely find something in your price range with easy access to a Metra Line. And if you would want to drive, it is much easier to drive from the south suburbs to the city than the west or northwest suburbs.


Come on, where are my south suburbanites??

I'm from the south suburbs originally, but I'm not sure something in Orland within her criteria exists. Tinley might get a house in her price range, but the better school district is in the west part of Tinley, which is less walkable and has more expensive houses. Oak Forest is okay but has never struck me as walkable or very friendly regarding public transit. They all have Pace buses and Orland has an abundance of retail on LaGrange Road, but it feels incredibly suburban. I'm not too familiar with Homewood.


In Orland, if something became available in the subdivision between 139th, 143rd, LaGrange and 88th Ave, it might be worth considering. It's walkable to the train, Mariano's and a bunch of other retail. They can probably find something around there for under $330k, though.


The reason I suggest being so close to the train is that it is 50 minutes or so on that train to get downtown. Adding any extra time makes the commute less doable than what the OP is looking for.


I think Tinley and Oak Forest might be a little faster commutes, but again, there's other issues with those towns, such as walkability that would make them less appealing.

[knitgirl]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

With this added info I think it's really important that you find a place that's walking distance to a Metra station. Not so much for your husband, but so you and your kids can get to things to do during the day. If you're near the Metra in most towns you'll also be near their downtown which will have stores, parks, city hall and hopefully the library.

Maybe with a budget of $300 you can find something in Roselle. Their downtown is cute and the schools are pretty good. I feel like it's an often forgotten town. There isn't much available now, but a lot of people wait until spring to list their homes.

If you find anything in Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Elmhurst, La Grange or Downers Grove in your budget that would be amazing. It will be more of a stretch in those towns though.

I grew up in Roselle and my brother and parents live near the downtown. I agree with nikita that it's often forgotten on this forum. The downtown is pretty darn small. I can't imagine living there without access to a car during the day. Not that you'd need it every day, but I would feel SO confined. When I was quite young, my mom didn't have a car, and we were within walking distance to 2 small groceries. There isn't one grocery store left there now. Downtown consists of a library, village hall, a Starbucks, a few restaurants and gyms and a brew pub. I don't think I'm missing anything of note.

[847mom]

I was going to suggest Morton Grove, but Damba beat me. You might want to look into this one, but it is a short sale and will probably go quickly. https://www.redfin.com/IL/Glenview/6.../home/13778524

From East part of Glenview you can either take Metra in Wilmette or Glenview. It is not walkable you would need to drive or take public transportation. The Skokie Swift CTA is also doable and a short ride away. It really depends what part of the loop your husband's office would be.

Good Luck with everything!

[Kmanshouse]

To the OP - my father in law has a house in Des Plaines in a very safe area that meets your description very well. Feeds into Maine West High School, which is a solid school. He actually might be selling it (he rents it out right now), and I'd guess it's right about at your budget. It's walking distance to a nice little lake area (Lake Opeka)

Private message me if you are interested and I can find out more information about his timing and price.

I do think the Des Plaines suggestion is a good one. I'd stay away from Midway Airport area. Driving south from I-55 along Cicero Ave toward the airport is sketchy and ugly, but perhaps the area west of the airport is better. At the very least, visit and drive around the area before getting too locked in on anything.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Kmanshouse

To the OP - my father in law has a house in Des Plaines in a very safe area that meets your description very well. Feeds into Maine West High School, which is a solid school. He actually might be selling it (he rents it out right now), and I'd guess it's right about at your budget. It's walking distance to a nice little lake area (Lake Opeka)

Private message me if you are interested and I can find out more information about his timing and price.

I do think the Des Plaines suggestion is a good one. I'd stay away from Midway Airport area. Driving south from I-55 along Cicero Ave toward the airport is sketchy and ugly, but perhaps the area west of the airport is better. At the very least, visit and drive around the area before getting too locked in on anything.

The area west of the airport is definitely better than the stretch of Cicero between I-55 and Midway. I do agree however that Des Plaines is a better choice than Garfield Ridge.

[Vosges]

The suburbs of Chicago are REALLY designed for a car. While I don’t know the reason you don’t drive, if you are physically and legally able to drive, I would suggest spending the next year learning to drive. Your quality of life will be SO MUCH better. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to drag a child through the snow, rain, heat and cold to get to the bus to go to a 2-3 hour preschool program. There will be times you will be carrying a child or pushing a stroller through unshoveled snow to wait for a bus as cars drive by and splash you.

If you already have a car there are no additional costs. Your quality of life will be exponentially better if you learned to drive.

Good luck

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Vosges

The suburbs of Chicago are REALLY designed for a car. While I don’t know the reason you don’t drive, if you are physically and legally able to drive, I would suggest spending the next year learning to drive. Your quality of life will be SO MUCH better. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to drag a child through the snow, rain, heat and cold to get to the bus to go to a 2-3 hour preschool program. There will be times you will be carrying a child or pushing a stroller through unshoveled snow to wait for a bus as cars drive by and splash you.

If you already have a car there are no additional costs. Your quality of life will be exponentially better if you learned to drive.

Good luck

While I appreciate the OP's effort to rely on public transportation, this is a very good post.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Vosges

The suburbs of Chicago are REALLY designed for a car. While I don’t know the reason you don’t drive, if you are physically and legally able to drive, I would suggest spending the next year learning to drive. Your quality of life will be SO MUCH better. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to drag a child through the snow, rain, heat and cold to get to the bus to go to a 2-3 hour preschool program. There will be times you will be carrying a child or pushing a stroller through unshoveled snow to wait for a bus as cars drive by and splash you.

If you already have a car there are no additional costs. Your quality of life will be exponentially better if you learned to drive.

Good luck

Agreed. Much easier here in suburbs w/ a drivers license, even if not a primary driver/household has only one car.

FWIW, I have friends from both NYC and Chicago who never got a license/owned cars. Public trans FTW(!)

[knitgirl]

I honestly can't imagine living in any suburb other than Oak Park or Evanston without a car. Hell, I live on the north side of Chicago, and though I only use my car for things like grocery shopping, I am really glad to have it.