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Old 05-18-2014, 08:24 AM
 
Location: Duluth, MN
428 posts, read 810,900 times
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Are there other suburbs similar to St. Charles/Geneva that I should consider, such as northern or southern suburbs (isn't southern the more crime ridden areas though?)? I had been kind of set on St Charles/Geneva as I have a brother who lives there, but I don't want to move somewhere just for family as that can go bad on a dime. I would like to live in nice suburb or outlying city similar to St Charles, nice neighborhoods (streets with trees; parks; low crime), nice homes for $250k or less, on a commuter rail line that goes into Chicago. I am looking to move from Duluth MN (snow, ice, intense cold, six months of the year). Having family in St Charles is a factor but I am open to other suburbs; I am also going to get into filmmaking so I like the resources for that in the Chicago metro area (acting talent, directors, crew,,,).
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Old 05-18-2014, 01:34 PM
 
28,453 posts, read 85,403,413 times
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Default Wow, I dunno where to start...

Quote:
Originally Posted by joe_obody999 View Post
Are there other suburbs similar to St. Charles/Geneva that I should consider, such as northern or southern suburbs (isn't southern the more crime ridden areas though?)? I had been kind of set on St Charles/Geneva as I have a brother who lives there, but I don't want to move somewhere just for family as that can go bad on a dime. I would like to live in nice suburb or outlying city similar to St Charles, nice neighborhoods (streets with trees; parks; low crime), nice homes for $250k or less, on a commuter rail line that goes into Chicago. I am looking to move from Duluth MN (snow, ice, intense cold, six months of the year). Having family in St Charles is a factor but I am open to other suburbs; I am also going to get into filmmaking so I like the resources for that in the Chicago metro area (acting talent, directors, crew,,,).
Lots of misconceptions!

It is neither fair nor accurate to call the souther suburbs "crime ridden", I'll be the first to admit that job opportunities are better in the Western & Northern / North Western 'burbs , but "crime ridden" is not part of the equation for most suburbs.

Secondly, depending on what you consider a "nice" home the fact is even some of the less desirable suburbs $250k is unlikely to be sufficient, heck in many nice suburbs you literally cannot get a vacant lot for that...

Thirdly, FILMAKING?!? I mean no offense but even in the heart of Chicago, a very very different kind of lifestyle than any of the suburbs, especially outlying near-rural towns, it is probably going to be extremely difficult to link up with what is a very specialized field...

Without more info it would be hard to make further recommendations -- other than your brother why are you consider Chicago? While we are warmer than Duluth this is still the upper Midwest and we had recording set cold & snow. While some notable TV shows and movies have shot some exteriors in Chicago this is still an extremely tiny part of the overall production of TV or movie, places like Toronto probably have more need for staff...
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Old 05-18-2014, 01:55 PM
 
Location: Suburb of Chicago
31,848 posts, read 17,620,010 times
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I would check out Downers Grove and Lisle, to start. You don't mention if you are open to town homes or you want single family housing, or whether or not you have a family, but I would start there.

I'm sure others will have other suggestions, as well.
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Old 05-18-2014, 02:00 PM
 
Location: Suburb of Chicago
31,848 posts, read 17,620,010 times
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Joe, I'm confused. This is the second thread you started of this nature. Were you unhappy with the responses you got in your other thread?
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Old 05-19-2014, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Duluth, MN
428 posts, read 810,900 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MPowering1 View Post
Joe, I'm confused. This is the second thread you started of this nature. Were you unhappy with the responses you got in your other thread?
One thread was for comparing the Elgin->Batavia 'corridor' of cities. The other thread was asking about other suburbs (north, south, etc) that might be similar; I only really have visited St Charles/Geneva so I have no knowledge of the other suburbs of Chicago.
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Old 05-19-2014, 07:46 AM
 
Location: Duluth, MN
428 posts, read 810,900 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MPowering1 View Post
I would check out Downers Grove and Lisle, to start. You don't mention if you are open to town homes or you want single family housing, or whether or not you have a family, but I would start there. ...
Thank you! I will research DG and Lisle. I definitely do NOT want a town home/condo, I am only looking for a single family house. There are many nice single family homes that interest me that I have located online, at $150-$250k, in that St Charles->Batavia corridor, so I know I can at least find such a home in my budget there. I just do not know about other suburbs.
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Old 05-19-2014, 07:47 AM
 
11,975 posts, read 31,803,926 times
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Well, there are dozens of nice towns in the suburbs with downtown areas and commuter rail service, though Geneva probably has one of the better downtown areas in all of suburban Chicago. The problem is price. $250,000 doesn't get you much in any desirable suburb, so you may have to compromise a bit on the charm or school quality.
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Old 05-19-2014, 07:50 AM
 
11,975 posts, read 31,803,926 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joe_obody999 View Post
There are many nice single family homes that interest me that I have located online, at $150-$250k, in that St Charles->Batavia corridor, so I know I can at least find such a home in my budget there. I just do not know about other suburbs.
The Fox Valley is a bit discounted just for being that far away from Chicago's Central Business District. Being more than an hour train ride from the Loop and sort of distant from north/south freeway/expressway routes places some limits on the pool of available buyers for any home.

If you had a higher house budget, I would say to consider Downers Grove, Naperville, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst, Park Ridge, etc.... But your housing dollar won't go any further in any of these towns. And the northern suburbs are even worse in terms of cost.
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Old 05-19-2014, 07:50 AM
 
Location: Duluth, MN
428 posts, read 810,900 times
Reputation: 240
Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post
...Thirdly, FILMAKING?!? I mean no offense but even in the heart of Chicago, a very very different kind of lifestyle than any of the suburbs, especially outlying near-rural towns, it is probably going to be extremely difficult to link up with what is a very specialized field...
No worries. I plan to write+produce independent feature films. So I am not looking for employment, but rather to employ, or collaborate. There are many writers, actors, filmmakers, cinematographers, crew, directors in the Chicago area to collaborate/hire for independent filmmaking, which is my goal. Actual filming of a movie would take place over 10-14 days, so that is a small part of a production, locations, etc; the Chicago area is rich with talent etc for pre-production, directors and cinematographers for filming, editors for post-production, etc.
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Old 05-19-2014, 07:53 AM
 
Location: Duluth, MN
428 posts, read 810,900 times
Reputation: 240
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lookout Kid View Post
The Fox Valley is a bit discounted just for being that far away from Chicago's Central Business District. Being more than an hour train ride from the Loop and sort of distant from north/south freeway/expressway routes places some limits on the pool of available buyers for any home....
Nice. That gets me more home for my $$$. I don't mind being an hour train ride out-- I took early retirement a couple of years ago, don't need a job, and plan on getting into film production so I can easily 'work' out of the Fox Valley. In fact one independent film I plan to produce once I hit the ground starts out in Chicago, briefly, then the location shifts to rural IL just outside of the Fox Valley, desolate two lane road and corn fields, etc., so living in the Fox Valley could be quite nice for that.
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