A blog about moving to, and living in Naperville, Illinois

  • Naperville is not Chicago

    Clark Street Ale House in Chicago

    My wife and I met in Chicago and spent over a decade living there. We love Chicago. Then our daughter was born, and we started to envision a life in the suburbs. It was not an easy decision for us.

    There are a ton of YouTubers who will tell you how they’ve lived in Naperville their whole life, and how awesome it is. It is pretty awesome in many ways. But someone who lives in Chicago might think differently than someone who has spent their entire life living in Naperville. There are some real tradeoffs to ponder if you love living in the big city. We decided the tradeoffs were worth it.

    If you plan to commute, it’s pretty rough. Hopefully you have a hybrid-type role where you only have to go in a few times a week to an office near Union Station. Even in that best-case scenario, you’re looking at a 40-minute express train ride, plus your last mile to work. You’ll probably want to live by the train stations on the north side of Naperville. Otherwise, your total commute time is going to be well over an hour. Plus, if you go into or leave work outside rush hour, there are no express trains, and far fewer trains in general compared to the L in the city. Driving takes even longer, and on a bad day, it can take over two hours. The commute isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, but it is something to consider.

    Also, the vibe is just different. Chicago has Devon; Naperville has the Mall of India. Chicago has Wrigleyville on a Friday night; Naperville has youth sports on a Saturday morning. Chicago has Mr. Beef on Orleans; Naperville has a Buona over by Costco. Chicago has the Joffrey Ballet; Naperville has my daughter’s annual dance recital at Pfeiffer Hall. Chicago is an elite city for culture, entertainment and food; Naperville is an elite city for safety and schools.

    Finally, the thing I miss most is the selection of everything in a big city. More doctors to choose from. More specialty shops. More handymen. More sushi options. More live venues. More ethnic neighborhoods to explore…

    The good news is that Chicago is easy to visit for the day, or for a mini weekend vacation with the kids. About half of our date nights are still in Chicago. The Uber ride home isn’t that fun to pay for, but the traffic is a breeze in the middle of the night.

  • Does Naperville School District 203 have a PTA?

    My kid started kindergarten in District 203 last month. During parent orientation, they presented information about 203’s version of the PTA:

    “The Naperville District 203 Home & School Association’s mission is to encourage and facilitate a cooperative partnership among our students, parents/guardians, and District staff and administration to support and enhance the school experience of each student. Home & School initiates and/or supports various programs through the donation of time and sponsorship from its District school population and community members. Home & School remains constantly fluid to meet the ever-changing needs of our diverse student population.”

    I knew I needed to get involved. I was not that excited about what my options would be. Wow, was I wrong. Turns out my idea of what the PTA does was very outdated. There’s an amazing number of ways for volunteers to get involved. I spent a good part of my recent career at a VC-backed technology accelerator, so I was thrilled to learn of 203’s entrepreneurship pathway.

    The kids in this program are learning how to start with an idea, pitch their product, and accelerate their business. I attended the kickoff yesterday and was blown away at the caliber of the students and the program.

    Between my two kids, I have about 17 years of volunteering ahead of me. I’m grateful there are so many awesome ways to contribute.

  • Blackberry Market

    The front counter at Blackberry Market

    I dropped by Blackberry Market today for lunch. It’s such a nice… bakery? Cafe? Coffee shop? I don’t know. It’s great at all of those things. They make awesome chocolate chip cookies and solid lattes. My lunch today was a chicken salad sandwich, and it was pretty much perfect.

    My only regret was that they were out of Fresno cheese dip — it’s their take on pimento cheese dip, but kicked up a few notches in flavor and spice. Perfect on a Triscuit.

  • Naperville Plaza

    Yes, this is a blog post about a strip mall.

    Naperville is famous for its downtown district. It’s full of great restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bookstores, and big-name shopping like Anthropologie, Apple, and Sephora. There’s also an insane number of ice cream shop options that will require its own post. This area is great and draws people from around the region, but it’s not where Napervillians get stuff done. That’s Naperville Plaza.

    This, in my humble opinion, is the best small strip mall in Naperville.

    I first visited this shopping center when I lived in Lisle because this was the closest Trader Joe’s to me. I love Trader Joe’s. When we lived in Oak Park, we were spoiled to actually live above a Trader Joe’s. It’s a great little grocery store with great products and good prices. However, sometimes you need a 12-pack of Coke Zero or some other item not available at TJ’s. That’s fine, because Naperville Plaza is also anchored by Casey’s Foods. This is a small but mighty grocery store known for fresh produce, a great deli, and an excellent butcher shop.

    In between these grocery shops is Oswald’s, a local pharmacy that’s been serving Naperville for over 150 years, and also houses a small US Post Office. Next door is Garfield’s Beverage, a local Chicagoland liquor store chain with good prices and a surprisingly good assortment for its size.

    Then there is Kriser’s Natural Pet, where we get our dogs groomed, and Naperville Smiles, where I get my teeth cleaned.

    But wait, there’s more! You can have your tires replaced, your nails done, and your eyes checked. There’s a yoga studio, a fitness studio, a paint store, a flower shop, and a coffee shop. There’s even a bank, a bar, and a few restaurants.

    For Napervillians in the East Highlands, West Highlands, and Moser Highlands, this small shopping center is truly a neighborhood gem.

  • Naperville School District 203 or 204?

    When we decided to move out of Chicago, we only knew one thing about Naperville: everyone told us it had great schools. Once we started researching, we found out there’s actually a bit of a rivalry between the two school districts serving the city. Naperville District 203 serves the north side of Naperville, while Indian Prairie School District 204 serves the south side and some of the surrounding cities as well.

    Many newcomers to Naperville find themselves making home-buying decisions based on which district they want to send their kids to. They’ve compared ratings, reviews, awards… I did it too. My takeaway was that both districts rank in the top 0.5% of school districts in the entire nation. All the public schools in Naperville are amazingly great schools.

    However, there are some differences. Naperville District 203 represents the older half of the city, while Indian Prairie School District 204 represents the area that’s been built out more recently. The old part of the city has more trees, older homes, and closer proximity to downtown Naperville. The school buildings are older and smaller too. The new part of the city is more spread out, with bigger, newer homes. Which means bigger, newer schools too.

    There’s definitely a different vibe to both districts. Which vibe fits better is probably more important than the awards and rankings.

  • Commuting to Chicago from Naperville – Taking Amtrak

    Short answer: this is not really a good option. Take the Metra instead,

    When we made the decision to leave Chicago for the suburbs, we knew we would want to live fairly close to the train line. Commuting back to the city by car can be rough, sometimes taking hours. Often, I-290 is so bad that Waze will try to guide you off into some sketchy neighborhood that you don’t really want to be in. Back on I-290, everyone is frustrated. It’s not the way anyone should want to start or end their workday.

    When we looked into Naperville’s commuting options, we noticed that the downtown station was also a stop for several Amtrak lines. So we researched this as a commuter option.

    The first problem is that there are only a few trains a day that stop, compared to dozens of stops a day for the Metra. The second issue is that Amtrak is more expensive than the Metra. Still, we noticed that Amtrak trains don’t make any stops between Naperville and Chicago. The third strike against Amtrak is that it has to wait for all the other traffic on the BNSF line. So it’s not any faster than the Metra.

    The real advantage to the Naperville Amtrak stop is for going west, not east toward Chicago. These trains can take you all the way to California.

    Photo courtesy of @Jack-u7e1o

  • Commuting to Chicago from Naperville – Taking the Metra

    One of the few good things to come out of the pandemic was the rise in hybrid employment options that allow for a mix of remote and in-office days each week. This definitely makes it much easier to rationalize two hours of commuting between Naperville and Chicago for work.

    My wife still commutes to work a few days a week, and the train option makes it a lot easier.

    Driving from Naperville to Chicago can take anywhere from 40 minutes to two and a half hours. In my experience, it’s about 90 minutes in rush hour on a good day. That time is often spent stressing out and swearing at the car in front of you. You face the eastern sun in the morning and the western sun in the evening. Basically, you leave your sun visor down the whole day. It’s not an ideal way to start or end your workday.

    Most Napervillians take the train instead. Once you’re on the train, you can triage email, check your Slack messages, or just sit back and relax with a true crime podcast. It’s less stressful, or at least more productive.

    Generally, the best train option is the Metra BNSF Line. The train begins its inbound commute in Aurora. The next station, Route 59, sits along the Naperville–Aurora city limit. Downtown Naperville is next. Finally, a few commuters might be best served by the Downtown Lisle station to the east of Naperville.

    There are a zillion stops between Naperville and Union Station in Chicago, so the trick is to find the express trains that bypass most of those stations.

    For example, the train that leaves Naperville Station at 7:41 hits every stop and arrives at Union Station at 8:52. The next train, departing six minutes later at 7:47, makes three more stops in the western suburbs, then expresses all the way to Union Station, arriving at 8:30. These express trains allow Naperville commuters to make their trip nearly as fast as commuters in suburbs much closer to Chicago.

    Most commuters park at the stations. There are daily and monthly options. Some bike, and some even bring their bikes with them on the train. Once downtown, those last-mile commutes are often on foot, bus, or water taxi, though some buildings offer their own free shuttles during rush hour.

    Finally, the downtown Chicago employer culture is often somewhat tolerant of train commuters. As long as you’re working from the train, getting in a little late or leaving early might be an option.

    Photo courtesy of @Jack-u7e1o

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  • What is the median home price in Naperville, verses its neighbors?

    The median home value in Naperville, as of September 2026, is about $630,000 — the highest in the area, and nearly double that of neighboring Aurora. Naperville’s schools, safety, and downtown amenities command a real premium over its neighbors.

    When we first moved to the area, we found a great home in Lisle. Eventually, we fell in love with a neighborhood in Naperville and traded a larger home for a smaller one in a better location.

    One thing we considered when buying a below-median-priced home in Naperville is that homeowners in the top half of the market are paying a larger share of taxes while we still receive all the benefits provided by the municipalities.

    At the time this blog post was written, the cheapest Naperville single family home for sale is under $400,000. The highest-priced one is $5,500,000. Naperville is more expensive than its neighbors. For us, it’s worth it.

    Source: Zillow Home Value Index (typical home value), Jan–Jul 2026 snapshots, year-over-year change shown for each city. *Plainfield figure is Redfin’s median sale price (trailing 3 months, through Jun 2026.) Zillow’s index was unavailable at time of pull, so this one row is a related but not identical metric.