Suburb recommendation for mid 30's girl (Chicago, Naperville: homes, neighborhoods, school district)

[trvl2day]

Hi,
I am moving from Ohio for a job in Bannockburn and looking for recommendations on where to live. I have a few friends who live downtown but they don't know the suburbs so am looking for help in learning more! Downtown is too far of a commute and although I love the independent walkability of the city ultimately not interested in the daily traffic noise and stress of driving a car and taking 20 min to drive 5 blocks for groceries (not willing to give up my car).

I am a mid 30's single girl with a dog who is over the party/nightlife lifestyle and looking for a nice community.

Thoughts on what I'm looking for:
Prefer a commute not more than 30 min to work
Friendly people-a community with clubs and activities where non-locals are welcomed
Nice parks/outdoor activities
Place where people are outside walking dogs or chatting with neighbors
Affordable housing (approx 300k-400k for single family home)
Decent school district b/c resale value but not a primary concern

Any help/advice to guide me in the right direction is appreciated

[pop77]

Our stories are too similar...it's almost scary! I sent you a private message with some (hopefully) helpful info. I believe you have to be logged in to view the private message I sent to you. Includes some helpful feedback and my contact info.

[chitown85]

The downtown area of Deerfield might suit you really well. They have some older homes and the school district is great. Plus, it's right bear Bannockburn and you can easily hop into the city by train or car. Glenview could be a possibility as well.

Chicago is different than a lot of other major cities. If you live in a regular neighborhood and not downtown, Lincoln Park, or Lakeview, most people have cars and do not have trouble parking them.

You could move to Rogers Park or Edgewater, which are far north side neighborhoods of the city and more suburban feeling. This wouldn't be a horrible commute to Bannockburn, and you can still be in a city environment.

[chet everett]

The OP seems to specifically want to avoid traffic noise and congestion of the City. While Edgewater and Rogers Park are less bustling than places like Lakeview or Lincoln Park it is extremely unlikely that anyone would confusion with true suburbs.

Frankly there is not much to recommend in either Edgewater or Rogers Park in terms of nightlife or quality of life (yeah yeah Loyola, Heartland Cafe, I know, weak...) are why drive nearly 30 miles (wildly optimistic travel times, I would peg that closer to 45 minutes...
Edgewater, Chicago, IL to Bannockburn, IL - Google Maps

[chitown85]

I just like to caution people when they move to Chicago suburbs there really isn't a good way to go out and enjoy oneself. Chicago is unique in that respect. We have an amazing city, with an amazing downtown, but unlike suburbs in other metro areas, our suburbs are pretty plain.

[chet everett]

???

What sorts of ways do the suburbs of any metro region have some amazing ways to go out and enjoy ones self? The fact is that what is unique about the Chicago region is the health and vitality of culture / entertainment sector within the City of Chicago itself and its relative ease of week end access . 45 minutes or so of commuting time to get from most any suburb to a White Sox, Cubs, Bears, Blackhawks game OR a first run play OR concert or museum is pretty impressive. There are certainly places to eat a nice meal, have a beer, hang out over coffee in the burbs on a weeknight, probably more in the north / north east burbs than in any part of the region...

[chitown85]

Many New York and DC suburbs are hopping in the social scene. Same with Los Angeles. I just don't get the same vibe in Chicagoland outside the city. I'm not complaining, just stating an observation.

For example: Hoboken, NJ, Long Beach, NY, Santa Monica, CA, Arlington, VA

[reppin_the_847]

Actually you're right. Even the Detroit suburbs have better nightlife than the Chicago suburbs (if you've been to Royal Oak, MI, you know what I"m talking about). Of course Chicago city nightlife blows Detroit out of the water. But I'm sorry, Schaumburg & Naperville combined still don't match the nightlife choices in Royal Oak. I think Detroit's suburban nightlife became what it was out of necessity. After all their city is close to dead and hardly anyone flocks to it unlike Chicago. Hence why most of their nightlife actually is in their suburbs.

Originally Posted by chitown85

Many New York and DC suburbs are hopping in the social scene. Same with Los Angeles. I just don't get the same vibe in Chicagoland outside the city. I'm not complaining, just stating an observation.

For example: Hoboken, NJ, Long Beach, NY, Santa Monica, CA, Arlington, VA

[chet everett]

rt847 is proving my point -- the exceptional options inside Chicago itself are what limits the breadth of options in the 'burbs. Are there places in Lake Co with live bands, sure, but there are DOZENS in Chicago.

If you look the region AS A WHOLE and factor in the relative SAFETY and convenience of Chicago's entertainment options, the secondary role of the 'burbs are FINE, and the OP did not even mention anything like that -- they are coming from OHIO, where the general deterioration of the the cities sorta epitomizes "the rust belt"...

Odds of finding any sort of "friendly community" with "nice parks" and the other factors IN THEIR POST, then being able to do things with them if you are CLOSE TO WORK far out weighs any bias towards urban living that is absent in their post...

[jamaicabound60565]

If your not familiar iwth the area you may not realize that many of the suburbs are a little more sprawled out from the city.

Popular burbs like Schaumburg, Naperville, Lisle, etc are more like a 45-60 if your actually commuting for work, maybe 30 at 2am. Metra ride though they are all 30.

St Charles is a ways out but they have a nice riverwalk, a decent number of fun bars and restaurants. Naperville has a pretty nice downtown riverwalk, restaurants, and probably 10-15 bars within walking distance. Schaumburg has the mall and has a few cool bars but is really spread out. public transportation is basically non existant in the burbs. One other thing since you got a dog burbs like st charles, naperville, lisle all in those areas tend to have a lot of pretty nice dog parks. Naperville probably has more people moving in and out so maybe easier for someone new to town.