Live in Chicagoland, Work in Rockford

[npj]

Thank you so much for all the advice and things to consider!

[Kraftask]

Usually it's the other way around. Work in Chicagoland & live dirt cheap in Rockford. But i just heard the news that Metra is coming to Rockford in 2027, so maybe that'll officially make Rockford a suburb. https://abc7chicago.com/metra-rockfo...tion/13469391/

[flamadiddle]

Algonquin, Huntley, Pingree Grove are all nice. There are some nice areas of Elgin as well. Also take a look at Woodstock, that's where they filmed Groundhog Day. Shows a 52-minute ride from Woodstock to Rockford.

[BigMan72]

Your best bet would to live in Elgin, Pingree Grove, Huntley, Hoffman Estates, Crystal Lake, Lake In The Hills, Algonquin or Schaumburg. These Suburbs are alongside I-90 and have easy access to Rockford.

[mattywo85]

OP, the simple answer is yes its doable. But it will get old incredibly quick (unless you have a private chopper). Depending on where you are going in Chicago, it can be about 1.5-2 hours each way. That's without traffic, winter storms, etc. There are nice suburbs near Rockford such as Loves Park. Even Harvard and Woodstock are about a 40 minute drive each way. I used to live in the south suburbs and drive to Waukegan everyday, it took about an hour each way, on a good day. I would personally not live within Rockford but it has some nice suburbs. I have been to Rockford a few times, never saw the appeal.

[movin1]

Chicago to Rockford = 85 miles, 1.5 hour drive time or more depending on traffic and weather conditions. Count on more, much more.

I worked in Urbana, IL most of my adult life and made the mistake of moving to Mahomet, it's about a 15 minute drive. I hated it.

If you are going to work in Rockford most of the time, I suggest finding a place to live as close to work as possible.

My sister lives in Lombard, IL. It can take way more than an hour to go 20 miles. Traffic in and around Chicago is insane. I know, I lived in or near Chicago for about 60 years.

[dtcbnd03]

Originally Posted by npj

We are looking at moving from Oklahoma to Illinois. My husband is looking at a job in Rockford. I saw Rockford had high crime rate, so we were thinking of living closer to Chicago. Any specific suburb recommendations? We have 2 kids, ages 3 years and 15 months. We both make a good income, would likely be willing to spend up to $500k-700k on a house. I work in healthcare so likely can find a job mostly anywhere. We would love to be close to playgrounds, or museums, or other fun or educational activities for kids. We would love to be involved in a community with other educated parents. We would like to live in a good school district or near a good Catholic school for the kids. But it also needs to be a relatively easy commute to Rockford. My husband may also need to go to the financial district in Chicago at times, so being close to the metra might be helpful as well. Let me know if any thoughts! Thanks in advance!

I know this is an older thread but curious where npj you decided to move? I grew up in Rockford and have lots of family and friends there. They have a great Catholic school system for elementary and high school and the east side of town is very safe. Many friends and family went through them and on to very successful careers. A $500-700k budget will easily get you a mansion in Rockford. I also spent great deal of time in Oklahoma....love the people of OK btw...very friendly. The drive to the financial district in Chicago is relatively easy if it's only a few times a year and there's several daily bus to downtown and Ohare too on Van Galder. I take them all the time.