Talk to me about Aurora? (Chicago, Naperville: crime, houses, buyer)

[highlanderfil]

My wife just got a job at IMSA. We will, quarantine willing, be house-hunting (looking for her to have no more than a 20-30 min commute) and moving sometime in June, so that she can have at least something of a breather before the school year starts (even if it starts online). I've been to Downer's Grove (Ford has a large office there) and we've been to Chicago numerous times (I have family there), so we are not total newbies to the state, but that's not much to go on in terms of actually living there.

Curious about basically anything and everything. We've googled a few of our favorite amenities and it looks like things like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Costco aren't within the city proper, but a reasonable drive away. Looking at the crime maps, it looks like Aurora proper has some iffy areas and the overall safety rating isn't awesome, but, by the same metric, neither is our current city*, so I'm not too worried.

Thanks!

(*We currently live in Ann Arbor, MI and my job is flexible enough to allow me to continue to work from home for the observable future.)

[flamadiddle]

North Aurora is a decent area. I'd look at Naperville, Batavia, Geneva or St. Charles. Costco in Naperville and St. Charles. Anything in particular you're looking for? All have good schools. If you're into big lots, St. Charles is probably the best bet.

[fusillirob1983]

It depends on your budget, but the eastern part of Aurora is pretty similar to the western half of Naperville, IMO. Check the areas that feed into Metea Valley High School and Waubonsie Valley High School. I thought those areas were generally pretty safe.

Basically any sort of shopping is in and around Route 59 - there's a Costco, Whole Foods and Target there. There's a Trader Joe's 10 minutes east of Route 59 in Naperville. There's plenty of gyms, parks and park district facilities.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

North Aurora is a decent area. I'd look at Naperville, Batavia, Geneva or St. Charles. Costco in Naperville and St. Charles. Anything in particular you're looking for? All have good schools. If you're into big lots, St. Charles is probably the best bet.

We're looking for a house around 2000 sq.ft., budget is around $300K (ideally $250K if we're to make some changes right off the bat - for $300K we'd prefer it to be pretty turnkey). Looks like that's relatively doable. It's just the two of us, plus two (likely soon to be three) cats, so schools aren't a big thing, nor would we be planning to move anytime soon. Prefer 4 smaller bedrooms to 3 larger ones. I'm getting some joy in the north and northwest Aurora areas, actually found some places closer to IMSA itself that look good. Houses in that price range in Naperville look pretty basic. A big lot isn't necessary, but relatively new construction would be nice. We just finished paying off a $6K furnace that we will unlikely ever use, so I'd prefer not to go through that again. As far as anything else...just whatever peculiarities the area has (literally related to anything), I guess. I hear taxes are fairly high?

By the way, noticing a lot of the inside window treatments in the area are wood-colored. Not really used to seeing this kind of stuff in Michigan - most of the houses we shopped three years ago have white window frames and sills. Is that an Illinois thing or an older housing stock thing?

[flamadiddle]

lol, yes, Illinois thing. The land of Oak! Oak everything! Newer construction should have a more modern look. You can paint the oak, but it's pricey to do because it takes extra steps to cover it well. I hear you on the new construction. Unless you're handy and have lots of free time, skip the older homes.

Yes, property taxes here are painful. On a positive note it helps keep home prices down if you're a prospective buyer. On the negative, don't expect your home to appreciate much over time, if at all. The areas mentioned are all nice, Naperville has the most amenities/shopping/restaurants. Batavia, Geneva and St. Charles are all very nice too.

[highlanderfil]

Yeah, the new housing stock seems to have gone away (somewhat) from the oak panels. We'll be driving over next week to house-hunt. Hopefully it won't take too long...

[Creo]

Good luck. I think most locals don't have very nice things to say about Aurora, but it has some history, "decent bones", and the river-things quite a few area places can't claim. In "normal times", there is a great First Friday event with access to museums, food trucks, and more, and the Paramount Theatre has $1 Monday movies, excellent musicals, and fine architecture.

[flamadiddle]

Originally Posted by Creo

Good luck. I think most locals don't have very nice things to say about Aurora, but it has some history, "decent bones", and the river-things quite a few area places can't claim. In "normal times", there is a great First Friday event with access to museums, food trucks, and more, and the Paramount Theatre has $1 Monday movies, excellent musicals, and fine architecture.

+Fun fact. It's where Waynes World was based. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne%27s_World_(film))

And another unrelated but interesting fact is that Groundhog Day was filmed an hour North in Woodstock, IL. Not many know about that one and assume it was filmed in PA.

[Travel517]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

North Aurora is a decent area. I'd look at Naperville, Batavia, Geneva or St. Charles. Costco in Naperville and St. Charles. Anything in particular you're looking for? All have good schools. If you're into big lots, St. Charles is probably the best bet.

X-pesive towns mentioned here.

[Travel517]

Originally Posted by highlanderfil

Yeah, the new housing stock seems to have gone away (somewhat) from the oak panels. We'll be driving over next week to house-hunt. Hopefully it won't take too long...

Get ready to pay between $8 to $10,000 prop tax