Elmhurst vs Wheaton, Naperville, Hinsdale (Addison: transfer, live, cost)

[holl1ngsworth]

Elmhurst and Wheaton and roughly analogous. Both have relatively large and vibrant downtown districts, with adjacent, equally-sized liberal arts colleges (aptly named Wheaton College and Elmhurst College). Both have excellent public schools and loads of young families boasting similarly-high median incomes. Both also have great proximity to major corporate job centers along I-88. There are, however, a few minor differences:

Elmhurst is 16 miles to the Loop.
Wheaton is 24 miles to Loop.

Elmhurst fastest Metra train to or from Ogilivie OTC is 24 minutes.
Wheaton fastest Metra train to of from Ogilvie OTC is 34 minutes.

Elmhurst 4-bedroom homes average $563k.
Wheaton 4-bedroom homes average $482k.

Elmhurst families earning over $200k number 2150, or 19.2% of the population.
Wheaton families earning over $200k number 2142, or 16.3% of the population.

Elmhurst has more small post-WWII ranches.
Wheaton has more 70-80's style subdivisions.

Elmhurst has a first-class art museum.
Wheaton has a first-class military museum.

Elmhurst has 28 parks and 460 acres of green space.
Wheaton has 52 parks and 800-plus acres of green space.

Elmhurst has no in-town golf courses.
Wheaton has three in-town golf courses.

Elmhurst downtown is 2.5 miles from Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, #14 ranked in IL
Wheaton downtown is 2.5 miles from Central Dupage Hospital, #6 ranked in IL

Elmhurst has the Main Stem of the Illinois Prairie path running through town.
Wheaton has all three stems of the Illinois Prairie path running though town.

Elmhurst borders three small forest preserves.
Wheaton borders four large forest preserves.

Elmhurst is a short trip to Brookfield Zoo, but has no local wildlife center.
Wheaton has it's own zoo, Cosley Zoo.

Elmhurst is a short trip to Hanson Center Riding Arena, but has no local equestrian center.
Wheaton has it's own equestrian center, Danada.

Elmhurst has The Drury Theater nearby, a regional attraction.
Wheaton has The Morton Arboretum nearby, a regional attraction.

Elmhurst downtown is a 7-mile Uber trip from the nearest big downtown area, La Grange.
Wheaton downtown is a 7-mile Uber trip from the nearest big downtown area, Naperville.

Elmhurst was incorporated in 1882.
Wheaton was incorporated in 1859.

.

Ok. I'm sure whoever is reading this has probably had enough at this point. The towns are a lot alike. My wife and I were more charmed by Wheaton when we were house shopping a couple years ago, and that's where we picked to raise our children.

[Threes-A-Charm]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

Elmhurst and Wheaton and roughly analogous. Both have relatively large and vibrant downtown districts, with adjacent, equally-sized liberal arts colleges (aptly named Wheaton College and Elmhurst College). Both have excellent public schools and loads of young families boasting similarly-high median incomes. Both also have great proximity to major corporate job centers along I-88. There are, however, a few minor differences:

Elmhurst is 16 miles to the Loop.
Wheaton is 24 miles to Loop.

Elmhurst fastest Metra train to or from Ogilivie OTC is 24 minutes.
Wheaton fastest Metra train to of from Ogilvie OTC is 34 minutes.

Elmhurst 4-bedroom homes average $563k.
Wheaton 4-bedroom homes average $482k.

Elmhurst families earning over $200k number 2150, or 19.2% of the population.
Wheaton families earning over $200k number 2142, or 16.3% of the population.

Elmhurst has more small post-WWII ranches.
Wheaton has more 70-80's style subdivisions.

Elmhurst has a first-class art museum.
Wheaton has a first-class military museum.

Elmhurst has 28 parks and 460 acres of green space.
Wheaton has 52 parks and 800-plus acres of green space.

Elmhurst has no in-town golf courses.
Wheaton has three in-town golf courses.

Elmhurst downtown is 2.5 miles from Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, #14 ranked in IL
Wheaton downtown is 2.5 miles from Central Dupage Hospital, #6 ranked in IL

Elmhurst has the Main Stem of the Illinois Prairie path running through town.
Wheaton has all three stems of the Illinois Prairie path running though town.

Elmhurst borders three small forest preserves.
Wheaton borders four large forest preserves.

Elmhurst is a short trip to Brookfield Zoo, but has no local wildlife center.
Wheaton has it's own zoo, Cosley Zoo.

Elmhurst is a short trip to Hanson Center Riding Arena, but has no local equestrian center.
Wheaton has it's own equestrian center, Danada.

Elmhurst has The Drury Theater nearby, a regional attraction.
Wheaton has The Morton Arboretum nearby, a regional attraction.

Elmhurst downtown is a 7-mile Uber trip from the nearest big downtown area, La Grange.
Wheaton downtown is a 7-mile Uber trip from the nearest big downtown area, Naperville.

Elmhurst was incorporated in 1882.
Wheaton was incorporated in 1859.

.

Ok. I'm sure whoever is reading this has probably had enough at this point. The towns are a lot alike. My wife and I were more charmed by Wheaton when we were house shopping a couple years ago, and that's where we picked to raise our children.

That is some great info!! Thank you so much!!

Where does Downers Grove fit into the mix? It is a desirable town on the same level as Elmhurst and Wheaton?

[moderngnome]

Originally Posted by Threes-A-Charm

Where does Downers Grove fit into the mix? It is a desirable town on the same level as Elmhurst and Wheaton?

Elmhurst/Wheaton/Downers Grove = They are all basically the same thing.

We chose Elmhurst, because it was the shortest commute (my DH works in Elmhurst).

Schools - Great. Down town areas - Great. I have friends that live in all three, and we wouldn't have hesitated to live in any of them.

Wheaton has a population of 53,600
Elmhurst has a population of 45,500
Downers Grove has a population of 49,600

One thing that appealed to us about Elmhurst vs. Wheaton or Downers Grove is that we only have one public high school - so in my opinion, it really adds to the sense/feeling of community. ALL our kids grow up and go to the same high school. We all cheer for the same football team. It makes Elmhurst feel like a small town separate from the metropolitan area.

[lakecountylifer]

Elmhurst= 1 minute away from crazy bottleneck traffic of Northlake/Melrose Park and all the strip malls and rift-raft of that area.

Wheaton= Better insulated from areas like that.

Winner- Wheaton by a country mile.

[chet everett]

There us no reason for anyone that lives in Elmhurst to ever have occasion to be in Melrose Park...

Elmhurst is a lovely towns. It is much more centrally located for folks reliant on airport travel. Though Wheaton is very nice town that has many nice features it would be worse for folks that need frequent access to OHare or Midway.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by lakecountylifer

Elmhurst= 1 minute away from crazy bottleneck traffic of Northlake/Melrose Park and all the strip malls and rift-raft of that area.

Wheaton= Better insulated from areas like that.

Winner- Wheaton by a country mile.

I've lived in Elmhurst for 2 years and never noticed any "undesirables" due to being near Northlake or Melrose Park. I go there for Home Depot all the time, actually, and it's nice that it isn't too far.

Wheaton is a great town, but it's also less central. Wheaton is 15 to 20 minutes longer on the train each way. That adds up if you work downtown. If you work near Wheaton, then living in Wheaton is a no-brainer. But, many people work in Chicago or other towns further east, which is a very good reason to consider Elmhurst.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

I've lived in Elmhurst for 2 years and never noticed any "undesirables" due to being near Northlake or Melrose Park. I go there for Home Depot all the time, actually, and it's nice that it isn't too far.

Wheaton is a great town, but it's also less central. Wheaton is 15 to 20 minutes longer on the train each way. That adds up if you work downtown. If you work near Wheaton, then living in Wheaton is a no-brainer. But, many people work in Chicago or other towns further east, which is a very good reason to consider Elmhurst.

I agree. The time difference can be as little as 10 minutes depending on which trains you are looking at, but it's longer for sure. I'll say I actually appreciate the extra time-on-train, and my wife and I felt Wheaton home prices more than compensated for the extra minutes.

I don't get the proximity argument with Elmhurst. It certainly doesn't show up in crime stats.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

I agree. The time difference can be as little as 10 minutes depending on which trains you are looking at, but it's longer for sure. I'll say I actually appreciate the extra time-on-train, and my wife and I felt Wheaton home prices more than compensated for the extra minutes.

I don't get the proximity argument with Elmhurst. It certainly doesn't show up in crime stats.

Yeah, I don't get it either. I haven't noticed anything unsavory spilling into Elmhurst. What exactly that would entail, I'm not sure I know...

The extra train time wouldn't have bothered me that much, but when we were looking for a house the inventory in Wheaton was just not there. We were shopping in the winter of 2012/early 2013 though and inventory was pretty tight everywhere at that point in time. The bigger issue with Wheaton was that my husband's friends are 95% in Evanston. So, he wanted to be closer to Evanston since it is such an annoying place to get to from pretty much everywhere. We also go there for all the NU home football games, so it's a drive we make a lot.

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

Yeah, I don't get it either. I haven't noticed anything unsavory spilling into Elmhurst. What exactly that would entail, I'm not sure I know...

The extra train time wouldn't have bothered me that much, but when we were looking for a house the inventory in Wheaton was just not there. We were shopping in the winter of 2012/early 2013 though and inventory was pretty tight everywhere at that point in time. The bigger issue with Wheaton was that my husband's friends are 95% in Evanston. So, he wanted to be closer to Evanston since it is such an annoying place to get to from pretty much everywhere. We also go there for all the NU home football games, so it's a drive we make a lot.

Just curious. Ever taken the train there? Yes you have to transfer at OTC, but the round trip fare is only $8 on weekends.

[ToriaT]

The train ride to Wheaton is a little longer. South Wheaton is very close to I 88 and also 355 which makes getting around easy. You always get a good seat on the train if you get on in Wheaton. Not so when you get on in Elmhurst. Also Wheaton has some large commuter parking lots. I imagine Elmhurst does as well but I would check about them.