Moving to Your Area

Hi Susan

Welcome to IL. Just wanted to let you know my sister Peggy lives in Riverside and has a great 4 bdrm home with 4 baths. This is newly remodeled and extremely spacious as well as a great layout, yard, 2 car garage, etc. And, the school sytem is wonderful. Both my sisters live in Riverside and have put their children through both public and Catholic system.
I am a Realtor and have my sisters house in the MLS (Realtor computer system) but she is selling it herself. If you think you are interest in that area here is the MLS# 06860049. I can give you my sisters number to speak to her directly about the area and school system if you like.

N.

My husband works in Oakbrook and his commute is 10 minutes. Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills are part of the same school district - ALL top rated. Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills offer beautiful homes, cute downtowns, weekly summer outdoor concerts, active park district programs, nice community pools, easy train commute, etc. Of course none of this comes cheap. But, it's a desirable area to live so, there will always be a market here. Your price range is realistic for a nice home.

Our realtor is one of the top producing realtors in the Hinsdale/Clarendon Hills area and I'd be happy to put you in touch with her. She brings with her experience and market knowledge, but with a true desire to take care of her clients. We wanted a young neighborhood. And, knowing that, she called a friend down the street from a home we were considering to find out how many kids (and their ages) there were on the block.

In Hinsdale there is a preschool co-op located at the Community House. My friend is going to send her son there. If you have trouble finding it, let me know. But, there are plenty of other very nice preschools - Union, Covenant, Zion, Celebrations. My 3yo son will go to Union next year.

Private Schools are St. Isaac's, Notre Dame, Zion Lutheran. For secondary schools there are many, some even hop the train to the city.

Finally, our runner up choice was Naperville. But, we ruled it out because it would have added 30 minutes to my husband's commute. They offer a solid education and more house value. But, it's a massive area and a daunting task looking there.

We've been here just over a year (Chicagoland for 14 years). And, if you need other info about the area, don't hesitate to contact me.

Good luck

Naperville is also a great area that you should consider. It's consistently ranked one of the best places to live in the country. It's not too far from Oakbrook, the schools are highly ranked and the community is fantastic. Good luck.

Hinsdale is a very nice town. We our in Elmhurst, which is probably 5-10 minutes from Oakbrook Terrace and we love it here. The schools and park district are wonderful. The school is district #200 (I'm pretty sure...my kids haven't started yet, but that's one of the reasons we moved here....we heard AWSOME things about this town and school distrcit.) There are also several private schools in town. Good luck...if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask!

Susan,

I live in Downers Grove which is about 15 min or so to Oak Brook. I live on the south side of donwers and there are alot of newer houses going up around here as well as others. The schools are great. We go to public schools, but I know some people who go to private schools and they like them too. Its a great area and so much to do in downers and around. I live by Downers South High school. THe grade schools are District 58 www.dg58.org and the high school is district 99 www.csd99.org you can also visit www.downers.us The park district is great, they have tons of stuff for kids and classes etc. we ahve a ton parks to play at.

Check it out. If you want to know more feel free to email me ____@____.com and I will be happy to help you out.

C.

Hi Susan,

Hope all works out with the job transfer. Some of my favorite areas (although I don't live there) are Western Springs and Clarendon Hills -- both border Hinsdale and are super nice communities. You'll find nice houses and a little downtown Main Street type area.

My family is unable to afford a house in either of those areas, but if we could, I would definitely choose one of those. They seem to have a close knit community feel when I visit.

Hope this helps.

L.

Hi Susan-I relocated to IL last year not knowing very much about the area. Oak Brook Terrace is about 30-40 mins. from here. The Chicago area has wonderful public transportation as well.

Hinsdale and Park Ridge were our 2 top choices. My husband is from the area-so he knew where to look. There are many people that were born and raised in Park Ridge and then moved their families back here. I absolutely love it. There is such a great sense of community and the public schools are the best!!

There are many things for the children to do. Being here for only a year, I have made many friends and love getting on the train to downtown.

I hope this helps and good luck in your search. There are so many beautiful homes for sale and in your price range you can definitely get a great home. I know Realtors and doctors and have a great referral list of individuals that have provided services for us!! Please let me know if you should require any more info!!

T.

Detox Coach

I second what Tracy said.. Hinsdale is very nice, but a little overpriced in my opinion. In general, I think you will get more for your money in Elmhurst and be even closer to Oakbrook Terrace. The public schools in Elmhurst are rated excellent and there are good private school options as well. A lot of people are very impressed with Timothy Christian and Immanuel Lutheran and the catholic schools - Visitation and Immaculate Conception are also good choices. The public school is actually District 205. I grew up in Elmhurst and now live in a neighboring town (I got more for my money in Lombard) and although Lombard is nice also, I would move back in a minute. A lot of the friends I grew up with now live there with their families. We still go back there for pizza, restaurants, shopping, parades, festivals, park district activities, etc. constantly. It's a great family friendly town and we can't seem to really leave it! I am a loan officer and can put you in touch with great realtors to help you narrow down your options (searches for both towns) and also help you with doctors (our doctors are there) and just about anything else you would need!
Good luck with your upcoming move!

Hi Susan,

Congratulations on your upcoming move. My name is J. and I am a licensed real estate agent with Prudential. One of the services that I offer my clients is setting them up to receive automatic listings as they come on the market. I can specify different areas, number of bedrooms, baths, garage, price...even school districts, and more. It is a great way to keep a close eye on the market in different areas and get an idea of what your money can buy in the different areas as well.

Visit my website at www.JenniferWhitney.com...you can register and I can get you set up. You can also email me your criteria and I can set it up for you. My email address is ____@____.com can also call me at ###-###-####.

No pressure, just a great way to do a little "advance" homework...I would love the opportunity to earn your business. Whatever you decide, good luck to you!!

J.

Hi Susan,

Where in IL do you want to move? I'm a licensed Realtor and I'd love to help you. I can be reach via this email address: ____@____.com or via my cellphone at: ###-###-####.

Not sure if anyone mentioned this but there is a great Christian School in S. Elmhurst (really close to Oakbrook) called Timothy Christian... not sure how old your boys are but the church (Elmhurst Christian Reformed) has a great mom's day out program for 3-6 yr olds and MOPS and a bible study with free babysitting during the kids programs on the weekday mornings...good luck!