Moving to Chicago suburbs 2021 (Arlington Heights, Evanston: renting, insurance, houses)

[OPRFmama]

Check out Elmhurst as well as Riverside, LaGrange and all suburbs west of there along the BNSF metra line. You can’t go wrong. Each area has its own vibe and pluses / minuses, so hopefully you’ll be able to spend a little time exploring to see where you feel most comfortable.

[citytosuburbs0]

Originally Posted by Curly Q. Bobalink

I don't believe you mentioned school districts in your original post, do you not have kids, or intend to homeschool, or go private? How important is being close to public spaces for you (like parks, museums, the lakefront, zoos, golf courses, and Forest Preserves, which are one of Chicago's hidden gems?). How important is it to you to have ethnic or racial diversity where you live? How sensitive are you to crime? Do you want your own pool, or a great park district? All of these factors will rule in or out some areas.

Sorry my original post was long. Yes, I mentioned we are trying to start a family, so kids in the near future. A good school district is important as we would utilize the public schools. We would like a family friendly area with low crime. It would be great if there was a park or 2 nearby. I am from the Midwest (not Chicago, hence my questions) but I have lived in San Diego and Seattle for the last 7 years. We both enjoy walking a couple miles outside almost daily and we’ve been fortunate with a bit more mild weather in these cities. We enjoy being outdoors but I realize coming back to the Midwest, the weather is a bit different. So while I would love to be in an area with great outdoor public spaces, it is a bit lower on my priority list knowing the spaces cannot be enjoyed year round IMO. We would be okay to drive to those areas rather than pay a premium for being able to walk. I am interested in the Prairie Path in Elmhurst. But if we lived in Elmhurst and we were not walking distance to it, that would be okay.

[citytosuburbs0]

Originally Posted by Fresh_Coast

I would check out Elmhurst, Western Springs, Clarendon Hills, Wilmette (central area), Evanston (northwest). Good areas, good elementary schools, train to loop, home options in your price range. Doesn’t sound like high school choice is a concern based on your timeline. CH and WS have teenie downtown areas but quick access to La Grange and Hinsdale.

Thank you! This is really helpful. So being near the LG and Hinsdale downtown is good but you wouldn’t necessarily look for a home in those towns? Clarendon Hills was on my list but is the Metra not as convenient in CH?

[ToriaT]

Also consider Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. They are still building brand new houses in Wheaton at your price point. I live in Amberwood, and several are going up here right now.

[citytosuburbs0]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

Also consider Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. They are still building brand new houses in Wheaton at your price point. I live in Amberwood, and several are going up here right now.

Thank you! I thought the Metra commute to the Loop would be too long (more than 45 min) from Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. I read about the “Wheaton Rocket” haha on another post from this site which is an express train but don’t see that when looking at different times on Google Maps.

[Di3s3l_Pow3r]

$1 mil. homes are difficult to resale just due to the pool size of buyers and the property taxes would prevent from appreciation.
For $1 mil home you are looking at approx. $25 k/year in property taxes, and the issue is who knows how high they will go

better to think home as shelter and not investment

unfortunately the high property taxes anchors down home appreciation

focus on location

[Ditto97]

Originally Posted by citytosuburbs0

We are moving to Chicago in the next couple of months for my husband’s job and we are looking for suggestions on where to buy a house in the suburbs. We will likely be in the home 7-10 years and would like to be in a desired area to making our home purchase a good investment. Our budget is $1 million.

Priorities:
Family - We are starting a family very soon so looking for a good area for families. We would like to purchase a home with more of a neighborhood feel versus a busy street. We would like a decent yard. We would like a good school district - from what I have read, it seems like all are great but I still wanted to mention it.
Commute - We would like to be within a 45-minute train commute to the Loop area.
Downtown/Walkability - We are able to walk everywhere now which we love. I know we will have to give that up with suburb life but we would still like a little downtown. We are open to at the very least driving a few minutes and being able to walk around a downtown. It does not have to be anything amazing, just something would be nice.

I have gone through all recent posts on this site before posting.

You've received a lot of great recommendations and advice from the other posters. It's important to note that the North Shore, Northwest suburbs, Western suburbs, etc. all have different vibes, so if it's possible to take a drive through many of these neighborhoods, I'd recommend doing that before you buy. You can't go wrong, but some people have different preferences than others. It's really hard to consider what defines a "good" investment. No one can tell the future. So consider looking for a home that you can see yourself living in comfortably for 7-10 years rather than a home that will be a good turnaround, although I understand the sentiment. The Chicago area has really desirable communities, so that's a positive aspect of moving here.

I cannot speak too much on the North Shore - Hiruko has chimed in with great insight for up north - but some areas that have very cute downtowns include: Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Western Springs, La Grange, Arlington Heights, Park Ridge. One thing I would consider is how much time your spouse wants to spend driving to the train station for a then 45-minute ride. For example, while Oak Brook has lower property taxes, you'd have to drive farther to the train station than if you lived in Clarendon Hills or Hinsdale, and that would just add more time to the commute. Here's a link to the Metra schedules. I'm sure you've already been here, but it might be worth perusing the schedules as well to help hone in on suburbs of interest.

As Curly Q said, someone will most likely advocate for Indiana. I suppose I'll do the honors of that one. Lol! Indiana does offer lower property taxes, and most likely a better chance for "investment" with how its growing, but it is farther away from convenient train stations. Munster, Schererville, Dyer, Saint John, Crown Point would be my recommendations. Crown Point is the only one with a "real" walkable downtown, but it's also the farthest away. The South Shore Line stops at Millennium Park and has stations in Hammond, East Chicago, and Hegewisch. They are building stations in Munster and Dyer, which will be very convenient, but those are still years away from completion. It would be possible to drive to a Metra station in Homewood, Flossmoor, University Park, etc. without too much hassle - but again, how much time does your spouse want to spend driving to the train station just to get on the train for more time? The commute would really be pushing 45 minutes and would realistically be over an hour.

I know you mentioned an interest in trails. Here are three links to information on trails in each county: Cook County, DuPage County, and Lake County, IN.

Welcome to the suburbs.

[G in MP]

$1mill budget, you could find a real nice place in Barrington, on acreage. Great schools. Metra is right there. It's got a nice little downtown, Cuba Marsh for biking or walking, it's awesome out here.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by citytosuburbs0

Thank you! I thought the Metra commute to the Loop would be too long (more than 45 min) from Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. I read about the “Wheaton Rocket” haha on another post from this site which is an express train but don’t see that when looking at different times on Google Maps.

Right now it looks like even on the express trains, it will take about 45 minutes from Glen Ellyn.

The BNSF trains all take about 30 minutes on the express. Some of them have smaller downtowns like Clarendon Hills, while others like LaGrange are more vibrant. There is ample availability of parks. There are a lot of parks on Salt Creek, and once you get farther out on the BNSF line, it’s a quick drive to the Arboretum and the parks west of there. I live in Downers Grove, and we have several larger parks/preserves here. It really just depends on the vibe you are looking for. I think all the towns are safe. If you want newer construction, you are probably going to have to look at recent teardowns. In DG, we have a lot of newer homes from this, but it’s just going to be a matter of inventory and finding something that suits you in the area of interest. Even in the north suburbs, there are a few great towns like Evanston that would get you into downtown relatively quickly.

As for how fast the $1 mil+ homes move, I agree with the other poster that they tend to move more slowly. The home on my block that was over $1 mil took a long time to sell, and the other one down the road also took a while. I think Oak Brook and Burr Ridge have very low taxes, but they don’t have real downtowns. Burr Ridge has a little town center area and Oak Brook is the main shopping hub of the W. Suburbs.

[fusillirob1983]

Wilmette
Winnetka
Kenilworth
Evanston
Park Ridge
Elmhurst
Hinsdale
Clarendon Hills
LaGrange
Western Springs
LaGrange Park (focus west of LaGrange Road)
River Forest

You're at price point where you should be able to afford a great location in any of the nicest inner ring suburbs. Any other suggestion and you're adding time to the Metra.

There's been other good suburbs mentioned that are further out (Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Naperville, etc), but if I were in your financial situation I'd probably look at the ones on the list above.