Another request for tips on Chicago West living

OK - I just accepted a new job in Aurora, a western suburb/exburb of Chicago. My wife and I just spent a few days in Naperville, and housing is as expensive as everyone says. It appears that to live in Naperville we’ll need to pay double the cost of our current house, just to live in a similar neighborhood and house.

But Naperville is indeed a very nice place. Aside from the traffic. ugh. And our key concern is really the schools, and the Naperville (203 and 204) schools are rated among the very best in the country.

When we inquired about living in Aurora some people talked about gangs, etc. Not what we want to move into. Some people talked about more rural housing in Oswego, but I know nothing of the schools attached to that community.

So - we’d love to live in Naperville, to be able to access all of the nice “stuff” and schools of Naperville, but not sure we can afford it. Is East Aurora a good alternative? Other tips for the area?

Thanks

Aurora, as you may remember, is the home of Wayne’s World! Just be careful…

LOL! heh, I don’t know if that’s a warning or recommendation…

Congrats on the new job!

As for locations in Aurora, I’d recommend staying in the part that’s in DuPage county (don’t get too far west of Eola Road.) Not that there probably aren’t good places to live in Kane county, but I know that the area that has the worst reputation for gang activity would be in Kane. Plus, if you’re in Kane than I’m pretty sure you’re out of the 203/204 school district. I live in the general vicintiy of Eola and McCoy, and I think its a great neighborhood, especially if you’ve got kids.

I know Oswego has seen a lot of growth in the past few years and seems like a nice place, but I can’t really speak for the neighborhoods or schools. I’ve got friends that live in Geneva and Batavia and are very happy there, but you’re out of the 203/204 district then.

As for Wayne’s World, it seems that very little actual Aurora made it into the movies (no Stan Mikita’s Donuts), but I do see some very interesting self-produced shows on public access every now and then. There’s this one guy who drives a truck, and he just has a camcorder mounted on the dash that he turns on when he (probably in an amphetamine rush) wants to start rambling and ranting about various things. So you get the point of view of the driver, you just see highway zipping by as if you were steering, and he’s going off about his take on something Jesus said…Well, you’ll have a chance to see it soon enough I guess.

Make sure to reserve your seat on the Bears’ bandwagon early, we’re going all the way this year!

I must protest the previous poster’s statements about Da Bears. Redskins all the way! :lol: