We live in Chicago. Looking for a beautiful, non-touristy wonderful place for a summer house/vacation home. (we'd love to check the area out first vacationing/hotels etc...)

We absolutely love new england/east coast as we love trees, hills and beautiful towns like the Finger Lakes REgion in upsate New York, etc.....

Illinois/Wisconsin etc...is just flat. but we need to find something pretty. Last year we went to Traverse City, MI....it was very pretty-just what we were looking for, but it was a bit of a drive to get there (5 hours) and not to sound snobby...there weren't many great restaurants in the area(compraed to chicago etc...) We need something within 3 hours driving distance....but good.

Folks in NY can go to Vermont, Upstate NY, NJ, Pennsylvania, RI all in a few hours...what can us Chicagoans do to get some beautiful scenerry as well! Need some ideas? Ive been to Galena, IL and thought that was pretty but 'touristy'.....Been to many places in Wisconsin which are pretty (Elkhart lake wisconsin, Lake Delevan etc...)


OR...should we try to investigate getting a summer home out of the area that needs a plane to get there (Arizona, Florida etc...)we dont mind doing that, as long as the flight isn't too long......what about Michigan? Ive heard S.W. Michigan was a nice area...We need something with beautiful hilly scenery, trees, lakes, pretty town center with some grocery stores etc... thats about it, its a getaway place...

Anyone out there have any ideas?


thanks!!

My God - don't even consider Arizona for a summer house. People flee from the state during the summer due to the unbearable heat.

Hi Jenn
I answered under Mels post.

Former Chicagoan now Arizona. First of all to answer a previous poster, Arizona is not all desert. There are lots of mountains and areas that have great summer weather. People leave the desert, not the state. It may surprise some of you to know that we get snow in the state during the winter as well.

Anyway, why don't you go for a little longer drive and head up to Door County. It's long been considered the Cape Cod of the Midwest. Yes, it can be touristy, but so is the New England area that you love. It should remind you quite a bit of Cape Cod. It won't have the great restaurants that Chicago has, but to be honest you are only going to find a selection of great restaurants if you head to a large city.

Good luck in your search.

There are a lot of great things about Chicago - and most of them have been noted on various threads here. But this highlights one of its biggest -maybe THE biggest - negative about living there. In comparison with what a three or five hour drive from a radius like DC, NYC or Boston will yield....the same drive from Chicago pretty much nets you bupkus. (sp, someone?)

Several years ago, driving east, we went thru a section of Ohio that I thought was beautiful...many, many lakes. We were headed towards Columbus and it was west of there, I think...I wonder if there's a sharp-eyed Buckeye browser here who could help. North of Columbus, (Coshocton area) also looked interesting. The nice thing is...as you near that Ohio line, the landscape starts to look more "eastern."

Bluff country along the Mississippi, south of the Twin Cities might be worth a look (and you might have the advantage of TC for "urban" pleasures). And the flat midwest landscape gets quite hilly in southwestern Wisconsin - ever seen Wildcat Mt. State Park - not what you expect in Wisconsin.

xxx: You hit the nail on the head! There is NOWHERE to go outside of the city of Chicago!
jenn: If your family just wants a beach vacation, check out the Michigan City, Indiana all the way to Saugatuck, Michigan areas. That is an easy drive from Chicago. Check out vacation houses for rent under www.vrbo.com. There are some great restaurants in these areas - just because so many Chicagoans travel that way each summer. The beaches and sand dunes in those areas are beautiful. Sorry, no hills, though.

Jenn -

Your comment about the number of great restaurants in Traverse City being less than that in Chicago didn't make you sound snobby - it made you sound kind of clueless. You're comparing apples and oranges. How could you expect the number of great restaurants in Traverse City to even come close to that in one of the largest cities in the country? If you want a non-touristy, scenic getaway, you're going to have to abandon your hope that the place will have similar dining options to Chicago.