Suburbs of Chicago to Live??

my advice - make a lot of money cause all of those cost a lot, LOL

I love Naperville, but I am partial as I grew up going to those schools and living there. But really all three of those will be great places to raise kids.

my cousin is in Glenview and they really like it...she takes the train in and I knnow it is very convenient for her.

While all those are very nice, have you considered Geneva? It has one of the quaintest downtowns in the area (won some "Hometown" award for their downtown a few years ago--was also featured in the movie Road to Perdition a few years ago with Tom Hanks). And you'll get significantly more bang for your buck than in Naperville or Hinsdale and the schools are really great.

Things to note: I don't live in Geneva, but I have Geneva-envy :) In all seriousness, I shop there, dine there, dine some more there...and I am absolutely in love with the historic and architectural treasure homes that are downtown and along Rt. 31!

The Geneva train station just added a huge parking deck, so there's a lot more parking available (the Naperville & Rt. 59 stations usually have no parking spaces available and are crazy-busy stations). However, this train goes to the Ogilvy Transportation Center.

There's really nothing wrong with Naperville (I worked there for 8+ years), but it's a pretty pricey place to live, even in this economy.

We currently live in Naperville and originally chose our home/location for the reasons you mentioned. Naperville is on the BNSF line which we found to have an excellent train schedule. That being said: what does your husband do? What are his work hours? We found the train to be very challenging/limiting for my husband who worked very long hours. In Naperville, the parking at the train station (at 5th ave and Washington street) is limited and there is a very long wait for an assigned parking space. Some people are able to buy the rights to park in someone else's space, but that is expensive. There are daily pay spaces which fill up entirely right around 6 am. If you are relying on the bus to take you to the train then you need to figure out your total commute time (home to bus, bus to train, train to city, train station to office.) We found that it could easily be 1 1/2 hours each way if you were trying to take the bus to the train station. Also, while there are pretty good pace busses to the train station in the morning, the busses don't run very late in the evening, and the trains stop being express trains relatively early in the evening as well. It was our experience that my husband needed to leave his office by 5:40 pm if he wanted to make a fast train that would be met by a bus to our neighborhood, which was virtually impossible given the nature of his job. The end result was that for about 5 years my husband got up at 4:30 each day to drive downtown while there was no traffic, then he would go to the gym in the loop, shower and get dressed, and drive home again after 7 pm so that the worst of the traffic was over. (he doesn't work downtown anymore.) I do know that he has admitted that for a while after we moved here, he thought "what have I done -- this was a huge mistake." All of this aside, we have been very happy in Naperville. We live in a neighborhood called Cress Creek, which is on the north side of town, less than 2 miles from the train station. Our neighbors are great, there is a fantastic mom's group, and we are happy with our schools, library, park dist., etc.

I don't really know much about Hinsdale and/or Western Springs, but I would imagine that the commute is shorter as they are closer to the city. My impression is that home prices are more expensive. I don't know about property taxes, but they are high everywhere. I'm sure there are old posts on this subject as well, so do a few searches. Make sure you ask lots of questions, not just about the train schedule, but where to park, is there parking, what does it cost, etc. Also, many of the pace bus routes are being cut back/eliminated for budget reasons so even if there is a bus to the train now it might not be there by the time you are ready to use it. Good luck!

If you can afford it, Park Ridge IL. Cute downtown, and train that will take you to Downtown Chicago in 20 minutes!. Also only 10 minutes to O'Hare. I grew up near there. If I went back it would be Park Ridge - or Barrington (less congested) and out west, but further from downtown.

As a Naperville resident, I wouldn't be too concerned about possible changes in school boundaries. Imo, there's not enough quality variance amongst the district 203 schools to be worth the worry. For example, the two high schools had nearly identical scores on the most recent Illinois school report card.

I'm not very familiar with Hinsdale or Western Springs, but I agree that Downers Grove is worth a look. Very nice town.

Downers Grove has a shorter train ride into the city and the area/schools are just as good as naperville.

If you go a little bit further southwest you could be in oswego. it has a spectacular school district. the train is in aurora (not such a great school district there lol) but the train station is there. naperville is expensive and squeezed everywhere houses are too close together and the schools are tight.

You'll get more for your money in Naperville, but it's HUGE! Have you thought about Downers Grove? Good schools, taxes are lower than Naperville and houses are more affordable than Hinsdale. Great Park district and library. Metra trains express to/from the DG Main street station and have you into Union station in less than 30 minutes. Really cute downtown area too - lots of small businesses to explore, lots of parks, and great for just taking a walk.

We recently moved to Crystal Lake (all the way from Texas) and we love it here. My husband drives 5 minutes to the Pingree train station which has a ton of parking. It is a one-hour train ride to downtown Chicago. The schools are great and the downtown is cute. I get my extremely reasonably priced meat from the butcher shop downtown and my produce from a family owned market on the "main drag". I love it here!!

All those areas are GREAT neighborhoods to live in. I work in downtown Western Springs. I like the town. I delivered my daughter at Hinsdale Hospital and I love Naperville...great restaurants/downtown area.

I agree with some of the other poster about Downers Grove, I live right next door to Downers Grove, it's a GREAT area.

I lived in Antioch for 8 years. It has a small-town feel but is growing like a weed and the schools are really good. Union Station in Chicago is a little less than a hour away by commuter-train and there is a station in Antioch. By car, Antioch is about an hour or an hour and a half north of Chicago on the Wisconsin border, just west of Waukegan.
Hope this helps!

They are ALL great places, but I'd go for Hinsdale. Their downtown is SO charming, although I know that many of the people that live there refer to it as "the bubble."

I'd want to be in the boundaries for Hinsdale Central, which is better than South.

Naperville is also great, and also has a wonderful downtown, but it would be a signifcantly longer commute for your husband, and I am not sure the extra time on the train would be worth getting a bit more house for the $.

Downers Grove also has a vibrant downtown, more affordable housing, and good schools (Downers NORTH is better than Downers South.)

We live in Naperville and we love it, but if you are going to buy a house, be aware that District 203 schools are in the midst of possibly changing school boundaries.

This may take years to be finalized, but as of now, it looks like my kids will have to attend a different (and lesser) elementary, middle, and high school than they are currently slated to attend. We thought we were so smart in the choice of our location because of the great schools, but I guess nothing is ever certain.

Hinsdale and Western Springs are great if you can afford them. They are so much closer to the city, so if the train gets stuck is otherwise not working, your husband will never be THAT far away from home. Good luck!

Personally, I prefer either hinsdale or western springs over Naperville. I'm really not sure if they have "downtowns", though. Naperville just gives me that Nuevo rich, desperate housewives vibe. They do have a nice, well developed downtown, and good schools. The other two, especially Western springs, are more cultural, old money, nicer houses. Your own preferences will guide you. Try to visit them all to decide. Also, check out Oak park. I love it there. Very close to city by train. Lots of parking.

I live in Arlington Heights and love it. The schools are great. The town has a nice downtown area and many beautiful parks. It's on the Metra Northwest line. We also lived in Mount Prospect, which is right next to Arlington Heights. It's also a great town to live in and raise kids.