I am Moving to Illinois - Chicago area

[SLAG]

So I got the job... ( see more here http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=246658 )

My new Job will be in Elk Grove Village

Need to find a place close by.... good Schools... Good commute

any info you guys want to bestow upon me is welcome.

I got some antifreeze already

[Okie_Apparition]

Buy Cutler a beer

[SLAG]

Originally Posted by bevischief

Or a AIDS tree.

Originally Posted by Detoxing

DON'T live in a treehouse.

That's all I got for ya.

Originally Posted by frazod

I don't recommend living anywhere close to O'Hare, which is adjacent to Elk Grove Village. Planes are loud, the fumes from the jets foul the air, and at night the sky tends to be a sort of dark burnt orange color. Nasty. Avoid Elk Grove itself, Des Plaines, Bensenville and Rosemont. Decent nearby communities would include Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg to the west, Mount Prospect and Arlington Heights to the north, Elmhurst and Lombard to the south, Park Ridge to the east (I wouldn't go any farther east or southeast, or you're getting too close to Chicago and you don't want your kids anywhere near that ****ing sewer). There are lots of smaller suburbs in the area, but I'm not really all that familiar with them, and not having kids I can't vouch for the schools.

Don't know what your salary range is, but prices on EVERYTHING will be a shock to you up here. Some of these places will be more reasonable than others.

Thanks for the info.

While my salary is increased significantly from my last job... around 20k more .. as I understand most of the Chicago suburbs are quite comparable to the cost of living in Johnson County. - The recruiter said that the Median income for Olathe is more than Elgin.

We want to try to stay just about the same a quick look at some places i'm looking at are like Crystal Lake / McHenery / Shaumberg as you said...

[SLAG]

does anyone have any suggestions on where to get started

Man my head is spinning

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by Okie_Apparition

Buy Cutler sugary treats

Fixed

Good luck to you OP. Have an uncle that lives in Hoffman Estates and he bitches a lot about the state government.

P.S. Don't speed in construction zones there, at all.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by Brock

I recommend Shermer, Illinois. It's great for kids, especially high school.

Awesome.

[eazyb81]

I have found these boards helpful when moving to a new city.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/chicago/

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by SLAG

Thanks for the info.

While my salary is increased significantly from my last job... around 20k more .. as I understand most of the Chicago suburbs are quite comparable to the cost of living in Johnson County. - The recruiter said that the Median income for Olathe is more than Elgin.

We want to try to stay just about the same a quick look at some places i'm looking at are like Crystal Lake / McHenery / Shaumberg as you said...

Elgin's a mostly a shithole. If your recruiter is using that particular city as an example then I'm afraid he may be piping sunshine up your ass.

As for Crystal Lake and McHenry, your commute would suck. The problem is that Lake County doesn't have anywhere near the road infrastructure it needs because all the rich pricks in places like Long Grove and Barrington keep blocking improvements. IL Route 59, for example, is one of the major north/south roads and is still only two lanes in some places. That's also the reason IL Route 53 goes from being a six lane freeway to a regular road at the Lake County line. Money talks, the needs of the people walks, and I doubt if that's going to change any time soon. There is no good way to get from places like McHenry to anywhere.

Arlington Heights would be a great choice. But pricey. A lot pricier than ****ing Elgin.

[SLAG]

Originally Posted by frazod

Elgin's a mostly a shithole. If your recruiter is using that particular city as an example then I'm afraid he may be piping sunshine up your ass.

As for Crystal Lake and McHenry, your commute would suck. The problem is that Lake County doesn't have anywhere near the road infrastructure it needs because all the rich pricks in places like Long Grove and Barrington keep blocking improvements. IL Route 59, for example, is one of the major north/south roads and is still only two lanes in some places. That's also the reason IL Route 53 goes from being a six lane freeway to a regular road at the Lake County line. Money talks, the needs of the people walks, and I doubt if that's going to change any time soon. There is no good way to get from places like McHenry to anywhere.

Arlington Heights would be a great choice. But pricey. A lot pricier than ****ing Elgin.

Thanks again for the insight.

are there any places that can help me find a good place in such a short notice

[SLAG]

Monday Morning Bump:

Any CP members have a rental property free in any of the decent areas?

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Move to Detroit; MUCH nicer!

[Swanman]

Originally Posted by frazod

I don't recommend living anywhere close to O'Hare, which is adjacent to Elk Grove Village. Planes are loud, the fumes from the jets foul the air, and at night the sky tends to be a sort of dark burnt orange color. Nasty. Avoid Elk Grove itself, Des Plaines, Bensenville and Rosemont. Decent nearby communities would include Rolling Meadows and Schaumburg to the west, Mount Prospect and Arlington Heights to the north, Elmhurst and Lombard to the south, Park Ridge to the east (I wouldn't go any farther east or southeast, or you're getting too close to Chicago and you don't want your kids anywhere near that ****ing sewer). There are lots of smaller suburbs in the area, but I'm not really all that familiar with them, and not having kids I can't vouch for the schools.

Don't know what your salary range is, but prices on EVERYTHING will be a shock to you up here. Some of these places will be more reasonable than others.

I live in Itasca, which is one of the smaller suburbs that Frazod mentioned. It's about 8,000 people and attached to Elk Grove on the southest corner of Elk Grove. There are planes but 90% of the time Itasca is in the landing path which is about 10% of the noise of planes taking off and honestly it's never been an issue.

The schools in Itasca are above average from what I have read. I don't have kids yet but that was a concern of mine. The high school there is Lake Park, which is a conglomeration of Itasca, Medinah and Roselle mostly. Itasca is located about a 10 minute drive from Schaumburg and your commute to work would rule.

Itasca is nice that it contains a really wide range of home prices, unlike many suburbs around that area. If you don't mind PMing me with a price range or rent estimate you were looking for I could give you some ideas.

[tooge]

Live up in Lake county. take the metra to work. LIbertyville. You will be looking at a 35 minute train ride each way, where you can unwind, check e mails, read, etc. You wont have to jack with traffic. We lived up there when we were there and it was very affordable as long as you weren't in a community right by the lake (Michigan). I'd move back to Libertyville in a heartbeat.

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Swanman

I live in Itasca, which is one of the smaller suburbs that Frazod mentioned. It's about 8,000 people and attached to Elk Grove on the southest corner of Elk Grove. There are planes but 90% of the time Itasca is in the landing path which is about 10% of the noise of planes taking off and honestly it's never been an issue.

The schools in Itasca are above average from what I have read. I don't have kids yet but that was a concern of mine. The high school there is Lake Park, which is a conglomeration of Itasca, Medinah and Roselle mostly. Itasca is located about a 10 minute drive from Schaumburg and your commute to work would rule.

Itasca is nice that it contains a really wide range of home prices, unlike many suburbs around that area. If you don't mind PMing me with a price range or rent estimate you were looking for I could give you some ideas.

I didn't realize you'd moved out of Aurora.

One of the shittier places I lived was Rosemont - there are a bunch of 60's-era apartment buildings near what is now the Allstate Arena, but was the Rosemont Horizon when I lived there. Less than a mile from O'Hare, right at the end of one of the runways. It was weird - sometimes I'd see a plane landing and it looked like it was going to clip the roof, and I didn't hear a thing. Other times I wouldn't see the plane, but it sounded (and felt) like it was landing on the roof. God that sucked. The air stank, and everything was dirty. If I walked outside barefoot the bottoms of my feet would be black when I went back inside. I wouldn't live in that pisshole again if you paid me.

[Swanman]

Originally Posted by frazod

I didn't realize you'd moved out of Aurora.

One of the shittier places I lived was Rosemont - there are a bunch of 60's-era apartment buildings near what is now the Allstate Arena, but was the Rosemont Horizon when I lived there. Less than a mile from O'Hare, right at the end of one of the runways. It was weird - sometimes I'd see a plane landing and it looked like it was going to clip the roof, and I didn't hear a thing. Other times I wouldn't see the plane, but it sounded (and felt) like it was landing on the roof. God that sucked. The air stank, and everything was dirty. If I walked outside barefoot the bottoms of my feet would be black when I went back inside. I wouldn't live in that pisshole again if you paid me.

Yes I have been in Itasca for about a year, just forgot to update my profile here. I am still trying to sell my damn townhouse there though. Rosemont is a weird town in that it's 95% industrial with just a very small residential area. But I agree, way too close to the airport. I am a 15 minute drive from Rosemont.

[SLAG]

Originally Posted by Swanman

I live in Itasca, which is one of the smaller suburbs that Frazod mentioned. It's about 8,000 people and attached to Elk Grove on the southest corner of Elk Grove. There are planes but 90% of the time Itasca is in the landing path which is about 10% of the noise of planes taking off and honestly it's never been an issue.

The schools in Itasca are above average from what I have read. I don't have kids yet but that was a concern of mine. The high school there is Lake Park, which is a conglomeration of Itasca, Medinah and Roselle mostly. Itasca is located about a 10 minute drive from Schaumburg and your commute to work would rule.

Itasca is nice that it contains a really wide range of home prices, unlike many suburbs around that area. If you don't mind PMing me with a price range or rent estimate you were looking for I could give you some ideas.

PM Sent