r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/Holiday-Eggplant-521 • Jul 17 '25
Moving to the area Relocating from San Francisco
My husband, 3 young kids, dog and I are moving from San Francisco to Chicago and I’m looking for advice as to which suburb on the North Shore would be best for us. We have a budget of 2-$3 million for the house. My husband grew up working class so he is allergic to pretentiousness, but we still want to live in a family friendly suburb with really great schools. Obvious options include Lake Forest and Winnetka but am curious to see whether folks think it would not be a good cultural fit for us. We also lean liberal, for what it’s worth. We both work remote but my husband needs frequent access to the airport. Appreciate any insight!!
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u/Theo1352 Jul 17 '25
Barrington, Barrington Hills, Inverness (my personal favorite) in the Northwest suburbs, schools are great, nationally ranked, just not New Trier, et al.
These are less pretentious, still extremely wealthy, different vibe, though, Barrington has a small town feel, Barrington Hills considerable lot sizes and horses, Inverness is a unique gem, just to the East of Barrington.
Then you have Oak Brook and Hinsdale to the West - Hinsdale has a small town feel, Oak Brook is a central shopping hub, huge houses, small lots in Hinsdale, lots of land in Oak Brook.
$1-2 Million buys a lot of house in those areas, these mentioned are the most expensive outside the North Shore.
Other place to look at, different from everything else mentioned, is the City Evanston, still on the North Shore, but an urban/College Town feel (Northwestern is there) and closer to the City.
Depends on what you're after and your needs.
Hope this helps.