Homes in the
RB Bulldogs district.

Living around Riverside Brookfield High School puts you in one of the most distinctive pockets of Chicago's near-west suburbs. Riverside itself is a National Historic Landmark, the country's first planned suburb, laid out in 1869 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. That heritage is something you feel every day: curving tree-lined streets that follow the Des Plaines River instead of a rigid grid, gas-style lamplights, generous parkland, and a walkable village center clustered right around the train station. The housing stock is a big part of the draw, with everything from Victorians and Prairie School homes to sturdy brick Georgians and mid-century ranches, many on lots with real mature-tree canopy.

Next door, Brookfield brings a friendlier price point and a classic bungalow-and-Cape-Cod feel, plus the obvious local landmark in the Brookfield Zoo, which sits right up against the high school campus. Together the two towns give buyers a range: storybook-historic in Riverside, approachable and family-paced in Brookfield, with North Riverside and parts of La Grange Park rounding out the District 208 attendance area.

The commute is a major selling point. The Metra BNSF Line runs straight through both Riverside and Brookfield and is one of the busiest, most reliable lines into downtown Chicago, putting Union Station roughly a half hour away. Add in close access to the Eisenhower and Stevenson expressways and you get a community that feels like a leafy retreat but still gets you to the Loop without a fuss.