Elmhurst? Do you like it? Airplane noise? commuter parking? (Chicago: house, transfer)

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by cw68

And I also grew up there, near Madison and Berkely. There are a lot of teardowns everywhere. I'm personally not a big fan, but most people in Elmhurst like it because they believe it make the place look more spiffy.

Eeek! They need to hold a seminar on architecture and urban planning then, hehe. Or the Fashion Police have to go out there and start questioning a few people. Maybe we're just jaded because we saw what it looked like before, or maybe it's because I'm now used to beautiful neighborhoods of vintage homes in Oak Park, Berwyn and Riverside, I don't know. In any case, the teardown trend will definitely continue and if you don't mind it, go for it.

[cw68]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Eeek! They need to hold a seminar on architecture and urban planning then, hehe. Or the Fashion Police have to go out there and start questioning a few people. Maybe we're just jaded because we saw what it looked like before, or maybe it's because I'm now used to beautiful neighborhoods of vintage homes in Oak Park, Berwyn and Riverside, I don't know. In any case, the teardown trend will definitely continue and if you don't mind it, go for it.

I agree. I find it really disheartening. One of my best friends owns half of one company that does a large amount of teardowns. Between the builders and tax revenue, there's too much money to be made to stop it.

Next time you're in Elmhurst, take a drive down South between York and Popular.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by cw68

I agree. I find it really disheartening. One of my best friends owns half of one company that does a large amount of teardowns. Between the builders and tax revenue, there's too much money to be made to stop it.

Next time you're in Elmhurst, take a drive down South between York and Popular.

Do I even want to? It's disheartening indeed. The 1950s homes there back in our day were modest, but nice and well kept. I guess nice and well kept doesn't cut it anymore in an affluent suburb. Your house must be bigger and more whiz-bang than the last guy's. I hope for South Elmhurst's sake they have zoning restrictions on height!

[cw68]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Do I even want to? It's disheartening indeed. The 1950s homes there back in our day were modest, but nice and well kept. I guess nice and well kept doesn't cut it anymore in an affluent suburb. Your house must be bigger and more whiz-bang than the last guy's. I hope for South Elmhurst's sake they have zoning restrictions on height!

No, you probably don't want to. Gives me the willies everytime.

Teardowns have hit South Elmhurst bigtime, but the McDougal's by Washington still stand strong. The little Cape Cods are fast disappearing. So are the small 50s ranches east of York and north of Butterfield where I first lived in Elmhurst. Almost million dollar homes in that area!

Everyone seems to want the new houses of Naperville with the proximity to the BOT of Elmhurst.

[joker]

Originally Posted by ramblin man

My wife and I are narrowing down our suburb choices. The commuter parking lot issue is the main reason we are moving away from our first choice, Naperville.

For Elmhurst, can anyone provide any info on what they think of this area in general? How is it as an area to raise a family? One year old son right now.

I saw on the Elmhurst web-site that a recent resident survey showed airplane noise as one of the top 3 concerns. Is this from the major airports? Is this a big problem or just a vocal minority?

Is it possible to obtain parking passes for the commuter lot? There is a 4 to 6 year wait in naperville.

It looks like a number of homes are 0.5 to 1.5 miles from the train station. Do a lot of people just walk it? Is it too cold? Is it safe?

Newbie here. Thanks.

Thanks.

The only way you will be able to be happy in elmhurst is if you are top notch popular and wealthy. If you are disabled or unpopular, forget it, nobody will ever want anything to do with you!

[Mrs Lynn]

I have lived in Elmhurst for 6 years my grand parents used to live here and my Son and his family have just bought a house in Elmhurst. The schools are great. I walk to the train even in the winter. Airplane noise was never a problem. I wished I would have moved here years ago.

[gardener34]

I lived there for decades in the south part of town. Yes, the airplane noise was bad, but we did not have A/C and the windows were open all summer long. Some get used to it - I never did. Sorry can't see paying that kind of bucks, convenient or not. Yeah, they have good schools but so do many other west suburban towns. Very nice town, but very overpriced currently, although maybe the market has softened prices a bit?.

My impression these days is that many residents now there are very status conscious.

Even with the market soft - these teardowns are still going on as they were? I can't believe the real estate / credit / mortgage debacle hasn't affected it. It has to have slowed them down.

For an interesting (doesn't seem unbiased though) perspective on the situation there:

http://www.buildersgonewild.com/

[InformedConsent]

Originally Posted by Mrs Lynn

I have lived in Elmhurst for 6 years my grand parents used to live here and my Son and his family have just bought a house in Elmhurst. The schools are great.

Elmhurst's schools are maybe a little above the Chicago suburban average. Where the rubber meets the road - the high school level (final stage of education before full-time work or college) - Elmhurst's high school has 69% of their students meeting state standards, and while 92% of their graduates plan on attending college, only 30% of their high school graduates meet college readiness benchmarks (the average for Chicago suburban school districts is 27%).
http://www.act.org/research/policyma...benchmarks.pdf
Daily Herald | A decade of school funding (http://www.dailyherald.com/packages/2007/schoollfinance/chapter10.htm - broken link)

They have some problems to work out. The Elmhurst school district's strategic planning consultants (ECRA Group) found the following problems:

- Information for program effectiveness is not developed and communicated to faculty and administrators to monitor the quality of the instructional program and make systematic changes.

- There is a great need for improved alignment of the curriculum and instructional program as well as academic standards throughout all District 205 schools.

- Lack of alignment is leading to students advancing to the next educational level without being fully prepared.

- The achievement of students as they progress from primary grade levels to intermediate grade levels to middle school to high school is not effectively assessed or communicated. Therefore, teachers are not aware of the strengths and limitations of their students prior to receiving them at the beginning of the school year, and are not provided timely information as to the academic achievement of their students during the school year.

- There is no internal district assessment system to effectively monitor and improve the instructional program. The district uses external assessments to produce achievement data, but nothing is done with the data to make it useful in improving the quality of education in the district.
-- ECRA Group's May 2008 Strategic Planning Report

Though not a thorough analysis of any particular school's educational strengths, and caution is advised when considering the information, the following publicly released list of National Merit Semifinalists indicates that some suburban schools tend to foster higher levels of achievement than others (high schools listed by city).

Press Release:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/acrobat/2008-09/42459874.pdf (broken link)

[BaronessAnn]

I know this is an old thread, but I have to say what I'm about to say. I live practically on the other side of Elmhurst, and have done so off and on since 2002, so I'm not sure where the concerns about airplane noise managed to come from. Now, if you lived near Elmhurst Road in either Des Plaines or Elk Grove Village...forget about it. You'll definitely hear airplane noise 24/7/365 or 366 and you'll hear it clearly. Elmhurst Road and York Road (which runs through Elmhurst IL) are the same street btw.

That Joker guy a few posts up is obviously banned for a reason, so he shouldn't be taken seriously. Based on the experiences I've had during my many visits to Elmhurst, the people there are friendly, well-mannered, reserved, and hard-working, and that's the kind of attitude I don't like, but LOVE! Once I gather enough money, I may look to rent an apartment in Elmhurst. I would love to live there.

[chet everett]

The new O'Hare runways have shifted some arrival & departure flight paths but for the most the impact on Elmhurst is minimal, the town stretches from Bensenville to Oak Brook but the majority of flight paths are (for obvious deliberate reasons...) over the Forest Preserves & warehouse north of Elmhurst...