Elgin is growing – and so are the families that inhabit its quiet neighborhoods such as Idlewood.

This neighborhood of more than 30 homes began in 1997 and is already full of growing families.

With home prices in the $80,000s and $90,000s, residents say the neighborhood is great for new families.

Ashley Ripley has lived in the neighborhood for a year and says Idlewood has lots of children for her 4-year-old son, Conner, to play with.

With yards of half an acre or more, there’s plenty of room for the tots to run around.

And when Conner gets a little older, he’ll go to Blaney Elementary School. “It’s a very good school,” said Will Ripley, Ashley’s husband.

Plus, with about 7,500 residents, Elgin has the feel of a small town.

“It’s a small, working, middle-class town, and everybody knows everybody,” Will Ripley said.

But the Ripleys realize Elgin is growing. At least five neighborhoods are being developed, and the town just got its third restaurant, Main Street Deli.

But “when it gets too big for us, we’ll move to the next small town,” he said.

Sharon Rowan, a two-year Idlewood resident, says it was the small-town atmosphere that attracted her to the neighborhood and the town as well.

“It was a small area and out in the country, and that’s what we were looking for,” Rowan said.

Rowan says all the development is an intriguing part of life in Elgin: “I’m curious to see what’s coming next.”

Reach Gina Smith at 771-8378 or gnsmith@thestate.com.