Geneva St Charles Wheaton (Crystal Lake, St. Charles: school, live in, metra)

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

There are horrible freight trains in Wheaton. Really long ones. This is in addition to the commuter trains which can be frequent at times but not bad. I would disagree that the most desirable part of Wheaton is north of the tracks. Some of the most expensive, but modern homes in Wheaton are in the south area. The core of Wheaton, which is mostly north of the tracks is older gracious historic homes with some teardowns that have been built recently. South Wheaton is subdivisions of various kinds including luxury homes. Then the farther north you go in Wheaton, again you have some modern luxury homes. Wheaton does a very good job of having all of these knit together very well into a nice community that does not look like sprawl. There are also small "pocket" subdivisions of just a few homes that have been recently built. South Wheaton has better access to I 88, and stores and shopping, its also very easy to get to Naperville from there as well as shoot down Butterfield to the Oak Brook area.

This has not been my experience. I rarely run into them, and they are normal in length when I do.

[aga412]

Love me some Batavia but honestly Wheaton is the pick of these three.

[Peer79]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

This has not been my experience. I rarely run into them, and they are normal in length when I do.

For my previous job I had to travel in and out of the downtown Wheaton area regularly and I did encounter a significant number of long freight trains at Main St.

[ToriaT]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

This has not been my experience. I rarely run into them, and they are normal in length when I do.

As a Wheaton resident, I appreciate your advocacy and love for Wheaton. But don't become such a booster that you are not objective. There are bad and long trains that plague Wheaton.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

As a Wheaton resident, I appreciate your advocacy and love for Wheaton. But don't become such a booster that you are not objective. There are bad and long trains that plague Wheaton.

Again, I have not had problems with freight trains. I advocate for Wheaton with facts and links to data ad nauseam. Occasionally, when someone provides an anecdotal account that runs counter to my own experience, I respond in kind. You've given several opinionated accounts on this thread, and I've simply balanced them with my own opinion.

[jkeb2009]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

The so called extreme religious right type of people center around Wheaton College. South Wheaton where the newer houses are is more like Naperville in its demographic. Wheaton has changed a lot over the years and that element while still present is pretty easy to avoid. Just don't live around Wheaton College. Wheaton supports two or more large Catholic churches and many of those folks live in South Wheaton. I don't like St. Charles or Geneva to live in because they are just too far from the city. Wheaton is a little more manageable. St. Charles is not on the train line so you have to go into Geneva for that. If you never go into the city and you don't commute on the train to work then St. Charles or Geneva are okay. I prefer Wheaton. You are so close to everything. You don't need to go to Warrenville or Winfield to escape the "religious people" you refer to just don't live close to the collage.

Originally Posted by My Kind Of Town

Sorry, but I pulled a random home in north Wheaton and just this morning at 7am it showed 15 minutes to access I-88. Not bad, but also not "easily accessible." I consider <5 minutes "easy" access and parts of south Wheaton certainly fit this bill. Also, I would never suggest someone live in Downers, Hinsdale, Elmhurst, and certainly not Wheaton if they need to drive to the loop every day for work. Towns like LaGrange or Park Ridge are about as far removed as I'd want to be if I had to drive into the loop on a daily basis for a typical work shift at 7-9 am to 4-6 pm. Ideally, towns like Evanston and Oak Park would be even better.

Currently moving from park ridge and really don't like it here. Need more space which is why I chose Wheaton Geneva and st Charles. The other towns you named are being considered but 400k doesn't get me much of a house or lot. More like a serious fixer upper from the 1940s. And the commute would be via metra mostly approx 3 days per week so it's not terrible.

My post was more about the community aspect of the towns rather than commute. But appreciate all the feedback from everyone.

[aga412]

Wheaton

[chet everett]

Firstly, I have had periods of time when I had to travel to / through Wheaton quite frequently and I have agree with others who say the rail traffic is well within "normal". Any delays would be the same for towns like Glen Ellyn; for folks closer to the underpasses delays are a non-issue. That applies to pretty much every town on BNSF and UP-W lines in DuPage, freight yards are not so close as to cause issues as one does encounter near ORD in Franklin Park or other intermodal sites.

The other topic, of access to I-88 is also a bit odd, as anybody that I know who lives / works in Wheaton is more than capable of relying on MANY arterials for travel either E-W or N-S. Traffic improvements to North Ave, Roosevelt and Butterfield are all alternatives to 88 while the access to Wheaton-Warrenvile Rd, Main St, Naperville Rd, Winfield Rd and even 53 & 59 together are superior to many other towns. Not sure that one can find a perfect balance between car capacity and charm / residential character but with so many of the staff engineers for DuPage Co calling Wheaton home the care taken in such efforts is commendable.

As far as the OP's core concerns about value I continue to agree that homes near Wheaton's core around $400k are among the most attractive values in the region -- still plenty of homes above that to give confidence that price appreciation / stability will be solid yet not so many below that to be a concern...

[ToriaT]

Chet is sorta right. But I find the shopping and the easy and quick access to Roosevelt Rd and Butterfield Road and 355/I-88 to be very nice where I live in South Wheaton. I go to points east frequently and I like that I can drive a few minutes and get to the Tollway. I don't think the Geneva Rd corridor, where there are other new subdivisions that have been built is as good for road access and shopping. The stores up there are plentiful but not as nice. As far as charm is concerned, it remains to be seen whether an older home in a central core has more charm. Charm for me has become a state of the art, modern luxury home that was recently built. I find it quite charming to live in, but I do not find the taxes charming. Basically you almost can't go wrong with anyplace in Wheaton. Its all good.

[Zimbochick]

I live on the west side of Geneva, east of Randall Road. I love living here, good schools, lots of community activities, good restaurants, engaged citizens. We looked at Mill Creek and decided against it for a number of reasons. I love the homes there, the turn over is pretty high though. One advantage to living there is access to La Fox metra station. One disadvantage is once your kids are in high school shuttling them back and forth from the high school is a giant PITA. There are no activity buses, so it's a thing.


A lot depends on the property size you would find desirable. We are 1 mile from the center of downtown Geneva and have 1/2 acre.


I really consider Geneva/Batavia/St.Charles to be one giant town. Services, city government, and school are really the only difference.