I live in Elgin, IL which is under an hour outside of Chicago, however it is a legitimately great locale to live.
It is quite safe plus there are a lot of things I enjoy! One thing that keeps people away is the weather though. Our weather scares people away since it gets quite cold here. It drops below cold plus snow is a proper occurrence. I have friends who live down south that will never visit during the colder times. I feel they are missing out. I couldn’t imagine living in an area that is warm 24/7. I have a friend that doesn’t even own an a/c, what about a white Christmas? What About sledding, ice skating plus making snowmen? I think I could not handle it if I only relied on cooling. I would get infuriated by the heat. My whole family runs quite hot. When the Summer hits, it is brutal on us! That is why I am ecstatic our weather has a short Summer season plus then it is mainly cooler weather. I like that I can get by with a light jacket plus pants most of the year. I don’t mind running our oil furnace all the time. I splurged plus both of us own a hydronic gas furnace. This takes a boiler, piping plus it is run underneath the floors; You don’t hear the oil furnace or see it, you feel it under your feet. It is gentle, even warm throughout the whole house. Who could have a problem with that? It makes for a good morning when the tiles are toasty warm.