Moving to Glenview area. Recommendations?

FreshBakedBrownies

My husband just accepted a job with Kraft in Glenview, IL and they want him to start in 6 weeks. We currently live in Pittsburgh, PA and don't know very much about the area. Can anyone here give advice or opinions on where exactly to live, or areas to avoid? We started our search in Glenview, but an acquaintance suggested Arlington Heights would be better? We have a toddler and want to find a safe, family friendly place to call home.

FreshBakedBrownies

Thanks for your reply. I guess when I think of the Chicago area, I think of heavy traffic driving through it on the major highways. I'm concerned about how easy it will be to find a nice quiet safe neighborhood in such a large metropolitan area. We will be visiting soon and working with a realtor, but wanted to try to get suggestions ahead if time.

spartybride3

I work near glenview and it is a nice area. Completely away from city traffic. I personally dislike the Chicago suburbs as they appear cookie cutter to me. I live in the city now and the only suburbs I would move to are Evanston, wilmette, and others along the lake. Evanston is close to glenview and still has a urban feel without the city traffic. Plus it provides quick and easy transportation to the city if you want to go in for the day (about 30 min downtown by train).

I would stay away from Arlington heights. It's as suburban as it gets. Niles and des plaines are close to glenview as well. What are you looking for in a neighborhood?

chicagobride_07

There's nothing wrong with AH! It is safe and family friendly. There is a cute downtown and an express train into the city. I'd get a realtor in the area (perhaps one for the northshore and one for NW suburbs like AH) and schedule some property tours when you are in town to get a feel for the respective areas. After ten years of living downtown in river north, my DH and I moved out to the burbs last year with the birth of our first child. We first looked in areas like sauganash (north of the city) and ventured further out to the north to glenview, then Deerfield. There are other areas like winnetka and glencoe which were fabulous but totally out of our price range, frankly. With a budget of around $600k in glenview, realtors were showing us mostly older homes which needed renovation and townhomes. They told us our budget was tough for what we were looking for. We settled in the barrington area and couldn't be happier. We got a lot more for our money. Property taxes are very high in a lot of areas, take that into account too. Best of luck with your search!

FreshBakedBrownies

Thanks everyone for your insight! I am little apprehensive to move somewhere new and make the wrong choice on the specific location. Plus, yes we noticed, the house prices and taxes are soooooo much more than we are used to here in Pittsburgh! We will be making our first trip to the area in a couple weeks to meet with our realtor, but if anyone has any further insight or more fun things about the area, that would be great! I'm still sad about leaving Pittsburgh, and need to start getting excited for our new start.

spartybride3

You can always check out the different areas and then rent before you take the plunge into buying. If you're coming from Pittsburgh transitioning to a place like Evanston might be a good compromise until you find what area you like best.

Melanie712

I live in glenview and am familiar with AH. Glenview is closer to the city and has great school districts. AH is a bit farther out and you will get more house for your money. You also will be living in a burb that I would consider a far Chicago suburb versus glenview which is a few miles from the city limits.

ktb31

I moved from the city to Arlington Heights a couple years ago and we absolutely love it.  It's a great, friendly community and you can get a nice house for a decent price.  There's a cute little downtown area and tons of family oriented festivals throughout the year.  I work in a school in Glenview and it's a bit of an uppity area, not somewhere I'd personally want to raise my kids.  Takes me about 20 min to get there from Arlington Heights.

cecilia1898

I grew up in Mount Prospect (next door to Arlington Heights) and currently live in Northbrook. A few years ago Mount Prospect was named as a "Best Place to Raise a Family" or something like that and I think the Village has done a lot to capitalize on that and encourage a family friendly atmosphere.  It's probably about a 20-30 minute commute to Kraft, but it might be longer during rush hour. The housing prices are a little more reasonable, but there are a lot of Cape Cods and smaller homes that feel cramped. It has a small town feel so you might want to avoid it if you prefer the city life.
Also, there is a train station in the Glen/North Glenview and I believe Kraft might have bus shuttle services that pick up employees who might commute by train. The train line is the Milwaukee District North line- you can look it up at www.metrarail.com
Northbrook is a great place too and Chicago Magazine just named it as one of the top places to live in Cook County.  It can be expensive though-my husband and I rented for a few years before we found something within our budget and worth the cost. 
As someone else mentioned, it might be a good idea to rent while you consider places to live. Your realtor would probably have access to some decent rentals you could consider. 
One last thing- there are a lot of fun things to do with your family throughout the year- and the Chicagoland area is really great during Spring/Summer/Early Fall.  Chicagoparent is a free? magazine that lists a lot of the activities. I think you find them at rain stations- maybe even the airport.