Are Chicago suburbs better or different than other large midwest city suburbs?

[damba]

Originally Posted by svicious22

—I live in the city, there’s no suburb in the Chicago area worth moving to from anywhere half way decent.

Congrats on upping the snobbery factor! LOL

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by svicious22

—I live in the city, there’s no suburb in the Chicago area worth moving to from anywhere half way decent.

It is pathetic how we Bridge (Ohio Street feeder) and Tunnel (Hubbards Cave) people scurry into and out of The City.

I love the famed cover of Chicago mag, which shows Chicago majestically standing tall while east, west, north and south of the Chicago River, the landscape sprawls in utter irrelevancy.

[flamadiddle]

Illinois Has 9 Of The 50 Best Suburbs In The U.S.

https://patch.com/illinois/homewood-...campaign=alert

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

Illinois Has 9 Of The 50 Best Suburbs In The U.S.

https://patch.com/illinois/homewood-...campaign=alert

I just read this earlier. While all of the Chicago suburbs included in the list are pretty nice, the selections seem somewhat arbitrary in spite of the website providing a rating criteria. It makes for interesting discussion at least.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

Illinois Has 9 Of The 50 Best Suburbs In The U.S.

https://patch.com/illinois/homewood-...campaign=alert

Based on income levels vs. public education vs. COL vs. safety, it does not surprise me at all that many Chicago suburbs (and midwest suburbs in general) control lists like these. Buffalo Grove is the perfect example- Great schools, median income of $100k, yet the median home value is at $299k. So, I think there are a ton of positives to be found in the Chicago suburbs. And having moved away, there are certainly some things we miss.

Having said that, my input can't be all roses. A few things that I find decrease the desirability of the Chi suburbs are 1. strip malls and state highways that very much interrupt the cohesiveness of towns 2. chains 3. the look/style/architecture of the housing stock. The first two are pretty straight forward. As for the style of housing, does anyone else feel that way? Less some of the north shore, and some parts of the LG/Hinsdale area, I don't find the suburban housing stock to have real appeal. Between the 60's/70's mixed material split levels with off-color paneling, the fake brick and stone 90's builds, and the new mcmansions (that are seemingly all the same blue color) etc. the housing just doesn't aesthetically offer much. The greenery helps a lot, as does the grid patterns and the finely groomed public spaces.. But man, the housing can get awfully despressing in the winter months.

[damba]

I understand, but globally, especially among our western european peers, we are not known for good taste as such. Also, the desire here to always go ‘on the cheap’ vs building a tasteful structure that will last is not a priorty. The long game is weak in the US, not just Chicago.