Good Suburbs for Families in Chicago? (Arlington Heights, Palatine: house, neighborhoods, buy)

[AutumnMist]

Hello,

We're moving to Chicago from Minnesota. My husband will be working in the O'Hare Airport Area. Now we have a big family, we have 5 kids under the age of 8 and another due in November so we're looking for a family friendly town. Our budget for a house is $330,000 with at least 4 bedrooms, a decent sized yard in a safe and quiet neighborhood with good public schools. I'm also hoping to be near a community college if that's at all possible. I don't know a lot about Chicago and would love the help of others. Do you know of any suburbs or neighborhoods that seem to fit what I'm looking for and any advice about moving here?

Thanks So Much!

[plates]

I would say Arlington Heights or Mount Prospect. Maybe Park Ridge if you can find something in that price range.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=A...ra=ls&t=m&z=12

Great schools, great location, near O'Hare, near community colleges, and in your price range.

[AutumnMist]

Originally Posted by plates

I would say Arlington Heights or Mount Prospect. Maybe Park Ridge if you can find something in that price range.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=A...ra=ls&t=m&z=12

Great schools, great location, near O'Hare, near community colleges, and in your price range.

Is Des Plaines any good?

[chet everett]

Desplaines is more "value priced" than neighbor like Mt. Prospect or Park Ridge because the schools are not quite as desirable, the distance to O'Hare runways is a little closer and the propensity of the the river to result in news stories after heavy rains is a greater perceived negative. Not sure that you are going to find many larger homes in your price range in Arlington Heights and Park Ridge will probably be even harder. Might need to expand search to include place like Elk Grove Village, Itasca and Bensenville -- all of those will keep you close to O'Hare but the trade offs are similar to Desplaines...

I would NOT recommend looking very far afield -- long commutes are a terrible trade off. If you need to have a bigger house and still want to be reasonably close to O'Hare you might include towns like Palatine, Morton Grove, Niles in your search as well as others already mentioned.

[plates]

Originally Posted by AutumnMist

Is Des Plaines any good?

Be careful of where you buy in Des Plaines because of flooding. Don't buy anything anywhere near the river. Des Plaines sends students to Maine West, Maine East and Elk Grove. The other cities send students to Maine South Hersey, and Prospect, although there are parts of Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect that send students to Wheeling and Rolling Meadows (I think) and people in the North part of Park Ridge have the option to go to Maine East instead of Maine West. Des Plaines is cheaper, though.

Originally Posted by chet everett

Desplaines is more "value priced" than neighbor like Mt. Prospect or Park Ridge because the schools are not quite as desirable, the distance to O'Hare runways is a little closer and the propensity of the the river to result in news stories after heavy rains is a greater perceived negative. Not sure that you are going to find many larger homes in your price range in Arlington Heights and Park Ridge will probably be even harder. Might need to expand search to include place like Elk Grove Village, Itasca and Bensenville -- all of those will keep you close to O'Hare but the trade offs are similar to Desplaines...

I would NOT recommend looking very far afield -- long commutes are a terrible trade off. If you need to have a bigger house and still want to be reasonably close to O'Hare you might include towns like Palatine, Morton Grove, Niles in your search as well as others already mentioned.

I wouldn't look at Bensenville.

[elgix6]

I think the best ones are in the far south, Monee, Mokena, and so on. But that would make for a far commute to O'hare. But it is nice and quiet out that way. For me, anything near the airport is to loud and to crowded.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by elgix6

I think the best ones are in the far south, Monee, Mokena, and so on. But that would make for a far commute to O'hare. But it is nice and quiet out that way. For me, anything near the airport is to loud and to crowded.

Stupidly long commute and inferior schools compared with Maine South, Hersey and Prospect!!

[TempesT68]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Stupidly long commute and inferior schools compared with Maine South, Hersey and Prospect!!

I agree, that is just nuts.