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Old 10-08-2009, 06:04 PM
 
58 posts, read 170,713 times
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We may be moving (from Kansas) to the Chicago area. If so, my husband would be working at Midway airport. We have two small children (ages 3 yrs and 18 mos) and would be looking for an area that is safe, family friendly, affordable - our budget is about $150,000 - $250, 000 (approx. - could change). We'd like to have at least 2-3 bedrooms and a nice (good sized) backyard. I'd like to be able to walk to parks, library, etc with my boys, but this is not a deal breaker.

Some of the areas we've researched (online) are: Plainfield (friend lives there), New Lenox, Tinley Park, Crestwood, Oak Forest, Hickory Hills... there are many, but these are the main ones we've looked at.

ANY input would be graciously appreciated!!! (I'm freaking out already with sooooo much to consider and this (finding a good town) is one of the huge factors!!!)

THANKS in advance for any opinions!
M and D
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Old 10-08-2009, 06:50 PM
 
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There are plenty of stores and things to do in Plainfield. New Lenox also has a ton of stores and is very close to orland park which has just about every store you can think of. New Lenox has the metra which takes about a hour to get to chicago on the express train.
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Old 10-08-2009, 07:22 PM
 
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While we do appreciate the input, we are not really "shoppers"... It's nice to know that many stores would be available in those two areas, but as long as there are grocery and whole food / health stores nearby, that will suffice for us!!
We most want to know that an area is safe with good neighborhoods and schools!
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Old 10-09-2009, 06:53 AM
 
58 posts, read 170,713 times
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Default What we are really asking...

I think what we are really wanting is just honest opinions about these towns... Opinions you might give to a brother, sister, cousin, best friend, etc who may be considering a move to the area... can anyone help?
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Old 10-09-2009, 08:28 AM
 
Location: City of North Las Vegas, NV
12,600 posts, read 9,389,597 times
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If you're going to look into the south and southwest suburbs, might as well consider NW Indiana since many people of those suburbs move there because its very affordable, less taxes, nice place to raise a family
Consider suburbs such as St. John, Schererville, Munster and Dyer since they are closer to Illinois and a commute to Midway is not all that bad.
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Old 10-09-2009, 09:24 AM
 
28,453 posts, read 85,379,084 times
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I would really want to know more about the type of work /commute schedule, the household income you have/ percentage of it you feel comfortable spending on housing, the sort of lifestyle you want for your family, willingness to get a fixer-upper and other factors.

Even $250K will NOT go far in desirable areas of the Chicago region. Without knowing a bit more I won't comment too much, but I would feel terrible if you starting shopping in an area that would not meet your needs.

WildWestDude has some good points, NW Indiana does tend to be a better value, and commute times are often similar to Midway itseld, but there is a fairly noticeable difference in the lifestyle. I personally do know people that live in NW Indiana and they do enjoy working in Chicago, but recreational choices they make are centered mostly in Indiana. That might be perfect, as I suspect that is simialr to parts of Kansas, but if you hoping that your move to the region will also take in some of the features of Chicago there may be better ways to do that...
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Old 10-09-2009, 09:53 AM
 
58 posts, read 170,713 times
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Default more info

WildWestDude - thanks for the recs for towns in IN - will look into those as well!

Chet - here is some addt'l info...my husband's work hours would be pretty random (coming and going at random times of the day AND working random days) so he is not too worried about commute and from what I could tell based on ESTIMATED times via mapquest (or something similar) times are mostly 20 minutes to hour for commute from cities mentioned. Income (for now as I will be continuing to stay home) will be somewhere in the range of $80-90K - I don't know the percentage we'd be willing to spend, but I do feel that a budget of $150-250K would keep us at about the same "standards" we currently have (comfortable, but NOT extravagant).

We have completely (on our own) remodeled the house we currently live in.... BUT would not be in a hurry to do so again if we could find a house "ready to live in" (or at least that we could live with!).

Lifestyle - well, we like to do outdoor stuff (camping, boating, walking, running, playing in the yard) and as they get older, I assume my boys will be playing sports (t-ball, soccer, football - whatever floats their boat

As far as recreation and getting the "chicago" experience.... well, it's probably not something we'd want on a daily (or even weekly basis), but would love to do weekend stuff IF we can find a town with at least some stuff to do!!!

Does this all help at all??? If not, let me know!!


I would like a family friendly area and "alternative" / "crunchy" ideals are great, but would not be a requirement for or against a city!
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Old 10-09-2009, 10:31 AM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
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Tinley Park, Orland Park and the Palos'. Plainfield, New Lenox and NW Indiana seem too far a way from a commuting standpoint.
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Old 10-09-2009, 11:24 AM
 
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i think summit would be a good idea. or the part of chicago just west of midway airport.
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Old 10-09-2009, 12:53 PM
 
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I tend to agree with cubsoxfan -- ideally, even with offpeak commutes and such the commute times from the SW burbs will exceed 40 minutes if you go more than about 25 mile out. Coming from the other side, NW Indiana, you might be able to go out a bit farther, maybe 35 miles or so, before you hit the "hour +" mark.
You will almost certainly get more for your dollar in NW Indiana and you won't notice a huge difference in the lifestyle / attitudes -- though I have to say that my experience, having lived in Chicago area most of my, but traveled to other parts of the country, is that the is a VERY HIGH correlation between "higher income" folks in the region being more receptive to "granola-ish" lifestyle and values than middle income folks. The household income the OP mentions is closer to middle income for most of the close-in areas.

You might want to look at the profiles of some the towns you mentioned, as some are older (and not in charming vintage sort of way), fairly densely developed and have some demographics that are probably going to be give you a "not in Kansas anymore" moment...

//www.city-data.com/city/Oak-Forest-Illinois.html
//www.city-data.com/city/Crestwood-Illinois.html
//www.city-data.com/city/Hickor...-Illinois.html

Contrast to much newer area:

//www.city-data.com/city/Plainfield-Illinois.html
//www.city-data.com/city/Lemont-Illinois.html
//www.city-data.com/city/Lockport-Illinois.html

I would also add "Homer Glen" to the list directly above, though it is even newer and might be too pricey...
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