Location: About 40 miles north of Chicago, 35 minutes by train from O'Hare International Airport

Category: Greenfield

Number of homes: 359 houses and 36 condos

What $300K will buy: Most of a 1,600-square-foot, 2 BR home. (They start at about $330K.)

Closest latte: The Prairie Croissant Café, across from the commuter train station in Station Square

photography: Mathew Gilson

Residents of Prairie Crossing, 40 miles north of Chicago, have it all: a neighborhood of high-quality cottages painted the earthy colors of the Midwestern prairie; a farmers' market selling organic produce, eggs, and honey; miles of trails winding through native prairie, farm fields, and pasture; a lake for swimming, fishing, and ice-skating; a historic-barn community center for parties and concerts; and a charter elementary school housed in a historic schoolhouse.

What ties everything at Prairie Crossing together is respect for Mother Nature. More than 60 percent of Prairie Crossing's 677 acres has been preserved as open land. "People have all these opportunities to live in relation to the land," says Vicky Ranney, who founded the community along with her husband, George. "It may be enjoying beautiful views out their kitchen window or participating in 'prairie burns' to enhance the quality of the native landscape or volunteering to be part of the Henhouse Helpers, collecting and washing eggs." And it's not just an island of pastoral bliss—Prairie Crossing has what may be the holy grail of suburban conservation developments: a rail connection direct to the abundance of downtown Chicago as well as the airport.

Cottage Connection: Prairie Crossing Information & Sales Center; 847/548-5400 or prairiecrossing.com