Moving to Chicago but Dont Know Where to Live

We live in Lisle and love it here. Lisle is sandwiched between Naperville and Downers Grove (both considered cities with populations well over 100,000) and is approximately 27 miles from downtown Chicago.

http://www.villageoflisle.org/home/index.asp

The public schools here are fantastic and people are great.

No doubt you will get some votes for a Northern or Northwest suburb, and they ARE great, but if affordability and a shorter commute are top priorities, I highly suggest a Western or Southwest suburb.

Affordable Western suburbs that I really like are: Clarendon Hills, Willowbrook, Darien, Westmont, Downers Grove, Lombard. Parts of Clarendon Hills and Westmont are in the Hinsdale Central school district, which is one of the best in the state. Hinsdale itself is REALLY pricey, but if you find a house in Westmont that is in the district, you'll be getting a GREAT deal on the schools.

Here in the Western suburbs we have some great malls. Oakbrook Center (about 20 miles west of downtown) is a gorgeous mall with great restaurants, and is an outdoor mall. We also have Yorktown about 5 miles west of Oakbrook and that also had great restaurants, is indoors, and has a great play area that I love to take my kids to.

Western suburbs that are a bit closer to the city that I like are: La Grange Park, Westchester, Willow Springs, Countryside, Indian Head Park
I'm not certain about the schools, but I think they are good.

Southwest suburbs I am not as familiar with, but I have heard really great things about Oak Lawn.

Another benefit of the western burbs: it is about 30 minutes to BOTH of the airports, Midway and O'Hare, which makes it very convenient for travel.

Good luck with your search, and if you have any more questions, just post or ask in PM. I have lived in the area since 2001, and have lived in 3 different suburbs, as well as along the lakeshore in the city.

ETA: We have a really great public transportation network, so he could take the Metra train in. There are 2 different stations in downtown Chicago, Union Station and Ogilvie. Does Northwestern offer a shuttle from their campus to the Metra? They probably do, as my university (Loyola) did. That made the commute very affordable and shaved off some time that would otherwise have been spent catching CTA trains/busses. You might want to start looking at the schedules for commute times so you can see what would be too far. http://metrarail.com/metra/en/home.html There are some express trains too :) If he is intending to drive, parking downtown is ATROCIOUSLY expensive (thinking $20+/day).

ETA2: Are you looking to buy or rent?

ETA3: Another thing to consider is how dense of a population you are comfortable with. When I lived in the NW suburb of Des Plaines, it felt like there was a BIT of elbow room. Closer in than that and it feels very squished. In the Western burbs there is quite a bit of extra room.

Elmhurst or Glen Ellyn

Check out Downers Grove. The commute on the express train in right at 30 minutes.

We live in Mt. Prospect and absolutely love it. It is a great community with good schools and affordable. The train ride to downtown is about 35-40 mins. Good luck with your search.

I have a cousin who LOVES Aurora. They lived in Naperville for a while, but moved because Aurora was a nice area and more affordable. It is about 40 minutes from downtown Chicago though.

OK so everyone here mentioned suburbs.
Why not live in the city?

We live on the north side, and huge townhome (3000sq ft), surrounded on 3 sides by a park, and the other side, a private high school. In my little community, there are 32 kids under the age of 5, and a few older. So LOTS of kids around playing and other moms to hang out with.

It's about the same as moving to the burbs, price-wise, and we live a 1/2 mile from 2 of the best schools in the city (Bell and Coonley).

Naturally, close to shopping, Wrigley and public transportation.

Just sayin. City live is pretty awesome, and then DH doesn't have to worry much about a commute. It's 15 minutes - in traffic - to downtown from the northside. We're in the Lincoln Square neighborhood.

South Loop is an awesome neighborhood for young families. You would be walking distance to Museum Campus and Millenium Park, plus there are great places for classes over here (Sherwood Music Conservatory and Daystar Community Center and Chicago Women's Park and Gardens). We have a Trader Joe's, Target, Whole Foods and tons more basically in walking distance. It is a tree-lined street area with lots of parks/playgrounds and families and is basically IN the city. Love it here! It can get really windy as the wind comes off the lake, but often a few blocks away from where we are is a lot calmer. South Loop Elementary is a good school (though getting overcrowded) and there are lots of other options, though it's a bit challenging to navigate the options with CPS so make sure you attend the Options for Knowledge event in September. A lot of other families like Lincoln Park/Lincoln Square. There is a great school, Mayer, up by Fullerton that is a neighborhood school but it's a whole different feeling in the different neighborhoods around Chicago. A lot of people like Beverly for the home grown community and residential area, but I think it's a bit far south. No matter where you end up, it's a great city! I'm sure you'll love it here! And you totally can live in the city with kids...just keep looking!

Check out Palatine. Not too far from the city or airport and great schools.

The suburbs closest to th city with a neighborhood feel are Park Ridge, Oak Park, Harwood Heights, Evanston. You'l want to visit the areas to see what they feel like, though. Some are very conservtive, others more liberal, etc. I suggest you look into the schools, too, so you don't feel you have to move once the kids get into school. Certain areas of the city have good schools, too. I suggest checking out this website to see how the schools in any particular area of the city or suburb perform:

http://iirc.niu.edu

Best of luck and welcome to Illinois!!!

We live in elk Grove village - west side of EGV - so Schaumburg school district and Elk Grove Village park district. Great park district, great schools, affordable homes. Train commute is 45-50 min. - train station is 5 min. away and $1 per day to park cars. Lots of shopping in Schaumburg - 5 min. from Woodfield - largest shopping mall in US You didn't mention what price point for homes - rent or buy. Try my realtor Barb Hibnick with ReMax: ____@____.com or ###-###-#### Some are mentioning Oak Park - very pricey and some rough neighborhoods.

Oak Park meets all of your criteria. It is accessible to downtown via the El and Metra (and car too). It is the closest suburb to the city that has its own school district (which is good). I live in the city with my son and love it, but you would want to make sure you move into a good school district. You always have the option to lottery in to a good school like my son did), but you are not guaranteed. Probably best to move to a place like Oak Park and save yourself the headache. Good schools, good park, suburban feel, lots of shopping close by. Good luck and welcome to Chicago!

If you are looking for an area that can give you the suburban feel in the city itself, then I would highly recommend checking out the Sauganash area in the northern part of the city. 'Affordable' has a different definition for different people. Sauganash has homes ranging from pricey to average, has good schools and a beautiful park called Peterson Park with lot of seasonal activities and camps for the kids.

Lincolnwood is a small suburb right next to Chicago so you can have the best of both worlds - city as well as suburban life and commute would meet your 30-40 minute requirement if taking the car.

Another resource to get answers to your question is www.city-data.com.

Oak Park!! Very family friendy!! Close to the city. 15 min train ride downtown.

I have family who live in Naperville, Plano and Yorkville.

They all love it there and I know the ones who live in Yorkville loved the schools.

My cousin who went to the Naperville school was kinda a rebel when it came to school... so I can't way in on that one, she never took schooling serious.

I'm not sure how far the commute would be for your husband but I know my family loves those towns.

I agree with the first post. It is pricey! I grew up there (live in Denver now) and Denver is MUCH cheaper. If he's downtown, and you only want a 30-40 min commute, I would check Park Ridge, IL (but it's expensive). Des Plaines is also a place to look at. Good luck and enjoy my hometown!

I would give my realtor - Janice Weiner with Re/Max Suburban a call. She is very familiar with the city and would be a great source of information for you. Her number is ###-###-####. Good luck!

Lots of great suggestions. Close to Sauganash, which someone already suggested, is Edgebrook which is the farthest northwestern neighborhood in the city. Easy commute to downtown, great public schools, nice parks, close to expressway, etc. I also second the comment about Lincolnwood, a suburb just north and slightly west of the city. Great park district, excellent schools, and some nice homes which these days are priced at a relatively affordable level. As with other suburbs, you avoid some of the issues with Chicago public schools as you get to high school. The process of getting into a public high school can be, as someone else noted, very stressful and scary. Best of luck!

I will tell you it depends on your financial situation. If you are looking for a town that has the criteria you have listed and is fairly close to the downtown area then you will be paying a lot more than if you lived out in the suburbs. The public transportation is great from most of the suburbs and your hubby would have a similar commute from most areas. I suggest you get in touch with some Realtors in several different areas to see what is available in your budget with your specifications. Good luck and welcome to Chicago. It is a beautiful place with lots to enjoy.

That is quite a wish list! The toughest one to fit with all the others is affordable! Sure, you can find a lot of what you are looking for, but you will pay for it. Of course everyone's idea of "affordable" is different. Commute-wise you may be able to live a little farther out than you think if he plans to take public transit (metra) in for work/school. We live about 23 miles SSW of the city and the metra takes about 45 min to get to downtown from here. Metra doesn't work for my husband for various reasons, so he drives. The drive in from the south (I90/94/The Dan Ryan [all the various expressways have local "nicknames" in addition to the standard interstate number, can be quite confusing at first]), is definitely quicker than the north or west, he is to work in 45-60 minutes depending on traffic. From what I understand driving in from the north or west can be brutal. The schools in my town are good, not exceptional, but they do fine. Unfortunately, recent financial woes have led to the cutting of some nice programs, so that has been disappointing. I live in Oak Forest, but it is primarily residential. It is right next to Tinley Park, which is a great community, we do a lot there. And Orland park is also next door. It has nice shopping, not Magnificent Mile or Oak Brook shopping, but it suits my needs just fine. The southern area is definitely more affordable than the north and west. We ended up where we are because we could afford the house we needed for our family of 6 down here. Fortunately it turned out to be a great location for us, we have made many friends and settled in nicely. Plus, we like our proximity to I80 which we travel on frequently to visit family. I don't know a lot of specifics about communities to the north and west, but you are welcome to PM me if you have any more specific questions.

For affordability, look South! Check out Will & Kankakee counties--Peotone, Manteno.

J.

How I miss it so. I left the Chicago 4 years ago, after 19 years all over the city. Lived last in Oak Park, first "suburb" due west of the city, but I was a block from the hood. I adored that town, felt like we were in a small village and my husband's commute into the city was only 15-20 minutes, we could be at the beach in 25. That was about as far west as I wanted to go, personally I think one of the best things about Chicago is the lakefront so I wanted to be able to get there easily. So I would have also gone north -- Evanston is the most affordable in that direction.

The city itself is awesome and vibrant and fun, and you can't beat living in it IF you can manage the school system. Living in a choice elementary district is key, and you can luck into a spot at one of the better ones, but as the kids grow up it gets more complicated and scary. My sister (who lives in a beautiful very pricey home in west Lakeview) is daunted now as her daughter considers junior high. She's in a Catholic school now but they can't afford it forever, so they want to switch to public. High schools are ridiculously competitive and they are both stressing about where she'll get in, even before 6th grade. I know it's a long way off with a first grader, but it may be part of your criteria for longevity.

have a great time, you'll love it!

Hi - be very realistic about the commute times. If your husbands office or school is not on the west side of the loop near Ogilvy or Union stations, it is never a 30-40 minute commute from most suburbs. We live in the city for the very reason you stated, wanted short commute times to downtown jobs and school. Family time was important as was being able to attend a school play or teacher conference on our lunch hour or between work and evening class. SO we sacrificed space and $$ to achieve this and stay in the city

Evanston and OakPark do allow you to take the El, thus making commuting into the East part of the loop. South suburbs have trains that utilize stations in the east part of the loop. Chicago Neighborhoods that are family oriented, economical and have great schools and easy commutes into the Loop are North Center, Beverly, Edgewood.

My suggestion would be to rent a small apartment downtown until you have a better feel for the city and suburbs and take public transportation with your husband to the areas you might want to live. You can compare schools and scores on the CPS website. It is very up to date. If you are living in the loop your 1st grader will attend Ogden which is a beautiful state of the art school in the Gold Coast.

Get a knowledgeable realtor as some areas of Evanston and Oak Park are not as desirable as others.

Living in the city is a lot of fun - my children ages 11 and 13 know no other way of life and have benefited from the diversity and the endless options and opportunities. I also realize it is not for everyone. Good luck!

If you really want suburban life, there are a lot of great choices that offer metra service into downtown. There are lots of great schools too. The housing can be expensive and sometimes, depending on where you go, you may be able to afford the house but not the taxes. Here is a link to some great school districts across the country but you can hone in on the ones listed in Illinois, and there are several in the Chicagoland area. Check out this link: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/illinoi...
Anyhow, here are several towns that I like:
- Mt Prospect
- Arlington Heights
- La Grange
- Hinsdale
- Glen Ellyn
- Elmhurst
- Lemont
- Willow Springs

You have to figure out what you want in your town...older or newer? Lots of people or more space? Little off the beaten path or lots of stuff around you?, etc.
If you want to message me directly, please feel free. I grew up in the Chicagoland area and lived there most of my life. Good luck with the move.

We love Evanston. It's the first town north of Chicago and still has the urban feel plus it's right on the lakefront. Great in the summer! Good shopping, restaurants, cafes and both the el and Metra trains stop here. Terrific preschools and schools, tons of parks. The only issue is affordability, though I know families that have found good deals. Good luck and enjoy your new home wherever it may be!

lincoln park or bucktown are about 30 min to down town door to door, pricey tho