Schaumburg or Naperville

[MillennialUrbanist]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Schaumburg has NO Metra connections while Naperville is known for having the FASTEST express trains, easy choice over having to deal with tortuous car commute via Kennedy and NW Tollway!

Schaumburg does have a Metra station. On the Milwaukee District West line, to be exact. But in your defense, it's hidden away between a minor league baseball stadium and a residential subdivision. And the massive footprint of the Elgin-O'Hare Expressway nearly cuts off access to it. It's hard to find while driving past, and impossible to see from the surrounding streets, unless you specifically seek it out and/or follow the road signs. See: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.9873...1195059,15.33z

To address the OP's question, I vote Naperville. It's not as auto-centric and has a vibe of actual history to it. As an added bonus, DuPage County taxes are somewhat lower.

Edited to add:
According to Wikipedia, the Schaumburg station opened in 1989. Not exactly a time period when public transit was "cool". Which possibly explains why it's so hidden away, almost looking like it was squeezed in as an afterthought. Especially when compared to older, better-established Metra stations.

[betty912]

I personally like Naperville better. Really cute downtown with nice restaurants. Schools are top notch. Extremely limited metra parking but pace buses service most neighborhoods & connect you to the station. I currently live in schaumburg and it is much more of a strip mall feel but the Indian population is very large. MANY Indian restaurants and a Patel brothers grocery store. Schaumburg easily has more townhouses and apartments than Naperville. Expressway access is better in schaumburg unless you choose north Naperville area . I would highly suggest spending a little time in both areas

[AZgarden]

I took the Schaumburg Metra train to the loop (Union Station) many times while working. Isn't it still there anymore? And lots of parking too. Easy pleasant commute. Would never drive !!!!

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

I took the Schaumburg Metra train to the loop (Union Station) many times while working. Isn't it still there anymore? And lots of parking too. Easy pleasant commute. Would never drive !!!!

Sure it's still there. It's got the most parking of any station on that line. It's not near the center of Schaumburg. What is, the Pace Northwest Transportation Center. Sure, it only handles buses, but when I-90 is finished there will be provisions for express bus lanes. Not a good choice for loop commuting, but perhaps to Rosemont or OHare.

[spicy_guy]

You can consider Arlington Heights, which has best Train commute and frequency. Close to Sch and Malls. Lots of Indian restaurants. Huge Indian community. Naverville is nice, Indian concentration is around that area and spill over to Arora and West Mont. However, NW side has many nice towns with lots of Indian population. Arlington heights, Sch, Buffalo Grove, Mt Prospect, Wheeling, Vernon Hills, etc. All of them have Metra connection. But Arl Heights has best frequency and express trains.

[Beardown91737]

The Schaumburg station opened in 1982. I moved from the area in the middle of 1983 and had been using that station. It was a relief not to have to drive into Roselle and use the remote non-resident parking.

At the time, Springingsguth Road was extended from Irving Park Rd (State Route 19) to the tracks and parking lot. It is on the edge of Schaumburg, west of the airport. Roselle annexed the area south of the tracks.

I am not sure what the gauge is for determining when public transportation is considered "cool", but Schaumburg had wanted a train station for years, even if on the edge of town. A lot of Schaumburg residents who lived further east continued to use Roselle, but the new station provided access to a large area in the western reaches of Schaumburg.

[ipkl07]

Either is fine.