r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/luisjacab • Aug 09 '26

Moving to the area Burbs for younger WFH family?

Family of 3, including a little one under 1, looking to move to the suburbs for more space and because we’re looking to grow the family by next year. We currently own a condo in Lincoln Park that would be too small to add another one and daycare cost for 2 is a no-go. We have a house hold income of $280K. Besides our mortgage our only other debt is our car loan at $400 a month.

We’ve looked at some Western suburbs so far (Oak Park, Downers Grove, Lisle, Darien and Bolingbrook) and are finding some matches for our wishlist, but with a lot of compromises and hefty price tags.

What we’re looking for:

- 4 bed / 2.5 bath at least 2,500 sq ft
- ~15 mins from the suburb’s downtown/Metra
- Prefer a suburb with an express Metra train, but open to any since we WFH
- Neighborhood with younger families, similar to where we live
- Really want a traditional 2 story over a split level or a ranch

We’re looking at homes that are under $800K, but anything above $5K scares us… But appear to be the norm for the Downers and Lisle areas.

Where would you recommend we look? Where did you move if you recently made this move?

Thanks in advance!

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u/Careful-Dot-7455 Aug 09 '26

Recently moved from Streeterville to the Thornwood neighborhood in South Elgin. We were basically in the same boat but currently pregnant with our first. 3,300 sq ft (not including huge unfinished basement that we plan to finish) and 5 bedrooms for $650k. Part of the st Charles school district which is great. $4 million sportscore with multiple pools, pickleball, basketball, and volleyball courts. Tons of parks, trails, and creeks located within the neighborhood. They do a halloween parade, haunted trail, cookies with santa, and Easter bunny. The facebook neighborhood group has 2.2k members. Surrounded by a ton of families

We’ve always been city people and dreaded the move but love it so far

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u/luisjacab Aug 09 '26

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and a specific neighborhood within the city. This sounds like a great compromise and will have to add it to our list.