19 Saint Thomas Colony Unit Apt. 5

Fox Lake is a Lake County village about 50 miles north of Chicago, where the Fox River Valley meets the Chain O'Lakes, a sprawling system of interconnected waterways that has shaped the community's identity for well over a century. In the early 1900s, the area drew summer crowds of nearly 20,000 people, supporting 50 hotels and 2,000 seasonal cottages. Many of those cottages were converted into year-round homes over the decades, giving the housing stock a relaxed, waterfront character that sets Fox Lake apart from typical Chicago suburbs.

Today, renters can choose from apartment communities, converted cottages, and traditional single-family rentals spread across a compact 10-square-mile footprint. The pace here is deliberately unhurried. Grand Avenue anchors a walkable downtown strip with local shops, cafes, and small businesses that give the village its approachable, small-town feel.