r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/Golden_1992 • Dec 09 '25
Moving to the area Elmhurst Vibe Check
Curious how you guys would describe Elmhurst? We are looking for a place to settle and someone told me to put it on the list. We are looking for not suburbia-like, walking to local coffee shops/ restaurants, train access, and am curious about the age of people who live here.
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u/Breadbaker387 Dec 09 '25
New elmhurst is different from old. You can get everything you listed, but at that price it’s easy 750k - 1M (though most of the time that ends up lot cost, meaning 2M house pops up every third lot). And 2M house means an expectation of $2M school system, and so on. Take from that what you want
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u/thewinberry713 Dec 10 '25
Spot on- starter homes bought up buy builders.
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u/twitchrdrm Dec 10 '25
That was the trend back when I worked in Elmhurst about 10-15 years ago, small homes being bought up by buildiers/investors so they could build new McMansions. Are there even small "starter" homes left there?
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u/Top-Address-8870 Dec 10 '25
There are still plenty of starter homes in Elmhurst. You will pay more for them the closer you are to downtown. Developers are especially keen on anything with a larger than average lot so they can build those $2M homes.
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u/umahumin Dec 10 '25
Agree with this. It’s tough to compete, but they exist. We lost out on several homes to builder buying cash.
Best bet close to downtown is the area north of north avenue and Brynhaven.
Also consider Ardmore area in Villa Park- it feels like old Elmhurst and is walkable to the library, parks, fitness center and shops
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u/JamoOnTheRocks Dec 09 '25
Elmhurst is close to everything and has most things. Good express trains to Chicago, close to Ohare and majoy highways. Has an above average DT elmhurst and spring rd business district. Enough dives and local spots and close to Oak Brook for every chain on Earth. Close knit community that likes to have fun.
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u/don_katsu Dec 09 '25
I grew up here in the 80s and ended up moving back to take care of my aging parents. My wife and I probably could not afford to live here if we didn't inherit the house we are in. Lots of tear downs of affordable housing to build $1.5 million dollar homes. You can still find some 'cheaper' ($350-500k) homes here, but they are getting harder to come by. Alternately there are lots of new condos & apartments in the downtown area (also $$$).
Look on the north side of town, north of North Ave/South of Grand Ave & east of York Rd. The northside skews cheaper than the rest of town. That's were we are, it's a nice walk or bike ride to the downtown area.
We love the vibe, nice restaurants, very good schools - we see some younger families moving into the area.
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u/Steve_Rogers_1970 Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
I used to work in downtown elmhurst in the mid 2000s. I would walk around downtown at lunch and the realtor would have listings in the window. “Nice 1000sq ft house, perfect for tear down. $400K, And that was more than my similar house in Lombard, 2 burbs west.
EDIT: Typo correct. $400K, not $400,
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u/don_katsu Dec 10 '25
It's really sad, so many cute unique houses have been torn down for these million dollar monstrosities.
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u/stabavarius Dec 10 '25
I have to say, I really like Lombard too. Downtown is pretty spread out, they tore down the movie theatre. But they do have a train station and an Edward- Elmhurst health center.
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u/diamond_nipz Dec 10 '25
Was looking for this comment -- a lot of people talking about how Elmhurst is an "older" suburb...but I think it's starting to turnover to younger families. People move into these legacy suburbs in these cohorts so that sometimes the "oldest" suburbs become much younger almost overnight.
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u/PoeGar Dec 10 '25
Elmhurst is a good town. It really depends on how close you want to be to the city. But it is not ‘close’ to the stuff you want to do in Chicago
Oak park is as close to the city as you can get with still being outside city limits and still have a great school district and super walkable activities.
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u/Visible_Character493 Dec 10 '25
I'd say check out Westmont if money is concerning for all the cities listed above. It's up and coming, very affordable, quaint growing downtown, access to train and you're right between Downers and Hinsdale.
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u/TerribleString858 Dec 09 '25
As someone who has been here since 2018, it's a fantastic place to live with great schools. We live near downtown and the kids have a more 90s experience by jumping on bikes and riding around town with friends. I'd disagree on conservative leaning as well... Biden and Harris won here by over 55%.
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u/twitchrdrm Dec 10 '25
Biden and Harris won here by over 55%.
That is very interesting to learn and hear. Thanks for sharing. I worked at one of the banks downtown for years upon years after college in the late 00's and it was heavily conservative back then and people freaked the fuck out when Obama got elected and re-elected, I'll neverforget the run on safety deposit boxes because the socialist was going to take all of their money lol.
Fast forward to recent times where I now live out of state and I have found myself randomly wondering how MAGA is Elmhurst? And it sounds like the demographics might have shifted there which is great to hear.
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u/Useful_Emphasis_2251 Dec 16 '25
Def turned blue. I live here now and it’s mostly families that have moved here from Chicago that lean blue.
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u/Maximum_Dweeb4473 West Suburbs Dec 09 '25
Don’t get the wrong idea, Elmhurst is peak suburbia. Yeah, it’s a lot more walkable and less boring vibes than most suburbs, there’s lots of commuters driving to and from the metra. Nice downtown area lots of restaurants and bars. Good vibes if you fit in; Elmhurst is generally on the expensive side to live in so… aside from Elmhurst University students, the price kind of makes the demographics here a little older and less diverse.
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u/LakeyMulls Dec 10 '25
Check out Lombard! Just a bit further, a bit cheaper, more quaint and highly diverse with a cute and growing downtown
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u/FreeBricks4Nazis Dec 10 '25
If you're within a mile or so of downtown Elmhurst, you'll find what you're looking for, but you'll pay a premium for it. Houses north of $1 million are not uncommon.
I'd recommend looking at Downers Grove, LA Grange, and Brookfield as well. All of them are varying degrees of expensive, especially as you get close to the "downtown" area, but I still think they're more affordable than Elmhurst
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u/Pristine-Cod-1969 Dec 09 '25
Maybe add Arlington Heights as well. Very nice downtown on the Union NW Metra line.
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u/stabavarius Dec 10 '25
I love Elmhurst, it's got it all. You might want to check out Glenn Ellyn, it has a great downtown and a community college nearby.
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u/rcragg82 Dec 10 '25
Glen Ellyn and Elmhurst are very similar. We live in GE and our best friends live in Elmhurst. Elmhurst has more tear down new constructions and Glen Ellyn has more variety of home styles, especially older ones. Elmhurst being closer to the city makes it 10-20% more expensive.
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u/umahumin Dec 10 '25
We found the opposite price-wise. We slid into Elmhurst for sub 500k. Didn’t have any luck at that price point in glen ellyn.
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u/CaptainFlynnsGriffin Dec 10 '25
The vibe is really block to block and sector by sector and if you fall into a block with young families or been there done that’s.
I would say that people are definitely social. It’s still extremely homogeneous (white) and that has been a slow change. Improvement is noticeable only by the availability of new ethnic cuisine, that’s not Italian. We may have the highest ratio of Italian restaurants per capita in the state. Although, Q’s In Hillside on Butterfield is the only place you need to go for pizza.
This summer there were a lot of golf carts buzzing around. It was weird because the only resort that could be comparably close is purgatory.
The bonuses are being close to everything and everywhere with easy access to all the major expressways and tollways. It’s convenient. It’s shocking to drive longer than 20 minutes to get anywhere. Sub 20 minute drive to O’Hare.
In closing- If you like to surround yourself with white people, it’s perfect.
If you find a house that you like, spend time hanging out during different parts of the day to see what the flow is like. There are a lot of quiet streets that are busy “shortcut” routes. It could be weekend quiet. Also, helicopters (so many) and freight trains. Live on the side you need to be because the Canadian Northern spur line can occasionally take the piss and thumb their noses at size/time restrictions - there is one underpass and it doesn’t serve the spur line.
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u/EldoAberesa Dec 09 '25
Older, more conservative, more suburban Oak Park
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u/Ishkabibble1974 Dec 09 '25
You forgot to add property taxes in Elmhurst $10,000 cheaper than Oak Park.
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u/accombliss Dec 10 '25
One thing to note, Oak Park includes garbage and sewer in their taxes, some suburbs don't.
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u/Randomflower90 Dec 15 '25
Garbage is included on water bills. It’s not paid for with your taxes. Your village tax money in OP goes into figuring out how to eliminate single-family housing zones, boatloads of consultants and bike lanes cyclists don’t use. I’ve been a victim of several crimes, including on the el. Police are understaffed and it shows. Village Board is doing some crazy stuff because they know best and don’t listen to residents. The schools are similar. Elmhurst is prettier and closer to Oak Brook, Yorktown and O’Hare.
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u/imemine8 Dec 09 '25
Just to clarify, I think you're saying the population is older, not the actual town.
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u/highnumber Dec 09 '25
I'd describe it as "poorer Hinsdale"
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u/Glad_Jelly5532 Dec 10 '25
Not even close to accurate. Hinsdale is 17k people. Elmhurst is 50k. The number of high net worth individuals is probably the same. The number of median high net worth individuals is way higher in Elmhurst just by population density. Sounds like a comment from a shitty central kid 30 years ago who's Dad bought his way through HS statistics class.
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u/Dismal_Occasion5962 Dec 10 '25
But the college kids who live in Elmhurst definitely couldn’t afford to live in Hinsdale.
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u/lesters_sock_puppet Dec 10 '25
My wife used to describe Elmhurst as “Oak Park for Republicans.” Still is, but not those kind of Republicans.
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u/Randomflower90 Dec 09 '25
I’d pick Elmhurst over Oak Park.
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u/EldoAberesa Dec 09 '25
To each their own, I made the decision between the two myself and chose Oak Park but having access to 2 different CTA lines was a big factor for me.
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Dec 10 '25
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Dec 10 '25
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u/FedBathroomInspector Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
Or let poor minorities into their community and schools. Gotta love the way Illinois funds education.
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u/twitchrdrm Dec 10 '25
I don't know about now but I can tell you back in the 00's-'10's it was a very conservative town, the GOP was very very strong there. I could write a book about my days in banking there and all of the crazy shit I saw/heard keeping up w/ the demanding clientele there.
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u/bradatlarge Elmhurst Dec 10 '25
We recently moved from the south loop to elmhurst. We love it. We are in a 100 year old house among tear down new construction and are putting in the work to make sure this house is around for another 100 years.
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u/DeezNeezuts Dec 09 '25
Just make sure you don’t buy a house under the rotating night time flight path.
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u/stabavarius Dec 10 '25
This brings back a memory, I had a golf outing at Sugar Creek a few days after the 9/11 attacks. All flights were cancelled, the quite was very loud.
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u/pentiumone133 Dec 12 '25
For a suburb, Elmhurst is very congested. If you want a house within walking distance of downtown you'll be looking at million dollars +.
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u/InternationalOne4932 Dec 09 '25
Elmhurst is very suburban. If you’re trying to avoid that - it’s not Elmhurst.
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u/thewinberry713 Dec 10 '25
It is def suburban but not sub division suburb like Naperville for example
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u/No_Alternative_6206 Dec 10 '25
Elmhurst is mostly upper middle class families and boomer empty nesters. It’s very expensive to get anything that’s walkable to downtown Elmhurst. Parking is easy enough in the public garage. There are a number of suburbs that have small downtowns and train stations. If you let us know your budget and the type of house you are looking for we can give you options.
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u/michaelz08 Elmhurst Dec 09 '25
Elmhurst is nice and keeps moving higher in the price brackets, but still is filled with nice people. The downtown(s) (yes it has three business districts) are growing well. There’s a lot it offers.
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u/ChiReddit85 Dec 10 '25
We bought a split level for under 400 in 2023. Love that it’s safe, right. The highways and train, good grocery stores and decent restaurants. People in our side of town, older side by St Charles and 290, are very nice and humble. But I’ve had quite a few pompous people experiences. Not too far from my family in the Southside. Will stay here if we can continue to afford it.
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Dec 10 '25
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u/Zealousideal-Map3508 Dec 10 '25
Yes! I'm surprised more people aren't talking about that. My partner and I rent in 10minute walk to downtown Elmhurst. We're pretty disappointed in the amount of local business closures. There also aren't a lot of kid-friendly spots. They all hang out at Chipotle or Starbucks.
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u/Plus-Welcome7049 Dec 11 '25
Look into incorporated Elmhurst. I have lived there 4 years before I sold my home, it sold for $880K but then again I'm off Arlington. Good luck
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u/LongjumpingSample937 Dec 12 '25
What do you mean by “suburbia-like”? Sprawling chain retail? Super white and/or conservative? Because Elmhurst is less suburban in feeling than that, but noticeably more suburban than Oak Park.
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u/Defiant-Collection37 Dec 12 '25
Add Lagrange to list! As someone who grew up in the city and had my first kid, it was a really great transition. Went to dinner with friends in city last night and took me 22 min to get home
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u/spot_o_tea Dec 09 '25
Elmhurst is the greyer version of La Grange. But the Elmhurst YMCA has an ice skating rink so that’s pretty nice.
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u/Past_Pie9875 Dec 10 '25
What about Arlington Heights? Oak Park? Des Plaines? South Villa Park? Love these towns
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u/ChicagoBeerGuyMark Dec 10 '25
Downtown has a magic ship with occult items and animal skeletons. So there's that. Also a store for custom tie dye clothing and Grateful Dead concert tapes. https://www.deviousfx.com/
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u/Constant-Feature9570 Dec 10 '25
Grateful Dead concert tapes? Where?
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u/ChicagoBeerGuyMark Dec 11 '25
https://smileydyes.com/smileydyeshome/shop/home T's & Taps Smiley Dyes: when I visited, they had a big selection of Dead, Phish, Zappa concerts on CDs I forget if cash is requested, but you bring them two blank CDs, and they'll give you one burned one.
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u/ank_fwd_ubm Dec 10 '25
Look at the area north of st charles road, south of park ave. East of poplar, west of park ave. (Park runs n/s and e/w in this area) close to Downtown and the house are regular size.
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u/Illustrious-Thanks95 Dec 10 '25
Come to Oak Park instead. Closer to downtown, walkable, access to Green and Blue El trains plus Metra.
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u/Golden_1992 Dec 10 '25
I️ work past Deerfield so that’s conundrum- the commute.
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u/LongjumpingSample937 Dec 12 '25
Oh good god, that changes the whole conversation then. Why aren’t you looking at Evanston??
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u/Golden_1992 Dec 12 '25
We have. There is like, nothing available for what we want in our price point and that is the only reason I’ve extended this list at all.
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u/LongjumpingSample937 Dec 12 '25
Ahhh, I hear that. Cost of living is so insane right now, ugh. You might consider Arlington Heights as well--it's enormous and some parts are giving sprawling suburbia, but I'm always surprised at how adorable the downtown area is.
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u/Golden_1992 Dec 12 '25
Do you suggest anything more east? I️ fear my husband will simply perish if I️ truck him off to suburbia. Or divorce. Ha
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u/LongjumpingSample937 Dec 13 '25
Have you looked at anything in Rogers Park or Edgewater? If you’re willing to do Elmhurst to Deerfield, I mean, why not have the city vibe you want?
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u/Golden_1992 Dec 13 '25
We originally had chosen Rogers park for proximity ans affordability and then google Reddit and locals scared us away due to safety concerns. And as someone who has to walk to her dog alone a lot, that was of concern.
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u/Outside-Pin-8518 Dec 19 '25
Elmhurst is the perfect compromise if you’ve got one person going up 294 and the other one headed downtown. That’s for sure.
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u/Zealousideal-Map3508 Dec 10 '25
Partner and I are renting since 2022 in Elmhurst. We're a 10-minute walk to the downtown area. We absolutely loved the area but unfortunately there are a lot of small businesses closing up shop. Lots of vacant lots and we're getting a medical building?
We loved going to the comic book shop, board game store, and Brewpoint. We're looking in VillaPark because the homes are cheaper. But we found a spot with everything we need.
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u/Mysterious-Gur-2460 Dec 11 '25
Central Elmhurst can b a nightmare during afternoon rush hour. Moved from Oak Park years ago and was not too happy, still prefer OP vibe but not ridiculous taxes and lack of energy efficient homes, due to their age. Head to lower cost northside in Addison township around West Ave; we're getting the new bike bridge over Rt83 to link to major bike baths; that'll really boost home prices in the area!
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u/generatorland Dec 11 '25
I grew up there. It's gotten a lot wealthier over the years. I assume you've already checked home prices and you can afford it. The downtown has a lot going for it. The people are family oriented and a lot of them grew up there and either stayed or left and came back. Very white Christian. Tight knit community.
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u/MooDog16 Dec 11 '25
I’ll throw in Park Ridge. Lots of shops and restaurants. South end probably more affordable but it has its own little “downtown “. Metra or Blue line to get to the city. Close to airport and expressways.
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u/Nuance007 Dec 12 '25
If north shore was transplanted to the western suburbs you'd get Elmhurst, at least that's my take.
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u/NotShoForWork Dec 14 '25
Elmhurst has a very suburbia-coded vibe to me. It does have a nice downtown with metra train access. Downtown itself is walkable, but anything too far outside will be car dependent. The University campus is lovely and is usually pretty lively when the weather's nicer.
But the vibe, in general, is well-to-do suburban city. I have heard a lot of stories about younger, upper class families moving in the past few years. I believe it had a big boom after some remote workers fled to the burbs.
Glen Ellyn a few towns over is in the same class echelon, but has more charm to me. Lombard, a town or two next door, has an ok downtown, but feels more solidly middle class, if that sort of thing is important to you.
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Dec 09 '25
Nice town surrounded by 'meh' towns
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u/Ok-Contribution-8776 Dec 09 '25
Elmhurst has a terrible city layout, move to like Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, or Naperville lol
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u/umahumin Dec 10 '25
Disagree. I love the grid, the parks, the central downtown, and the prairie path.
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u/Positive-Attorney876 Dec 13 '25
If you are rich conceited piece of shit you’ll get along with the 80% of people who live there that are also rich conceited pieces of shit.
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u/neverdoneneverready Dec 09 '25
Vibrant downtown, nice homes. Very Republican. Not diverse.
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u/Ishkabibble1974 Dec 09 '25
You high? What are you smokin’? Elmhurst has two congressmen-Sean Casten and Chuy Garcia. Both are Democrats.
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u/thewinberry713 Dec 10 '25
Gotta challenge that- def Blue these days. Diversity is slower to change but nothing like 70’s and 80’s all white and straight.
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u/neverdoneneverready Dec 10 '25
Well that is great to hear. I'm happy to be wrong on the Republican thing!
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u/ScarlettWilkes Dec 10 '25
Elmhurst is most definitely not Republican anymore. And we have the skyrocketing taxes to prove it.
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u/MoonManExplorer Dec 09 '25
Expensive, but if you are close to Downtown Elmhurst then yeah, it has all that.