Huntley, vs Crystal lake vs Cary (Chicago, Union: home, construction, schools)

[chitown85]

Chicagoland is the cleanest metropolitan area you will see. Nothing else compares.

[lexi800]

Thanks for all the feedback so far! Georgia...what did you love so much about Crystal Lake?
My husband and I were out visiting in the summer with a realtor. Crystal Lake has a cute little town center. I also found the houses to be on nice sized pieces of property with mature landscaping. I found the homes in Cary to have similar property but a smaller town center. Huntley has beautiful new homes in nice developments but there does not seem to be much property.

We are looking for a development where children can play safely in the neighborhood(Low car traffic-our current street has cars speeding through so I don't even let my kids play in the front!), but not necessarily be living on top of each other.
My husband will be working in Mettawa and or Volo but does have the option of working from home a few days a week.
If anyone has any suggestions of other towns or school districts I may have over looked, please post.
I look forward to hearing more! Thanks!

[sandwalk]

Watch out for the traffic nightmare in Huntley (known as Illinois Route 47). What I've noticed is that the counties surrounding Chicago (especially the further out you go) do not have the greatest local/county road networks (connectivity is lacking). As a result, the direct-route expressways and state highways become congested. Add on trememdous population growth, and well, it is what it is.

I would personally choose Crystal Lake (or as some had mentioned, possibly Woodstock). I have never been through Cary, so I couldn't help you there.

Good luck with your move!

[chet everett]

If I was looking at a job in Mettawa I'd be looking closer to Libertyville, Buffalo Grove or Lake Zurich. All those towns have lots of subdivisions / streets where traffic is minimal, though your "land dollar" is not going to go as far.

If Volo was where I had to commute to I would be looking to work from home a lot unless I found a great home I could afford in Barrington... Roads are sorely under built in that area and even short commuting distances take a LONG time to cover...

[bulldawg1594]

i would suggest mundelein, gurnee, or grayslake because there is more to do and they are more diverse.

[cubssoxfan]

Mettawa- I agree wholeheartedly with Chet. The commute from Cary, CL and especially Huntley will be brutal!!. In addition to towns mentioned, also check out Deerfield, Vernon Hills and Arlington Heights. If you live in North section of Arlington Heights you are doing somewhat of a reverse commute and should make it to Mettawa in about 30 minutes.

[Ophidian14]

Originally Posted by Georgia

Just drove a couple miles to downtown Crystal Lake, paid a couple dollars for the parking lot, and hopped on the train. Nice express ride and walking Michigan Ave in less than an hour.

Just thought I'd chime in say: sorry, that's impossible, and about the biggest load of baloney I've heard in quite some time.

[lexi800]

Realistically, how long would it take?

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by lexi800

Realistically, how long would it take?

The train takes a bare minimum of around 1:15 to and from downtown Chicago and Crystal Lake. Some of the trains take closer to 1:30.

http://metrarail.com/content/metra/e...up-nw/map.html

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

A lot of trains going to crystal lake are what my mom calls the "cattle call". (she commutes on metra). They stop at damn near every city on the line. You gotta find those express trains and covett them.