St. Charles, Illinois Real Estate

About 40 miles west of Chicago and bordering the north edge of Geneva, St. Charles is the northernmost community in the Tri-Cities, divided by the serene Fox River. Once very isolated from the rest of Illinois during the Civil War, now 33,000 residents love to call St. Charles home. With incredible public education, secure neighborhoods and lovely shops, St. Charles, Illinois is highly coveted as a place to live and raise a family.

Shopping and Dining

St. Charles has many outdoor activity-based businesses such as bike shops and a mini golf course, while an exciting night-life aligns North Avenue in the downtown area. Shoppers can find a mix of practicality and luxury, with Blue Goose Supermarket situated in the center of town next to contemporary boutique Jeans & A Cute Top Shop. For receptions and fine dining, one can explore the top-notch menu at Hotel Baker or ZaZa’s Italian Steakhouse. Colonial Café and Ice Cream serves family-friendly breakfast, lunch and dinner and if one cannot make it to Chicago, the famed Gino’s East Pizza is just across the street. For more shopping, The Geneva Commons is to the South of St. Charles, offering an open-air complex with popular brands like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, and the Children’s Place. Soon to be reinvented, Charlestown Mall on North Avenue will be renamed The Quad and will begin exciting renovations in 2015.

Parks and Recreation

The St. Charles Park District maintains their parks with a purpose, making all four seasons enjoyable for every type of community member. Now for our four-legged friends, there are three fenced-in dog parks on both the East and West sides of town. For those that want to test out their green thumb, even when St. Charles, Illinois real estate does not have sufficient room for a garden, residents still enjoy cultivating vegetables in one of the 497 garden plots available. Just to illuminate the cohesion within the St. Charles community, any excess produce is donated to local food banks.

Golfers can also enjoy a variety of courses and clubs including the St. Charles Country Club, Pottawatomie Golf Course, and Royal Fox Country Club.

St. Charles describes itself as “The Pride of the Fox”, evident in its many annual festivals. Beginning with Restaurant Week in February, the festivities continue with the St. Patrick's Day Parade in March, the St. Charles Fine Art Show in May, and the Scarecrow Festival and Electric Light Christmas Parade towards the end of the year. Concerts in the Park, Farmer's Markets and the RiverFest all add to the unique and family-friendly lifestyle that belongs to St. Charles, Illinois real estate.

Living in St. Charles

Family Circle named St. Charles in its list of Best Towns and Cities for Families in 2011. This was due, in part, to affordable housing, green spaces and top performing schools. The St. Charles Community School District is the largest employer in the city with 1,780 employees as of 2009. The median income is $41,395 for an individual in St. Charles with a poverty rate of 3.47 percent and unemployment rate of 3.9 percent as of the last census, according to City Data. At that time, it was about half the national average.

When considering St. Charles, Illinois real estate, you can expect to find spacious homes with four and five bedrooms and square footage of 1,500 to 2,500. Multiple stories are commonplace with fireplaces, basements and garages. Higher-end homes will include granite counter-tops, whirlpool baths, patios and outdoor rooms. Finished basements and recreation rooms are also readily available.

Schools, Health, Transportation

Overall, the City of St. Charles scored 9 out of 10 in the GreatSchools.com rating, with both East and North High School scoring 10. Post-high school opportunities outside of St. Charles include colleges and universities in Chicago as well as in the neighboring suburbs. Medical care is available locally at Central Dupage and Delnor-Community Hospital.

For transportation, St. Charles, Illinois real estate depends upon five Illinois state routes, including Routes 64, 38, 25, 31 and 90. Most daily commuters rely on the Metra railway station out of neighboring city, Geneva, and if there is a sports event in the city, remember to arrive at the train station early to find parking! Airports like O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport are conveniently located for domestic and international travel about an hour East for most St. Charles residents.