^^My brother lives in Geneva (just south of St. Charles) and absolutely LOVES it. He's close enough to the Geneva Metra station he can walk there whenever he doesn't want to drive his car or ride his motorcycle there. Both he and his fiance commute from there into the city with no hassles. It was his first property, too, and so far he's really been enjoying the experience.

 

I live in west dundee - just north of elgin - If you and your wifey want to raise kids in the future i recommend looking here. It has a nice old town feel, no ghetto areas, and you can get some pretty unique houses or standard houses for the midwest.


FWIW i can make it to the big timber metra in about 10 minutes.

 

Depending on your drive I also recommend snow tires for December - March. Before I got the S last summer I DD an '04 Si and once I got some Blizzaks it was a night and day difference in the snow.

Now DDing my CR is freakishly scary and I have been taking the Metra most days to work if there is > a 5% chance of snow and it's quite reliable. If you can take the train I definately recommend it over driving in the winter just for the peace of mind. Maybe next winter I'll get another set of winter tires for it, but honestly I think the train is a pretty sweet deal.

 

If you don't mind a commute you may also want to check out Hoffman Estates.

I've heard that hard liquor also helps in dealing with our Hoth-like winters.

I was originally imported to California, and am not entirely happy that my parents ever moved us away. LOL!

 

back home now. next time im up there ill check out everyones advice. it snowed over night and until 2pm today and again, its a big difference in the road conditions. its horrible here. they have absolutely no idea how to take care of the roads, parking lots, etc. the airport parking lot is like an ice rink.

 

rent first. The housing market isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Heavily research areas your thinking of and "dry run" the commute to where you are working. The traffic can be absolutely brutal. The condition of the roads are horrible as well, and always will be.

Although you think it may be premature, check greatschools.net. Especially before you buy a home. Put the city in where your looking, then you can search "student demographics" and this will give you an idea of % reduced/free lunch (near or under poverty level), attendance, etc... You will find the schools and the area can vary tremendously within a few miles.

The weather sucks man. Your looking at about 80 days a year of partly sunny or better days, compared to probably 250+ in san diego. Instead of having a temp range of 60-85, your going to have a range of 15-80. I think we have gotten over freezing on 3 days total since Christmas. The weather man says 6 more days under freezing. Again, rent first

I drive my S year round with blizzaks, but if you have little experience with the snow and ice, you will have enough fun with an Accord until you get the hang of it.

Good luck!

 

[QUOTE=s2ksleepy,Jan 28 2010, 08:24 PM]That's pretty crazy how some of you guys know exactly the area I'm talking about.

 

[QUOTE=KnowledgeIsPower,Jan 29 2010, 08:02 AM] I live in west dundee - just north of elgin - If you and your wifey want to raise kids in the future i recommend looking here. It has a nice old town feel, no ghetto areas, and you can get some pretty unique houses or standard houses for the midwest.