chicago suburbs
 

Hoping to get some honest advice from you Windy City experts :)
DH is considering a job offer in DesPlaines...we are trying to figure out where we might be comfortable living....we do not want his commute to be much more than 30 minutes...our first priority is schools....3 elementary school aged children....we would love to live in an older home with the ability to walk to school/shops/etc.....we have been looking online at Winnetka, Barrington, Arlington Heights, Hinsdale, Glen Ellyn...any thoughts on these places? Our biggest concern is that we have heard that some of these towns are full of pretentious/ keep up with the Jones types....this makes us very nervous...we are very family oriented, outdoorsy, low key people..
We can comfortably spend up to 900K (if this helps in advice giving)
Thanks for all your help

Theresa

I wouldn't want to commute Winnetka-Des Plaines, and I'm not a fan of New Trier. (the top students are treated well, but the ones who struggle are pushed out- the admin is too concerned with keeping the average scores high, and don't want anyone who pulls down the curve. The students can be very clique-ish).

There are lots of Barringtons. Every town around there tries to get "Barrington" in the name or the postal code, so they can raise their property values. Some are more relaxed or low key than others. In general I think it's less pretentious than Winnetka.

There are some nice parts to Arlington Heights, and the train makes it easy to get into the city. Don't know how the schools are, but it's not a pretentious town.

Lincolnwood has very good schools, and is within commute distance. Look in the "Towers", the part West of the Edens Expy and south of Touhy- that's within in the budget range you mention.

thanks for that...interesting that you say Barrington is less pretentious....I have read pages on other sites about how pretentious it is...perhaps different parts are less so?
We will look at Lincolnshire

Theresa

Glen Ellyn is one of my favorite towns and I live very close to Hinsdale which is also nice and has great schools. Glen Ellyn in particular has great character (some older houses, nice downtown, etc). Unfortunately neither of them is a 30-minute commute from Des Plaines unless you are commuting on off hours. Barrington/Winnetka to me (in addition to Hinsdale) have the snob factor.. (if you disagree don't flame back.. that is my opinion and are entitled to yours too).

From the list you sent I would check out Arlington Heights. There are lots of nice places there, my only concern is you may find it somewhat whitebread depending on where you're coming from. I'm not sure if the variety of housing stock and downtown are quite what you want. Commute and price should not be an issue there esp compared to some of your other choices.

YMMV--Good luck
/pbz

Barrington sounds like the place you may be looking for. Has some nice older homes and a decent downtown area within walking distance of decent housing. The drive to Des Plaines should be close to 1/2 hour but during rush hour that could be stretched. Barington tends to be viewed less pretentious than some of the other towns you mentioned.

Best of Luck.

The one I mentioned was Lincolnwood, not Lincolnshire.

Whatever community you choose, check out property taxes before you buy, they can get very high.

For demographics, the http://www.city-data.com site is useful.

thanks for the advice...the more I read the more confused I get!! The commute is really important to us so thanks for the heads up...everywhere I have read, there are comments on the property taxes....we are coming from a town where a house valued at $400,000 pays taxes of about $15000 a year!! So the Chicago area is actually a bit of a relief....

Are there any towns further out that might fit the housing bill and be unpretentious...Vernon Hills perhaps?
Theresa

I am a very happy 10+year resident of the Village of Glen Ellyn. With regard to pretentious, let me assure you that I cannot comfortably spend up to $900K for a house, but we have no problem peacefully coexisting with those who can (and vice versa). Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

I think another gem in the west 'burbs is Clarendon Hills as an alternative to Hinsdale. Also if you're looking in Arlington Heights you may want to consider older portions (i.e. near the downtown) of Mt. Prospect.

Good luck!

You might want to consider Park Ridge, which is next to Des Plaines. It's a more expensive area (but still fits your parameter), but friends who live there don't consider it pretentious. The school district is excellent, and it has a real downtown area.

I live in Niles, which is also next to Des Plaines. It's not a walking community, though, but is one of the safest towns in the country and has one of the lowest property taxes in all of Chicagoland. The school district is also good, especially the high school on my side of town, which also serves part of Des Plaines (Maine East).

Glenview is another suburb to consider, although I don't know about the school district. It's close enough for your commuting time, depending on where in Des Plaines. Like Park Ridge, it's a more expensive area, but friends who live there don't consider it pretentious.

As far as commuting time, I'd forget about Hinsdale, Glen Ellyn, Barrington, and Winnetka. They're more than a 1/2 hour commute, especially for work hours and winter snow.

Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, and Western Springs are all great...close to 294 which is a direct route to Des Plaines.

All of these cities have mini-downtowns with stations for the Metra (the commuter train) which can easily take you and your family to downtown Chicago.

Hinsdale School District is excellent...UNITED959 is the proof in the pudding! :D

I commuted west side of Arl. Heights (NW Hy/Wilke) to Cumberland/Kennedy for several years. Almost exactly 1/2 hour, so AH to Des Plaines would be comfortably below that...Barrington to DP would be within the 1/2 hour perimeter. Also there can be potential to use METRA (there are some commuter busroutes from Des Plaines/Mount Prospect which connect to morning and evening trains).

I'm very partial to AH...nice mix of older homes, post-war baby boom and 70s-80s subdivisions. Area is aging quite gracefully--the new development in downtown (near the train station) has helped people wishing to get out of their big houses stay in the area (and become pedestrian again, with Jewel/restaurants/theaters all right there). Some problems with scraping for mini-mansions but not too bad (not nearly as bad as Hinsdale, for instance, although Hinsdale is another order-of-magnitude higher/desirable)

Things to be careful of in the area:

1. Water/Sewage. Investigate the water situation (city versus well) and sewage (city versus septic). I believe there are some attractive areas of AH which are still septic (Sherwood) which are entirely surrounded by city sewers.

2. Basements--there can be trouble with dampness/wetness.

3. School districts--look hard at the borderlines because they don't line up tidily with the village lines.

All of the above is true, however I do not believe there is a way to get from Des Plaines to Hinsdale area in 30 minutes during rush hour. Unless you obtained your car from the Ferrari dealership there on Ogden....

And if you did, I wonder if I can get a lift to work sometime.

/pbz

So true, terryellen, especially with high schools (as you look ahead). You'll want to check this carefully since they're drawn more by township than town.

thank you all so much for taking the time to write down your best advice :)
We have lots to think about and we are very busy researching and exploring all these places!!

Theresa

Theresa, before you buy anything make sure you rent a car and go drive the proposed rush-hour route, during rush hour, to get a sense of what you are looking at for traffic. It's all well and good to punch it into mapquest but you have to realize that 294 can be bumper-to-bumper for miles at a clip. I feel that this has to be said since you sound new to the area. Not trying to rain on the parade, all the towns listed so far are great towns, I just hope that your husband gets some time to sleep and enjoy the family between commutes ;) If you have questions about Hinsdale/Western Springs/Clarendon Hills, PM me and I am glad to answer questions on our neck of the woods.

/pbz

terryellen, where in DP is the job? That can influence the commuting time.

I grew up in Wilmette and went to New Trier, and think it was an excellent foundation, but the commute will kill you. The commute south of North Avenue such as Hinsdale (where $900k might not be enough) or Clarendon Hills (excellent suburb, many parts have Hinsdale Central high school) will also kill you if you want to keep it to 30 minutes. And I'd say that the same would apply to anything in traditional Barrington along IL 59, as I-90 is a general mess most mornings.

My gut instinct would be to look at the Glenbrook South, Deerfield, and maybe Maine West and Glenbrook North high school districts. My cousin and his wife (both physicians) had a similar commuting situation as you are describing and picked Deerfield.

But if education is your top priority, focus on the high school districts first, then the K-8 districts within the high school district, then the neighborhoods.

thanks guys....I knew I would get a lot of expert advice on these boards :)

Not sure exactly where in DP the job is...I will try to find this out

Theresa

I would also suggest checking out alternative driving routes from several comparable home choices, to the place of work.

The Chicago area is well known for frequent, extended, massive road projects, :mad: , often delayed for months during rough winters.

Ole Nick clearly knows what he's talking about. Forget Winnetka or any of the North Shore suburbs - not b/c of the snob factor but because of the distance. They're absolutely unworkable. Frankly, if you're trying to achieve a truly good/reasonable commute, I would draw a circle roughly 4-5 miles around Des Plaines and discount anything around it.

For what it's worth, I think the best balance you're going to find in terms of 'nice' area, really good schools, and ease of access/distance is going to be the Glenview area, as suggested.

Given the schools constraint, you can pretty much kill anything in that circle south of Higgins Road. Rosemont, that little corner of Chicago, Schiller Park, and Bensenville are not scholastic strongholds.

Elmhurst is workable even though it's more like 7-9 miles; I rented there for several years (hence my FT name). If you said you only had $500k to spend, I'd point you there. But if you can get up over $700k, I think the Glenview schools are better than the Elmhurst schools.

I would defer to EN on the quality of Elmhurst schools, although I've heard good things. Certainly, Elmhurst is considered a desirable place to live, as reflected in its property values. Depending on what you're looking for in a place to live, Elmhurst may also offer more older architecture, and less of a post-WWII "wide streets/cookie cutter" feel, than some of the other nearby options, although it's possible to find visually interesting neighborhoods in most suburbs.

-Hayden

thanks for the opinions...we are trying to focus a little....have a short list:
Park Ridge
Barrington
Arlington Heights
we will see what the realtor has to say about these and others..thanks again

Theresa

I would definitely take a few rush-our test drives between Barrington and DP if you're seriously considering that option. There may be some good routes, but I'd be wary that the commute would become difficult at times.