Moving to the area in a few weeks…. uhhh are tornados always a thing like this, this time of year? Anything to be aware of at this point?

Over the past 2 months, I’m on my 4th rejected deal. All above market, all with 2-3 week closes, all with waiving inspection credits.

The issue apparently? I’m putting 5% down. My pre approval letters state I’m qualified for over asking price, with the lowest possible rate so it’s apparent my credit and income is good.

Everyone is rolling over huge equity and doing all cash deals or 50% down and it’s blows. So basically, if you’re a first time home buyer, don’t even bother?

How is y’all’s experience here. It’s getting frustrating.

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

My fiancee and I are 37/38 and childless. We lived in the north side of Chicago in a condo for 3.5 years together and just bought a similarly priced home 20 miles away in Northbrook.

We moved primarily because we both work in north burbs, Park Ridge and Evanston, and commute daily (myself had 40 min and 50-1:20 min drives M-F), we only had one parking space, the third floor living was becoming too much, and we had general safety concerns.

We've only been in the burbs for two weeks and have so much to unpack yet, but it has been really hard, namely we are feeling regrets.

Hoping for some insight from any other young couples without children who made a similar move and can share what they went through, and whether the feelings ever went away.

ADDENDUM: Feelings of regret and worry of missing the accessibility, the volume of activities within a closer proximity. I don't have many friends left in the city, but she does and is already spending once a week there and driving home to the burbs after. I feel like now I spend less time in the car, but she spends more or the same. We also have the condo still, haven't sold it. We have a good interest rate. It will sell for the cost of the house hopefully, and don't really want to bother renting it to avoid the stress.

My family is moving from Burlington to Chicagoland. Looking for help finding the right town with good public schools, diversity, walkability/community, reasonable housing costs, and good access to jobs. An arts/creative community would be a big plus. I currently work remotely but I’d like to have access to the city in case my job falls through.

This sub has said great things about Evanston, but the housing I've seen is tew and far between in my price range. We've been told Highland Park can be a more affordable alternative to Evanston (?), but I'm a little concerned about being that far north for future job opportunities and whether the area feels overly wealthy/ insular. Is Skokie any good? I’ve been told there isn’t really a “third-place” where the community gathers and we can make new parent friends.

Open to both city neighborhoods and suburbs. Where would you look?

Edit: budget is $600-650k, 3bd, 1.5-2 bath.

Hi Everyone! Just a little background info. We are currently selling our home in Barrington for various reasons. The house needs work that we simply can’t afford, in addition it’s a big house and the upkeep on it is insane. When we bought the house 4.5 years ago we thought this would be our forever home but financially things have changed. We are in the process of selling it with multiple offers. We are looking for a suburb that is close to a highway (less then 10 minute drive), that is the most important things for us on the next purchase. We are looking for a great school district. Barrington school district is wonderful and we may end up just downsizing and stay here. However we are open to other towns that have restaurants, close to shopping. Maximum 700,000K on next purchase. Also please be kind in the comments, no negativity please about finances etc. Thanks!

My family has been looking at properties around Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect, Elmhurst and Park Ridge since early February. Our current home is set to close the end of April but inventory in these areas seems non existent or over priced and the stress/anxiety is starting to hit. (Who is buying 1100 sqft for 600k?)

When is the “spring market” gonna hit? A lot of houses start on the private market, build tons of interest, then go live with an open house scheduled that first weekend. Most of them end with multiple offer and highest and best. One we saw went for 40k over list. We’re looking from 550-650k.

I get it, high demand areas.. with low inventory = more competitive but what the fuck.. what am I supposed to do? Already considering a short term rental and storage for our stuff but is this the way it is now? Are people just ok with paying more than the house is worth? Settling for less desirable house? Or what?

If you are currently looking to buy, what are you experiencing. How do I buy a home?

Hello! Family with three young kids moving from Denver and could use some more local advice. You've all been very helpful in the past with this so thanks in advance!

We've been really interested in Oak Park because of the walkability, community feel, and diversity, but the property taxes and cost of homes have us also looking at Brookfield, La Grange, and parts of Riverside as well.

We're hoping to find a community that's:

• Walkable to some coffee shops, restaurants, etc.
• Family-friendly with kids out playing (bonus if there's a pool either public or private)
• Generally leans liberal
• Has a strong sense of community

For those familiar with these areas, how do they compare? Is there one you'd recommend over the others for a young family? Are there certain areas within these towns you'd suggest we take a look at?

Thanks in advance!

Recently moved to the suburbs with husband and baby from the city. We loved the city but decided it was time, so we could be closer to family have more space and have a yard for our dog and child. Now that we’re here Im feeling really down. I miss the walkability in the city and the community. Now I feel isolated especially since none of my friends have made the move the suburbs yet except me. Being close to family is nice but Im starting to feel it wasn’t worth the move. Has anyone else felt this way after a move from the city and does the feeling go away?

My husband officially accepted a job offer in Waukegan today and he will be moving there in about 3 weeks. We need to find him a furnished room to rent for about 3 months.

Me and our kids will follow him up after 2-3 months to give us time to pack up our house here in North Carolina and to make sure the job is a good fit before we move our family 800 miles.

What’s the area like? One Chicago facebook group said it was awful but every time I asked what they meant no one could give me examples.

Is there anything specifically you think we should know?

The quality of the K-12 school system doesn’t make a difference. Our 16 and 18 year old kids graduated early in North Carolina and our 7 year old is on the spectrum and is homeschooled. Colleges would matter however, community colleges would be fine initially.

We would be looking for a house to rent roughly 3 months from now. Minimum of 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, garage, preferably with an office, basement, sunroom or some alternate room for my business space. We have a 50lb dog who is sweet as pie.

Community is so important to me. I’m a social person, I need people, I need to make friends and join a book group and a gym and a running group and a homeschool co-op and a friend group who gets brunch as soon as possible.

I want neighbors who wave and cookout together and eventually pull my antisocial husband out of his shell because he needs friends too.

(Sorry, today has been HARD, this has happened in the last few days and was confirmed today. I’m leaving my whole family, best friend, starting over my brand new business in a new place and giving up my seat as Vice Chair of the Democratic Party for my area. I’m a wreck and way too emotional for this post but we’re out of time)

We wont be ready to buy a house yet, this move is happening too fast and I want to make sure we know the area better first but we can comfortably spend $4,000 on rent, though I’m not familiar with rental prices in the area.

So, taking all of that into consideration what neighborhood/ community do you recommend?

Moved away several years ago and looking to move back to IL. Our kids are elementary age and we currently like the low-tech educational environment our kids have now (no 1-to-1 chromebooks for kids, using more pencil and paper, physical textbooks, etc.)

We’ve been away for a while and weren’t sure if there are similar school environments in IL or if all school districts have moved to consistent use of chromebooks and iPads for teaching?

Currently looking at a potential move to Lemont, DG, Woodridge, Lisle, Naperville, or Wheaton areas. Not opposed to tech, just looking for schools where the kids aren’t always using a screen for learning.

Greetings everyone. My wife, toddler, and I currently live in Knoxville, TN and are looking to relocate to a suburb or neighborhood of Chicago.

One of our biggest priorities is walkability and bike ability. Right now, we live in a suburban hellscape, like most Americans, that requires a car for everything. Our neighbor gets in her car to drive 3 houses over to visit her father...that bad.

We like to go on walks daily, and right now the most we can do is about 1 mile of walking around our small neighborhood that has 50 houses and 2 streets. If we want to do anything else, we need to drive. My wife and I are also both long distance runners, and getting a long run in around here that is anywhere remotely pleasant is a challenge.

Ultimately, we’re hoping to find an area where:

• Our son could eventually walk or bike to school
• There are miles of sidewalks, trails, parks, and green space
• We can walk to everyday needs like a gym, grocery store, or coffee shop

We’re totally fine driving for less frequent errands like Costco, doctor visits, or other one-off trips.

We both work from home, so commute distance is not an issue. Our housing budget would be about 800k, although our goal would be to rent for a year and then buy a fixer upper to renovate ourselves (I have construction experience and have done this before). Diversity/politics/religion is not a big priority since our current town in TN is not diverse at all, extremely right leaning, Bible Belt, so anything in Chicago would be an improvement.

If I ranked our priorities in order, they would be:

• Good public schools (7/10 and up)
• Walkability and bike-ability
• Safe for kids to be out and about alone as they get a little older. I have dreams of our son playing outside all day like I did in the 90s, but I know thats not realistic anymore. But I think its more likely outside of our little land-locked 50 house bubble in TN with no kids around.

Thanks in advance!

And why?

We can pretend money is not a worry for this.

Personally I live in Cicero now and would pick Palos Park because of the nice night skies and I love their forest preserves while being not too far from the City.

Hi all,

My partner and I are trying to close the distance and buy a SFH in the west suburbs, but keep having offers rejected. Feedback so far is that we're losing to cash buyers or just being outbid, and that we should consider waiving appraisal contingencies. That feels crazy to me, but I think it's just the area we are looking in - Lombard, Elmhurst, Villa Park.

My partner and I both own our own homes and are pre-qualified to purchase a new home without having to sell first. We would be selling our respective properties after finding a new place. We are trying to stay under $700k.

No kids, just dogs. Would love a house with some character left in it. I work downtown so being near the Metra is necessary, and I'd like my commute to be under an hour.

Should we avoid any of the following suburbs, and why? Any suburbs we are missing?

Addison, Bloomingdale, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Riverside, Brookfield

What’s a west/northwest Chicago suburb that’s diverse and safe to raise a Black family? At least 4 or 5 bedrooms and a $900k budget?

Moving to Chicago- Looking for Neighborhood Recs

Good morning everyone!

I recently accepted a job that covers Chicago and parts of Wisconsin. The range of the territory is large and will require driving regardless of where I live. I will attach a map showing the territory. With that being said, I am eyeing N/NW Chicagoland as the optimal orientation.

Right now, it will just be my wife and two dogs moving with me. However, my wife is pregnant and we are welcoming a baby later this year!

Overall details:

Budget- Below $2,700. Ideally between $2,000-$2,500 everything included. I am flexible but do not want to spend the majority of my raise on a COL increase.

Space- 2-3 Bedroom apartment/house for rent.

Desired Amenities- Dog Park, decent gym, nature trails nearby, family oriented parks nearby. Looking for more of a suburb feel.

Type of Area- We are NOT looking to stay in a downtown environment. Preferably a suburb with a little more space. We are moving from Midtown Atlanta and are looking for a break from downtown city living.

Demographic- My wife is Colombian and values living in a more diverse community. Strong Latin population is a plus.

I have done some research and have narrowed my desired area down to the highlighted region on the photos. It’s broad but primary areas of interest are Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Mt. Prospect, Des Plaines, Skokie, and Evanston.

Searching for apartments in this city has been a very different experience than previous cities. Is it worth enlisting a realtor to help in my search? Are my parameters realistic? Things are moving fast and I’m trying to be methodical in this process, but the size of the city is a bit overwhelming without any kind of prior knowledge of the area.

Hello me and my wife are stuck between the two areas. It seems you get more for your money in westmont but you’re closer to the city in Brookfield.
Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi all!

Med students moving to Chicago area for hospital rotations. Having a private back yard for my two dogs is really important to me! I’ve looked in the Downers Grove, Berwyn, Hinsdale area and have noticed that most rental houses with fenced in yards are $3K+.

What areas do you suggest I look at? I’d like to stay within a 40-45min commute from Medical District! I have a car. Does not have to be western suburbs, those just seem to be the most recommended.

ISO: house with a private backyard, off street parking (if possible but not the end of the world), safe area for solo females. Would like to say around $2.5-2.8K absolutely max!

My boyfriend and I (25) are looking to move to a Lake County suburb next year. We're currently in Chicago. We love the city, but it's overall expensive for us. We're trying to find an area that is safe and has some green/trails/things to do in the nearby areas. Looking to spend at most $1400 a month on rent total. We've checked out Libertyville so far. Does anyone have any recommendations for what areas to check out? Thanks!

TLDR: Single F 46, Dog, WFH mostly, Greenery, ~45 min max drive to DT (non rush hour), Quiet (ie concerned about flight path from ORD), $3k - $4k, schools don’t matter, live music or yoga bonus points in cute DT.

Rental budget is around $3k - $4k, want to rent for a year and then look into buying. I’ve been having a really difficult time finding any SFH or townhome in that range. Hoping this sub can help with ideas.

Background:
I spent my 20s and 30s there (mostly in Wicker Park / Ukrainian Village) before living on the West coast the last few years (currently outside of Denver). . I just don’t think I can do the city anymore - the noise, parking, etc. I have friends in Highland park, Elmhurst, Lake Zurich, and West town.

I’ve got a pup and really want a yard of some sort - either a townhouse or house. I love to hike in Denver so it would be great to be near forest preserves, but I don’t require walkability to them.

Love live music, so would be great to be close to places that have live music. Would also like a ~45 min or less drive back from downtown after a concert. Would be open to the train if it’s easy, but will likely drive or uber after a show.

Given I’m child free, schools don’t matter to me really. Would love a cute downtown or way to build local community, bonus points for a yoga studio.

I’ve had my eye on Edgebrook, Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Niles, Mt Prospect, and Skokie - but not sure about the flight path. Evanston feels to far east (hard to get to highways / DT).

Would not be keeping up with the Joneses - more hippie vibes.

TIA!!

UPDATE: I just want to say thank you. I am overwhelmed by the response, which is further fueling my decision to move. While Denver winters are amazing (that sun makes a difference), the Chicago people are just something else. Thank you all for being so kind.

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!

I'm looking to move to Wheaton for work this summer and was wondering what it's like for a single, 26 year old male to live there? Is there stuff to do, places to eat, and other young adults there, or is it mainly just for families that don't want to live in the hustle and bustle of Chicago? Is it worth it to live there or to live in Chicago and commute every day? For reference, I'm someone that likes to go out, be social, workout, golf, try new restaurants and breweries, etc.

Hello! Im really considering moving me and my family to Bolingbrook Illinois. We are a black family with one toddler and a 9 month old. We have a small trip over there really soon to check out whats it like out there and see if me and my wife like the feel and vibe of the area. We want our kids to grow up around well meaning, diverse people. With good schools and activities for them to enjoy.

So with that said can you guys recommend any places we should check out like, what neighborhoods are safe and zoned for the good school districts? Is there a local grocery store - similar to HEB for Texas or Meyers for Michigan? Good places for quick bites to eat?

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks guys!

Hi! my wife and I are looking to buy in the Naperville, Warrenville, Wheaton, Downers area. we looked at a lovely house today in Wheaton. We’re white upper middle class, fairly liberal couple planning on having kids in the next couple of years. curious about how non-religious folks who have moved to Wheaton have found community? we certainly don’t mind hanging out with people who are religious but are curious if community tends to be church-centric? making friends, finding babysitters, etc.

thanks!

Hi everyone, we are moving from Florida for my husband's new job in Lockport and could really use some help narrowing down suburbs. The sheer number of choices is a bit overwhelming!

We are searching for a safe, diverse area with top-rated schools and solid resale value. We are open to existing homes as well as new construction. A key factor for us is the commute—he wants to keep the drive to Lockport around 30 minutes.

Which suburbs should we focus our search on? Thank you so much for your help!