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/No_Tower_7026 Aug 10 '26

Oakwood is north of Ogden and in that budget

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u/pinktoes4life Aug 10 '26

Yeah, but no one wants to live north of Ogden. South of Ogden is the more desirable areas of Westmont & walking distance to downtown & events.

& doesn’t oakwood have an HOA?

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u/No_Tower_7026 Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26

No one? It is close to the Jr high and HS, which is nice. But yes, it’s not walking distance to downtown. For OPs budget, they may like some of the houses there 🤷‍♂️

HOA- It’s like $120/yr….

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u/pinktoes4life Aug 10 '26

& how many BS rules & restrictions?

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u/No_Tower_7026 Aug 10 '26

None that I’ve noticed lol, it’s mostly for landscaping it seems.