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We are relocating from Houston to Chicago in the near future and trying to understand what are options are in terms of neighborhoods. Key criteria:
Have Elementary and Middle School boys, so schools are important
Both of us will work downtown, so the commuting time is very important. Frequency of public transportation (I am assuming I am going to have do that) is a factor as at least somedays I would like to have the ability to attend school events.
Price range $1-1.2 mill.
Would prefer a "newer" house.
Will consider Private School for my middle schooler
Couple of questions for others that have moved from warmer parts of the country:
Are the winters really as bad as everyone says
What do kids do for outdoor activities in the winter?
Are the summers hot and "buggy" (I know that no place is as bad as Houston)
Finally, are Lincoln Park or Downtown options for families?
Since you are working in the Loop, you need to live somewhere that has a convenient METRA train station or a CTA stop. METRA is the suburban commuter rail system. CTA is the Chicago Transit Authority which has elevated rail (some parts are a subway) and bus service. CTA rail, called the L, moves faster than the bus during rush hour commutes.
Given your large housing budget, you could live basically anywhere in Chicagoland. If you choose a city address, be aware the Chicago Public Schools are horrendous, especially high schools. You probably can't get your kids into a public magnet school at this point. You can inquire as to the many private non religious schools in the city, but generally they are also competitive. Francis Parker, Latin, and the Chicago Lab School come to mind. The other private school option are parochial schools.
If you want a newer house, downtown is not an option. If you want a newer condo, there are plenty within your price range with 3 bedrooms. Lincoln Park is similar in this regard. There are new townhomes going up on various north side blocks, I see this in Wicker Park and Bucktown (Near NW side- easy commute to downtown) all the time. Some parts of Lincoln Park are a bit wild due to DePaul, personally I prefer downtown neighborhoods like River North, Gold Coast, and Streeterville.
If you choose the suburbs, make sure you understand the school district where the house is located. School district boundaries do not correspond with municipal boundaries. Newer homes can be found in many Chicago suburbs. It really depends on how long you want your commute. If you want to spend near the top of your budget, I recommend Kenilworth, Winnetka, Northbrook in the north burbs. Evanston is another possibility. It is pretty urban with a lot of nice homes, but the schools are iffy so choose wisely. It is also close to the city, located due north.
The winters in Chicago are brutal. It is freezing and lots of snow. That being said, I think the suburbs in winter are worse than the city. Nothing is worse than sitting on the expressway for hours due to snow. Summers are hot and buggy, but not as bad as Houston. Our temperatures may get into the triple digits, but not often, and the humidity is half that of Houston.
Outdoor activities in the winter are ice skating, sledding, and playing in the snow. This is possible unless it is a near zero degree day, which we do get 4 or 5 days a year.
The winters here are long, to me that's the worst part. We have beautiful spring, summer and fall seasons.
There are many outdoor activities for kids the winter. Along the North Shore there are a lot of ice skating opportunities, inside and outside.
Your housing budget will be more than adequate. If you prefer more property you will do well in the suburbs that are not along the lake, just west of the lake side suburbs. If you want more of a walk to town, train, beach community you will want to stay focus on the areas from Evanston thru Lake Bluff.
The summers here are lovely, although short. I never find them terribly buggy.
While the city is fabulous, I personnally think it would be more of a challenge for someone with kids to relocate there. Good luck and feel free to PM me. I have kids and have lived in Evanston, Wilmette and Winnetka.
We are relocating from Houston to Chicago in the near future and trying to understand what are options are in terms of neighborhoods. Key criteria:
Have Elementary and Middle School boys, so schools are important
Both of us will work downtown, so the commuting time is very important. Frequency of public transportation (I am assuming I am going to have do that) is a factor as at least somedays I would like to have the ability to attend school events.
Price range $1-1.2 mill.
Would prefer a "newer" house.
Will consider Private School for my middle schooler
Couple of questions for others that have moved from warmer parts of the country:
Are the winters really as bad as everyone says
What do kids do for outdoor activities in the winter?
Are the summers hot and "buggy" (I know that no place is as bad as Houston)
Finally, are Lincoln Park or Downtown options for families?
Thanks in advance for your responses.
You have Wilmette, Winnetka, and Kenilworth written all over you.
If you want to go north, Kenilworth, Winnetka and Evanston don't have a ton of newer homes in that price range. Wilmette would give you more options for newer homes, and you have the option of numerous Metra trains and the El. Northbrook and Glenview have plenty of newer homes, but note that those towns are not directly on the lake.
If you want to go west, look at Hinsdale, LaGrange and Western Springs.
All of the aforementioned towns have excellent schools.
You didn't say what you consider a good commute; a 30 minute express train that goes to 44 when not running express? Are your hours regular, meaning that you both could plan on taking the 5:08 pm express train every day? Or do either of you work long hours requiring you to take car service or cab every night?
The best commuting towns to Chicago are Oak Park and River Forest. The Metra train ride from Oak Park to Chicago is 14 minutes; the El train is 18 or so. There are very few new houses. Oak Park and River Forest have tons of beautiful homes, but not a ton of new stuff.
Tons of Chicago 'hoods are wonderful for families. There are plenty of excellent neighborhood schools. High schools are a problem, but some people believe the privates are easier to get into now because of the CPS selective enrollment high schools (Northside, Young, Peyton, Lane to name a few - entrance is really hard, like less than 10% acceptance rates). For elementary schools, look at houses in following school districts: Blaine, Bell, Lincoln, Burley and Nettelhorst are just a few I can think of. Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Square and North Center all have tons of families.
If you want to go north, Kenilworth, Winnetka and Evanston don't have a ton of newer homes in that price range. Wilmette would give you more options for newer homes, and you have the option of numerous Metra trains and the El. Northbrook and Glenview have plenty of newer homes, but note that those towns are not directly on the lake.
If you want to go west, look at Hinsdale, LaGrange and Western Springs.
All of the aforementioned towns have excellent schools.
You didn't say what you consider a good commute; a 30 minute express train that goes to 44 when not running express? Are your hours regular, meaning that you both could plan on taking the 5:08 pm express train every day? Or do either of you work long hours requiring you to take car service or cab every night?
The best commuting towns to Chicago are Oak Park and River Forest. The Metra train ride from Oak Park to Chicago is 14 minutes; the El train is 18 or so. There are very few new houses. Oak Park and River Forest have tons of beautiful homes, but not a ton of new stuff.
Tons of Chicago 'hoods are wonderful for families. There are plenty of excellent neighborhood schools. High schools are a problem, but some people believe the privates are easier to get into now because of the CPS selective enrollment high schools (Northside, Young, Peyton, Lane to name a few - entrance is really hard, like less than 10% acceptance rates). For elementary schools, look at houses in following school districts: Blaine, Bell, Lincoln, Burley and Nettelhorst are just a few I can think of. Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Lincoln Square and North Center all have tons of families.
In this market-Winnetka, Wilmette and certainly Evanston do have newer homes in your price range. Perhaps not "tons" but you only need one!
Where in Houston are you coming from? Do you want the same type neighborhood? What kind of hobbies recreation do you and the family enjoy? Big difference if you lived north of 1488 on a large semi-rural homestead vs. Memorial Park area. Good news is with Metra you have more public trans options. My take on the seasons is this: You have about 3 months of nasty hot/humid weather in Houston compared with 3 months of cold/snowy weather in Chicago. Due to Lake Michigan cooling, springs can be mediocre BUT you can go outside and enjoy activities (even in the middle of the day) here more consistently in summer than Houston.You will also have many days where you can open the windows during spring, summer and autumn and enjoy the fresh air.
Where in Houston are you coming from? Do you want the same type neighborhood? What kind of hobbies recreation do you and the family enjoy? Big difference if you lived north of 1488 on a large semi-rural homestead vs. Memorial Park area. Good news is with Metra you have more public trans options. My take on the seasons is this: You have about 3 months of nasty hot/humid weather in Houston compared with 3 months of cold/snowy weather in Chicago. Due to Lake Michigan cooling, springs can be mediocre BUT you can go outside and enjoy activities (even in the middle of the day) here more consistently in summer than Houston.You will also have many days where you can open the windows during spring, summer and autumn and enjoy the fresh air.
I'm currently in Houston (It's nice here atm, but...). Houston has at least 6 months of hot sticky weather. Chicago has 3 months of cold/snowy weather, but it varies from year to year in terms of how cold or how snowy. Spring and Fall are lovely in Chicago. Allergies go almost 9 months in Houston if you happen to be allergic to pollen. My allergies have been worse in Houston than they were in the New Orleans area. Houston has almost no public transportation so you cannot get anywhere without a car. In Chicago, being without a car is doable depending on where you live and work.
As for hobbies and recreation, Chicago has almost anything you could want. You can even find stables and riding although not as easily as you can in the rural Houston area.
I live in Wilmette, and it's a really good place to have a family, especially if you want to be close to Chicago. Our children are not of school age yet, but the schools are known for being first rate, from elementary all the way to high school. But even though new trier has a great reputation, there seem to be some mixed feeling around here about having to send your child to a school that is so big, it's more like a collage. Also, I've heard people say that the pressure is greater than at most high schools. But the flipside, is that your child will go to one of the best schools in the county.
When my husband and I moved here, we looked at Winnetka, but you seem to get more for your money in Wilmette. For a 1,000,000 you can get a new home in Winnetka, but it will be small. You may get a little more square footage in Wilmette.
Evanston is nice if you don't mind a more city like atmosphere. They do have some really nice streets lined with mature trees that will make you feel like your're in a small town though. My husband prefers Evanston and I prefer Wilmette as long as the kids are young. My husband works in Evanston though, so that's part of the reason he prefers it.
Wilmette has a really good park district. My kids have taken a lot of classes there. They also have a lot of holiday events and parades. Those are fun to participate in. I only wish that I was on one of the more neighborhood like streets; I live on Lake Ave, a very busy street. I have traditionally been a big walker, so I can see that many of these streets have regular block parties. I, on the other hand, don't even know my neighbors. So I would stress the importance of not being on a busy street, but of course, that's a matter of preference. Good luck.
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