Relocating to Chicago burbs HELP!!

[Lazyhead]

Hello lovely Mothering families

Our family is relocating to the Chicago area and are looking for input regarding the burbs.  We lived in the city of Chicago years ago and have lived in a small town in Michigan for the past 10 years.  I'm looking for info about the burbs.....my DH will be working near O'Hare so we'd like to live within a 30 minute commute of there in a burb that is it's own town (not just sprawlsville) and is family friendly and fairly liberal/crunchy with fantastic schools.  We'll be making a few trips out there to visit before we move and it'd be nice to narrow the area down to a few that we should check out.

TIA 

[Eyelet]

Lots of suburbs to choose from, but the deciding factor will probably be your budget and what kind of home you are looking for. :o)

ETA: Burbs that fit your criteria if money is not an issue: Oak Park, River Forest, Naperville, possibly Evanston..

[Lazyhead]

Money is a factor....need a house for less than 400k. It'd be nice to have a decent yard maybe with chickens. Not sure about ordinances there but we can keep a small flock of 4 birds here. Hopefully, not too snooty. I like open mindedness.

[Lazyhead]

Oh and type home--something with 3-4 bedrooms. Nothing crazy huge. I like old houses in a town.

[Eyelet]

I found this thread about keeping chickens in the Chicago area: http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1263547/where-can-you-keep-chickens-commutable-to-chicago/0_100  Also found this, http://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/3/Laws/tag/64445/

Older home with some land in an established crunchy-ish town (and not too far out from the city??) with good schools personally sounds like Oak Park or Evanston to me.. I think if you dig enough, you can find something within your budget. :)

[Lazyhead]

Thank you!  :)

I don't really care about being close to the city.  It just has to be within 30 mins of O'Hare.

[Lilyr]

The towns people are listing here are too far away and too expensive, though they can be crunchy. Traffic to near Ohare from Oak Park or Evanston can be a nightmare. and that is going to be major quality of life issue for your husband. You should check out the current "feel" of Park Ridge, Niles, Morton Grove,and Mount Prospect, etc. Skokie maybe if the commute is okay. None of them were hip or hippie back in the 70's or 80's when i was a kid. But all sorts of people have moved all sorts of places. For instance, Berwyn (a bit too long of a commute, but much cheaper than neighboring Oak Park), has gone from being Bunker-ville, to very diverse, gay friendly,  family friendly  (don't know about the chickens yet). 

Franklin Park (12 minutes from OHare) is where La Leche League started, by a group of women who were crunchy in their way back then.  See what it's  like now.

Park Ridge, Schiller Park, Franklin Park etc. might be TOO close, if you cant get over the plane noise. See what you think by hanging around at night.

Within Chicago itself, I would stick to places along the Blue Line if CTA commuting could work. Otherwise, avoid Chicago from the commuting standpoint alone. Though you can keep 4 chickens in your yard. The towns that are closer to Chicago, even though proximity itself isn't important to you, are less sprawly than those in what we, not so affectionately, call "the land beyond O'Hare."

Edited by Lilyr - 9/24/12 at 9:54am

[DoulaSam]

Schaumburg also might be an option. I live there and can be at Ohare in 15min. It is good access to 90 and 290, has Ikea, decent schools and is reasonably priced. 

[Ragana]

I would also say Evanston, Oak Park or Skokie. Some chickens are allowed in Evanston. Not sure the exact rules, but the city's website should have that information. Bonus - the Lake! Let me know by PM if you are considering Evanston, and I can get you the info on the schools. I have one in elementary and one in middle school.
 

[Lazyhead]

What about Wilmette?  Or anything south of O'Hare?  We will definitely check out Evanston.  A good friend here is giving me the hard sell on Evanston.    Oak Park is too expensive.  Just looking online for a minute reveals that there is very little that we can afford there.  Plus, it's too much city for me.  I don't want to live in the city.  I did that in my youth and I don't want to any more.  ;)

And I really appreciate all your replies.  It's a huge help to me.  Truly.  

[Ragana]

PM'd you. But if Oak Park is too expensive, Evanston might be as well. Did you check out Skokie? Very good schools and a bit more "suburban" than Evanston or OP.
 

[Lazyhead]

Yeah it all might be too expensive.  :lol

[Greenlea]

I would try Bensenville. They have alot of bigger older houses with decent sized yards in your price range.

I grew up in Elmhurst and love it there! Great downtown area. No chickens here though, although they were just re-voting on that issue. Not sure what came about from it.

Itasca is also very nice. Great little historic district.

Personally I say any school in DuPage County is great. I don't know much about the schools in Cook County though.

[Ragana]

Originally Posted by Greenlea 
Personally I say any school in DuPage County is great. I don't know much about the schools in Cook County though.

Schools in Cook County - depends greatly on where you are. CPS is Cook County as are several suburbs like Evanston.

[Greenlea]

Originally Posted by Ragana 

Schools in Cook County - depends greatly on where you are. CPS is Cook County as are several suburbs like Evanston.

Yeah, I mean I live in Hanover Park which is Cook County and my son's school is rated 4/10. He's only there right now for pre-school and we'll be moving into DuPage County by next school year, but I would really check out Cook County's schools ratings before moving to that city.  Mainly because the schools in Cook County vary so greatly in their "scores". 

[Lazyhead]

Originally Posted by Greenlea 

I would try Bensenville. They have alot of bigger older houses with decent sized yards in your price range.

I grew up in Elmhurst and love it there! Great downtown area. No chickens here though, although they were just re-voting on that issue. Not sure what came about from it.

Itasca is also very nice. Great little historic district.

Personally I say any school in DuPage County is great. I don't know much about the schools in Cook County though.

Tell me more about Elmhurst..... 

[Greenlea]

Originally Posted by Lazyhead 

Tell me more about Elmhurst..... 

Hmmm...well great schools, lots of parks, great newer library, a pool, skatepark. They have an art museum, movie theatre, lots of restaurants in the downtown area. Its really close to all major highways & tollways. A 20 min train ride to Chicago. Really close to 2 major malls. Family friendly, lots of programs for kids.  Not sure on how crunchy they are though.  And there taxes are a bit high.

Like I said, I grew up there. Moved out when I was 22. I would love to move back there with my family now. I've been looking for a place to rent there, but its a little expensive for me. 

[AmandaLynnH]

We had a similar budget and looked in Oak Park, River Forest (HA!), Brookfield, La Grange, La Grange Park, Riverside, North Riverside, and Elmhurst and ended up buying a 3bd/2bth home in Brookfield and we love it.  It's a bit further south than Elmhurst but the two houses we were considering, one in Brookfield and one in Elmhurst were 100k different in price with Elmhurst being the higher in price + higher taxes.  We haven't had to commute to O'hare since moving so I can't speak to that.  Brookfield and La Grange (Park too) were the best bargains housing-wise with excellent schools.  Elmhurst seems to know they have good schools and housing prices reflect that accordingly.  But nice houses in Brookfield go FAST so if you see one you like, act quick.

Did I mention that I live less than a mile from an amazing zoo?  Walking distance to the Metra?  Easy access to restaurants, shopping, etc?  All with nice low taxes (seriously, watch the taxes as they can get insane!).  We have a nice, big yard too.

[loveandgarbage]

I grew up both in Evanston and Wilmette (and am still connected to family there so I know what they're like now). Wilmette is not in your price range unless you find a fluke cheap house. I wouldn't live there in a million years if you are looking for a crunchy town-- the schools are fabulous in some ways (they score really well) but it's very richy rich and snobby these days. If I were to relocate back to the Chicago area I would try to buy in Evanston. It's pricey as well, but you can find cheaper houses on the South and West sides. I would also suggest checking out Berwyn. It has a great reputation nowadays for being crunchy and more forward-thinking.

[mamalisa]

I've lived almost everywhere from Wheaton to Berwyn/Lyons.  I highly recommend Glen Ellyn, especially for schools.  I loved living in the LaGrange, LaGrange Park, Brookfield area, but house prices can be insane.  I miss living a mile from the zoo!!  My best friend lives in Berwyn and has an amazing house that she got for a steal (it needed a lot of work) but the schools aren't the best.

LaGrange/LaGrange Park might be great for you.  House prices are reasonable (sort of), LaGrange Road is a straight shot to the airport (30 minutes-ish to 2 hours (I kid), depending on the weather, phase of the moon, whatnot).  The little downtown area has everything you need, Metra is right there and you're close to regular grocery as well ethnic markets.