Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-19-2006, 05:53 PM
 
1 posts, read 4,581 times
Reputation: 21

Advertisements

We are relocating to the Chicagoland area this summer. We have 2 elementary aged kids. We have kind of narrowed in on 2-3 places potentailly in which to buy a home. The prices in all three are fine, so thankfully that it not a deciding factor. The three are: Naperville, Wheaton and St. Charles.
Top quality schools are a priority for us.
It has been very tough to decide based upon driving around the neighborhoods, eating in local restaurants, shopping in local stores, etc. What impressions or perceptions do these locations bring up for those of you familiar with the areas? Pros and cons of each? This would be a huge help in making a final decision. I just feel that we are really missing only what "insiders" could give.
Thank you so much!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-28-2006, 04:53 PM
 
3 posts, read 13,344 times
Reputation: 27
naperville would be very crowded.i personally would not want to live in naperville. wheaton has a very good high school. i would probably rather live in st. charles though
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-31-2006, 10:05 PM
j33
 
4,626 posts, read 14,092,745 times
Reputation: 1719
Depends on what you are looking for. Being a Chicagoan I don't find Naperville 'crowded' by any stretch of the imagination , and for a suburb, it has a pretty nice downtown area. However St. Charles also has much going for it (it has some lovely parks and very cute downtown strip) and has a bit more of a rural feel if that is what you are into, I just recently discovered St. Charles (I admittedly need to leave the city more but don't have a car so I don't as often as I'd like) and think it is a lovely town and I'm looking forward to visiting again. If I were to have to chose between the two, I'd probably go for St. Charles but if you want more stuff 'downtown' (meaning the downtown of the 'burb) then Naperville might be a bit more up your alley. Both have Metra stops close by too if you need to take the train into the city.

Regardig perceptions, I have a bit of a different background, so perceptionwise they both meld into the "wealthy suburb" blob of the north and northwest-side burbs in my mind, so there you have it. I think you'll probably like them both.

I know very little about Wheaton so I'm no help there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-06-2006, 08:08 PM
 
Location: un peu près de Chicago
773 posts, read 2,632,622 times
Reputation: 523
We live in Lisle, IL, which is east of Naperville and south of Wheaton. My choice between the two would be Wheaton, which is a smaller town with a small town ambiance. (Naperville is, I believe, the second largest city in the state of Illinois.) Of course, there are many more restaurants and shops in Naperville. (I get my haircuts there!) Wheaton is also close to the College of DuPage, a two-year community college which has a lot of adult events, as well as an active arts scene (theatre and music). Feel free to e-mail me if you have any specific questions. And welcome tp Illinois.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-12-2006, 12:53 PM
 
2 posts, read 8,200 times
Reputation: 24
We moved here a year ago and considered all the same areas. We ended up in Bartlett ( a little NE of St. Charles).

You really have to consider the commute. My wife works 20 minutes east in Glendale Heights. I work 30 minutes south in North Aurora, which may seem bad...but I happen to go the opposite way of traffic every day...and it is heaven!

Naperville is the power suburb. Great downtown. Big houses. Stuff to do. However it is in the South Suburbs. That means EVERYONE in Naperville has to drive North and/or East. What the realtor won't tell you is that there are only a few roads in and out of Naperville. You guessed it. EVERYONE in Naperville uses those roads. Nice place to live, horrible congestion with no relief in sight road plan wise. Plus Naperville is only getting bigger....

St. Charles. Nice quaint countryish suburb. Nice historical main street with restaurants, river walk, antiques etc...Lots of nice subdivisions. However :-)
What the realtor won't tell again has to do with congestion. Fox river cuts north/south through downtown St. Charles. (this applies to other Fox River Valley communities of Batavia, Geneva, and Elgin) You have to cross the river and there is only one bridge in each town (and if you are lucky, one in between) If you live on the west side of fox river in St. Charles (where all the new development is along randall rd)...cars are lined up for miles going east in the morning. At 5 PM it is the opposite. Same problem as Naperville. Definate traffic choke points. So if you go for St. Charles, Batavia, or Geneva, stay on the east side of the river. You will thank me...

May want to check out Bartlett, and Wayne also. The are NE of St. Charles and on the right side of the river :-) If you like REALLY quaint small town with some UNBELEIVABLE houses and properties, take a drive thru Wayne sometime...Bartlett has some nice subdivisions too.

As for Wheaton. Very nice suburb. That was probably our second choice. Plus its a lot closer to the city whether you are driving or taking the train. More driving options road-wise/highway-wise too. However, if you like Wheaton, if you can afford it, be sure to check out Glen Ellyn. More unbeleivable beautiful homes. If I could pick ANY suburb we checked out it would be Glen Ellyn. Small town, good schools, good location, and great properties...maybe in the future :-)

Hope this helped. Good Luck...

Last edited by cokekiller; 04-12-2006 at 12:58 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-13-2006, 12:59 PM
 
9 posts, read 59,702 times
Reputation: 24
i live in wheaton right now and its a nice town. its has that nice small town feeling. and the schools are great. my younger brothers and sisters all go to school there and i wish i had had the chance to go to the high school espically. i would really suggest wheaton. best of luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-20-2006, 01:20 AM
 
Location: Chicago
8 posts, read 66,492 times
Reputation: 38
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zea mays
(Naperville is, I believe, the second largest city in the state of Illinois.)
I think that distinction belongs to either Rockford or Peoria.

However, Naperville is pretty big by suburban standards. Out of the 3, I think Naperville and Wheaton are the best. They have great schools although, like Cokekiller stated, congestion can be a bit of a problem in Naperville.

Good luck to you!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-21-2006, 09:10 AM
 
5 posts, read 18,004 times
Reputation: 11
Default Naperville schools

I sent two children through Naperville schools. Both average students.

I'll tell you...if you're not a jock you kind of get lost in the system.

If I had it to do differently...I'd choose Wheaton.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-22-2006, 01:54 PM
 
6 posts, read 31,934 times
Reputation: 14
Go with wheaton. Kind of a boring city, but the schools are nice (also a good private school in the area), and it's close enough to Chicago.

In Naperville, the schools are too big, and you will get lost in the system as someone already mentioned.

St. Charles is a good choice as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-24-2006, 12:57 PM
 
28 posts, read 180,170 times
Reputation: 28
Naperville is great but pricey. They have a great downtown - bars,resteraunts,shops, etc. In the summer there is plenty to do.

All of the older homes are being torn down in favor of McMansions. People are paying 500k for homes to tear down. Also - taxes can be very pricey.

Wheaton is very nice as well - but VERY conservative. Something to keep in mind if that's an issue for you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top