Advice on Chicago suburbs for family (Park Ridge, Glen Ellyn: renting, credit, loan)

[chirack]

Originally Posted by linicx

A car is expensive. You can reasonably expect to pay an additional $200 US per month or more to park it - if you do not find a rental unit that includes parking. Covered parking is better as Chicago winters can be brutal. The Canadian wind whips across Lake Michigan and creates something the local forecasters call the "lake effect."

I have to disagree with this one. Not that cars are expensive but in terms of parking. There are places where this is true: Downtown Chicago, some hot north side neighborhoods like Lincoln Park, Lake view which are chronically short of parking but in 90% of the town and burbs parking is free.

You only pay if you need a garage for the most part. If you are renting then you might not pay at all(or have the option of street parking in most cases). Many people commute to downtown via metra both due to parking and due to traffic.

I would agree with linicx that Oak park is a very nice walkable burb with lots of public transit and good schools. It is like around a 20 min. Metra trip downtown and is served by the CTA green line(located in the same place as the Metra). The CTA Blue line, which runs 24 hours,(Both green and Blue head east into downtown Chicago) is located a short distance away in forest park. It is an Urban place so if you were looking for something more rural it won't fit the bill but otherwise nice.

I also agree with just getting one car to start but in some burbs that could be a problem. There could be no way to get to or from the metra station without one(which can cause problems if both you and your spouse are working). Even when public transportation is available the lack of sidewalks in some burbs can present problems.

If you need public tranist check the area out a bit first if you can. Metra is our commuter rail(burb to Chicago). PACE is our suburban bus system. CTA is the citie's el(rapid transit trains) and buses.

There are a couple of CTA lines and bus routes that go a bit into the burbs but it is mostly focued on the city.

Also in general housing prices(if you are buying) will be more expensive in the north and northwest burbs, less expensive in the west burbs and least expensive in the south burbs. However there are exceptions to that(like probably oak park).

[PrairieGirl]

I would rent a place before buying a home, particularly anywhere you're not familiar with, period. There are so many variables involved when you're moving to a new country/state/town, especially with children and multiple careers factored in.

There is a large Irish-American community on Chicago's south side, in the Beverly neighborhood and others. They're mostly Irish-Catholic. If that is important to you, maybe your parish priest can help with that?

[chicagojlo]

Actually they won't be able to buy at all unless it's all cash or financed from abroad because they will have to build their credit history from scratch.

[AuDiBelle]

Originally Posted by oakparkdude

That's just Linicx being Linicx.

LOL, yep.

[skorch101]

I'm still learning various areas, but I do know one thing, you'll get murdered on your property tax bill if you live in a decent place in Oak Park!!!!!!! It's a nice suburb with great public transit options but prepare to pay $700+ USD a month just in tax if you purchase a place $200k USD or higher.

[linicx]

Chet,

Obviously you are not woman and YOU FEEL THE NEED TO*SCREAM TO BE HEARD ????? I heard you.

I have many friends overseas. The one thing I learned is the power grids are different and so are the small appliances and the cookers. Maybe you know what Mark 4 is, but you don't know the cooker is the Irish kitchen range with 5 or 6 burners and ovens that put ours to shame. If you do not know what a degree is in a recipe, how do you know how to translate M4 to degrees ? And of course you know an Irish stove in not necessarily a cooker.

Give the lady a break. She's coming into a area of 10 Million people, traffic like she has never seen in Ireland, highways that look like the Autohahn, kids to send to a new school that has a curriculum that is entirely foreign and new to them, plus foreign kitchen appliances. Not only are tney moving 10,000 miles with a family, the chances are great they will probably all have jet lag when they land.

The more information she has at hand, the easier the move will be for them. This is why I spent some time in Ireland looking at Irish kitchen appliances and then provided visual links to American appliances - not that I believe for one minute they are going to run out and buy it. FWIW, I've helped many families and singles move into Illinois. A little compassion and a little information does no harm, and sometimes it goes a long way to help smooth a difficult transition.

I have a friend in Aukland who is coming to visit. She drives all over a town of 1M people and all over New Zealand. She is terrified to drive an American car two blocks on pavement with no traffic.

[chicagojlo]

In my experience the majority of people that have the kind of jobs that lead to international relocation tend to have traveled quite a bit. Europeans tend to be much more aware of the world beyond their block than Americans.

[chet everett]

Sweet geezis Linicx, have you looked at a calendar? It is 2011. The Internet has been in wide use for DECADES. Ireland largely blossomed with investment from companies like Apple. The one thing you've learned is the power grids are different????

Of course people have different local terms for things like appliances -- I think I first saw and AGA cooker in a high end home on the North Shore In the 1970s, now I can open any remodling magazine and see ads for em (though i think they have preserved the cosmetics and Americanized the functional aspects).

Anybody that assumes an international relocation candidate does not have the wits to use google to translate cooking temps or 'petrol' pricing demeans both the sophistication of the person relocating AND the place they are coming to...

I further thing that your mindless recommendations for Oak Park's loathsome and ineffective Housing Center flies in the face of experience. The center has been in existence for at least four decades. Despite their claims to be a force for good, anyone with eyes can see segregation (more by income than race, but racial ties to income are so strong as to make any effort to separate them in the Chicago region fruitless) remains a real problem in Oak Park. The Housing Center routinely sends people to apartments based solely on the assumption that "balance" is to be achieved by looking at the skin color of a potential renter and sending them to a part of Oak Park where that skin color is underrepresented. The net result is an awful lot of potential renters end up thinking either "Oak Park is too expensive for me" OR "I'm all cool with diversity but I'd rather live someplace where all the apartments don't have burglar bars and there are people hanging out on the street corners late at night".

I appreciate that you think you've helped people relocate internationally. I actually in a town where people have come from Europe or Asia for work. I have coached their kids in Little League decades before the Internet existed. 30 years ago firms like McDonalds and Argonne Lab had to have special employees assigned to help families transition, now they give a few web links and tell 'em to figure it out. I don't know how things are downstate (where I thing you still live...) but inn the six county Chicago region it is pretty common for folks to be able to figure out the say stuff on their own and hire a psychologist or driving instructor for the more personal issues.

I think even oakparkdude is not putting the hard sell on for his town like you are. Ist is an OK town, and I recommend it when it makes sense. The OP in this thread seems FINE with living in any town with decent commute options for her husband and good schools. I thing there are LOTS of choices that would fit those modest requests. Believe it ot not not everyone gives a second thought to skin color. Some people kinda prefer listening to their colleages / firms' advise -- I gonna guess that in the financialmfield where OP's husband is likely employed MOST families with schools age kids would be VERY HAPPY in a nice affluent suburb.

[RightMove1]

Hi, I'm an international (real) estate agent (I have a certification, and am licensed in the state of IL), and I can give you some advice, as I have myself relocated from the Netherlands, and my children are still living in England. Here in the US estate agents work on commission; the seller's agent pays us so it is a free service to the buyer, and one agent can show you all homes that you want to view, as we have a secure "lockbox" and appointment system to get into homes.! It's very easy. you can email me at [email]darcoady@kw.com[/email], and I can direct you to some websites. Please take a look at the western suburbs for excellent schools. If you are willing to go as far west as Geneva (about an hour train ride) I think you'll be delighted with the landscape, (bike paths, and a beautiful town center), affordable and excellent schools. I can direct you to information for security, schools, and housing. It's a fun process... you'll love it here! Darlene Coady, Keller Williams Fox Valley Realty, St. Charles, Illinois 60174 email: [email]darcoady@kw.com[/email] CoadyHomes.com

[chicagojlo]

Surely as an immigrant yourself you know full well that the OP has no chance of being able to qualify for a mortgage for a good few years, bearing in mind they currently have no US credit history. Jeetje.