which western suburbs? (Chicago, Aurora, Naperville: rental, house, neighborhoods)

[gardener34]

Where are you working at. That determines everything since commute times here can be crushing. Is access to the train because you are all going to have to commute in to work?

Naperville is also very good and large in your price range, and many people like it. You could get a nice house there for your budget. Even at $600,000 some of the above mentioned burbs you will get less for your money. Naperville has a train.

Also Wheaton is good, and has train service. That is another consideration.

[HOWELL_STREET]

Dear Friend:

Wheaton, IL is a very nice town to raise a family. However, the houses are going to be terribly expensive and one will have extreme difficulty in finding ANY work in the town of Wheaton. People find a good job and then stay with it for a life time.
Now as a senior citizen, I have lived in Wheaton since 1966. And so I have seen Wheaton homes soar in price. We live in the NW corner of Wheaton and about one block from Winfield. Our neighborhood is a semi - rural area and so you will find homes with 1/2 acre lots available. Your four bedroom request is going to kick up the price to about $800K to one - million dollars. But in our neighborhood, a USED three bedroom home with 1/2 acre lot will list for about $350K and up depending upon its condition. These homes may need work and will have well water and a septic system.
About one block south of our home is a listed home that was rebuilt after a fire. It is a small two bedroom home and currently lists for $258,900. It was built in 1961. My guess is that the lot is about 1/3 acre.
In Wheaton, we also have the Chciago METRA, Union Pacific West Line. That has frequent passenger service from Elburn, Illinois to downtown Chicago with stops also in Winfield and Wheaton.
Since people basically ask the same questions over and over, much of my information has been posted in many other threads. But I hope this specifically helps YOU.

Carter Glass

[Jeff Hill]

The list of towns here is very nice. Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville are all nice towns. However, they are all due west of the city. I believe your original post was asking about the Northwest burbs.

At a price point of 450-600, you can find some VERY nice properties in the NW burbs. Barrington is fantastic. Barrington is about an hour drive to the loop and yes they have a train station too. If you want something a little closer to the city, Arlington Heights is a nice choice too.

To the North I would look at Lake Forest, Bannockburn, Deerfield or Lincolnshire.



Good luck in your search!!!

[homewifeev]

Cmow you need a new realtor. You can find a decent four bedroom house on the North Shore if you look in the right places. The North Shore cities are known for their mature trees and thick tree canopy. Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, and Lake Forest are all Tree City USA's. Wilmette is known for its lot standards. I looked at a home in East Wilmette with a lot that was 70' by 228'. One very important thing is that when you purchase a home on the North Shore you are making a strong investment. The North Shore goes know where but up. In 2007 we have seen an increase from 2006 even 2005. Now its not up by 10% but maybe around 5% or 6%. Wilmette had a 22% increase from 2005 to 2006. I would look in West Evanston or far Northwest Evanston close to Skokie and Wilmette if I were you to find the best bargains. There is a really nice section in West Evanston on Greenleaf and Lake Streets (East of Dodge and West of Ridge). This area is very diverse and intermixed. The housing prices range from around $500,00 to $1,300,000 for what you are looking for. Naperville is a newer suburb so there are not a lot of mature trees. The Barrington Area is very nice and Arlington Heights is. The Barrington Area homes are either very wooded or they are in a subdivision where they just bulldozed everything and built McMansions and put in some ponds and called them lakes. Barrington has very good schools but I have heard bad things about the high school. Deerfield is pretty cookie-cutter and the High School is not the best. It's sister high school in Highland Park is ranked among the best though. Bannockburn is nice but it has Deerfield Schools. There are a lot of old people in Bannockburn. Lincolnshire is nice it has the best high school in the state. The best elementary school and middle school in Illinois are probably Middlefork and Sunset Ridge in far east Northfield. In Northfield a lot of people rent houses. Cmow look up Evanston listings on realtor.com. I'll look for you and give you a list of recommendations.

[Zebra]

Arlington Heights and Buffalo Grove are small but great, everything accessible from shops to restaurants. Elk Grove near Schaumburg is also nice and small but quiet and beautiful. Good Luck!

[ahava]

Originally Posted by Evanstonian1974

Deerfield is pretty cookie-cutter and the High School is not the best. It's sister high school in Highland Park is ranked among the best though. Bannockburn is nice but it has Deerfield Schools. There are a lot of old people in Bannockburn. Lincolnshire is nice it has the best high school in the state. The best elementary school and middle school in Illinois are probably Middlefork and Sunset Ridge in far east Northfield.

I don't know where you get your information about schools, but Deerfield is actually a better high school than Highland Park, Bannockburn has its own elementary school district - not Deerfield's, Stevenson is an excellent school but not the best high school in the state, and the best elementary and middle school in Illinois are both in Chicago (as well as the best high school). Here are the test scores for comparison purposes:

High Schools by rank in state - percent of students meeting/exceeding state standards and average ACT composite score
1) Northside College Prep (Chicago) - 98.3 and 27.8
4) New Trier (Winnetka) - 88.5 and 26.8
6) Deerfield - 83.7 and 25.5
7) Stevenson (Lincolnshire) - 83.4 and 25.6
15) Highland Park - 79.4 and 25.2

[homewifeev]

I usually get my data from Newsweek and word of mouth. Test scores are not everything. I got my information on middle and elementary schools from a Tribune article. It still seems the best schools are Stevenson, New Trier, Hinsdale Central, and Evanston Township for suburbs. Most people cannot get into Northside Prep, Lincoln Park, or Lane Tech. I meant Deerfield shares a high school with Bannockburn. HP high has drug problems but I hear it is overall a better schooll than Deerfield.

[nanannie]

I had my own kids and knew a large group of their pals thru Barrington High School.I find it irresponsible to throw out "I heard bad things" and leave it at that.What bad things?? The kids I know are certainly fine,impressive young people,and many move here FOR the schools.You do an injustice with such a flippant statement

[homewifeev]

I have heard that there are serious drug problems at both Highland Park and Barrington High Schools. I can only go by my experience that is what this site is about. Is it not?

[nanannie]

I would sure love to know of a high school that did not have drug issues