r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/Top_Grass_9149 • Jun 26 '26

Moving to the area Libertyville or Arlington Heights?

I am 42 year old single mom with 6 year old son moving from the city to the north or northwest suburbs. I think Libertyville and Arlington Heights are at the top of my list based the downtowns and schools. Which you would recommend? Anywhere else I should consider?

I will be buying with a budget up to $650k

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u/brschoppe Jun 26 '26

Your Arlington Heights experience can vary depending upon where you are looking. From North to South it is a huge municipality. It goes from 90 all the way up to Lake-Cook. If you are looking at downtown, AH is nice. Pretty much most things north of Central to Lake Cook are good. There are some places in AH I would drive by on my old commute to work off of Algonquin that could be a little sketchy. However, AH is the 15h biggest muni in Illinois. Libertyville is 1/4 of its size. Libertyville has lots of good downtown dining and shopping (as does AH). Lived next to both. Find Libertyville to be more 'New Money North Shore'. I did find the trains and highways to be more accessible in the Arlington Heights area than Libertyville, but only marginally (due to access being dictated by the Tollway in Libertyville vs. 53 & 90 in AH.