FSBO Jane

CNN Money created a list of the top 100 places to live in 2008. As a strong hater of winter, I expected at least the top 25 places to be located in warm beach towns. Was I ever wrong! As a Chicago resident, I am proud to announce that five Chicago suburbs made it onto the list! I must give them a shout out for success.

Naperville scored third out of 100! Perks include large yards, a booming downtown area full of shops, restaurants and bars, a two-mile Riverwalk and an abundance of businesses, i.e. jobs. Downfalls include pricey homes and congested roads.

Bolingbrook placed 32nd. Though this town claims the title of “village”, the area is a booming goldmine for success with its recently added Clow International Airport, expected to expand, and its open-air mall filled with classy stores and restaurants.

Wheaton, ranked 54th, is filled with historic beauty and open nature preserves. People flock to Wheaton’s 800-acre park district, not to mention its prestigious college and its famous, historic courthouse.

Aurora, ranking 74th, features an atmosphere of city and country alike.
Aurora proudly remains one of the first cities in Illinois to execute electric street lighting, and these lights still shine brightly in the impressive downtown area that includes a theatre and a casino.

Orland Park, closing up the rear with its 92nd rank, boasts a massive mall, a whole street of car dealerships, and ample ways to commute to Chicago.

Though I’m not entirely sure how these towns were judged, I am sure that potential homebuyers might want to check listings in these areas and other award-winning towns and decide for themselves!

Here is the list in its entirety.

No matter where you live in the nation, spring seems to always bring more cheerful moods to the table. Here in Chicago, most of us literally jump for joy when we see a robin or a flower bud on a bare branch. But apparently, Florida celebrates spring, too!

I was checking out the Buy Owner Blog today, and I noticed that they have numerous blogs going about things to do in the cities that they deal with. I saw one for Fort Lauderdale, another for Orlando and one for Tampa. Who knew there was so much to do this time of year?! All these fests and free activities make me want to take a trip there! If you live in the area, or you plan on visiting anytime soon, definitely check these out.

Also, if you’re looking to sell a house in one of these areas, these special events and activities can help you promote the area to potential buyers! If you’re buying a house in one of these areas, find out what kind of events occur where you want to live.

If you’ve ever wondered which city/town is best suited to you, now is your chance. Head over to FindYourSpot.com to receive customized test results that will detail which locations you’d love.

Filled with questions that range from rating your need for transportation to your desire for parochial schools, FindYourSpot.com matches your preferences with destinations throughout the country.

If you’re curious, I’m in the right place. Chicago’s my kind of town.

What about you?

I must admit, whenever I come across a “Best Places to Live” list, I always hope that Illinois will be somewhere on it. I was born and raised in this state. I feel a strong sense of pride being an Illinois resident. With the White Sox winning the World Series in 2005 (and the Cubbies on their way to a winning 2008 season), and with Chicago being a contender to host the 2016 Olympics, there is just so much going on in this state!

It’s where President Abraham Lincoln started his political career. Four of its universities have made the grade and appear on the list of the top 100 schools in the country! I love living here, and I think the state should be recognized for its greatness. So when I stumbled across this article on Yahoo! Finance, I was excited to see that, according to Money on CNN, Naperville, Illinois, which is the fourth largest city in the state, is the #3 best place to live in America! So what makes Naperville such a great place to live?

Here are a few highlights of the city, according to Money on CNN.

• The job growth has increased 18.8% in the last eight years.
• Several major companies have offices in Naperville and employ thousands of workers.
• The library is ranked number one in small towns across America.
• Residents love the school system (from grade schools to colleges)!
• The booming downtown area is full of diverse shops and restaurants.
• The Riverwalk is a two-mile brick path that offers breathtaking scenic views.

You think your city has what it takes? Let me know why!

Congratulations to the Windy City for making the final cut and being one of the four finalists to host the 2016 Summer Olympics! To accommodate this world-renowned event, the city is planning for lots of additions including adding extensions to the El, implementing extra C.T.A. bus routes and building brand-new venues to house specific games. But if Chicago gets the bid, what does this mean for Chicago real estate?

BOOSTED TOURISM

First, the city will incur a huge boost in tourism, which can only create a positive trend for the market. With prices at an all time low in Chicago, there is nowhere to go but up! Once the final vote has been announced, if the U.S. gets the bid, investing in a condo could turn an excellent profit. The Olympics attracts visitors from all over the world! With hotels filling up, you may be able to rent out you condo for the duration of the Olympics to someone from as close as Milwaukee, which is only 90 miles away by Metra train, or as far as halfway across the globe!

ADDITIONAL REVENUE

Second, Chicago will benefit from a huge inflow of extra revenue. With tons of tourists flocking to the city, lots of money will be spent at hotels, shops, restaurants and other attractions. Many people will take time before or after the Olympics to tour the area. Some of this surplus could be used towards many things: beautifying and maintaining landscapes and parks across the city, fixing up dilapidated or vacant buildings or even erecting brand-new residential developments.

NEW CONSTRUCTION

Finally, the creation of the Olympic Village could be very beneficial long after the Olympics are over. The buildings, set to be constructed near McCormick Place, will house all of the athletes participating in the events. The dormitories could potentially be converted into luxury condos when all is said and done. Back in 1996, the Olympic Village in Atlanta was converted into college dorms for Georgia State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Once vacated, Chicago’s Olympic Village could be used for virtually anything!

With the possibility of the Olympics being held in Chicago, the potential for growth is inevitable. And even if the U.S. doesn’t host the Olympics in 2016, it won’t hurt to own a home or a condo that is just minutes away from the bustling city center.

Image: LogoBlog

One of my good friends recently admitted she couldn’t take Chicago’s seven months of winter anymore, so she packed up and moved to Florida … Boynton Beach to be exact.

Boynton Beach is a quiet little town, compared to the large Chicago suburbs.  There are 68,000 residents with many additional residents and visitors who flee the cold during the cold season.

Besides the warmer climate, my friend said she was drawn to Boynton Beach mainly because of its close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.  Sue loves the beach and spent many of her summer days at any of Chicago’s beaches.  But in Florida, she can visit the beach year round.

In January, the average temperature may be a little cool at 58 degrees, but it continually warms up from that moment on with an average high of 89 degrees in July.

Located in Palm Beach County, the area is known as the West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach area.  This is perhaps the best reason for moving to Boynton Beach, the area is close to two large communities, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.

Just a few miles south of Boynton Beach on Interstate 95 is the beautiful area of Boca Raton, home of the wonderful “pink hotel.” Built on the Intracoastal Waterway, the hotel, also known as the Boca Raton Hotel, is one of the tallest buildings in the area and can be seen from miles away.

The name Boca Ratones originally referred to an inlet on Lake Boca Raton and eventually was moved north to the current location with a new spelling.  Japanese farmers later converted a portion of the land into pineapple plantations, and then the land was confiscated during World War II and used as the site of the Boca Raton Army Air Force Base and was eventually donated to Florida Atlantic University.

A new downtown outdoor shopping center, Mizner Park, was completed in 1991 and features a landscaped central park, in addition to many restaurants, shops and the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

West Palm Beach originally was started as a community to house the servants of two luxurious hotels on the nearby island of Palm Beach.  It is the oldest incorporated municipality in the county and in south Florida.  During the 1920s, the city quickly grew and many historic structures and neighborhoods were built.

The city is growing again and the skyline is forever changing with residential buildings, condominiums and other attractions being built in the downtown area, which is scheduled to include a waterfront park, a photographic and arts center and many new shops.

Beautiful and inviting, white sandy beaches are abundant in the area and are marvelous places for basking in the sun, sailing, boating or water skiing.

Next time you are in Florida stop in the area.  Who knows?  You might fall in love with the area just like Sue did.

(Image from www.servingboynton.com)

Downers Grove, Illinois, was founded by four families in the early 1800s, including Pierce Downer, a religious evangelist. When the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad expanded from Aurora to Chicago in 1862, the small town boomed. Downers Grove is famous for the belief that many residents during the Civil War were abolitionists and that some of the homes were stops for the Underground Railroad.

Exactly how the town received the unique spelling of its name is not known, however there is a saying that explains a portion of it–”Apostrophe-free since 1873.”

Homes in Downers Grove feature a variety of styles, especially a significant number of Sears-Roebuck catalog homes. The kit homes were built between 1908 and 1940, according to Wikipedia. Beautiful older homes built in the middle of the 19^th century can be found near the town’s center. However, as in most of the western suburbs, Downers Grove has witnessed a large amount of older and smaller homes being torn down so they can be replaced by much larger homes on the same-size lot.

Prices of homes in Downers Grove vary. Homes that are closer to the downtown area and the railroad tracks are much more expensive then homes on the town’s borders. Because of this discrepancy, the average price of homes in Downers Grove is around $389,000.

(Photo from Intransit.kcsky.net)

Welcome to Coral Gables, one of the first planned communities in the nation! This revolutionary, luxury community spawned the development of the now well-known “gated community,” and the collective homeowners’ association.

The city was developed by urban designer, George Merrick, during the Florida “Land Boom” in the mid-twenties. Inspired by the “City Beautiful” movement in the North, the city’s architecture is Mediterranean-inspired throughout. The city, spanning over 10,000 acres at its inception, was profitable only one year after its inception.

Merrick designed the downtown commercial district to be much longer than it is wide, so that every business in Coral Gables was less than a two-block walk from any home in the community. Today, a free, circulating trolley system is in operation within the town, although Coral Gables is also a pedestrian-friendly destination. Located only four miles from Miami International Airport, Coral Gales boasts over one-hundred dining high-end and casual dining establishments, gourmet shops and services.

Coral Gables is known among Floridians for its exceptionally high standards for aesthetics and deed restrictions within the neighborhood. Community members are not allowed to leave their vehicles parked on their driveway, for example, and their mailboxes must abide by strict aesthetic specifications. While this is an annoyance to some, it does preserve the near-perfect appeal of this community.

One of the most remarkable landmarks in the community is the Venetian Pool, an enormous fresh-water pool irrigated by underground aquifers. This pool was designed in the twenties and still functions today, and is a stunning, historical place to relax and enjoy one of the few fresh-water pools in Florida. The Biltmore Hotel is also located in Coral Gables, and was once the tallest building in the Miami-Dade County. It is now a historical landmark, and is one of the many luxury hotels in Southern Florida.

In 1925, roughly simultaneous to the founding of Coral Gables, the city was also selected as the home to the University of Miami, which is known for its business, law, and music programs, as well as a world-renowned, Division I football program. With culture, luxury, and a notable academic institution that is just steps away, Coral Gables is easily one of the finest communities in Florida and the East Coast.

(Photo: from art.com)

Another man with foresight was William Robbins who purchased numerous acres just west of La Grange. The acres would be called Brush Hill and Fullersburg before the name was changed to Hinsdale, named after H.W. Hinsdale, an early director of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Robbins planned and built streets and planted hundreds of trees in the area.

Many of the homes in Hinsdale are built on oversized lots, which appeal to those moving from the crowded city of Chicago. The affluent suburb is also often compared to several North Shore suburbs.

Hinsdale is one of many western suburbs experiencing the “tear down” phenomenon. Older, smaller homes are being replaced by “Mc Mansions,” which are priced in the million-dollar-and-up range. The median home price in Hinsdale is $940,000, according to Yahoorealestate.com.

(Image taken from City-data.com)

A number of early settlers to the land, which would eventually be known as Western Springs, were Quakers. In 1872, Thomas Clarkson Hill moved to the area and attempted to attract others. A wooden schoolhouse and a post office were built in 1872 and 1873 and eventually Western Springs became a commuter settlement, named after the mineral springs found on the southwest side of the area, according to the Encyclopedia of Chicago.

Over the years many improvements were made to the town, including a fire department, a park district, and a library. Built in 1890 when the spring dried up, the Western Springs water tower was constructed in 1890 when the local spring dried up. Still standing, the tower was replaced in 1962 but became a museum and eventually entered the register for historic places.

The convenience of the commuter train into Chicago and the beautiful homes still lure people to Western Springs, which is one of many towns in the western suburbs experiencing the removal of older homes that are being replaced by huge homes. A block that once featured only ranch-style homes now includes several new homes with several more homes in the process of being built that dwarf one or two original homes that remain.

Median home prices in Western Springs are $530,000, but the newer homes are often priced from $1,250,000 and up.

(Picture taken from City-data.com)