Considering Aurora Illinois

198,870

Population

Sunny Days: 192

90100 Affordability

85100 Schools

95100 Diversity

95100 Safety

See all the facts!

LookyLOO Review of Aurora

Complex Community

Aurora, unlike many suburban cities, is very complex. It’s large geographically, and within those boundaries sits virtually any kind of environment someone could want. It has a revitalized downtown that younger professionals, couples, or families can enjoy when looking for social energy. This includes a beautiful historic district with massive older homes. It has suburban neighborhoods with small and big homes, with stereotypical yards, sidewalks, and parks for families. Finally, there are also rural pockets where suburban development has not touched, and you can feel removed from Aurora's urban or suburban density.

For a pretty big city, Aurora has very little business/economy for itself. That’s not unusual for a suburb, but given Aurora was once a manufacturing center, like other midwestern cities, the vibe of the past lingers over empty buildings and storefronts. Building and growth are happening for sure, but the past hangs over the city and gives some areas an empty feeling (like a donut hole).

Lifestyle

Aurora has a mix of lifestyle experiences available. There is an active downtown for grabbing a beer and a meal and a rural experience if you’re here to escape. Most of Aurora, though, is suburban. Neighborhoods with family homes, yards, sidewalks, parks, good schools, and everything you imagine a good midwestern suburb offers. That’s what dominates the experience of the greatest percentage of the population – families.

To see what locals get up to for fun in Aurora, check out the calendar of events.

We highly recommend visiting Aurora and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for what it's like to live among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our partnership with Expedia as well.

Worklife

The local business economy of Aurora nosedived with the shift of manufacturing in the midwest to the outside of the country locations. Most white-collar workers commute to downtown Chicago or other headquarters and businesses in the Chicago area. The train line for commuting is excellent, and many choose their neighborhoods based on proximity to stations. Aurora is working extremely hard to bring innovation and startup businesses to the city, and that may swing back the local economic engine over the coming years.

Why You Should Move Here Now?

Work From Home

If you are a family that has a work-from-home structure, Aurora feels like an ideal choice. You can stay in Aurora and get virtually any kind of experience you’d like all in a day. Head downtown and have a nice lunch. Head out to the more rural parts for an outdoor experience, or simply enjoy the parks in your own neighborhood. You can stay close to home and get the experiences of three different types of cities. Oh, and not for nothing, but the costs are extremely reasonable in Aurora, as compared to the coasts, as compared to Chicago and even as compared to neighborhoods right next door, like Naperville.

Check out the Aurora calendar of events if you want to see what's happening throughout the year: https://auroradowntown.org/calendar/

Reviews of Aurora from Locals

No clue if the analogy from the movie Knives Out works here but the point is that the city of Aurora, for a pretty big city, has very little business/economy for itself. That’s not unusual for a suburb but given Aurora was once a manufacturing center, like other midwestern cities, the vibe of the past lingers over empty buildings and storefronts. Building and growth is happening for sure, but the past hangs over the city and gives some areas an empty feeling (like a donut hole).

3seconds2live
7mo ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

I moved to Aurora from the south burbs. I've been here 15 years and I can say I'll never leave. My neighbors are great, subdivision is quiet, no crime. Schools could be better but the scores are not comparable to other towns. Aurora hosts a very diverse people. A large Hispanic population where English often isn't the first language. A moderate amount of middle eastern as well. So the test scores I'm sure reflect those individual deficiencies. The teachers are wonderful and my child is excelling in school with great test scores. The city is huge. It's large north to south but way bigger east to west. So to generalize the city as good or bad isn't even close to comparable to Batavia or Geneva which are often seen as more desirable places. Those are fine cities but those who live there just love to look down on folks and have already done so in this comment section.

The fact remains Aurora has the best access to the surrounding burbs and city due to it's nearby infrastructure. It's immediately off of I88 to get to Chicago. It has the metra line to Chicago. If you want to be close to rural areas move to the south west side or just the west side. If you want to be more urban move downtown or the far east side near Naperville. Naperville is voted as one of the best cities I guess in the country. There are plenty of nearby lakes and rivers to use for boating or fishing. If you hunt Aurora is near some of the best goose hunting in the country and there is an amazing guide service very close. We have some great forests for hiking on the river and far west side, bike trails along the river that connect to towns north and south. We have 3 library branches east central and west. We have 4 city fitness centers. The aldermen are generally pretty responsive. Our mayor isn't my favorite but hey not everything can be sunshine and rainbows for every person.