Are you thinking about moving to the Chicagoland area and you’re wondering what are the Chicago winters like? Well I’ve got your cover because I’m gonna do a video on what Chicago winters are really like I’m Amy Pearson, I’m a local realtor in the western suburbs as well as serving downtown Chicago. I’ve been working with clients that are looking to move from out of state and they were wondering what are Chicago winters like so I’ve been trying to explain to them what it’s really like Chicago winter so I thought i’d make a video on that topic.

I’ve been getting phone calls, texts emails from people just like you looking to move the area and I’ve been helping them out. If you are thinking to move to the Chicagoland area, I’d love to help you out send me a text, message, send me a call email. I’m here to help you out and I’ve got you covered all things in Chicago and real estate. I do weekly videos on real estate information, community info and all things to eat, sleep, and do in the Chicagoland area. Please subscribe if you like my video!

Winter is coming and we’ve had a few snowflakes dropping in the Chicagoland area and it’s quickly approaching the winter. Chicago versus suburbs winter it’s a little bit different Downtown Chicago on a cold day it’s actually a little bit warmer versus the suburbs because of the Lake Michigan effect. The lake effect actually keeps the downtown a little bit warmer and the suburbs are colder reverse happens in the summer. The downtown Chicago is a little bit cooler because there’s a natural cooling from the lake and the suburbs are warmer interesting information about the lake effect in the Chicago area. The winters can be a little rough if you live in Chicago the side streets take a little bit longer to clear then the suburbs. Their main priorities are the highway and busy streets then they get to these side streets which can take a little bit longer to get to. If you live in the suburbs they focus on the main busy streets to clear with the snow plows and then they’ll get to the side streets. It just takes a little bit longer in Chicago to clear the street because there’s so many streets to cover so your side street may take a little bit longer to get to.

The typical temperature in the winters in Chicago I would say January and February are the toughest months to get through. If you can make it through that, your smooth sailing to live in the Chicago area. December typical average temps high of 37 low at 27. January is the tough month high of 32 low of 22 and February high of 36 and low of 26. That’s the typical temperature range in our coldest months.

Snow, how much snow does it take for the Chicagoland area to shut down? It needs to snow a lot for it to shut down here. I know in the south that there’s a dusting or inch of snow and everything shuts down. Here it has to be a significant amount of snow to shut down. We’ve got plenty of salt trucks and snow plows everything usually gets cleared in time. One to two inches of snow is not a big deal. Maybe schools might have a delayed start if there’s a lot of snow. It just takes people a little bit longer to get to places but things really do not shut down. It’s got to be like six to eight inches for things to shut down and there would be snow days for school back in the day but I think technology has changed that and it would be remote learning if we got a lot of snow here.

Your winter must-haves that you need to have living here in the Chicagoland area a heavy winter coat with the hood. A hood is needed because it is so windy you need to have the hood to block out the wind in the snow. Gloves in your pockets of all at all times because you never know and it’s gonna be really cold when you’re out. Always keep a car scraper in your car because when you park somewhere your car could get iced up and you’ll need to have a scrape your windows before you leave. You could be anywhere at a mall or just parking somewhere so you need to have an ice scraper in your car. Another item is a shovel in your trunk is key especially if you live in downtown Chicago. If you park on the streets, your car will get snowed in you’ll need to shovel out after the first snowfall. It is hard to find a shovel in a hardware store in Chicago after the first snow fall so you got to keep that shovel in the trunk if you park on the streets in Chicago.

That’s my tips on Chicago winter you can make it through those two months, you’ll love the area it can be tough I’m not gonna lie but people make the most of Chicago winters and try to find fun things to do to keep them active and happy in those darker colder months. If you’re considering a move to Chicago, I hope didn’t scare you off with my cold weather and snowy weather information. I’ve got your back and moving to Chicago area please keep me in mind send me a text phone message or email if you’re interested in seeing more info on Chicagoland.

Are you looking to move to the neighborhood area and you’re looking for lower taxes for your home. Well I’ve got you covered because today I’m gonna give you some insider scoop information on homes in Naperville that actually have lower taxes and I’ll give you a little brief driving tour to show an example of what these homes look like. I’m Amy Pearson, I’m a local realtor in the Naperville area in the western suburbs of Chicago if this is your first time checking my video thanks so much for checking my channel out I provide weekly videos on everything to eat sleep and enjoy all of the Naperville area in the western suburbs of Chicago. I’ve been working with people that have been looking to move and relocate to the neighborhood area and I’ve been getting messages via email, texts, phone calls and snail mail from people looking to move right here in the Naperville area and I love helping them out. If you’re thinking about moving to Naperville I’d love to help you out, please feel free to send me a text message, email or carrier pigeon. Whatever it is I’d love to help you out, I’m Amy Pearson I’ve got your back on Naperville.

My insider tip on homes that have lower taxes in Naperville is actually Naperville homes that are in unincorporated Naperville. What does that mean? Unincorporated Naperville it just means you don’t have a city or village government technically but you do have lower taxes. It does mean different things in different areas but if you’re looking to buy an unincorporated Naperville you may not have sidewalks in your area, you may have well water or septic tank but it does vary from subdivision to subdivision and they’re not all in one area. The homes are in little pockets throughout Naperville. I have seen homes that are unincorporated that have sidewalks and they do have city water so it does vary throughout the area what type of services are offered. You would get less services with lower taxes and same top-rated schools in Naperville that your children would be able to go to.

Another thing about the unincorporated that tips you off that it’s unincorporated would be if there are no sidewalks in the area. If you are looking at an area that would be a big red flag and if you happen to be there looking at homes and it’s garbage recycling day and the bins do not say city of Naperville, odds are it is probably unincorporated Naperville and that is a big tip to tip off that is not a city neighborhood and it is unincorporated which means lower taxes because you get less services. It could also mean that your library card you might have to pay for it and for the city of Naperville your park district fees maybe be a little bit higher it’s just a few services that would be a little bit different if you’re an unincorporated Naperville. I’m gonna do a short driving tour of a community to give you an idea of what an unincorporated street looks like but they do vary throughout the area and they’re not all in one area but there are little pockets sprinkled throughout the city so here’s my little brief driving tour of an incorporated area.

Here we have an example of what unincorporated neighborhood looks like hopefully you can get a good shot of it from this camera on my phone on my car there are no sidewalks which is a typical that you would see for an unincorporated area and sometimes the lots can be a bit larger than your typical neighborhood lot. This is a good example of what unincorporated Naperville looks like we’re on Columbia street just north of Ogden Avenue.

The services you’d want to double check if you’re considering a home to purchase in an unincorporated Naperville would be here’s my list if the water is well water or if there’s a septic take, for the home some homes in unincorporated Naperville have well water and some are on the city Naperville water and you don’t have to worry about that so that’s something to ask about if you’re considering unincorporated home. You would want to ask if non-resident fees for park district programs, if your library is an additional fee the library card another important one you want to ask about what emergency services and police cover your unincorporated area important questions to ask. Keep in mind you do get less services if you live in unincorporated but you get the lower taxes and you still are within the Naperville school district which is top rated so great things keep in mind. It’s a little secret that taxes is a little bit lower in the unincorporated areas of Naperville so if you’re considering to move to the Chicago area you might want to consider Naperville Illinois and lower taxes would be in the unincorporated areas. I’d love to help you out I’m Amy Pearson local realtor in Naperville if you want to learn more about the Chicagoland area real estate feel free to reach out at Amy@atproperties.com.

Naperville Illinois tour – Are you are thinking of moving to Naperville, IL? Are you trying to decide what Naperville neighborhood will fit your needs? Watch my driving tour video and see the Huntington Estates Subdivision which is a close drive to downtown Naperville. Naperville, IL is one of many Chicago Western Suburbs located within a metra train commute.

Want to know my five secrets about Naperville, Illinois well watch my video and you’ll find out my five secrets about Naperville, Illinois but first I’m Amy Pearson I’m a realtor with @properties on the team Lux Home Chicago serving western suburbs as well as downtown Chicago. All right i’m liking my top five secrets all right but please if you like my video please like subscribe and share thanks so much.

All right let’s get started so my first one it’s a really good one. First secret would actually be in Naperville there’s actually free pre-k school what? yes, it’s true in Naperville there is a free pre-k school. It’s at the Ann Reed Early Childhood Center which is part of District 203 and it’s the only school in district 203 offers this. There’s actually a lottery to be accepted into the free program and your child must be at least three years old by September 1st and you must be a resident of the Naperville school district 203. There also is a community option when you apply that is tuition based if you’re not selected for the lottery and the tuition base it’s $255 dollars a month for four days a week Tuesday through Friday and this is for the tuition paying option from morning 8:30 a.m to 11 a.m and afternoons 12:15pm to 2:45p.m so it’s a part time not a full day but still there is a free option to look into which is awesome.

All right my next secret I would say in Naperville would be knock knoll’s Nature Center. Not everyone knows about it and it’s a great place to check out if you have toddlers. It’s free so definitely check out and free things are always fun. The nature center has some small animals inside the center as well as a large fish tank to check out. It’s really fun for little kids to explore and then there is a nature based playground right outside the nature center so definitely a great place to check out would be the Knock Knolls Nature Center. I’ll have a link below for you to check out.

All right my next one would be a secret would be when there’s a holiday what do you do when there’s garbage and recycling days so say there’s a holiday on your day you’re supposed to bring out your recycling. Do you have to wait a week? If you’re in Chicago you would have to entire week for your garbage to be picked up and they get a little stinky. but in Naperville if your garbage and recycling day falls on a holiday, the next day your garbage and recycling be picked up. So that’s kind of nice.

All right my next thing on my secrets in Naperville would be that there is a thing called Notify Naperville. Notified Naperville let you sign up to receive emergency and community messages through your preferred method of communication it could be your home phone, cell phone, text message, or email and you can also research choose location you want to be contacted about you can receive notifications about emergencies that could affect your home, your parents home, your workplace, your children’s school, or any location of interest of you in neighborhood as long as the locations are within the city of Naperville. Notifications on Notify Naperville include brush and leaf collection, utility outages, public safety, road and utility work in a neighborhood, specific event alerts, traffic alerts, and winter operations.

All right and my next one it’s a fall time one another tip or secret in Naperville would be the leaf collection in the fall time. You’re getting a lot of leaves and it is free to be bagged with no stickers. You have to buy stickers for yard waste bags usually but for the leaf collection program it allows residents to dispose of bagged leaves and yard waste November 1st to December 17th and you don’t put the stickers on the back so that’s exciting. There also is a bulk leaf collection in every neighborhood that you can just blow all your leaves to the curb and the collection days for the bulk leaf collections is Monday October 18th, Monday November 1st and November 15th for the bulk leaf collections.

So those are my top five secrets of Naperville and they’re all kind of fall related. I hope you learned something new and thanks so much for watching my video i’m Amy Pearson realtor with @Properties. If you have any questions about Naperville keep me in mind and please watch my next video. thanks so much!