Moving from SoCal to Chicago... Where is the best place to raise a family and still be close to the city? (Naperville: for rent, daycare)

[TamaraStarr]

I'm being transferred through work from So Cal to Chicago and will be working in the city. I posted in the Chicago forum but thought I'd check out the suburbs as well as it might be more fitting for a family. I need some advice on where to live as I have never been to Chicago. My budget is up to 2,500 but would like to stay around 2,000 if I can. I'd love a back yard and prefer 3 bedrooms but will settle for two.

I have lived in So Cal my whole life so this will be a huge change. I'm an artist so I'd like an area with character... Artsy is a plus! Good schools are important as I have a 4 year old son. A safe place with parks, good restaurants, a nice pub and a good community for children. I just learned that when moving my son will have to have another year of daycare due to his birthday falling 9 days past the cutoff for kindergarten. I'm not sure what daycare costs are but i'll need to find a good one and factor that in.

Thank you for any help you can give me,

Tamara

[JustJulia]

What kind of housing budget will you have?

[TamaraStarr]

My budget for rent is up to 2,500 but would like to stay around 2,000 if I can.

[SloopyJ]

A lot of people get sick of reading/writing about Oak Park and Evanston on this board, but there's a reason they are so often written about. They fit your bill better than any other suburbs. If you can do without the "artsy" part, I'd add La Grange to your list.

[chet everett]

As much as I hate to admit it, the "artsy" feel is hard to find outside of Oak Park and Evanston if you want close to Chicago and acceptable level of schools and affordability...

[TamaraStarr]

Thank you, I'll search those areas.

[JustJulia]

I live in Naperville and love it, but it's not artsy.

[TamaraStarr]

I like artsy but don't have to have it... Most important is a nice safe community with a great kindergarten and daycare. I'll check out Naperville too.

[US-Traveller]

TamaraStarr,

If you are looking into Evanston it will remind you a lot of Pasadena. Evanston has a nice central downtown area along with a few other shopping districts in many other neighborhoods. Evanston is a college town (Northwestern University) and is even more liberal than Pasadena if that is what you are looking for. Evanston is more family friendly than Pasadena and has much better public schools.

If you are looking for an area like San Marino or La Canada Flintridge then I would look further north into areas like Wilmette, Winnetka, or Glencoe. These areas are dominated by families and have schools that are superior than anywhere in Chicagoland, just like San Marino and La Canada Flintridge in Los Angeles. These areas are more conservative and don't offer an artsy or ethnic vibe at all.

If you wan't to look into the western suburban areas Evanston is a combination of Oak Park and River Forest and Wilmette, Winnetka, and Glencoe are most similar to Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Western Springs, and Downers Grove.

Evanston offers public pre-k and there are many good private options in Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, and Glencoe. Most private pre-k schools charge around $7k-$9k in the Chicago area. Private K-12 is much cheaper, generally around $16k-22k. This is mainly because there is more competition from the public schools here in Chicagoland than in Southern California and the schools here tend to give away a lot less financial aid.

[bulldawg1594]

you should definetly go with oak park.