If you’re religious about Sunday services, you may have come to the right place. The seat of DuPage County is part bedroom community, part college town, part Christian mecca: Wheaton contains a whopping 38 churches. Here you’ll find the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College (the celebrity evangelist graduated from the liberal arts school tucked into hilly terrain just east of downtown), plus dozens of houses of worship, from Methodist to nondenominational.

But there’s plenty of appealing secular stuff here too: indie coffee shops such as the sublime River City Roasters, the historic Wheaton Grand Theater, and even a zoo. Though median house prices declined 17 percent between 2006 and 2012, a recovery is underway. Bargain hunters will want to check out the high-rise and mid-rise condos and apartments in the center of town.