Did you move to any of these western suburbs and not care for it? (Chicago: condo, house)

[Doglover5]

Hi -- I'd love to hear from anyone who moved to or strongly considered moving to any of the suburbs below and either decided against moving there or moved there and later looked to leave. I want to go in "eyes wide open" as I consider some western suburbs for my family, so I welcome any thoughts. Thanks!

La Grange
Elmhurst
Western Springs
Glen Ellyn
St. Charles
Geneva

[TempesT68]

All are great cities, and it's hard to say exactly what you are looking for. It really comes down to your personal preference.

[chet everett]

Price range would be a huge factor -- in the new subdivisions of town like St. Charles or even Geneva there are some homes that sell for a fraction of what similar sq ft and amenities would cost in a fully built out older part of the same burb, to say nothing of the MUCH closer in towns like LaGrange, WS and Elmhurst.

If you will be working in the Loop the train service is also a factor and you'd be smart to really scrutinize the total trip time from "desk to door" and back. If you could walk to the train in someplace like Glen Ellyn you probably are in the price range where you could build a new large home in many other towns...

The bottom line is LOTS of people get very attached to each of those towns, and the number of folks that feel it was not the right move are VERY small. The stability of prices is testament to that.

[Doglover5]

Looking for a place with a nice downtown, pretty areas, and open-minded community. Good restaurants are a plus. Commute to the Loop is not a factor. Budget is fairly open --nothing stratospheric, but I ruled in all of these places based on my understanding of nice homes/neighborhoods in each of these areas. I'm really interested in any nuances about any of these places that someone who lives there or lived there might be able to convey. Thanks!

[chet everett]

If commute to the loop is not a factor then I would recommend looking at whichever is closest to where you will be working.

If you are retired I would recommend a better climate.

Size of home is factor in all of these towns, and the further away from both Chicago and the 'core' of each of the these towns the farther your housing dollars will go.

I know a lot about each of these towns but I don't understand what sort of 'nuance' you are looking for.

[Doglover5]

Thanks -- assume our work is reachable from any of the aforementioned suburbs. I guess I'm trying to understand differences between all these so-called lovely towns that keep coming up time and again in city-data threads on the western burbs. For instance, I've heard that Geneva's population tends to be "older" (e.g., retirees) -- any truth to that? Are any of these areas particularly religious such that a newcomer should be aware? I understand they're all desirable on some level... surely they have to be different, or I could just throw darts at a map and be happy, right? I've seen on another blog that Glen Ellyn schoolchildren can come home for lunch and to some, this gives it an anti-working mom feel --or so some on this particular blog suggested. It's great if everyone is really happy in all these places, but surely there are some interesting nuances that a lay person like myself would know about unless I consult some "insiders" -- hopefully through this board. Hope that helps. Thanks!

[AuDiBelle]

Well I live in Western Springs and have for the majority of my life so I know WS and LaGrange quite well. WS is a haven for families with kids, so it has a family oriented feel to it. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the town for singles. There are also quite a few older folks that have lived in the town since their kids were young, so there's that element too. There is a mix of religious people with a concentration of catholics in the Springdale neighborhood of WS. There are a lot of people that don't belong to any church however. Some of the moms are working, lots of stay at home moms too. WS has well water which some people might not like, but I've never had any issues with taste or deposits. You don't need a water softener or anything like that. There are a lot of parks that get very busy in the spring/summer months with soccer, baseball, football, etc. I can't really think of any negatives (other than home prices and property taxes lol). This town is known for the number of people who grew up here and moved back to raise their own kids now. I love the garbage service in WS... you don't put cans out, the garbagemen come to the rear or side of the house to collect your garbage so there aren't ugly cans sitting out at the curb. We also don't allow overnight parking. Oh! One 'nuance' to WS is that you cannot park RV's, boats, or even pick-up trucks in your driveway. They must be parked in the garage. Overall, WS has a small town, mayberry-esque feel to it.

LaGrange attracts a lot of families as well, but also has a lot of young professionals. It has a more vibrant downtown to it with more restaurant options. It is a larger town than WS and does have some new condo buildings along Hillgrove and Burlington that attract empty nesters and professionals. Home prices and taxes are probably similar to those in WS. LaGrange is on Lake Michigan water I believe. Some schools in LG are better than others, but both WS and LG feed into Lyons Township High School. There are a lot of churches in LG with the larger congregations being (catholic) St. Francis Xavier and St. Cletus. There's another couple right by Cossitt school that I can't think of the name of offhand. Those are not catholic,... presbyterian perhaps? Not everyone belongs to a congregation though, many don't. LG tends to be slightly more diverse, whereas WS tends to be very homogeneous.

Glen Ellyn, and Elmhurst are also very nice towns, but not having lived in either I can't really give much detailed info on them. St. Charles and Geneva are both darling towns and probably not as congested being so far out from Chicago.

[Doglover5]

Whatyousay -- Thanks -- this is really helpful. Learned a lot that I did not know about Western Springs!

[AuDiBelle]

My pleasure. There's also a 6 mile bike trail starting in Bemis North woods (bordering the northern edge of WS) that takes you all the way to Brookfield Zoo. It's very scenic... lots of deer and animals. Many joggers, dog walkers, bikers, etc. use the bike trail.

[Doglover5]

Did not know that either! Actually, was hoping to find a place that has a pretty trail for walking!