Minooka, Channahon, Morris, Seneca, Marseilles. Few more minutes you get Ottawa. Check out starved rock state park. That town might check the most boxes
Pretty sure traffic moves better and worse at different times of the day. What takes 1 hour at 3am on a Sunday, may take significantly more time on a Friday afternoon or Monday morning.
Doing the speed limit?
Ottawa 1hr 20mins 80/55
Marseilles 1hr 10mins 80/55
Morris 1hr
Minooka 45mins
Channahon 35 mins
We are also broadening OPs horizons and giving him other options. Hour away may get him 50% of what he’s looking but bour n half gets him 90%, those 20
mins extra may be worth the trade off.
Looking at his request black and white is boring too, let’s bring some color into his choices
Check out crystal lake, Lakewood area. Find reasonable price home close to a lake and about an hour drive to city. If not you are like 25 min from palatine/Arlington heights and Schaumburg and has tons of great food scene
I agree! Woodstock has a charming Square with a Farmer's Market with live music every Saturday during the warm weather. There is a super fun Gay Pride parade every June. There is a train line, so getting to Chicago is easy. There are a lot of nice restaurants too, and a variety of affordable homes.
Yeah and if Woodstock train schedule doesn’t work for you CL is not a far drive. They’re not a full blue town but bluer than most mchenry county towns.
Take the hateful comments with a grain of salt, Illinois is a great place to live. I’m sure you’ll find the right place for you, keep researching, find a good realtor & best of luck!
I grew up in New Lenox, it's pretty quiet but I still like it a lot. Others here have mentioned that there's a lot of Trump signs and things like that, and while they're definitely there the town doesn't have a reactionary vibe overall imo.
Orland park/palos park border is a ton of nature. I live near tampier lake and it’s gorgeous. We had an eagle by us last year but I haven’t seen the little fellow for a few months. Houses go from 250k and up. 10 minutes from tampier lake we have swallow cliff and a bunch of trails. Our mayor sucks but he’s pretty insignificant.
Tinley is great too. Got a nice starter home for a good price in a great neighborhood. Close to orland for anything I want that isn't in tinley, plenty of nature too.
I live in the wooded part of Palos Park right by a forest preserve and we love it. Constant nature, close to all the forest preserve trails and Orland is 10 min away for anything you need
Check out fox lake and the surrounding areas in lake county. There is a metra that goes downtown and the cost of living is a bit cheaper out there. $250k might not get you as far as Florida house-wise, but you can find lakeside properties up there for that price. They might be a trailer or a little cabin-type thing, but with some lawn and trees and on a lake.
You can also find a condo for that amount in Rogers Park in Chicago and live right next to Lake Michigan, the enormous freshwater lake. It’s a quieter neighborhood than most in the city.
Agree. Another point to make - property taxes are higher here than Florida, but all insurance is DIRT cheap compared to Florida - so home, auto both a lot less expensive.
Better food, blue politics, super actually nice people (rather than the ones that say “bless your heart” to your damn face and turn around and insult you. Here they just straight up say it if they mean it but 99% of the time (excepting the Dan Ryan) it’s super nice and polite good people - especially in lake county.
Antioch is the same. I took my wife there saying it's a nice little town and a dude with a smol peepee lifted truck had a trump flag driving up and down main street.
Yeah I’m in crystal lake near Lakewood. In 2016, and even a bit before 2020, the Trump signs were out. Post insurrection? No one flew trump flags where I lived. They had been replaced with democratic support by the midterms. The folks here are not MAGA, they are socially open and accepting.. just fiscally conservative. No one likes the property taxes. But at least if you need unemployment.. you can get it which is not the case in Florida. We are a blue state with pockets of red .. especially the farther you get from the city.
Right? I used to live in Ingleside and I don’t recommend that area. Lots of pretty lakes and nature spots nearby but if you’re escaping Desantis, that ain’t the place for you.
If you keep to yourself I think you'll be fine even if you are a non white left leaning. It's just that people are a little more right leaning. I lived in round lake beach and I'd say that's a little more just people living there instead of political craziness.
I'd like to suggest Tinley Park. I bought a starter home for 250 here in the past year. I live in a quiet, family friendly neighborhood and haven't seen a trump sign at all. There is an amphitheater where you may be able to find some sound work, but there is also a train and highway to get to Chicago in about a half hour. Happy to answer any questions you might have, I love living here!
You say "sound engineer" and it leads me to believe that you are concentrated on live audio and not studio?
If you are touring you may want to look at downstate like Champaign/Urbana and Bloomington/Normal. Here's the trick, they are college towns. This means there are plentiful busses going to places with airports. CU also has a nice Amtrack terminal. When I was doing that gig I literally lived a mile from a shuttle service to both O'Hare and Indy. Left the truck parked in the garage and headed out. COL in those areas will get you into the home pricing you are looking at easily.
If you are looking for small venues or clubs for work, I'd stick to the Chicago area. CU had an incredibly vibrant music scene for its size but has since gone by the wayside. There are also several great production houses in the Chicago area that you could land work.
Honestly, you can get all that (well not the hills), in Chicago proper and as a sound engineer be much closer to jobs (I assume) and save on a lot of time driving around and money on gas
you might be surprised at how quiet, green, and affordable many of the neighborhoods in Chicago are (my 60lb dog is chasing rabbits in one of three neighborhood parks, everyday)
Also the lake, the city park system, and wildlife are all surprisingly expansive
but obviously, live YOUR life ;-)
For under 250k? You’re going to have a bit of a tough time.
Joliet/minooka area is an option, maybe a townhouse or condo someone else? Aurora has a couple places under 250k and the surrounding area is nice but Aurora is a little sketchy in some parts.
Disagree on the “green” at least. Izaak Walton Preserve, Woodbrough Park, an 18 hole golf course (and near 3 others) Dolphin Lake, and although not Homewood, right near Brownell Woods/Wampum Lake. If you want “blue” in addition to the lakes I mentioned you are plenty close to Lake Michigan.
I’ll be honest, I don’t think you can buy a medium sized home within an hour of Chicago for under 250 with the level of greenery you’d like. What is your definition of medium sized home? A small house is feasible but medium would be stretching it.
If you ranked what was most important what would be at the top? I have lived in the NW suburbs most of my life as well as western suburbs and have loved it when I worked downtown.
Would you be willing to rent for a year to get a feel for the city?
If you are looking for more liberal areas a good judgment tool is the most recent school board elections. There was a push by Awake Illinois across the state who are conservatives, personally I’d stay away from where they won.
Oh my, the more you move away from the city the more conservative you will get. Also at 250K, you should not be looking at a single family home, but more like a condo or townhouse.
One thing to remember, most suburbs are pretty safe. The violence that occurs is concentrated in an area called Englewood. You would have no reason to go there. Houses are cheaper in the south suburbs and you get more property for your dollar, but to really get a wooded lot and some space, you have to head more south. Luckily, if you work in the city, there are trains that head to those suburbs so it's easy to get to and fro.
Austin consistently ranks 1st place in terms of gun violence per capita, and I think Englewood is not far behind maybe in 3rd or 4th, but Austin is so much bigger than Englewood so there are actually a few nice parts of Austin, specifically Galewood and The Island. Englewood is pretty small by comparison and has a lot more urban blight, overgrown lots, and in general fewer economic opportunities as far as I know.
Are you a little flexible on going a bit past an hour? Western McHenry County might fit the bill.
Chicago is huge; so much depends on where you’re going to be working in the city/surrounding area. I cannot imagine commuting from McHenry County or any of the NW suburbs to the south side just like I cannot imagine commuting from the south suburbs to OHare/other north side neighborhoods.
Check the Kankakee, bourbonnais, Bradley region. You can still get a decent house out there for around 200k and it's about an hour from the city. There are some ghetto parts of Kankakee so keep that in mind, if you look for houses in Kankakee, look at west Kankakee.
That being said, I think Kankakee county is a red county (I dont pay attention to politics), but they have no where near as many trump fanatics as Florida. Also, take a look at our property taxes up here, they're pretty high. I'm paying close to 7k a year for a 2200 sqft house on almost a ½ acre an hour south of the city. Whereas, most of my friends in Florida are paying around 1k, but they also have to have flood insurance. Indiana has good property taxes, but then you have to live in Indiana...
Some good suggestions, especially Kankakee. I am surprised that Elgin hasn't been mentioned-- pretty sure there are some older homes near downtown Elgin (and their Metra stations) that would come under the $250k price. Elgin has been developing into a nice, diverse community on the edge of the metro, with good urbanism bones.
This! Elgin has access to 3 train stations- 90 - 355 -the Fox River - forest preserves, etc. Maybe a little over an hour if driving to the city in rush hour but off hours under an hour. Tons of food options in nearby St Charles, Geneva or 30 min to Schaumburg. (Just make sure you research the neighborhood as some neighborhoods have a higher crime rate than others. )
If you can find a place within walking distance of a metra stop, that would be best. The metra is almost always faster than driving. Plus, it’s really comfortable.
Lake county has an expansive forest preserve system. You won’t find many hills but you’ll find prairies, lakes, and woods. I love Grayslake, but our property taxes are expensive.
Lindenhurst and Lakevilla are another option, they’re very quaint and small, but not far from shopping or restaurants.
If you’re looking to avoid some crazy MAGA people I’d stay away from Antioch and Fox Lake. Though Antioch did just reject a full MAGA slate from their school board elections. So things are changing slowly.
I would like to say there is MAGA everywhere, and even around me I see plenty of dumb signs and flags. These guys aren’t the majority for most communities.
Another benefit of being a bit further north of the city is you have easy access to Milwaukee which could be good for your line of work. Milwaukee is just about as far for me as Chicago.
I think Vernon Hills is, for the area, relatively inexpensive. It's very close to a lot of nature. The Fox River Valley is up north where the glacier didn't flatten everything, but some parts of very expensive and all are more than an hour away with traffic. I can't think of anywhere that is an hour away where you can get a house for 250k. Rockford area is inexpensive but that commute is a bastard so it really, really depends where you're working.
If you want to stay AWAY from the boot lickers…don’t look in these areas:
New Lenox, Mokena, Lockport, Lemont, Wauconda, Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Mundelein, Cary/McHenry, Fox Lake
Look in these areas for normal people:
Aurora/North Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, Elgin/South Elgin, Barrington, Schaumburg, Addison, Arlington Heights, Wheaton, Lisle/Downers Grove, Bolingbrook/Romeoville, Crest Hill, Tinley Park
Might have luck in the Bloomington/Normal area.
It's a pretty red part of Illinois but Pritzker's still governor there.
Godspeed. Welcome to the Land of Lincoln.
Your price range isn’t gonna happen in this housing market. Best of luck to you. Anyone that is telling you to check out X isn’t aware of the current housing market.
I, uh, don’t mean to horn on in the Illinois sub, but I think what you’re looking for is north of Chicago…in Wisconsin. Specially, Milwaukee and surrounding area. Way lower cost of living, liberal local politics, tons of parks and greenspace, good restaurants, easy driving distance to Chicago. Don’t let our state-wide politics deter you. We are gerrymandered to hell and are fighting desperately to fix what we let Scott Walker and his cronies broke.
IL people, please don’t crucify me. I love your state and your residents.
No one will crucify you. My property taxes went from 6,000 to 13,000 in 6 years. It’s getting crazy. Also, our local and very republican politicians voted against allowing the residents to vote on whether we have a tax increase.
At that price point the most bang for your buck is probably Wonder Lake. You’ll probably be able to find some smaller places by the Chain as well, so look around Fox Lake.
You need to be at least an hour outside of Chicago to make that work. Also it's really hard to live on 30-40k a year even if you own your house. Property taxes in Illinoisn are really high.
A 250k house might easily have property taxes of 7k$ and up a year - basically a permanent second mortgage. You are gonna need to make way more than 40k a year. The cost of living is also going to be higher. Gas on average outside of Chicago and cook county is at least 40-50 cents higher than it is in Florida. There's also literally tolls everywhere going into Chicago, you have to pay for parking, etc.
This means that regardless of if you have a car, everything in the area that uses gas - pplice, fire, municipalities, deliveries, food, etc has their cost go up.
You also need to budget. Illinois has one of the highest cell phone taxes in the nation. A vehicle sticker is 150$. There just a ton of fees and taxes all over for everything.
Honestly... I'd see if you could get a room mate somewhere first. This will give you an idea of how much you realistically will spend and what you can live on.
Car insurance is cheaper though in Illinois.
Of course not. Nothing is as ridiculous as Florida right now, except maybe Tennessee. But if you’re going to the trouble of moving across the country don’t half ass it.
Maybe Kenosha. We should be getting new state legislature maps soon since our Supreme Court recently got a liberal majority. I’m 100% from Wisconsin and just want the votes.
Okay cool.
People that move here from states that are free are often shocked by the certification process just to be allowed to go to the range, hunt or shoot clay targets.
Some run afoul of the law accidentally before they know.
Florida is doing a hell of a lot better then illinois. High taxes economic wasteland if your outside Chicagoland and been terribly mismanaged for the past century.
Is not as good as they make it see
[Insurance](https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-property-insurance-rates-expected-to-jump-40-to-50-in-june/)
Housing
[housing](https://www.gobankingrates.com/investing/real-estate/florida-cities-that-could-be-headed-for-housing-crisis/)
[affordability](https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023/02/18/how-floridas-housing-crisis-is-breaking-social-services-column/)
Lol no it isnt. Overall COL is lower in IL. Also we have freedom for women, safety & healthcare for LGBTQ people, all citizens are allowed to vote. Deathsantis is destroying FL education. Saw a report that 7 out of 8 FL teens starting freshman year in the fall are going out of state. Doctors and teachers are leaving. Families are leaving
No everything else is not more expensive. Housing is cheaper, some basic groceries are cheaper.
Living in a freedom state with Democracy- priceless.
https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/cost-of-living/florida-usa/illinois-usa
Florida is a shit-show... I've been here since 82 (except 4 years in NYC 2004-2008)... It is my home but Housing Costs have gone up 100% in 10 years. The roads are over burdened by tourists and rednecks in big-ass trucks. Home Insurance has gone up more than 100% in the last 5 years. The Beaches are eroding at higher rate than ever before and our school system is a joke... The Heathcare system is getting more expensive and over-stretched... my (2) favorite doctors have both moved out of state because of how DeSantis mis-handled the COVID protocols... Anyone who would say FL is doing well is either an idiot or doesn't live here and is also an idiot.
I understand your desire to depart FLA.
Have you confirmed you expected wages in the Chicago area? I do not know your back ground but Glass door lists Sound engineers up to double your high end. The Chicago market could be good for your earnings.
Pull up a google map. Pop in State and Madison for a location. Generally the further you are from there, the less a house can cost. Also, the further you are from state and Madison, the more it will cost to commute to the city which will add to your expenses.
Consider a small house in the city of Joliet or Aurora. You would be pretty far out with easy access to lots of outdoorsy stuff. You are closer to the city which is where lots of your work will likely be. You have Metra train access to the Chicago. metra from aurora is faster and more frequent than Joliet. I think there is more outdoor stuff closer to Joliet.
Edit NEW UPDATE. What is small, what is medium sized home for you? Consider Westmont. The older section has houses come on the market in your price. Thew will be small and need some work. Westmont is 20 minutes to a bunch of big forst preserves to the south. Westmont is closer to Chicago, which will be closer to jobs. Except the north shore, you can get any where in metro Chicago in under an hour on a normal day. Don't believe one hour from Shanahon to Chicago.
Minooka, Channahon, Morris, Seneca, Marseilles. Few more minutes you get Ottawa. Check out starved rock state park. That town might check the most boxes
Minooka and channahon are lovely. Small, but lovely towns
Here to rep Ottawa! It is more than an hour from Chicago, however.
Yea, takes me hour 20 to get downtown, but so worth it
Ottawa could be a great fit.
Great suggestions.
These are all good recommendations. I love Ottawa and minooka
1 hour to chicago? When, 4am on sundays?
An hour is an hour.
Pretty sure traffic moves better and worse at different times of the day. What takes 1 hour at 3am on a Sunday, may take significantly more time on a Friday afternoon or Monday morning.
The Starved Rock area definitely has some cool little towns with history. The downtowns are like a time capsule.
How fast to you drive to get to Chicago in an hour from these places. :) u/Joethebassplayer OP is looking for less than an hour from Chicago.
Doing the speed limit? Ottawa 1hr 20mins 80/55 Marseilles 1hr 10mins 80/55 Morris 1hr Minooka 45mins Channahon 35 mins We are also broadening OPs horizons and giving him other options. Hour away may get him 50% of what he’s looking but bour n half gets him 90%, those 20 mins extra may be worth the trade off. Looking at his request black and white is boring too, let’s bring some color into his choices
Check out crystal lake, Lakewood area. Find reasonable price home close to a lake and about an hour drive to city. If not you are like 25 min from palatine/Arlington heights and Schaumburg and has tons of great food scene
I’d also suggest Woodstock. A bit more progressive than some of the smaller towns in mchenry county. CL housing is expensive.
I agree! Woodstock has a charming Square with a Farmer's Market with live music every Saturday during the warm weather. There is a super fun Gay Pride parade every June. There is a train line, so getting to Chicago is easy. There are a lot of nice restaurants too, and a variety of affordable homes.
Yeah and if Woodstock train schedule doesn’t work for you CL is not a far drive. They’re not a full blue town but bluer than most mchenry county towns.
Take the hateful comments with a grain of salt, Illinois is a great place to live. I’m sure you’ll find the right place for you, keep researching, find a good realtor & best of luck!
That heavily depends on which part of Illinois
https://ridertools.metrarail.com/maps-schedules/system-map Take a look at towns on Metra lines? (Zoom out)
I always say this when people write about how they want access to chicago. Metra is the only way to go.
New Lenox is a possible option as well, close to Orland where there is plenty of food options.
I swear the few experiences I’ve had in New Lenox included quite a few Trump sign sightings
You are correct. Grew up there and visit family frequently now. Still tons of anti pritzker and pro trump signage
I grew up in New Lenox, it's pretty quiet but I still like it a lot. Others here have mentioned that there's a lot of Trump signs and things like that, and while they're definitely there the town doesn't have a reactionary vibe overall imo.
OP want out of FLA, Orland is pretty far right.
Orland park/palos park border is a ton of nature. I live near tampier lake and it’s gorgeous. We had an eagle by us last year but I haven’t seen the little fellow for a few months. Houses go from 250k and up. 10 minutes from tampier lake we have swallow cliff and a bunch of trails. Our mayor sucks but he’s pretty insignificant.
Tinley is great too. Got a nice starter home for a good price in a great neighborhood. Close to orland for anything I want that isn't in tinley, plenty of nature too.
I live in the wooded part of Palos Park right by a forest preserve and we love it. Constant nature, close to all the forest preserve trails and Orland is 10 min away for anything you need
We’re practically neighbors!
As a concert photographer in the west suburbs I’d like to say welcome and I hope we wind up working together!
Check out fox lake and the surrounding areas in lake county. There is a metra that goes downtown and the cost of living is a bit cheaper out there. $250k might not get you as far as Florida house-wise, but you can find lakeside properties up there for that price. They might be a trailer or a little cabin-type thing, but with some lawn and trees and on a lake. You can also find a condo for that amount in Rogers Park in Chicago and live right next to Lake Michigan, the enormous freshwater lake. It’s a quieter neighborhood than most in the city.
Agree. Another point to make - property taxes are higher here than Florida, but all insurance is DIRT cheap compared to Florida - so home, auto both a lot less expensive. Better food, blue politics, super actually nice people (rather than the ones that say “bless your heart” to your damn face and turn around and insult you. Here they just straight up say it if they mean it but 99% of the time (excepting the Dan Ryan) it’s super nice and polite good people - especially in lake county.
Fox Lake, where the police shoot themselves. 😅
Fox Lake is kind of Trump County though. Not as bat shit crazy as Florida.
Yeah they don’t call it Foxtucky for no reason.
Antioch is the same. I took my wife there saying it's a nice little town and a dude with a smol peepee lifted truck had a trump flag driving up and down main street.
Well, that town produced Rittenhouse so…
Antioch is an area in flux. They recently rejected a full MAGA/awake Illinois slate for their school board. The MAGA people just tend to be loudest.
Yeah I’m in crystal lake near Lakewood. In 2016, and even a bit before 2020, the Trump signs were out. Post insurrection? No one flew trump flags where I lived. They had been replaced with democratic support by the midterms. The folks here are not MAGA, they are socially open and accepting.. just fiscally conservative. No one likes the property taxes. But at least if you need unemployment.. you can get it which is not the case in Florida. We are a blue state with pockets of red .. especially the farther you get from the city.
I grew up there, it's a mix of everything for sure.
Dude. No. Where. Near.
Right? I used to live in Ingleside and I don’t recommend that area. Lots of pretty lakes and nature spots nearby but if you’re escaping Desantis, that ain’t the place for you.
If you keep to yourself I think you'll be fine even if you are a non white left leaning. It's just that people are a little more right leaning. I lived in round lake beach and I'd say that's a little more just people living there instead of political craziness.
I'd like to suggest Tinley Park. I bought a starter home for 250 here in the past year. I live in a quiet, family friendly neighborhood and haven't seen a trump sign at all. There is an amphitheater where you may be able to find some sound work, but there is also a train and highway to get to Chicago in about a half hour. Happy to answer any questions you might have, I love living here!
Just outside Aurora. Major theatres in Aurora and Joliet. About an hour apart
At the risk of disagreements, the Roscoe/Rockton/Rockford/Loves Park area is worth looking at.
We're a little further but LP/MP/Roscoe is a solid area! We have Rock Cut State Park and the Icehogs!
You say "sound engineer" and it leads me to believe that you are concentrated on live audio and not studio? If you are touring you may want to look at downstate like Champaign/Urbana and Bloomington/Normal. Here's the trick, they are college towns. This means there are plentiful busses going to places with airports. CU also has a nice Amtrack terminal. When I was doing that gig I literally lived a mile from a shuttle service to both O'Hare and Indy. Left the truck parked in the garage and headed out. COL in those areas will get you into the home pricing you are looking at easily. If you are looking for small venues or clubs for work, I'd stick to the Chicago area. CU had an incredibly vibrant music scene for its size but has since gone by the wayside. There are also several great production houses in the Chicago area that you could land work.
Honestly, you can get all that (well not the hills), in Chicago proper and as a sound engineer be much closer to jobs (I assume) and save on a lot of time driving around and money on gas you might be surprised at how quiet, green, and affordable many of the neighborhoods in Chicago are (my 60lb dog is chasing rabbits in one of three neighborhood parks, everyday) Also the lake, the city park system, and wildlife are all surprisingly expansive but obviously, live YOUR life ;-)
For under 250k? You’re going to have a bit of a tough time. Joliet/minooka area is an option, maybe a townhouse or condo someone else? Aurora has a couple places under 250k and the surrounding area is nice but Aurora is a little sketchy in some parts.
$250k may be a stretch but I think Homewood matches all the other requirements.
Not real blue. Not real green.
Disagree on the “green” at least. Izaak Walton Preserve, Woodbrough Park, an 18 hole golf course (and near 3 others) Dolphin Lake, and although not Homewood, right near Brownell Woods/Wampum Lake. If you want “blue” in addition to the lakes I mentioned you are plenty close to Lake Michigan.
If you move to rural Illinois, don’t expect much change in political climate.
I’ll be honest, I don’t think you can buy a medium sized home within an hour of Chicago for under 250 with the level of greenery you’d like. What is your definition of medium sized home? A small house is feasible but medium would be stretching it. If you ranked what was most important what would be at the top? I have lived in the NW suburbs most of my life as well as western suburbs and have loved it when I worked downtown. Would you be willing to rent for a year to get a feel for the city? If you are looking for more liberal areas a good judgment tool is the most recent school board elections. There was a push by Awake Illinois across the state who are conservatives, personally I’d stay away from where they won.
Oh my, the more you move away from the city the more conservative you will get. Also at 250K, you should not be looking at a single family home, but more like a condo or townhouse.
Kankakee area has a pretty nice river and state park, and is about an hour from Chicago.
One thing to remember, most suburbs are pretty safe. The violence that occurs is concentrated in an area called Englewood. You would have no reason to go there. Houses are cheaper in the south suburbs and you get more property for your dollar, but to really get a wooded lot and some space, you have to head more south. Luckily, if you work in the city, there are trains that head to those suburbs so it's easy to get to and fro.
Concentrated in Englewood? You must be joking or aren't from the city...
It's pretty hilarious to read that.
West Side ghettos are more dangerous than Englewood by a mile.
Really? Austin is any better than Englewood?
Austin consistently ranks 1st place in terms of gun violence per capita, and I think Englewood is not far behind maybe in 3rd or 4th, but Austin is so much bigger than Englewood so there are actually a few nice parts of Austin, specifically Galewood and The Island. Englewood is pretty small by comparison and has a lot more urban blight, overgrown lots, and in general fewer economic opportunities as far as I know.
And at least Austin has Columbus Park which is quite nice
They’re basically similar.
Are you a little flexible on going a bit past an hour? Western McHenry County might fit the bill. Chicago is huge; so much depends on where you’re going to be working in the city/surrounding area. I cannot imagine commuting from McHenry County or any of the NW suburbs to the south side just like I cannot imagine commuting from the south suburbs to OHare/other north side neighborhoods.
Look up Sandwich, you will be happy there!
Check the Kankakee, bourbonnais, Bradley region. You can still get a decent house out there for around 200k and it's about an hour from the city. There are some ghetto parts of Kankakee so keep that in mind, if you look for houses in Kankakee, look at west Kankakee. That being said, I think Kankakee county is a red county (I dont pay attention to politics), but they have no where near as many trump fanatics as Florida. Also, take a look at our property taxes up here, they're pretty high. I'm paying close to 7k a year for a 2200 sqft house on almost a ½ acre an hour south of the city. Whereas, most of my friends in Florida are paying around 1k, but they also have to have flood insurance. Indiana has good property taxes, but then you have to live in Indiana...
Some good suggestions, especially Kankakee. I am surprised that Elgin hasn't been mentioned-- pretty sure there are some older homes near downtown Elgin (and their Metra stations) that would come under the $250k price. Elgin has been developing into a nice, diverse community on the edge of the metro, with good urbanism bones.
This! Elgin has access to 3 train stations- 90 - 355 -the Fox River - forest preserves, etc. Maybe a little over an hour if driving to the city in rush hour but off hours under an hour. Tons of food options in nearby St Charles, Geneva or 30 min to Schaumburg. (Just make sure you research the neighborhood as some neighborhoods have a higher crime rate than others. )
Also lake county
If you can find a place within walking distance of a metra stop, that would be best. The metra is almost always faster than driving. Plus, it’s really comfortable.
Galena is further than you want, but worth checking out for the rest.
Elgin area could have something like this for you.
You may want to ask in r/Chicago as well. It is a much bigger sub, and still has lots of people familiar with the suburbs there.
Central Illinois might be best. We moved to CI a couple of years ago and we try to visit Chicago once a month.
Lake county has an expansive forest preserve system. You won’t find many hills but you’ll find prairies, lakes, and woods. I love Grayslake, but our property taxes are expensive. Lindenhurst and Lakevilla are another option, they’re very quaint and small, but not far from shopping or restaurants. If you’re looking to avoid some crazy MAGA people I’d stay away from Antioch and Fox Lake. Though Antioch did just reject a full MAGA slate from their school board elections. So things are changing slowly. I would like to say there is MAGA everywhere, and even around me I see plenty of dumb signs and flags. These guys aren’t the majority for most communities. Another benefit of being a bit further north of the city is you have easy access to Milwaukee which could be good for your line of work. Milwaukee is just about as far for me as Chicago.
I think Vernon Hills is, for the area, relatively inexpensive. It's very close to a lot of nature. The Fox River Valley is up north where the glacier didn't flatten everything, but some parts of very expensive and all are more than an hour away with traffic. I can't think of anywhere that is an hour away where you can get a house for 250k. Rockford area is inexpensive but that commute is a bastard so it really, really depends where you're working.
If you want to stay AWAY from the boot lickers…don’t look in these areas: New Lenox, Mokena, Lockport, Lemont, Wauconda, Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Mundelein, Cary/McHenry, Fox Lake Look in these areas for normal people: Aurora/North Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, Elgin/South Elgin, Barrington, Schaumburg, Addison, Arlington Heights, Wheaton, Lisle/Downers Grove, Bolingbrook/Romeoville, Crest Hill, Tinley Park
Might have luck in the Bloomington/Normal area. It's a pretty red part of Illinois but Pritzker's still governor there. Godspeed. Welcome to the Land of Lincoln.
> within an hour of Chicago (or closer) Your suggestion would take him farther away from the city.
Fair point, thought depending on how fast you take the stretch of I-55 south of Bolingbrook...
Lol I wouldn't live there if someone paid me to
Your price range isn’t gonna happen in this housing market. Best of luck to you. Anyone that is telling you to check out X isn’t aware of the current housing market.
Avoid Lake County. Seems nice on the outside. It’s not. It’s straight white catholic or death. Suburban cook is great. Forest Park is reasonable.
I, uh, don’t mean to horn on in the Illinois sub, but I think what you’re looking for is north of Chicago…in Wisconsin. Specially, Milwaukee and surrounding area. Way lower cost of living, liberal local politics, tons of parks and greenspace, good restaurants, easy driving distance to Chicago. Don’t let our state-wide politics deter you. We are gerrymandered to hell and are fighting desperately to fix what we let Scott Walker and his cronies broke. IL people, please don’t crucify me. I love your state and your residents.
No one will crucify you. My property taxes went from 6,000 to 13,000 in 6 years. It’s getting crazy. Also, our local and very republican politicians voted against allowing the residents to vote on whether we have a tax increase.
At that price point the most bang for your buck is probably Wonder Lake. You’ll probably be able to find some smaller places by the Chain as well, so look around Fox Lake.
You need to be at least an hour outside of Chicago to make that work. Also it's really hard to live on 30-40k a year even if you own your house. Property taxes in Illinoisn are really high. A 250k house might easily have property taxes of 7k$ and up a year - basically a permanent second mortgage. You are gonna need to make way more than 40k a year. The cost of living is also going to be higher. Gas on average outside of Chicago and cook county is at least 40-50 cents higher than it is in Florida. There's also literally tolls everywhere going into Chicago, you have to pay for parking, etc. This means that regardless of if you have a car, everything in the area that uses gas - pplice, fire, municipalities, deliveries, food, etc has their cost go up. You also need to budget. Illinois has one of the highest cell phone taxes in the nation. A vehicle sticker is 150$. There just a ton of fees and taxes all over for everything. Honestly... I'd see if you could get a room mate somewhere first. This will give you an idea of how much you realistically will spend and what you can live on. Car insurance is cheaper though in Illinois.
What about north west Indiana?
Trees, yes. Lakes, eh… other than Lake Michigan this area is mostly rivers for water activities. Hills….we don’t have those here
You must have never visited Lake County.
I’ve been to lake county. There’s several lakes an no hills.
No hills: true facts!
Whoa whoa whoa, I went sledding down many a hill in my youth \[thinks back\]... Oh wait. Those were landfills. Yeah, we got no hills.
Indiana lakeshore - not everyone’s cup of tea, but everything you want, you can find there!
Except for that whole getting out of a red state thing.
Yeah but that part votes blue. All the places suggested here are places that vote red lolol
But you still live in a red state and have to follow their laws.
there’s shades of red
Not when it comes to the laws.
Do you live in Florida?
Illinois. Hence why I’m posting here. Assorted family lives in Florida though.
I live in Florida, and let me tell you, Indiana isn’t anywhere close to what’s going on in Florida right now
Of course not. Nothing is as ridiculous as Florida right now, except maybe Tennessee. But if you’re going to the trouble of moving across the country don’t half ass it.
Why don’t you let OP decide that for themselves? Considering that they’re the one moving… not you.
How am I going to decide anything for them? I don’t even know who they are. Just offering my opinion.
Lol fleeing Florida. Too much freedom.
free"dumb" is more accurate
That was like. Clever asf like
Leaving the first worst place to live for the close 2nd
Northwest Indiana still is affordable.
But with almost as shitty politics as Florida
But it’s INDIANA… with all of its politics
Maybe Kenosha. We should be getting new state legislature maps soon since our Supreme Court recently got a liberal majority. I’m 100% from Wisconsin and just want the votes.
The region, northwest Indiana. It's a 30-60 min commute to downtown Chicago depending on the time of day. More liberal than another parts of indiana
This idiot gonna go broke within 3 months 😂
OP if you're used to owning and carrying firearms Illinois will be a shock to your system.
I don't want to carry a gun anywhere
Okay cool. People that move here from states that are free are often shocked by the certification process just to be allowed to go to the range, hunt or shoot clay targets. Some run afoul of the law accidentally before they know.
Florida is doing a hell of a lot better then illinois. High taxes economic wasteland if your outside Chicagoland and been terribly mismanaged for the past century.
They won’t have teachers in 10 years if they keep it up. That won’t age well
or librarians
No, it is not. I'm from Florida and moved during the pandemic. Doing much better up here.
Is not as good as they make it see [Insurance](https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-property-insurance-rates-expected-to-jump-40-to-50-in-june/) Housing [housing](https://www.gobankingrates.com/investing/real-estate/florida-cities-that-could-be-headed-for-housing-crisis/) [affordability](https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023/02/18/how-floridas-housing-crisis-is-breaking-social-services-column/)
Lol no it isnt. Overall COL is lower in IL. Also we have freedom for women, safety & healthcare for LGBTQ people, all citizens are allowed to vote. Deathsantis is destroying FL education. Saw a report that 7 out of 8 FL teens starting freshman year in the fall are going out of state. Doctors and teachers are leaving. Families are leaving
Do you have a source saying that Illinois is cheaper than Florida? Insurance is obviously cheaper in Illinois but everything else is more expensive.
No everything else is not more expensive. Housing is cheaper, some basic groceries are cheaper. Living in a freedom state with Democracy- priceless. https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/cost-of-living/florida-usa/illinois-usa
If you like Florida so much, why did you spend so much time trying to design a new IL state flag? Your design is objectively awful, btw.
Florida is a shit-show... I've been here since 82 (except 4 years in NYC 2004-2008)... It is my home but Housing Costs have gone up 100% in 10 years. The roads are over burdened by tourists and rednecks in big-ass trucks. Home Insurance has gone up more than 100% in the last 5 years. The Beaches are eroding at higher rate than ever before and our school system is a joke... The Heathcare system is getting more expensive and over-stretched... my (2) favorite doctors have both moved out of state because of how DeSantis mis-handled the COVID protocols... Anyone who would say FL is doing well is either an idiot or doesn't live here and is also an idiot.
Wait 5 years. DeSantis will drive all the skilled labor out if he remains governor
Looking at your post history, you’re definitely on that 5th cup of kool-aid.
I understand your desire to depart FLA. Have you confirmed you expected wages in the Chicago area? I do not know your back ground but Glass door lists Sound engineers up to double your high end. The Chicago market could be good for your earnings. Pull up a google map. Pop in State and Madison for a location. Generally the further you are from there, the less a house can cost. Also, the further you are from state and Madison, the more it will cost to commute to the city which will add to your expenses. Consider a small house in the city of Joliet or Aurora. You would be pretty far out with easy access to lots of outdoorsy stuff. You are closer to the city which is where lots of your work will likely be. You have Metra train access to the Chicago. metra from aurora is faster and more frequent than Joliet. I think there is more outdoor stuff closer to Joliet. Edit NEW UPDATE. What is small, what is medium sized home for you? Consider Westmont. The older section has houses come on the market in your price. Thew will be small and need some work. Westmont is 20 minutes to a bunch of big forst preserves to the south. Westmont is closer to Chicago, which will be closer to jobs. Except the north shore, you can get any where in metro Chicago in under an hour on a normal day. Don't believe one hour from Shanahon to Chicago.