Western Suburbs? (Aurora, Naperville, Evanston: fit in, real estate, custom home)

[NUman]

My family and I currently live in the Northern Suburbs. I work downtown and in Hazel Crest. I go to Hazel Crest twice a week and put around 100 miles on my 1999 vehicle every time. My wife recently lost her job and she was offered one at a place in Bolingbrook. She would need to be able to get there in less than 40 minutes in case of emergencies. They also would like her to run an office in Wheaton, Hinsdale, or Glen Ellyn. We were in the process of moving to another northern suburb, but that came to a stop when this happened. My son was going to be attending New Trier High School and he was really excited. We have lived here for many years and we were just moving to the next town over. My co-worker recommended this website. My son says that he thinks Glenbard West would be a good school for him. I have always heard that Hinsdale Central was the 'New Trier of the West'. We can spend in the $1.3 Million range. My son loves Glen Ellyn and so does my wife. I was wondering what the prices, commutes, school, and overall atmosphere of the communities were in the western suburbs. We have looked at Glen Ellyn for about 2 days. We briefly looked at Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Western Springs, and Oak Brook. I don't really like Oak Brook it seems like architectural hell. We need a school and a community that celebrates good new and old architecture and a school that has a architectural program that is equal or better than New Trier's.

[gardener34]

I vote for Hinsdale/Clarendon hills, cause it is closer to Bolingbrook and farther south than Glen Ellyn. And Hinsdale Central is considered a good school (I believe someone in another recent post asked about it) you will fit in, if you can "keep up with the joneses", otherwise your child may feel a little uncomfortable there.

I was unaware that high schools HAD architectural programs?! I thought that was what college was for.

[InformedConsent]

I'd stay away from Glenbard West. Hinsdale is your best bet for reasons I've stated in posts on another thread.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/3090551-post3.html

and

https://www.city-data.com/forum/3092501-post8.html

[NUman]

I was on GreatSchools.net just a moment ago. I was comparing Glenbard West and Wheaton North. Great Schools gives them both an overall rating of 10 of 10. The parent reviews of Glenbard West are more positive than those of Wheaton North. I do believe that Hinsdale Central is better than Glenbard West but are they at least comparable. If my children are intelligent and pretty outgoing will they be able to do well at both schools? Also from the Illinois State Report Card I realize that the west suburban schools are much more diverse than the New Trier and the other local schools. Do they have problems with racism or racial divide like at Evanston, or do the children intermix. We are an african american family living in a community with few other races other than White and Jewish. I don't know if diversity will help or hurt. My children have not interacted with many african american children before, and also my children and wife are very light skinned and could pass for white. I really have not explored the western suburbs other than La Grange, Willowbrook, Oak Park, Lombard, and River Forest. The pictures and video of Glen Ellyn and homes in Glen Ellyn look really great. I have visited the website Glen Ellyn's Rite-Way Custom Homes, Glen Ellyn and Wheaton Custom New Home Construction and watched the various videos. How do the home prices compare in Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Hinsdale, Western Springs, and Clarendon Hills? Does anyone have children that attend or have attended schools in the communities I have listed above?

[tcs1366]

what grade will your son be entering?

DuPage county had a Tech sort of school called TCD [tech center of dupage]
where kids in their last 2 yrs of HS can attend. they would attend half the day at TCD and the other half at their school.

TCD has a PreArchitech/design program where they learn AutoCadd and Revit.
My son is currently a SR so he's in his second year.

[NUman]

My son would be going into his freshman year.

[Paige65]

Originally Posted by NUman

My family and I currently live in the Northern Suburbs. I work downtown and in Hazel Crest. I go to Hazel Crest twice a week and put around 100 miles on my 1999 vehicle every time. My wife recently lost her job and she was offered one at a place in Bolingbrook. She would need to be able to get there in less than 40 minutes in case of emergencies. They also would like her to run an office in Wheaton, Hinsdale, or Glen Ellyn. We were in the process of moving to another northern suburb, but that came to a stop when this happened. My son was going to be attending New Trier High School and he was really excited. We have lived here for many years and we were just moving to the next town over. My co-worker recommended this website. My son says that he thinks Glenbard West would be a good school for him. I have always heard that Hinsdale Central was the 'New Trier of the West'. We can spend in the $1.3 Million range. My son loves Glen Ellyn and so does my wife. I was wondering what the prices, commutes, school, and overall atmosphere of the communities were in the western suburbs. We have looked at Glen Ellyn for about 2 days. We briefly looked at Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Western Springs, and Oak Brook. I don't really like Oak Brook it seems like architectural hell. We need a school and a community that celebrates good new and old architecture and a school that has a architectural program that is equal or better than New Trier's.

I think it all depends upon where this other office for your wife would be. If you are used to a north shore type of atmosphere (small town, established, older architecture, lots of trees, etc.) I think Hinsdale, Glen Ellyn and Western Springs are all good choices. Hinsdale Central High School will probably feel more like New Trier, with regard to student body, and would probably have similar course options. Luckily, with the amount you can spend on a home, you really aren't limited.

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by NUman

I was on GreatSchools.net just a moment ago. I was comparing Glenbard West and Wheaton North. Great Schools gives them both an overall rating of 10 of 10. The parent reviews of Glenbard West are more positive than those of Wheaton North. I do believe that Hinsdale Central is better than Glenbard West but are they at least comparable. If my children are intelligent and pretty outgoing will they be able to do well at both schools? Also from the Illinois State Report Card I realize that the west suburban schools are much more diverse than the New Trier and the other local schools. Do they have problems with racism or racial divide like at Evanston, or do the children intermix. We are an african american family living in a community with few other races other than White and Jewish. I don't know if diversity will help or hurt. My children have not interacted with many african american children before, and also my children and wife are very light skinned and could pass for white. I really have not explored the western suburbs other than La Grange, Willowbrook, Oak Park, Lombard, and River Forest. The pictures and video of Glen Ellyn and homes in Glen Ellyn look really great. I have visited the website Glen Ellyn's Rite-Way Custom Homes, Glen Ellyn and Wheaton Custom New Home Construction and watched the various videos. How do the home prices compare in Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Hinsdale, Western Springs, and Clarendon Hills? Does anyone have children that attend or have attended schools in the communities I have listed above?

Demographics-wise and in terms of the temperment of the student populations, Hinsdale Central is the closest that you'll get in the west suburbs (other than possibly the Naperville schools) to New Trier or Stevenson, so if your kids did well where you live now (presumably on the North Shore), they'll probably fit in pretty well there. Glenbard West is a good school by any average person's measure, but if you're looking for a New Trier-type of place (for lack of a better description, a place that really considers itself the top of the elite as opposed to merely very good - note that I'm just saying that as perception as opposed to the absolute truth, so I ask in advance that others not respond by saying "[insert school name here] is awesome and you don't know what you're talking about"), then Hinsdale schools are probably more of what you're looking for. I'm not sure which schools you've researched are "more diverse" than New Trier - the west suburbs that are along the I-88/I-290 corridor (which is where you seem to be looking) are not very diverse outside of Oak Park (unless you start getting out further west to Aurora). It honestly wouldn't be very much of a change demographically than the North Shore, other than there is a significantly smaller Jewish population but there are more Asian-Americans (if you see higher minority figures for west suburban schools, that's probably the source since there are relatively few African-Americans and Hispanics in the communities you're looking at - I'm part-Chinese myself and it seems as though people generally don't consider places with high Asian populations, such as Oak Brook and Naperville, as "diverse" the same way they consider Oak Park and Evanston to be "diverse"). If you're looking at Wheaton, you might as well also take a look at Naperville if schools are a top priority for you.

If you hypothetically had identical houses and just switched the addresses, the prices would most likely be in this order from most expensive to least: (1) Hinsdale (by a clear margin), (2) Western Springs, (3) Clarendon Hills, (4) Glen Ellyn and (5) Wheaton.

[NUman]

I actually found that Glenbard West had more african-americans than New Trier. Glen Ellyn itself had almost as many african americans as the 50,000+ New Trier Township. My wife told me that Naperville was too far out and that parts of it were very cookie-cutter. I thought the homes near Downtown Naperville were very nice. What high school would that area go to? My son enjoys some sports like Fencing, Swimming, Rock Climbing, and other non-team sports. He also is very good at music and right now we have three excellent music teachers at his school and out of school. On GreatSchools.net someone wrote that the Art and Music programs at Hinsdale Central were seriously lacking, because all the funding was being diverted to the sports programs. I am looking for something like New Trier were everything is well funded and everything is excellent. Which town is the most beautiful? Has anyone had any exprience with Rite Way Custom Homes? Also, how do Lyons Township, Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central, and Wheaton North compare? Is it like comparing Lamborghinis and Ferraris?

[SDM]

We have family members that live within walking distance to downtown Hinsdale. They wouldn't leave it for the world. I believe that at least one of their boys attends Hinsdale and they had him going to private school up until then. They said the school offers everything they had wanted in a school. Take what you want from it, the other posters say pretty much the same thing.

As far as real estate prices in those areas, well, it's not cheap, but look at what you are getting and the surrounding areas. You have access to a lot. Also, let me know if you are looking to build in the Hinsdale area, and have any questions. Our family member has built 2 of his own homes in Hinsdale and knows what to expect. Hope this helps.