Relocation from Europe to Chicagoland (Schaumburg, Evanston: home, neighborhood, living in)

[dr_fly_a_lot]

Hi there,
thanks for reading!
My wife and me will probably relocate from Europe (Germany) to the Chicago area. My office will be in Chicago (although I will not be there too often), more important is the distance to O'Hare or Midway Airport - not too close due to the noise, but as close as possible as I travel by plane REALLY often.

Any recommendations? Just from looking at the map the area north of Chicago along the lake looks nice, but what are your recommendations? We are looking for a "single-family-home" neighborhood, the time to commute to one of the major airports (probably O'Hare) should not be more than 25 mins during the early morning hours (6.00-6.30 am) - and it should provide some infrastructure in terms of restaurants.

Thanks a lot in advance!

[Drover]

Living 25 minutes from O'Hare and Midway is pretty much an either/or proposition. Chances are you'll do 90% or more of your flying out of O'Hare so you'll want to stick to the North/Northwest suburbs. If you're looking for lakeshore community with a good restaurant scene, try Evanston. I'm not familiar with much of the rest of the shore area so others more familiar might have some suggestions. Be warned though that living in a single-family home in the north lakeshore area requires pretty subsantial means. Expect to pay at least $500,000 for a single-family home in a lakeshore community.

If living near the lake shore is not important to you, it's hard to beat Schaumburg for restaurant options and convenient access to O'Hare.