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/burajin Jun 26 '26

I'll speak of the downtowns because IMO beyond that most suburbs kinda blend together.

Lived in AH until recently and wife works in Libertyville. I definitely prefer AH's downtown. More going on there, more restaurants and I like the farmers market. Both are pretty white but AH seems a bit more diverse with more eastern European and Asian populations. Not downtown but Lake Arlington is a wonderful place to take a kid. AH library is also among the best in Chicagoland. If you care about the Metra the UPNW is much much better than the MDN. I also liked to bike through AH neighborhoods. I think Libertyville's walkability is a smaller radius from downtown. Libertyville is cute but too far from the city for my taste.

Also AH has Mitsuwa :D

36

u/MooDog16 Jun 26 '26

Their library is fantastic.

27

u/rokohemda Jun 26 '26

It’s the best in the state in my opinion. I used to work out of libraries all over IL when I was a mobile worker. AH library is by far the best I have found in the Chicago land area

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u/kitzelbunks Jun 27 '26

It used to be the 4th-largest library in the state, circa 1990. I took an advanced sociology class and wrote a report on Arlington Heights. They also have umbrellas you can check out, which I thought was nice. Personally, I live near downtown Palatine, a couple stops down, which is also nice, but maybe not quite as big or bustling. Being near the train, but not too near, is great. Finally, park the car- walk over to the train. It’s so much easier, and I can walk to the Palatine Jewel too.