Which county would you rather live in?

[bushforever]

So which one??  Just curiosity.  Sorry, Cook doesn't count this time around.  I wanted to see what kind of GOP county a democrat would want to live in if they had to.  Also which kind of county a GOPer would like to live in.  I will post brief descriptions of each county below.

[Alcon]

It would help to know something about these counties.

Based on the voting results alone, obviously, Lake.

[Colin]

So which one??  Just curiosity.  Sorry, Cook doesn't count this time around.  I wanted to see what kind of GOP county a democrat would want to live in if they had to.  Also which kind of county a GOPer would like to live in.  I will post brief descriptions of each county below.

Well I lived in Lake for about 7 years so I am very partial to that county. Politically I would vote McHenry for personal reasons Lake.

[Gabu]

I don't know, I know nothing about them except voting patterns, and I don't really use that as my prime motivator when choosing a place to live in.

[bushforever]

Lake County has a population of about 600,000.  Close to the lake are million-dollar mansions in upscale chic areas like Highland Park, Deerfield, and Lake Forest.  To the north is also the old, rotting industrial cities of Waukegan and North Chicago, which are predominantly black.  As you go east of the Tri-State tollway, it becomes more suburban and GOP and then exurban near the Chain O' Lakes (great fishing) and Fox River.  This county is the headquarters of Walgreens, Abbott Labratories, and has a Baxter office.  It also has the Great America amusement park and great shopping at Gurnee Mills.

DuPage County is the most dense county.  900,000 people.  There are charming, historic downtowns in suburbs along passenger railroad lines like Elmhurst, Lombard, Wheaton, Naperville, and Downers Grove.  There are also new suburbs like Bartlett and Carol Stream with cookie cutter homes.  The area along I-88 in Naperville and Oak Brook is called the Illinois Research Cooridor since there are many office buildings and national labratories like Argonne and Fermi.  There are million-dollar mansions near Hinsdale and Burr Ridge closer to the city.  There are also nice homes in Naperville.  This is a prestigious area for small liberal-arts colleges like Wheaton College, Elmhurst College, and North Central College.  The College of DuPage is a gigantic community college at the county's core.

[Gabu]

DuPage County sounds pretty good overall.

[bushforever]

Will County has about 600,000 people.  Once a county of farmland surrounding an industrial city, it has significantly matured over the past decade.  Lockport and Joliet are two main cities along the historic Illinois & Michgan Canal.  Joliet has a large industrial base and pockets of black and hispanics.  Joliet has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years though.  The infamous Stateville Penitentary is located just north of Joliet but I think it is either closed or significantly downsized.  Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Plainfield, New Lenox, and Mokena are just a few of the suburbs blossoming in residential and commercial growth.  There are old farm towns like Beecher and Manhattan combined with old industrial towns like Channahon and Braidwood.  The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is here.  The South Suburban International Airport in Peotone has been proposed here for a long while.  Lewis University and the National Weather Service Chicago offices are in Romeoville.  Governors State University is located in University Park.  And for entertainment, there's Empress Casino and Chicagoland Speedway.

[bushforever]

Kane County is located along the Fox River.  It has about 450,000 people.  It contains the old industrial cities of Carpentersville, Elgin, and Aurora.  These cities have since expanded and have taken advantage of the post-war, 1970s, 1990s, and current suburban housing booms.  More commercial activity has taken place along Randall Road on the cities western fringes and along I-90 and I-88.  There are charming suburban downtowns and some pretty nice houses in St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, and Dundee.  Elgin and Aurora have really cleaned up nice though and there downtowns are cutting edge, almost mini Chicagos.  There are homes on big lots in unincorporated areas in the county's center.  The Fox River Bike Path is probably one of the best in the nation and you experience everything from woods, to fields, to industrial towns, to charming downtowns.  The Fox River Trolley Museum is located here as well.  The Kane County Fairgrounds have one of the largest flea markets in the Midwest.  Elfstrom Stadium hosts minor league baseball team The Kane County Cougars.  And for gamblers, there are riverboats in Elgin and Aurora.  The western part of the county is still very rural.  Easy access to DeKalb and Rockford from here as well as Chicago.

[bushforever]

McHenry County has about 300,000 people.  It is also located along the Fox River and has the prairie side of the bike trail located in Kane County.  It is very open here, and primarily rural on the western half of the county.  Marengo and Harvard are two cities located in the west and are primarily farm towns, with some industry.  Woodstock is the county seat and was the film location for the movie Groundhog Day.  It has the Dick Tracy Museum, the historic courthouse, and the historic Opera House all on "the square", as well as chic, little shops.  The Fairgrounds and state-of-the-art county government center are here as well.  Moraine Hills State Park on the Fox River is one of the best in the state.  McHenry, Cary, and Fox River Grove are towns along the river and are havens for fishing, boating, and such.  Crystal Lake is the city's commercial and industrial center but is also named "A Good Place to Live".  Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, and Huntley are rapidly growing suburbs but have the character of riverside communties on the east and the spirit of country on the western edge.  This area is rapidly becoming a hub for retail and job activity though, as it is close to the rapidly-developing I-90 corridor, convenient to Rockford, Chicago, DeKalb, and Wisconsin alike.  In Union, you can find an Old West town, the Illinois Railway Museum, and the McHenry County Historical Museum.

[A18]

Lake County. It needs more Republicans to cement the results. :-)

[Nation]

I wouldn't mind living in Will.

[they don't love you like i love you]

if I had to choose, Lake. Idealy, none, because they are all suburban.

[George W. Bush]

 DuPage, is Very nice. My Aunt lives there.

[nclib]

I'd say Lake, not only because it's least Republican, but because the eastern shore seems more urbanized.

[opebo]

All sound like very bad places to live.  Lake sounds least bad, if you could live in the rich areas.  Also I'll wager it has the fewest social conservatives.

[bushforever]

All sound like very bad places to live.  Lake sounds least bad, if you could live in the rich areas.  Also I'll wager it has the fewest social conservatives.

Only on the lakefront (Zion, Waukegan, North Chicago, Lake Forest, Highland Park, Deerfield), does it have few social conservatives.  The rest of the county is about as conservative, exurban, religious, GOP and family friendly as McHenry.  The poor live in Zion, Waukegan and North Chicago.  And the rich CEOs of the area and such live in Lake Forest, Highland Park, and Deerfield.  The regular middle class people live in the rest of the county.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The most Republican part of Lake now has a Democratic Congresswoman ;-)

[Storebought]

The most Republican part of Lake now has a Democratic Congresswoman ;-)

Only because the Republican there was a fossillized congress-creature who stayed too long. Still a sad loss