Time to move out of the city

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by earthworm_james

I heard from various sources that it was becoming a bit of a "college town" with loud house parties etc. Quote me if I'm wrong! Also surprisingly expensive.

I don't live there, but currently have a project there (spent last 2 weeks at NU) and keep asking myself "Why don't I live here?" Just a beautiful town with great amenities. But then again, I haven't looked closely at the sticker price.

My NU alum friends always told me the party scene is low-key (e.g. as compared to other big 10 like Illinois, it has more of a studious rep) but maybe things are changing. But you should be able to avoid the college party areas. It is a pretty diverse town after all with people from all walks of life...

I'm sure some other posters from Evanston can give you better information.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by earthworm_james

I heard from various sources that it was becoming a bit of a "college town" with loud house parties etc. Quote me if I'm wrong! Also surprisingly expensive.

Evanston has areas where college students live, but they are not everywhere and certainly the loud house parties are in very few areas right around the college. It has been a college town for quite a while and there is a bit of town/gown conflict. Much of the student population lives in the dorms though certainly some live off-campus.

It does tend to be more expensive, but not necessarily more expensive than Wilmette which you are considering.

[chet everett]

There are LOTS of decent colleges in the region -- Wheaton, Elmhurst, Aurora all have schools that share their name, Lisle has Benedictine, Naperville's North Central, Concordia and Dominican in River Forest and Oak Park respectively, Joliet has St. Francis, Chicago has Xavier, CSU, IIT, Northeastern, DePaul, Loyola, UIC, UofC, Columbia, Roosevelt and probably a few more legitimate schools too. Add in the rather nice range of community colleges and there are probably a few dozen options BUT they are all EXTREMELY hard for anyone w/o and inside connection to get a shot at. Really, it is a very very very long shot. It really is the kind of thing where if there is a graduate student that gets a rare coop / externship that might the only person hired in a decade. That said, all the schools do have online personal offices and it might make sense to explore the whole range of administrative hiring that they need.


You've got to be realistic and keep your options open. It would really be a lousy commute if your spouse did get a decent job in Elgin or Waukegan and you just bought a house in Lisle...

Makes sense to get the employment nailed down first and then figure out which towns will make the most sense!

Originally Posted by earthworm_james

Hey guys,

Alright, after some more extensive research, I've whittled it down to a top 4 (in no particular order):

1) Wheaton
2) Wilmette
3) Northbrook
4) Lisle

My wife would like to find a job in a university setting (her field is Academic Advising), so Northwestern looks pretty promising and thus Northbrook and Wilmette came up. Evanston seems pretty student-heavy and quite expensive too! I am a Personal Trainer, with acting/writing as a hobby- so for me places with gyms seem to be everywhere and maybe a good local theatre too.

Lisle and Wheaton were two other options we thought were fitting for us, on the west side of things.

Any thoughts?

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by earthworm_james

Hey guys,

Alright, after some more extensive research, I've whittled it down to a top 4 (in no particular order):

1) Wheaton
2) Wilmette
3) Northbrook
4) Lisle

My wife would like to find a job in a university setting (her field is Academic Advising), so Northwestern looks pretty promising and thus Northbrook and Wilmette came up. Evanston seems pretty student-heavy and quite expensive too! I am a Personal Trainer, with acting/writing as a hobby- so for me places with gyms seem to be everywhere and maybe a good local theatre too.

Lisle and Wheaton were two other options we thought were fitting for us, on the west side of things.

Any thoughts?

Wheaton has a really excellent and active community theater in the downtown district called Wheaton Drama. There's also an improv theater in the downtown district, Westside Improv, and other theater-related events throughout the year, such as Shakespeare in the Park. Wheaton also has the benefit of being in close proximity to Wheaton College, a top-ranked liberal arts college, and College of DuPage, one of Illinois' largest community college.

I personally would exhaust options in Northbrook, Wilmette and Wheaton (and others if there are any) before searching Lisle. And I agree with Chet, nail down the jobs first.

[summer22]

Originally Posted by chet everett

There are LOTS of decent colleges in the region -- Wheaton, Elmhurst, Aurora all have schools that share their name, Lisle has Benedictine, Naperville's North Central, Concordia and Dominican in River Forest and Oak Park respectively, Joliet has St. Francis, Chicago has Xavier, CSU, IIT, Northeastern, DePaul, Loyola, UIC, UofC, Columbia, Roosevelt and probably a few more legitimate schools too. Add in the rather nice range of community colleges and there are probably a few dozen options BUT they are all EXTREMELY hard for anyone w/o and inside connection to get a shot at. Really, it is a very very very long shot. It really is the kind of thing where if there is a graduate student that gets a rare coop / externship that might the only person hired in a decade. That said, all the schools do have online personal offices and it might make sense to explore the whole range of administrative hiring that they need.


You've got to be realistic and keep your options open. It would really be a lousy commute if your spouse did get a decent job in Elgin or Waukegan and you just bought a house in Lisle...

Makes sense to get the employment nailed down first and then figure out which towns will make the most sense!

This is well said, and I agree with the difficulty of school or university employment in Illinois. I had a job offer from East-West University once, but it was not a well-paying role and I was living in NW Indiana... I would have had a long commute in wintertime and would not have been able to afford a move to the city. That being said, it appeared to be a nice place to work.

As far as the topic at hand, if I was back in Chicagoland, I would definitely gravitate toward Evanston.

[ChiAreaGuy]

1,200 a month? In the areas these folks are recommending, your place will be REALLY, REALLY small, old, most likely in disrepair. I'd say Palatine, I had a friend, who lives in a renovated townhouse(inside), yes a bit cheap quality, but it's big, and not old on the inside.

He pays 1,400 each month.

Check out Palatine, AH, and these areas.