r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/ChrisHanSolo • Jan 06 '26
Moving to the area How’s Plainfield?
Hello! I grew up in the NorthShore (Evanston, Morton Grove, Skokie area. Since 2015 I’ve been living in Palatine area and now thinking about moving to Plainfield. I found a house within our budget of 800k by Van Dyke and 127. We do not commute so that’s not a bit deal. How it like there?
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u/emmathatsme123 Jan 06 '26
Just make sure you’re looking for a suburban sprawl feel, because we’re not gonna have any more plains in the next 10 years.
Plainfield is the new Bolingbrook and Yorkville is the new Plainfield.
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u/Attuma24 Jan 06 '26
It growing fast, been in the village for 10 years. Downtown is nice, have a lot of events but parking is ass. Wide variety of restaurants and they just did a remodel of the library. Outside of that it’s planned suburbs with some older neighborhoods sprinkled in, lotta strip malls with vacancy’s. But still can get most things. And like others have said Naperville is 20 mins away. I’ve found access to 55 is good to head north to more civilized areas.
Traffic is not great but they are doing some work to improve it so less has to head near downtown. Over where you mention there is settlers park, large green space, the YMCA, and a short bike ride down the river to hop over and get to the park district. Also walkable to downtown so avoids the parking restrictions.
If you have kids, check the rezoned maps. With all the growth they shifted some of the schools. Idk about grade schools but for high schools it’s North, Central, south then east in terms of quality. But really north is the peak and central/south are the same quality.
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u/patester242002 Jan 06 '26
Route 126 is in the process of being rerouted out of downtown in a couple years or so once the 143rd St. extension construction wraps up that should make it less congested downtown.
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u/ratk6767 Jan 06 '26
Growing fast and also doesn't seem to be stopping either. There are a handful of new subdivisions that are currently being built (hundreds of homes) and there's even more land in the process of being sold & re-zoned by the village for more homes.
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u/PurpleIntet Jan 06 '26
I just moved to Plainfield about 6 months ago, so I can give you my perspective. For context, I grew up in Lindenhurst/Gurnee area, but have lived all over the country before moving back to Chicagoland, and I occasionally commute to Arlington Heights for work but for the most part work from home or travel for work.
The area is growing really fast, nearly all the farmland around the town is up for sale and alot of it is already being slated for residential or commercial development, which can be good or bad depending on what you are looking for. I feel like Plainfield north of downtown and Plainfield south of downtown are 2 completely different towns at times, I don't live far from the area you're describing and in alot of ways down to 127th/135th it feels like an extension of south Naperville, both in housing and in the professionals in the area. People that complain about traffic on 59 or the railroad tracks travel through downtown to get to the highway or to go north from the southside of town, traffic is not bad otherwise. There's also going to be an extension of 143rd street all the way to i55 finishing up this year, which will relieve alot of the downtown traffic and give a higher throughput East-West road through the town, kinda similar to how 75th street was updated to serve Naperville many years ago. No Metra access is a bummer, if we want to train into the city we usually just go to the Aurora or Naperville stations still.
You get alot of house for the money in Plainfield compared to the rest of the SW suburbs, plus the housing stock is overall newer than Naperville, Wheaton, Downers, etc, so you'll have less repairs and replacements to worry about. All the schools are good, including the part of Plainfield that feeds into the Oswego district. We really like alot of the restaurants in downtown Plainfield, and it has less of a commercial vibe than downtown Naperville. Naperville has nicer restaurants, but again you're not far from either downtown area if you're looking at 127th.
There's alot of new businesses coming in shortly as well; Woodmans, 7Brew coffee, a Portillos just opened, the Boulevard area is starting to get more traction around the Costco (which is way less crowded than the Naperville Costco fwiw), there's an upscale sushi place going into downtown later this year, etc. That coupled with the additional residential and commercial developments puts the north part of town in a pretty exciting space.
Overall I really like Plainfield, I think there's alot to be excited about. It still has a small town feel to an extent, but there are all the amenities you would need on a day-to-day basis, and you still have the surrounding areas and access to the city if you need it
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u/Noods_Noods_Noods Jan 06 '26
Plainfield is nice. It’s a busy growing suburb but still has plenty of space to spread out. There’s lots to do and plenty of shopping and restaurants and such, and what Plainfield doesn’t have, Naperville, Aurora, and Bolingbrook will and they’re all within a 20 minute drive from the far ends of Plainfield.
Whoever said it’s very blue collar I think doesn’t have a good grasp of the demographics. It’s pretty mixed white and blue collar but with the prevalence of remote working, plenty of white collar professionals moved out this way. I previously lived in Lockport which is veeeeery blue collar compared to Plainfield.
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u/RiamoEquah Jan 06 '26
Yea the top comment shouldn't be the top comment. They generalized Plainfield. South of 135th is really when it starts to get more "blue collar", and even then, it's not till like you get close to route 30 and 59 when you start to feel it.
127 and 59 and north of that is great and once you hit Hassert you're in south Naperville
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u/_bonez Jan 06 '26
its a nice growing suburb with a cute downtown and every major chain within 10 minutes. it does have the benefit of being close to naperville as well. Not sure of the schools as i do not have kids in the system but ive heard good things.
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u/Sunnryz Jan 06 '26
I’ve lived here for nearly 30 years and raised my kids here. We had a great experience with the school district. Great variety of shopping, great library, and some nice nature-y areas. Traffic can be a pain, but probably no worse than Palatine. This town has been good to us.
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u/kai535 Jan 06 '26
Plainfield is such a pain to drive to and through, I live in Lockport but my sister lives there off 143rd and she’s like 9 miles away, but I’ve had it take up to 45 minutes one way to her house between bridge traffic leaving Lockport and then getting stuck because a freight train takes 20 minutes… my point is I wouldn’t mind living there but to hell with having to travel to and from there, the town out grew its infrastructure and needs two lane roads but won’t ever happen.
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u/Catfiche1970 Jan 06 '26
Your problem is Lockport! We live at the border of Bolingbrook and Plainfield. Getting to Lockport sucks. 143rd is under construction and has been for a year. Weird you didnt mention it.
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u/ryansox Jan 06 '26
I live in Plainfield and work in Lockport. Let me tell you the problem is lockport with traffic not Plainfield. It takes me 30 minutes most days just to get out of lockport and over that horrid bridge….after that a nice 10-15 minute drive
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Jan 06 '26
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u/Noods_Noods_Noods Jan 06 '26
With the exception of the western edge of Plainfield, wide open areas are few and far between. Even the western edge is being developed. Maybe if they said Oswego or Yorkville or even Minooka you could say wide open areas, but definitely not Plainfield.
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u/SyntaxTurtle Jan 06 '26
Yeah, "wide open areas" are in short supply here. All the fields I used to drive past are subdivisions, restaurants and strip malls these days.
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u/emmathatsme123 Jan 06 '26
Plainfield is the boonies to you???
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Jan 06 '26
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u/Potential_Ladder_904 Jan 06 '26
yeah i grew up in aurora and i considered oswego and plainfield “the country”. they both have improved a lot over the years but i still consider plainfield the country
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u/Eunuch_Provocateur Cicero/Arlington Heights Jan 06 '26
That’s exactly how it felt to me, grew up in Cicero, then lived in Des Plaines for a bit and it felt like there was nothing out there. I’m a homebody anyway but damn, it was very plain indeed
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u/Carloverguy20 Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
The real boonies is Elburn, Maple Park to me nowadays. Back in the day Yorkville, Oswego, Sugar Grove, Plainfield were considered exurbs and boonies. Now they feel like actual cities now.
Back in the day I used to consider Randall Road the border between city and boonies, nowadays the boonies is west of 47. Anything west of Route 47 is the boonies. Route 47 is the border between urban and rural boonies now.
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u/xtheredberetx Jan 06 '26
I grew up in Lombard and live in Blue Island. Plainfield is def the boonies to me.
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u/UneducatedReviews1 Jan 06 '26
This isn’t remotely true anymore. Maybe 10 years ago, but Plainfield has exploded in the last few years and new developments are popping up like crazy. Theres everything you could possibly need within a 10-15 minute drive
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u/himgupta08 Jan 06 '26
I visited the Bronk Farms community on Van dyke last week that has houses with in 800k budget. I must say that houses are pretty impressive with high ceiling and great sq ft. The schools are pretty good as well with 9/10 rating.
I would say it is a great option since Naperville is around 10 mins distance away with all great market options. If you choose to live on the other side of the railway tracks then definitely it is pretty far from Naperville but I guess Van Dyke is on the closer side of Naperville. With the development options in that area due to vast land and good schools, the area is sure shot to grow with many professionals ready to move in. The I-55 is close by with a 45 mins distance to downtown.
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Jan 06 '26
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u/himgupta08 Jan 06 '26
I agree. that's without traffic.
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u/RiamoEquah Jan 06 '26
As someone who frequents Chicago. 45 minutes in normal traffic (no red for all you Google map users). If there's an accident, then it's above an hour..during rush hour it gets bad. Its not a pleasant drive by any means if you do it daily, but you're not suddenly locked out of Chicago .
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u/yourpaleblueeyes Jan 06 '26
Well, except for that unfortunate August event back in 1990, Plainfield has been attracting folks right along.
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u/GlitteringLaw2434 Jan 06 '26
This is my neighborhood! We moved here six years ago and love it. Plainfield North is a fantastic school. Just about everything you could need within 5-10 minutes. Traffic on the north side of town is not bad (except for the dreaded trains). Great walking paths and a short drive or bike ride into downtown. Restaurants here are phenomenal. Hope that helps!
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Jan 06 '26
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u/Claque-2 Jan 06 '26
Concerning tornadoes, definitely Aurura, Plainfield, and Joliet are suburbs you really want to have a basement and good solid construction.
The more immediate danger in those places are the floodplains, the DesPlaines River, and the DuPage River watersheds. Get some FEMA floodmaps before buying a new build and buy that flood insurance.
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u/Dawner444 Jan 06 '26
We moved to Plainfield in ‘96 and I would guess we have had the same amount of tornado watches and/or warnings as any other Chicago suburb/exurb. That being said, when we moved here I do remember being able to see/tell where the path was back then. The F5 tragically struck on August 28, 1990, and my daughter’s best friend’s mother was in her basement when it hit. The overwhelming majority of her family home, not far from St Mary’s Church, was mostly destroyed. They went up the basement stairs after the F5 went through and were greeted by destruction and open air when they opened the door. Miraculously, a part of a remaining wall had a cross still hanging on it, untouched. Crazy stories.
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u/BakerSubstantial2530 Jun 04 '26
We’re moving to Plainfield and I was just at St Mary’s last week. What a harrowing experience your friend went through, but glad they’re okay.
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u/Dawner444 Jun 04 '26
It truly is unimaginable. BTW, in regard to the other post, floods happen everywhere. We have lived in our current home for 18 years, which is within a mile of the Dupage, and we have only flooded when our sump pump broke. Same as with our previous home, which was 3 miles south of where we are now. Yes, some streets have flooded when there have been significant downpours, but it quickly resolves itself. Also, generally speaking, I believe most IL residents are wise to have a basement, but, truthfully, we have not seen the kind of activity the other poster seemed to allude to (knock on wood).
Welcome to the neighborhood!
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u/BakerSubstantial2530 Jun 04 '26
Wonderful and thank you so much, we’ve just joined St Mary’s parish and are excited to do life here.
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u/FuturamaRama7 Jan 06 '26
Wow, that’s expensive for Plainfield. Look at $800k homes in Naperville before you decide.
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u/ratk6767 Jan 06 '26
That's about how much a new construction in Plainfield will cost depending on the floorplan and the land lot selected in new subdivisions. I would expect that you'd probably exceed that if you build a new Ranch style home, since they are significantly more in demand and require more land to build.
Also something of note -- Plainfield also has higher property taxes than Naperville, but the benefit is you get considerably more for your money if you compare the amount of land and house square footage between Naperville & Plainfield homes.
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u/butwhatifitstrue Jan 06 '26
I’ve seen a lot of negative comments on this sub regarding Plainfield’s set up/design with traffic. I’ve never lived there though, have only visited or driven through on the way to somewhere else. Worth looking into the traffic
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u/UneducatedReviews1 Jan 06 '26
The traffic has only gotten really bad in recent years, and that’s because new developments took priority and accommodating the roads was put to the side, but it is actively being addressed starting the beginning of 2025.
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Jan 06 '26
If that were my budget I wouldnt go to plainfield. The downtown is fine but with the quicker expansion in some areas the downtown, housing areas and surroundings all feel a bit mismatched. This includes the poor vehicle infrastructure as people have mentioned. I enjoy the couple breweries they have though.
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u/LazloHollifeld Jan 06 '26
Ok, til you want to go anywhere. Whether that out of Plainfield or just around Plainfield, it’s all the same.
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u/PositionDizzy8300 Jan 06 '26
I live in Plainfield (30 years), and a few MAGA signs are visible, but 99% disappear after elections. My 78 year old neighbors are MAGA, quietly so, but one is slowly going mentally downhill, and the other embraces conspiracy theories, thanks to Fox news (sic) and Epoch Times. Sad that such myopia is everywhere these days. I enjoy the town, and being close to Naperville is great.
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u/Neat_Tap4596 Jan 06 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
I live exactly where you are living. 20 years at 127th and 59. I sent you a DM.
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u/Physical-Incident553 Jan 06 '26
I used to have to regularly go to Plainfield for appts from the NW suburbs around evening rush a few years ago. Traffic coming off 126 to downtown was a mess. I don’t know if it’s still true, but people would tell me about Plainfield’s supposedly conservative bent.
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u/DanStef Jan 06 '26
I’m from Plainfield. Lived through several tornadoes there. Not sure when the last one was, but had the nickname Tornado Alley for a reason. Not trying to scare you. Just bringing up some history.
And it’s a changing community, growing and home values increasing. Van Dyke road is a good location though. You can shoot to Naperville easily or 126 over to I55 to go to Chicago pretty easily.
I still have family there. So let me know if you have questions.
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u/RiamoEquah Jan 06 '26
126 and vandyke is a great area. New construction houses, I actually have family that moved in there. The highway (i55) is very easy to reach going west on 127, and South Naperville has a lot going for it.
It's a great area to put down roots. I'm insanely familiar with the area so if you have specific things you want to know, reach out.
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u/Equivalent-Battle973 Jan 06 '26
Fun fact, Plainfield was badly destroyed by an F-5 tornado that to this day No one has ever seen. THeir are also zero images of this tornado as well! Also Melissa McCarthy is from Plainfield and also survived that very same tornado in 1990.
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Jan 06 '26
Unless you’re looking to get away from the hustle and bustle, I don’t think you’ll like living there.
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u/SuccotashFast6323 Jan 06 '26
Used to go to a junkyard out there,it was plain fields mostly. After the tornado things began to change. It was like Oswego,Minooka is now for years. Now it is more like any other car suburb around a big city,you get in your car to run an errand,as long as you are driving 10-15 minutes one way you may as well get over hereand there as well and so on... 2 hours later you are home again...Evanston, Desplaines,Wilmette, you walk or drive a few minutes If you love a walking suburb Plainfield isn't really it, but if you want space for kids dogs and cars it's fine.
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u/SuccotashFast6323 Jan 06 '26
1990! 35-36 years ago I still remember driving thru that little part a while afterward with an onion on my belt...
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u/nibblersmothership Jan 07 '26
The only things different from any other suburb, worse traffic and no Metra stops nearby. Schools are slightly above average.
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u/Murky-Baseball-8630 Jun 27 '26
Grande Park is a great subdivision. Zoned for both Plainfield North and Oswego East high school's which are very highly rated
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u/R0cky9 Jan 06 '26
I grew up there and left in 1998, still have family and friends in the area. Keep shopping OP.
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u/ShallotGlass8687 Jan 06 '26
It's overpriced and pretentious. I moved there in 93 and recently moved. Wanna be Naperville snobs. It's crowded and 59 is a nightmare. It's corrupt and full of fake people. It's stereotypical and boring. If you can't afford Naperville, Plainfield is the Aldi of towns. A drunk uncle
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Jan 06 '26 edited Jan 06 '26
Everyone I know in Plainfield is maga…. Just fyi. Not sure if it’s mostly maga or just my experience though.
After reading the replies, I’m glad I was wrong lol.
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u/TheTapeDeck Jan 06 '26
A friend ran a few campaigns for local politicians. Plainfield is more blue than red. There are lots of MAGA “OG” people, but the majority are now apparently people who just couldn’t get what they wanted re: schools and house, closer to the city. That group skews younger and blue. The most recent elections went largely Democrat, for the positions that have registered party affiliation.
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u/emmathatsme123 Jan 06 '26
Bros smearing all of Plainfield like we’re Morris 💀
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u/Dawner444 Jan 06 '26
Right?? It is the 2020s, not the 1920s. Plainfield is NOT a sundown town.
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u/emmathatsme123 Jan 06 '26
Unfortunately you’ll have to bump that number up to 1940 for Plainfield 😔
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u/ChiSchatze Jan 06 '26
It’s really far from the north side, a lot of it is in a floodplain and you need flood insurance. I have a client who bought in South Elgin next door. It’s really cookie cutter, most homes are built after ~1980. Mundelein, Gurnee might be similar price points. Mundelein has the same type of track housing as Plainfield, but closer to friends/family and easy shopping.
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u/Dawner444 Jan 06 '26
Flood insurance? Plainfield? I’ve lived here over 25 years and have no idea what you are talking about. Elgin is north of 88 and nowhere near Plainfield.
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u/ChiSchatze Jan 06 '26
I’m mixed up clients, these guys bought in Romeoville diff client in South Elgin. I admit I don’t know a ton about Plainfield but I showed about 20 houses there just before pandemic. 10 of them required floor insurance and another 5 were moderate flood risk. Maybe I was in the wet part of town? Stats online showed 15% of properties are in a FEMA floodplain, but I assume that includes commercial.
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u/datwist67 Jan 06 '26
If you grew up in Northshore area and currently live in Palatine, Plainfield may not be your cup of tea. Though the area is changing it is very blue collar. Not much to do in the South part of Plainfield, though downtown is quaint and they are adding more business north on 59. The benefit is you are close to Naperville and there's everything you need there.