Outdoors in the burbs (Chicago, Naperville: ski resorts, new home, neighborhoods)

[trackcoach]

Seriously considering moving to Naperville-Plainfield- Geneva area from Florida. Before we decide on our town (between here, Columbus, OH and Raleigh) I have a couple of questions: As far as things to do- Chicago area wins hands down, but we are outdoors types. I know about the forest preserves and beautiful parks, but is there anywhere to hike/kayak nearby. How far to closest state parks. And just how bad is the winter? I know its cold, but different people tell me different things. Some say the sun doesn't shine between November and April, others tell me there can be snow on the ground and the sky is bright and blue. I know the north is overcast a great deal of the time during winter, but does the sun ever shine?

[Frey Guy]

Hmmm....outdoors type, well there is lake michigan but living in Naperville will take you with traffic probably about an hour to get to the lake. If I were the outdoorsy type I would go to Wisconsin or Michigan on the weekends, which arn't far away which is what most people in Chicago go to experience mother nature. I've been hiking in some nice places in Wisconsin and there r some great places to ski up there.

Although I've lived in Indiana for 4 years for college, I lived in a north burb by the lake my whole life and while the winters have got a tad warmer, they are terrible. I like Chicago a lot, but the winers were a deal breaker for me. I'm not looking at returning there, also land values r getting crazy $$$. They can get really really cold I remember sometimes it getting -10 without wind chill, although that has been less commin the past few years. It also snows a ton. Chicago can be very sunny, although it does get its fair share of rain. I know people that love the change of seasons and wouldn't like to live in a place like Florida, in chiago there are 4 distriction seasons although each year you live there the winters seem increasingly longer. It also gets really hot in the summer, although being from FL probalby not a big deal but usually there will be at least one week each summer it is over 90 each day and really humid.

Nice thing about Chicago v Florida is that the bugs r so much better in Chicago, none of those freaky things you guys call bugs in FL.

Hope it helps.

[crazylilkelly]

Originally Posted by Frey Guy

Hmmm....outdoors type, well there is lake michigan but living in Naperville will take you with traffic probably about an hour to get to the lake. If I were the outdoorsy type I would go to Wisconsin or Michigan on the weekends, which arn't far away which is what most people in Chicago go to experience mother nature. I've been hiking in some nice places in Wisconsin and there r some great places to ski up there.

Although I've lived in Indiana for 4 years for college, I lived in a north burb by the lake my whole life and while the winters have got a tad warmer, they are terrible. I like Chicago a lot, but the winers were a deal breaker for me. I'm not looking at returning there, also land values r getting crazy $$$. They can get really really cold I remember sometimes it getting -10 without wind chill, although that has been less commin the past few years. It also snows a ton. Chicago can be very sunny, although it does get its fair share of rain. I know people that love the change of seasons and wouldn't like to live in a place like Florida, in chiago there are 4 distriction seasons although each year you live there the winters seem increasingly longer. It also gets really hot in the summer, although being from FL probalby not a big deal but usually there will be at least one week each summer it is over 90 each day and really humid.

Nice thing about Chicago v Florida is that the bugs r so much better in Chicago, none of those freaky things you guys call bugs in FL.

Hope it helps.

How far are the nearest ski resorts to chicago??? I'm from the south suburbs & go to uiuc now. I've been thinking about leaving the state. I LOVE chicago w/ all my heart but the winters always seem pointless if there's nowhere to snowboard. If the drive isn't too bad for weekend snowboarding trips then we just might end up staying! Thanks

[ITChick]

Naperville is supposed to be a top rated area. I think that it was rated one of the best places to live by Forbes. I don't know much about Plainfield (I think it's a south suburb) and Geneva might be near Lake Geneva which might allow Kayaking (I'm more familiar with the north side of Chicago!).

As for weather, it is cold in the winter from November through April. Very cold. It can get below zero in the winter (from December through March, although I think after February there won't be any more below zero days). The sun does come out year round even when it is freezing cold. However, there can be dark, cloudy, snowy or rainy days too, depending on the temps.

Frey Guy is right about the bug issue. We do get mosquetoes (sp?) here in the summer but that is usually near lake and forest areas. Cities will spray for them so it isn't as noticeable as it used to be (where you would see a swarm of them like a dark cloud).
-itchick

[crazylilkelly]

Originally Posted by trackcoach

Seriously considering moving to Naperville-Plainfield- Geneva area from Florida. Before we decide on our town (between here, Columbus, OH and Raleigh) I have a couple of questions: As far as things to do- Chicago area wins hands down, but we are outdoors types. I know about the forest preserves and beautiful parks, but is there anywhere to hike/kayak nearby. How far to closest state parks. And just how bad is the winter? I know its cold, but different people tell me different things. Some say the sun doesn't shine between November and April, others tell me there can be snow on the ground and the sky is bright and blue. I know the north is overcast a great deal of the time during winter, but does the sun ever shine?

My folks live in Plainfield. The whole area is developing enormously fast! If you want a brand new home you'll have no problem getting one in Plainfield or Shorewood (the town right below Plainfield). About 15 min south of Plainfeild there is a river & some preserves. So you would only be a short drive from kayaking! I didn't even know it was there til I got lost one day trying to find a party! It seems pretty nice & next time I got visit my folks I want to go spend a day there & check it out.
That being said, personally I wouldn't live in Plainfield. It's just too boring for me but most suburbs are too boring for me. However, if you want to live in a suburb & don't mind being about 45 min from the city then I would definitely recommend it. Also, in the next city of Joliet there is a metra so you could always opt to hop on the train to get to the city & save gas & parking money. I've always loved the metra, they're clean & relaxing.
Plainfield is definitely more affordable than Naperville. Although Naperville has been voted a few times as the best place in America to raise a family. It's just pretty expensive from what I heard. Also, I heard that all the highways around Naperville get pretty jammed. Nonetheless, it's supposed to be a really nice place to live. But this only what I have heard about Naperville.
Alright, so if you can't stand any bit of cold at all then I would definitely advise you not to move to Chicagoland area! Ya, it's pretty cold from nov-mar. Thing is, even in the midst of winter we can have some decent days in the 40s & 50s. That's bliss for us! But then you get some days that seem to freeze every cell in your body! For the most part it is gloomy during the winter but we still do get some sunny days. I think what really makes the winters gloomy is when the sun starts setting around 4pm! We also don't get tons of snow. some years we'll just get a few inches & the next we might get a couple of feet but it's no big deal. Its frozen ice on the roads you have to worry about. Winters can really suck sometimes but they definitely make you appreciate when spring & summer come. Having that first beautiful day of spring creates an indescribable feeling.
Oh ya, starved rock is a popular camping site & I think it's less than an hour west of plainfield. I've never been but some of my friends used to go there when i was a kid. You might want to check out their website.
Sorry if i started babbling. I hope i gave you some helpful info. Good luck w/ your search

[Frey Guy]

I havn't been gone to ski since my frosh year in high school but there are a bunch of places in wisconin that have nice slops. I can't remember the name of the skiiing club I was with but I'm sure if you type in ski and wisconsin you'll get a few good stuff on google.com. From the South subs....probably would be two hours+ a away. I from the north subs and took us about 1.5 hours to get there.

[jlc267]

Plainfield is a great place to live. Very close to alot of fishing, hiking,kayaking, biking. There is alot of this near by. Shorewood also has alot of this you just have to know where to look. As far as the weather, the sun shines alot in the winter, it hasn't snowed really bad in years here. (I live by plainfield) The Temps have not gone into the below zero range more than a couple times last year and maybe a couple weeks the year before that. There are alot of neighborhoods around here that seem like you are in the country. Quiet, lots of nature, people are very friendly.