Relocating -- young family looking for northern suburb (Chicago, Arlington Heights: best suburbs, for sale)

[lisheyd]

My husband's company is transferring him to Chicago in a couple of months from NJ, and we're looking to find a place to put down some roots. We are late 20s/early 30s with a toddler, so we're looking for a nice place for families, good schools (eventually), parks, and are looking to spend no more than $350k for a single-family home with a yard. We are more than willing to get something that needs work as long as it has good bones. A walkable downtown would be nice, but isn't necessary as long as there is decent shopping nearby.

After perusing these boards for quite some time, I think we've narrowed it down to Deerfield, Northbrook, Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect. He'll be working downtown Chicago and doesn't want to commute more than an hour. I'll be looking for a job in the suburbs.

Are there any other places we should check into? Anyone care to describe the above places in a nutshell?

[Pete MUFC]

lisheyd,

All four places that you selected are nice and have excellent schools.
Arlington Heights has most walkable downtown with plenty of restaurants.
AH and Mt Prospect are served by Metra Union Pacific Northwest Line and Deerfield and Northbrook by Metra Milwaukee District/ North Line.
Both lines have excellent connection to the Loop and there are plenty of parking spaces available.
Check Metra website for their train schedule: http://metrarail.com
Commute by train will be appx 1/2 an hour with express trains and up to 45-50 min with local trains from all the locations except Deerfield (add 5-10 min more).
As for the home search...$350k will definitely get you nice home and a yard, but you need to give more details: proximity to train, highway, parks, how many bedrooms, bathrooms...

Just an example...
Arlington Heights, IL 60004 $234,500 Bedrooms: 3 Full Bath: 2 | Baird & Warner

As you said that you will be looking for a job in suburbs, there are plenty of employers near all the places you mentioned. To name a few: Walgreens, Allstate...near Deerfield & Northbrook, Motorola near Arlington Heights...
PM me if you want more info and good luck!

Originally Posted by lisheyd

My husband's company is transferring him to Chicago in a couple of months from NJ, and we're looking to find a place to put down some roots. We are late 20s/early 30s with a toddler, so we're looking for a nice place for families, good schools (eventually), parks, and are looking to spend no more than $350k for a single-family home with a yard. We are more than willing to get something that needs work as long as it has good bones. A walkable downtown would be nice, but isn't necessary as long as there is decent shopping nearby.

After perusing these boards for quite some time, I think we've narrowed it down to Deerfield, Northbrook, Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect. He'll be working downtown Chicago and doesn't want to commute more than an hour. I'll be looking for a job in the suburbs.

Are there any other places we should check into? Anyone care to describe the above places in a nutshell?

[lisheyd]

Thanks for the additional info. We don't need to be close to the highway, as my husband will be taking the Metra to work. We wouldn't want to be further than 15 minutes from a train stop. How is parking usually at the trains? Hard to find a spot in the morning?

Walking distance to a park would be optimal.

We're looking for at least 3 bedrooms, with a separate office/basement/loft/rec room/any extra space for a computer/hobby room.

[tcaldwell]

Look at homes near downtown Arlington Heights. There should be some within your price range. They are older homes but within easy walking distance to the train station and downtown. Mount Prospect is lower priced but can be scketchy. You will have a difficult time finding the size of house you want for that budget in Deerfield or Northbrook that would be convenient to either the train or shopping. With the downturn in the housing market though you may find a steal. Northern Arlington Heights has lower-priced homes but they are inconvenient for train commuting. My wife and I lived about four blocks south of downtown Arlington Heights for about that price and it was perfect location-wise for commuting to Chicago. The high schools are so-so. I don't know anything about the elementry schools. These towns are little further away but have you considered Vernon Hills, Buffalo Grove, or Libertyville? You may find something in your price range in one of those towns. They all have train stations (although Buffalo Grove & Vernon Hills lines do not have as many trains as other lines), not congested, and good schools.

[Rlest8]

You may want to consider Glenview as well.

[Coyote27]

Originally Posted by tcaldwell

Mount Prospect is lower priced but can be scketchy.

I would disagree with the above statement. If you would like to put this in context for us, that would be helpful. Mt. Prospect overall has a very good reputation for safety and schools.

[Vandy-bound]

We have a house that will be up for sale in the soon future in Mt. Prospect, as we moved to Nashville for school (PhD program). Wanna buy it? ;-) We loved Mt. Prospect for the train, great schools, shopping proximity etc. Our house has a decent side yard but is 2 blocks from Fairview School/park and 2 blocks from Prospect High. I used to have to take the train downtown for school and would walk to the train station (unless the weather was especially horrid). I walked it in ~15 minutes, but driving it takes <5. I think that Mt. Prospect is one of the best suburbs for families. I grew up there and I know a LOT of my classmates that have moved back because it is really awesome. Very community-oriented, family-centered, but still not clique-ish and is welcoming to newcomers. Arlington Heights is also pretty darn awesome that way--but tends to have slightly higher taxes than Mt. Prospect (at least when we were buying) but it's still a great area. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the choices you've already narrowed down to. Good luck!

[tcaldwell]

@Coyote27:

I'm afraid I lodged my foot in my mouth. As I said it "can" be scketchy just like many other areas. The downtown area/train station in Mount Prospect is nice but when you go south of there towards Algonquin Rd. it seems to turn. Randhurst mall has had problems with gangs. I am NOT saying that there are not good areas in Mount Prospect - apparently Vandybound lived near the downtown which is a very beautiful area.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by tcaldwell

@Coyote27:

I'm afraid I lodged my foot in my mouth. As I said it "can" be scketchy just like many other areas. The downtown area/train station in Mount Prospect is nice but when you go south of there towards Algonquin Rd. it seems to turn. Randhurst mall has had problems with gangs. I am NOT saying that there are not good areas in Mount Prospect - apparently Vandybound lived near the downtown which is a very beautiful area.

Randhurst mall would only have problems with gangs of rats right now. The mall was torn down and is being rebuilt in similar fashion to Streets of Woodfield. So there is NO mall thus no gang problems. Yes the south end which is dominated by many large apartment complexes is not as nice, but the vast majority of the town is quite nice and quite safe.

[166181]

Perhaps you should also think about Glenview...

It has 2 Metra stations, and an Amtrak station, EXCELLENT schools, with HUGE spending per student, and amenities that are amazing for a school (that even some universities lack) (not to mention ACT scores). Low-crime town. It has the Glen, which is wonderful for recreation, and the Park Center. The Glen, look at some pictures, is a huge shopping complex, with apartments on top of the shops. It was as if someone took a spot from the commercial district of New York, cleaned it up, and dropped it right in the middle of the suburbs. Diversity, and lot of people from Asian decent of some sort (India, China, etc.) It is an affluent community, and perfect for children, and encourages independence. Different neighborhoods with each a different flavor.