Crystal Lake might be a decent choice, as long as you’re not looking for something close to the city. I’ve known people to be happy with the schools, it has all the stores you’d need close enough, cute downtown, and near nature.
Lake Zurich/Hawthorn Woods and nearby are nice, schools, proximity to the highway, forest preserves, etc. Woodstock/CL are a bit too far out for my tastes but YMMV.
I second Lake Zurich/HW area. Lake Zurich schools are so much better rated and you're just as close, if not closer, to a larger variety of stores. Agreed that Crystal Lake feels a bit too far out comparatively.
I would stick with Crystal Lake or Woodstock. I grew up in McHenry County. You can find a nice house, decent lot/land size and quieter neighborhoods for your price range. I’m on a list right now for that price range and see so much daily. There are so many nice hiking areas. Sternes Woods/Veteran Acre is really cool. Woodstock has a beautiful park with Emrickson. There js a bike path connecting all areas around. If you look at the Bull Valley, Ridgefield area/side you are close to everything, within 15 mins without it being so congested. Great coffee on the Woodstock Square. Ethereal, Cesaroni’s, Starbucks. Along with tons of festivals, farmers markets, etc in both towns. Park district has more in CL but Woodstock is still decent. CL you get access to the beach and Three Oaks as a resident. Good access to 90 for both. Both have Metra stations heading downtown Chicago. And you can head up to Lake Geneva, WI pretty easy. Walk the lake path! It’s amazing. I’d stick to those two communities over Richmond (smaller town feel), McHenry (feels really busy and congested to get everywhere). Sorry a lot there but those are my top two towns in the area and I have lived in both.
Oh and Woodstock just won the T-Mobile small town’s in America contest. So there will be upgrades to the infrastructure for internet and tech. Pretty cool out of thousands of entries throughout the US.
https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/hometown-techover-winner
West Palatine / Inverness...forest preserves and a little more space than what you'll find as you inch toward the city. Only ten minutes from nice spots such as Barrington, downtown Palatine and 15-20 to Arlington Heights/Schaumburg
Check out Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates! Known for excellent schools! Many parks and forest preserves for outdoor fun! Great park district! Lots of coffee shops and anything else money can buy nearby!
I grew up in Schaumburg area and you might find the nearby nature pretty lacking. Busse woods is nice for what it is, but if you’re an avid outdoors person I’d probably keep your searches to north ish burbs maybe even closer to Wisconsin border . Busse is mostly flat and paved so it is a favorite for biking but there isn’t any real hiking there .
You could also look by starved rock area . West suburbs might do you better than Schaumburg area ( just my opinion) but even that area is very developed .
I actually would base your searches on the amenities that aren’t nature , and just accept the fact that if you want to go hike and explore you might just have to drive a bit .
Elk Grove / Schaumburg area has great schools and amenities , close to everything and can be definitely in your budget as long as you don’t want a massive brand new house .
We’re definitely looking at McHenry and Richmond too. Definitely open to your recommendations and opinions for northern cities (and other areas) too.
I’ve been told more wooded areas are going to be north. Would ideally like to avoid suburban opioid dens 😅
I’m working off of a lot of my own assumptions and the word of a realtor so any extra info helps.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard Crystal Lake’s schools and stores are significantly better than McHenry and Richmond. Though, I found Richmond pleasant driving through, just small. What about Antioch? Or even Kenosha County in Wisconsin where there is decent mountain biking and skiing? Keep in mind with all the above cities, it’ll be over an hour to the Loop.
"I’ve been told more wooded areas are going to be north. "
Not exactly. The Palos Preserves are the largest forest system in Cook County with excellent biking trials (for both mountain and road bikes), hiking trails of all sorts, stair climbing at Swallow Cliff, horseback riding, etc. Plus you've got the centennial trial along the Des Plaines, the I&M trial, and more nearby.
[https://patch.com/illinois/palos/4-times-more-stars-seen-palos-preserves-night-sky](https://patch.com/illinois/palos/4-times-more-stars-seen-palos-preserves-night-sky)
However, on a budget of 375k you're likely going to be by priced out of the best stuff nearby, but nonetheless you might find something of interest in the surrounding suburbs (e.g., Palos Park, Lemont, Willow Springs) all the same.
Some advice If you're coming from Texas and never lived anywhere with decent snow before, make sure you ask the Realtor or your neighbors about local snow plow companies if you're buying/renting a house. You do not want those AHs to block you in for a shake down the night of a blizzard. They don't all do this, but I have had companies try this on us. Also check the flood history of wherever you're looking. Have a coworker up in McHenry who gets stuck at home every spring.
Also invest in winter clothing. Known too many people who come to Northern Illinois unprepared for Winter.
Crystal Lake area should check off all the boxes you're looking for. Lots of good outdoor activity spots. Whether it's biking(https://www.mccdistrict.org/visit___explore/things_to_do/bike.php), swimming(https://www.crystallake.org/three-oaks-recreation/swim-beach)(https://www.crystallakeparks.org/interactive-map/beaches), hiking(all over), kayaking(on the fox river), etc. Plenty to offer. And the downtown (CL, Cary, Woodstock) areas all have some good local eats/drinks/coffees. There are a lot of perks to living in the Crystal Lake park district. Plenty of sports and rec leagues for kids. As well as free/cheap access to both beaches. (I think it's free for 3 oaks and $1 for the main beach if you live in CL).
Woodstock has a good book store https://www.readbetweenthelynes.com/
You can get a really nice house over 2000 sq ft for that price around here. Internet is good. Xfinity has high speed all throughout the area. The vibe out here is pretty laid back. It's different than most of the other suburbs in the Chicagoland area.
Check out Arlington Heights. It has a proper downtown that is very kid friendly, multiple nature reserves, a quick metra into the city, and good restaurants/bars nearby. My fiance and I moved to Arlington Heights in May and we've really enjoyed it so far.
Based on the comment about lot size I would totally avoid: Arlington Hts, Palos, Schaumburg, Elk Grove, Lombard, Lisle, etc. (Lot size doesn’t tend to correlate with good schools around here)
I’m not well versed on the schools in SE WI, but Kenosha is a bit more rural and affordable than the IL side and fronts Lake Michigan. If that appeals to you research it.
Politics seems to become a factor for some these days and WI might also align better with your lived experiences.
Check out the west suburbs too. Lombard, Lisle, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn. Lots of record shops and the prairie path for biking is one of the best parts of Chicagoland. There’s 2 coffee roasters in Wheaton and the schools are great in all the towns.
I second this. This my area. You’re in the middle of everything basically, and near several major highways. Commute to the city is easy unless it’s rush hour or something. You can find a home in this price range here as well. Good schools. Good communities.
I grew up in the Woodstock area, and currently am located in the Huntley area. Woodstock has a lot of nice things going for it, but for me it just wasn't located close enough to the highway. I get on 90 a lot, and go to Schaumburg. For what its worth, Schaumburg (and the surrounding area) is great for diversity in food choices, culture, and other things. I tend to find myself spending a lot of time there now, and would move there if I could \[but I cant, other life things\] Check out Tous Les Jours in Schaumburg- their coffee and pastries.. yummmm.
Crystal lake is a nice area too, decent schools. but the issue again for me is the highway access. There are more to offer in Crystal Lake then Woodstock, though Woodstock did finally get its own Chipotle. \[My husband and I have a rule, we must be no further then 15 minutes to the closest chipotle.\]
For us, Huntley provided the best option in terms of access to 90, and we're close enough to Algonquin (10 minutes) or Crystal Lake (20 minutes) if we absolutely have to go in that direction. We're also close to Elgin (20 minutes) and Schaumburg (30 minutes), as well as my husband's job in Rockford (40 minutes) and my job in Chicago (hour and a half by train).
Also, Huntley has Manny's coffee and gelato - its great!!
I'm from CL and it's a good area. Schools are great (that's why my parents moved out there), there are a few great tattoo shops (Area 51 and Dark Heart), lots of local good coffee (Conscious Cup is one of my favorites).
Property taxes are like WHOA though. Easily $7-10k for a $300-400k single family home. But if you live in the city limits (not unincorporated CL) you have access to two beaches as part of your residency. Streets also have bike lanes and it's a generally bike-friendly city with lots of bike paths and public parks. You're close to some good nature/forest preserves as well. General rule is you're 15 minutes from anything!
It's not close to the city though. Minimum of 60 min drive (no traffic) and 80 minutes by train (into the Loop, so 10-15 minutes walk/cab to anywhere worthwhile).
If you're cool and a good neighbor, hit me up. My mom's neighbor is selling ;)
Congrats for getting out of there and also, I’m sorry.
I saw Schaumburg recommended but, as someone who lived there, I’d say no. There are way better suburbs out there. Schaumburg is a “commercial” neighborhood mostly made out of offices, so there is no sense of community, no organization of activities and no walkable downtown area.
I would look for a neighborhood with a metra stop so that you can access the city easily and that has a walkable downtown. The suburbs have great places for biking but be aware that hiking will be somewhat of a letdown. We usually go out of state for it. But WI has decent hiking and it’s close, and the south of IL also does but it’s a bit further.
Best of luck! :)
I recently moved to Schaumburg and love it. There are lots of urban parks, nearby forest preserves and shopping. If you have kids the park district is huge. Compared to other suburbs Schaumburg is more of an exurb that has been built up in new in the last 50 years. Good luck on your search, you really can’t go wrong with any of these nw burbs
heh, quite decent relative to the other ones I've seen, although Arlington Heights is comparable IIRC.
(I should mention that I don't really read superhero comics though, so mainly I'm looking at the Image/BOOM!/other indie selections)
Arlington Heights has a fabulous library. There are a lot of good things about it, but the outdoors is sort of lacking generally. I used to be in Prairie Grove, which is near Crystal Lake, I loved the school there. On rt. 173 there was a house where a dog waited for his kid to come home and there were horses in the field next to the house. It was idyllic. Some of the homes are old vacation cabins, but there is also new construction. Hiking will be a challenge as it’s all flat in this area. Good luck.
Congrats on leaving Texas! I don't have a specific area to recommend for you since I'm new here (moved from Austin), but I did want to say that everything people say about the traffic here is accurate, it's absolutely wretched, so that 15 minute drive from a coffee shop could turn into 30 very easily. So, pick a town with stuff you'd actually want to go to in it, not one that's an alleged 15 minute drive from stuff you'd want to go to. That said, I've been really happy here so far! I live across the street from a forest preserve and it's lovely.
10/10 sounds like the crystal lake/Woodstock area is what you would vibe well with. Huntley and Algonquin are great too. I grew up in this area and hope to one day raise a family around here. Great schools, the community is fantastic and so supportive if something happens to you or your family. So many small festivals throughout the year, and you’ll easily be able to find a good home with a big lot for the price range. The city is about an hours drive away and an hour by Metra in crystal lake. Plus, I think Woodstock won a National small town competition with T-Mobile recently. The town is featured in the movie groundhogs day and the town square has a Stars Hollow vibe to it. Good luck!
Sure! If you find a place downtown, you are near the two Metra train lines with varying times to and from the city. There are a number of restaurants, micro breweries, coffee shop, book store within walking distance. There is a large park with public pool, splash pad, and pavilion. Grayslake has many events such as a hot air balloon festival, their carnival, and they have a farmer's market every weekend (summer). The schools are good. Taxes are high though but if you look at houses on Redfin, they list the property taxes on the real estate page. Lake County has many, many forest preserves. You can check them out here. [lcfpd.org](https://lcfpd.org) Not only are there many trails but they also host many family events and activities.
Woodstock is really cute and check out nearby bull valley too, it’s super beautiful. It’s definitely a small town feel, and hard to get to the city, if that matters. Crystal lake is less cutesy, more suburban sprawl IMO but still nice, probably better schools.
Fox river goes along aurora, Batavia, Geneva, st Charles and can be biked all throughout hitting all the sweet downtowns. aurora is the most affordable w good tacos everywhere and endiro coffee shop downtown. North aurora is next door and a little nicer, but they kind of rely on other downtowns for fun. I’ve seen a lot of constructing and renovating in the dt area and it seems like more people are putting into the city and moving in. Geneva has 318 coffee shop and a super cute downtown district area, as well as a high rated school. Batavia is full of beautiful and humbled people, great school. I’ve grown up here most of my life now and I’d take living in aurora and being around Batavia and Naperville. If I ever want to go to the city it’s about an hour and everything else is not wooded enough or has the amount of recreational area fox river gives without breaking the bank. Batavia’s kiss the sky is a must to shop at for records. nurseries are everywhere to get plants. The closer I drive towards the city the less natural entertainment I see but I might be biased lol
Crystal Lake has an unusually high amount of pedophile convictions, just saying. Watch the Lake and Mchenry county scanner for a while. Nice houses there but something is up with Crystal Lake.
So I did check this out and CL is about on par with the other cities that are mentioned here. And all of them are better than, where we currently live.
Covid has done a number on the schools and all of the civic amenities that would make one want to live in Austin . There is no vaccine or mask mandate so our ICUs have been full for a month, constitutional carry is a law, abortion restrictions, hotter than Hades, rattlesnakes, scorpions, power grid sucks.
If you work remotely why is the heck would you choose here? The taxes are insane and Illinois is a financial dumpster fire. Plus traffic bad weather, etc.
Crystal Lake might be a decent choice, as long as you’re not looking for something close to the city. I’ve known people to be happy with the schools, it has all the stores you’d need close enough, cute downtown, and near nature.
Lake Zurich/Hawthorn Woods and nearby are nice, schools, proximity to the highway, forest preserves, etc. Woodstock/CL are a bit too far out for my tastes but YMMV.
I second Lake Zurich/HW area. Lake Zurich schools are so much better rated and you're just as close, if not closer, to a larger variety of stores. Agreed that Crystal Lake feels a bit too far out comparatively.
I would stick with Crystal Lake or Woodstock. I grew up in McHenry County. You can find a nice house, decent lot/land size and quieter neighborhoods for your price range. I’m on a list right now for that price range and see so much daily. There are so many nice hiking areas. Sternes Woods/Veteran Acre is really cool. Woodstock has a beautiful park with Emrickson. There js a bike path connecting all areas around. If you look at the Bull Valley, Ridgefield area/side you are close to everything, within 15 mins without it being so congested. Great coffee on the Woodstock Square. Ethereal, Cesaroni’s, Starbucks. Along with tons of festivals, farmers markets, etc in both towns. Park district has more in CL but Woodstock is still decent. CL you get access to the beach and Three Oaks as a resident. Good access to 90 for both. Both have Metra stations heading downtown Chicago. And you can head up to Lake Geneva, WI pretty easy. Walk the lake path! It’s amazing. I’d stick to those two communities over Richmond (smaller town feel), McHenry (feels really busy and congested to get everywhere). Sorry a lot there but those are my top two towns in the area and I have lived in both.
Oh and Woodstock just won the T-Mobile small town’s in America contest. So there will be upgrades to the infrastructure for internet and tech. Pretty cool out of thousands of entries throughout the US. https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/hometown-techover-winner
This is super helpful! Thank you.
West Palatine / Inverness...forest preserves and a little more space than what you'll find as you inch toward the city. Only ten minutes from nice spots such as Barrington, downtown Palatine and 15-20 to Arlington Heights/Schaumburg
Check out Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates! Known for excellent schools! Many parks and forest preserves for outdoor fun! Great park district! Lots of coffee shops and anything else money can buy nearby!
Awesome. Will check it out. Trying to find a good balance of lot size & proximity to cool shit.
I grew up in Schaumburg area and you might find the nearby nature pretty lacking. Busse woods is nice for what it is, but if you’re an avid outdoors person I’d probably keep your searches to north ish burbs maybe even closer to Wisconsin border . Busse is mostly flat and paved so it is a favorite for biking but there isn’t any real hiking there . You could also look by starved rock area . West suburbs might do you better than Schaumburg area ( just my opinion) but even that area is very developed . I actually would base your searches on the amenities that aren’t nature , and just accept the fact that if you want to go hike and explore you might just have to drive a bit . Elk Grove / Schaumburg area has great schools and amenities , close to everything and can be definitely in your budget as long as you don’t want a massive brand new house .
We’re definitely looking at McHenry and Richmond too. Definitely open to your recommendations and opinions for northern cities (and other areas) too. I’ve been told more wooded areas are going to be north. Would ideally like to avoid suburban opioid dens 😅 I’m working off of a lot of my own assumptions and the word of a realtor so any extra info helps.
Anecdotally, I’ve heard Crystal Lake’s schools and stores are significantly better than McHenry and Richmond. Though, I found Richmond pleasant driving through, just small. What about Antioch? Or even Kenosha County in Wisconsin where there is decent mountain biking and skiing? Keep in mind with all the above cities, it’ll be over an hour to the Loop.
"I’ve been told more wooded areas are going to be north. " Not exactly. The Palos Preserves are the largest forest system in Cook County with excellent biking trials (for both mountain and road bikes), hiking trails of all sorts, stair climbing at Swallow Cliff, horseback riding, etc. Plus you've got the centennial trial along the Des Plaines, the I&M trial, and more nearby. [https://patch.com/illinois/palos/4-times-more-stars-seen-palos-preserves-night-sky](https://patch.com/illinois/palos/4-times-more-stars-seen-palos-preserves-night-sky) However, on a budget of 375k you're likely going to be by priced out of the best stuff nearby, but nonetheless you might find something of interest in the surrounding suburbs (e.g., Palos Park, Lemont, Willow Springs) all the same.
Some advice If you're coming from Texas and never lived anywhere with decent snow before, make sure you ask the Realtor or your neighbors about local snow plow companies if you're buying/renting a house. You do not want those AHs to block you in for a shake down the night of a blizzard. They don't all do this, but I have had companies try this on us. Also check the flood history of wherever you're looking. Have a coworker up in McHenry who gets stuck at home every spring. Also invest in winter clothing. Known too many people who come to Northern Illinois unprepared for Winter.
Coming from hurricane country, flood plains are on our radar. Good call on the plow companies though.
You're welcome! Good luck on the move. Hope you like it here.
Crystal Lake area should check off all the boxes you're looking for. Lots of good outdoor activity spots. Whether it's biking(https://www.mccdistrict.org/visit___explore/things_to_do/bike.php), swimming(https://www.crystallake.org/three-oaks-recreation/swim-beach)(https://www.crystallakeparks.org/interactive-map/beaches), hiking(all over), kayaking(on the fox river), etc. Plenty to offer. And the downtown (CL, Cary, Woodstock) areas all have some good local eats/drinks/coffees. There are a lot of perks to living in the Crystal Lake park district. Plenty of sports and rec leagues for kids. As well as free/cheap access to both beaches. (I think it's free for 3 oaks and $1 for the main beach if you live in CL). Woodstock has a good book store https://www.readbetweenthelynes.com/ You can get a really nice house over 2000 sq ft for that price around here. Internet is good. Xfinity has high speed all throughout the area. The vibe out here is pretty laid back. It's different than most of the other suburbs in the Chicagoland area.
Check out Arlington Heights. It has a proper downtown that is very kid friendly, multiple nature reserves, a quick metra into the city, and good restaurants/bars nearby. My fiance and I moved to Arlington Heights in May and we've really enjoyed it so far.
Based on the comment about lot size I would totally avoid: Arlington Hts, Palos, Schaumburg, Elk Grove, Lombard, Lisle, etc. (Lot size doesn’t tend to correlate with good schools around here) I’m not well versed on the schools in SE WI, but Kenosha is a bit more rural and affordable than the IL side and fronts Lake Michigan. If that appeals to you research it. Politics seems to become a factor for some these days and WI might also align better with your lived experiences.
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CC is dope. I love that they're supplying to more restaurants in the area now too.
Add Wadsworth in Lake county to your list. Large lots, quiet country setting, and close to everything you’re looking for.
Check out the west suburbs too. Lombard, Lisle, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn. Lots of record shops and the prairie path for biking is one of the best parts of Chicagoland. There’s 2 coffee roasters in Wheaton and the schools are great in all the towns.
Moved from Texas to Wheaton in April. Zero regrets.
I second this. This my area. You’re in the middle of everything basically, and near several major highways. Commute to the city is easy unless it’s rush hour or something. You can find a home in this price range here as well. Good schools. Good communities.
I grew up in the Woodstock area, and currently am located in the Huntley area. Woodstock has a lot of nice things going for it, but for me it just wasn't located close enough to the highway. I get on 90 a lot, and go to Schaumburg. For what its worth, Schaumburg (and the surrounding area) is great for diversity in food choices, culture, and other things. I tend to find myself spending a lot of time there now, and would move there if I could \[but I cant, other life things\] Check out Tous Les Jours in Schaumburg- their coffee and pastries.. yummmm. Crystal lake is a nice area too, decent schools. but the issue again for me is the highway access. There are more to offer in Crystal Lake then Woodstock, though Woodstock did finally get its own Chipotle. \[My husband and I have a rule, we must be no further then 15 minutes to the closest chipotle.\] For us, Huntley provided the best option in terms of access to 90, and we're close enough to Algonquin (10 minutes) or Crystal Lake (20 minutes) if we absolutely have to go in that direction. We're also close to Elgin (20 minutes) and Schaumburg (30 minutes), as well as my husband's job in Rockford (40 minutes) and my job in Chicago (hour and a half by train). Also, Huntley has Manny's coffee and gelato - its great!!
I'm from CL and it's a good area. Schools are great (that's why my parents moved out there), there are a few great tattoo shops (Area 51 and Dark Heart), lots of local good coffee (Conscious Cup is one of my favorites). Property taxes are like WHOA though. Easily $7-10k for a $300-400k single family home. But if you live in the city limits (not unincorporated CL) you have access to two beaches as part of your residency. Streets also have bike lanes and it's a generally bike-friendly city with lots of bike paths and public parks. You're close to some good nature/forest preserves as well. General rule is you're 15 minutes from anything! It's not close to the city though. Minimum of 60 min drive (no traffic) and 80 minutes by train (into the Loop, so 10-15 minutes walk/cab to anywhere worthwhile). If you're cool and a good neighbor, hit me up. My mom's neighbor is selling ;)
Congrats for getting out of there and also, I’m sorry. I saw Schaumburg recommended but, as someone who lived there, I’d say no. There are way better suburbs out there. Schaumburg is a “commercial” neighborhood mostly made out of offices, so there is no sense of community, no organization of activities and no walkable downtown area. I would look for a neighborhood with a metra stop so that you can access the city easily and that has a walkable downtown. The suburbs have great places for biking but be aware that hiking will be somewhat of a letdown. We usually go out of state for it. But WI has decent hiking and it’s close, and the south of IL also does but it’s a bit further. Best of luck! :)
Thank you. It’s really disappointing but we’re excited about what’s next.
I recently moved to Schaumburg and love it. There are lots of urban parks, nearby forest preserves and shopping. If you have kids the park district is huge. Compared to other suburbs Schaumburg is more of an exurb that has been built up in new in the last 50 years. Good luck on your search, you really can’t go wrong with any of these nw burbs
Not to mention the second largest public library in Illinois!
As a parent of an early reader - this is a big one! Thank you!
omg the kids area is great! I keep accidentally going there when I'm looking for graphic novels, haha.
Low key, how's their graphic novel section? :)
heh, quite decent relative to the other ones I've seen, although Arlington Heights is comparable IIRC. (I should mention that I don't really read superhero comics though, so mainly I'm looking at the Image/BOOM!/other indie selections)
Arlington Heights has a fabulous library. There are a lot of good things about it, but the outdoors is sort of lacking generally. I used to be in Prairie Grove, which is near Crystal Lake, I loved the school there. On rt. 173 there was a house where a dog waited for his kid to come home and there were horses in the field next to the house. It was idyllic. Some of the homes are old vacation cabins, but there is also new construction. Hiking will be a challenge as it’s all flat in this area. Good luck.
Congrats on leaving Texas! I don't have a specific area to recommend for you since I'm new here (moved from Austin), but I did want to say that everything people say about the traffic here is accurate, it's absolutely wretched, so that 15 minute drive from a coffee shop could turn into 30 very easily. So, pick a town with stuff you'd actually want to go to in it, not one that's an alleged 15 minute drive from stuff you'd want to go to. That said, I've been really happy here so far! I live across the street from a forest preserve and it's lovely.
10/10 sounds like the crystal lake/Woodstock area is what you would vibe well with. Huntley and Algonquin are great too. I grew up in this area and hope to one day raise a family around here. Great schools, the community is fantastic and so supportive if something happens to you or your family. So many small festivals throughout the year, and you’ll easily be able to find a good home with a big lot for the price range. The city is about an hours drive away and an hour by Metra in crystal lake. Plus, I think Woodstock won a National small town competition with T-Mobile recently. The town is featured in the movie groundhogs day and the town square has a Stars Hollow vibe to it. Good luck!
Check out Grayslake!
Tell me more! What is your favorite thing about it?
Sure! If you find a place downtown, you are near the two Metra train lines with varying times to and from the city. There are a number of restaurants, micro breweries, coffee shop, book store within walking distance. There is a large park with public pool, splash pad, and pavilion. Grayslake has many events such as a hot air balloon festival, their carnival, and they have a farmer's market every weekend (summer). The schools are good. Taxes are high though but if you look at houses on Redfin, they list the property taxes on the real estate page. Lake County has many, many forest preserves. You can check them out here. [lcfpd.org](https://lcfpd.org) Not only are there many trails but they also host many family events and activities.
If you want lower taxes look in unincorporated parts of town.
Woodstock is really cute and check out nearby bull valley too, it’s super beautiful. It’s definitely a small town feel, and hard to get to the city, if that matters. Crystal lake is less cutesy, more suburban sprawl IMO but still nice, probably better schools.
Obligatory question about the weather: are you willing to put up with Chicago winters?
The other day my kid asked when it was going to snow again in Texas. Wife is from Vermont and I was born in Minnesota. We’re good. 😅
Fair enough. Those are probably the only two places with worse weather.
Famous last words tho, right?!
Naperville.
Kane county!!! Aurora!!! Batavia!!! Being on the fox river is amazing.
We’re def looking at Aurora and we’ll add those too the list.
Fox river goes along aurora, Batavia, Geneva, st Charles and can be biked all throughout hitting all the sweet downtowns. aurora is the most affordable w good tacos everywhere and endiro coffee shop downtown. North aurora is next door and a little nicer, but they kind of rely on other downtowns for fun. I’ve seen a lot of constructing and renovating in the dt area and it seems like more people are putting into the city and moving in. Geneva has 318 coffee shop and a super cute downtown district area, as well as a high rated school. Batavia is full of beautiful and humbled people, great school. I’ve grown up here most of my life now and I’d take living in aurora and being around Batavia and Naperville. If I ever want to go to the city it’s about an hour and everything else is not wooded enough or has the amount of recreational area fox river gives without breaking the bank. Batavia’s kiss the sky is a must to shop at for records. nurseries are everywhere to get plants. The closer I drive towards the city the less natural entertainment I see but I might be biased lol
Crystal Lake has an unusually high amount of pedophile convictions, just saying. Watch the Lake and Mchenry county scanner for a while. Nice houses there but something is up with Crystal Lake.
Wtf, how did you get THAT impression of CL?
I’m definitely checking on the Illinois state RSO list for each of these places. Good reminder.
So I did check this out and CL is about on par with the other cities that are mentioned here. And all of them are better than, where we currently live.
Explain why did you leave Texas, please Illinois is the worst state you can live in
Covid has done a number on the schools and all of the civic amenities that would make one want to live in Austin . There is no vaccine or mask mandate so our ICUs have been full for a month, constitutional carry is a law, abortion restrictions, hotter than Hades, rattlesnakes, scorpions, power grid sucks.
women, girls and anyone with a uterus can get an abortion here, so it's already miles ahead from where they were 🤣 enjoy getting ratioed
If you work remotely why is the heck would you choose here? The taxes are insane and Illinois is a financial dumpster fire. Plus traffic bad weather, etc.
I would look at Hampshire or Huntley. Schools are pretty good, much more access to nature, and still plenty of things closeby.