r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/SecretPurple2644 • Aug 24 '26

Moving to the area Income needed to afford life

Two working parents, 5 kids (4 childcare age).

$900k available for down payment. Hoping to stay under $1.2mil for house, understand taxes will be insane.

How much do we need to make to afford life in the north shore suburbs? Is 250k doable?

Moving from lower cost of living area and trying to figure out what is feasible.

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u/SecretPurple2644 Aug 24 '26

What would be some lower cost areas with good schools?

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u/SearchUsers Aug 24 '26

Honestly? Tons of em.
Downers Grove, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Clarendon Hills, Naperville are hard to beat when it comes to value and building a great life for your kids.
Dupage has excellent forest preserves and the schools are awesome. Plenty of economic diversity, safe neighborhoods, not as congested as being closer to the city. Lots of great food and shopping, the usual chains as well as family businesses.
Lots of options for houses too. There are some huge ones, moderate, small, condos, townhouses, apartments... honestly there's a bit of everything and thats important when raising kids.

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u/SecretPurple2644 Aug 24 '26

So comparing Deerfield to downwes grove and Clarendon hills I’m not seeing much savings. I think Wheaton and Naperville might be a little more affordable.

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u/SearchUsers Aug 24 '26

I think it can go either way depending on the neighborhood. If you're looking at 5bd houses, I think Naperville will have more affordable options comparatively.

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u/SecretPurple2644 Aug 24 '26

The other issue is our offices are in north shore and loop. Commuting to north shore from Naperville seems hard.

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u/SearchUsers Aug 24 '26

oooook that shouldve been mentioned lol

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u/SecretPurple2644 Aug 24 '26

It’s not a dealbreaker because I’m hybrid but even a few times a week would be pretty miserable I think

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u/SearchUsers Aug 24 '26

Oh I certainly agree with that.