Clarendon Hills vs. Downers Grove

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

...unfortunately A LOT of the homes will NOT be particaularly convenient to DG's RR station or fairly nice downtown...

Actually there are dozens on the market right now that are listed below $500K and close to downtown DG and the Main Street station. There are dozens below $400K, actually. Unfortunately most of them are smaller houses, but it seems like much of the housing stock in that area is smaller anyway--aside from the fancier teardowns.

[chet everett]

LK--

Dozens? Maybe if you are counting everything including the places that are clearky burdened with negatives -- 4721 BELMONT Rd, Downers Grove, IL 60515 | MLS# 07409736
I really like some things about the section of DG south of Ogden and north of 55th St, but I think that you can see that the area is far less uniform than in smaller towns. The traffic and patterns of development of DG are worlds away from smaller towns, even in the core.
And as I recall weren't you giving me a hard time about the older smaller places I was rooting for in LaGrange and other towns? I can't believe that you'd feel better about the split levels and other funky low value houses that dominate some blocks in that area??

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

LK--

Dozens? Maybe if you are counting everything including the places that are clearky burdened with negatives -- 4721 BELMONT Rd, Downers Grove, IL 60515 | MLS# 07409736
I really like some things about the section of DG south of Ogden and north of 55th St, but I think that you can see that the area is far less uniform than in smaller towns. The traffic and patterns of development of DG are worlds away from smaller towns, even in the core.
And as I recall weren't you giving me a hard time about the older smaller places I was rooting for in LaGrange and other towns? I can't believe that you'd feel better about the split levels and other funky low value houses that dominate some blocks in that area??

Use the map feature on realtor.com and you will see that "dozens" is not an overstatement if you put $0-500,000 as the price range. I'd say most of the housing stock for sale right now in the area between Ogden and 55th Street and between Main and Fairview is in that range. But yes, most of the houses are unspectacular. Lot's of 1-1/2 story Bungalows and Cape Cods. And even some ugly split-levels and raised ranches.

I don't think I ever gave you any grief about the sizes of homes in La Grange. We resigned ourselves long ago to the fact that we will probably buy a smaller home to get the location we desire. We are still strongly considering all of the towns from La Grange/LGP to Downers Grove, though we are not crazy about Westmont's lack of walkable ammenities. Oak Park is still in the running, but my wife has more reservations about it than I do. Elmuhurst and Arlington Heights are other possibilities. The North Shore is probably out unless we get some major promotions within the next few years.

[chet everett]

Fair enough. Maybe it was Brookfield that you felt looked Archie Bunker's neighborhood. The trade-off game is something every shopper goes through.

I think the posts we have in this thread are helpful to anyone considering the towns mentioned.

Buyers NEVER "get it all in one package" -- you want the cute house AND the walkable downtown AND the good schools AND affordability AND demographics that are upscale AND, AND AND but in the end your decide "hey 8 out of ten is pretty good" OR "the place just felt like 'Our Home' and we 'just knew'" so I completely understand the challenges.

If you are serious about trying to take advantage of buyers credit that may tip some folks hands, but realistically even for the low priced stuff in the nicer towns we've talked about those kinds of "incentives" will have much less long lasting impact than the bigger issues of schools / costs / commute / neighborhood...

[Lookout Kid]

^^Yes, we once had a discussion about the mix of housing types in Brookfield, and you floated the theory that it had to do with the model homes or two-for-one land deals or something like that. I'm still not crazy about the "look" of Brookfield, and even prefer the area of DG that we discussed above. And DG seems to be more solidly middle to upper-middle class than Brookfield, but it's definitely a step below the Hinsdales, La Granges, and Clarendon Hills's of the world. I think DG is probably a more realistic option for most people, but you are absolutely right in your comparison of schools, taxes, government services, etc. Or at least, I believe you are knowledgable about these things.