McHenry County info please (Chicago, Waukegan: lawyer, showing, apartment)

[pelicanwoman]

I work for the Navy in Charleston, SC, and its a good possibility I will be transferred to Great Lakes Naval Training Center soon. I have been looking at the house prices in Lake County and I not only have sticker shock, but tax shock! Looks like some of the homes, even below $200K, have an additional tax bill of up to $5000 per year.

So I was wondering about McHenry County as an option. It seems we would get more bang for the housing buck, but I haven't checked taxes yet. How are the schools there? I have a daughter that will be just entering high school when we move. Thanks.

My husband and I are both originally from downstate, so the Midwest will not be a new thing for us, but Chicago land will.

[Heifzilla]

McHenry is an option but taxes are as bad if not worse than Lake County. Plus, the commute during rush hour can really bite, too, so you'd have to consider that. Anywhere close to where Great Lakes is will be expensive and have pretty high tax rates. One option would be to try and find an unincorporated area (there are a few out there), where the tax rate will be slightly lower.

You could also consider S. Wisconsin. The commute wouldn't be *that* bad because of the tollway, but I really have no idea about the taxes and whatnot up there.

[KEB]

Hi;
We lived in McHenry County for the last 36 years. It has grown so much and is one of the fastest growing counties in the state! The best highschool seems to be Johnsburg High School in Johnsburg, my two older kids had gone there, however, the houses are really high in that area now. We just moved from Hebron, Il. The houses there are some of the most reasonable, Hebron is 2 miles from the Il/Wi border, just south of Lake Geneva. My cousin (a Lawyer) just bought a house in Hebron, she looked alot and found the best bang for her buck was in Hebron. They are building new subdivsions there too. But the high school is small, my son loved it though, lots of one on one teaching and, everyone got to play on the team, they were all needed. He by the way served 8 years in the Marines. Problem is, it would pretty far to go to the Great Lakes Naval Base from Hebron if you had to travel daily, you would take Rt 173 probably which goes right through Hebron. You might look at Winthrop Harbor, (I think that is Wi.) or even Antioch, Lake Villa or Round Lake, Il. Round Lake may be the lowest priced area, but all of those areas seem to be booming. Best of luck to you!
KEB

[KalicoKat]

The Great Lakes Naval station also has a housing offices for those who are stationed there. The link is: http://www.nsgreatlakes.navy.mil/housing/index.htm (broken link)

Good luck to you!

[trailerguy]

McHenry is quite from from Great Lakes. The east-west highways are all two-lane state routes and can be quite slow. If you are tight for funds, consider Park City, just west of Waukegan. It is mostly mobile home parks. Before you say "Yuck", you can buy a large 3 bedroom double wide for less than you could rent a small apartment. Space rents run about $500-600 per mo. If you are west of Teske Blvd. you will be in the Warren School Dist. which is excellent. There is a nominal Mobile Home owners use tax (less than $200/year). Landlord pays tax on the land. Town is clean, quiet and safe.

[Elleise]

You have a wonderful idea researching counties before you move to them, especially if you have been away for awhile. I am a midwesterner myself.

You might want to take a look at what some of our counties have been up to lately before you move there and give them tax monies. If you have lived there for a long period of time you may not even know this exists:

http://www.icfcr.org/index.html


I am following this first hand and Mchenry is one you may or may not feel comfortable in depending on your circumstances.

Small towns are pipelining off of the larger cities in the court systems. Chose wisely before you set your roots!

Keep researching!!!

Best to you,

Elleise

[OuttaDodge06]

I'm moving here from Tampa.....looking online for places downtown was harder than I thought so I secured a place here. Now I'm wondering whether I made a mistake. All reasearch is showing no gyms, no nightlife, no action and I'm looking for a fresh start....will I be totally bored or am I close enough to the train for getting relief in the City? Also, what's the real deal on traffic between LITH and Elmhurst??

[chicagoan]

depends on where you are at in LITH. Crystal Lake train station would be your closest. They have a new station on Pingree Road and Hwy 14, approx. 20 minute drive from Randall and Miller road area.

Gyms for LITH - Lifetime Fitness on Randall Road is nice; HealthBridge Fitness Center in Crystal Lake also nice. Those are the two big ones in the area.

Nightlife - you can also try Schaumburg which is about 30 minute drive from LITH

[michelles]

Pelicanwoman-

I lived in Lindenhurst for 8 years. It is a wonderful place to raise a family, however it is now overpriced and taxes are outrageous. I would suggest southern Wi, Kenosha or Pleasant Prairie. I have friends there, the taxes are way less than IL, and the commute is about the same. I would not recommend McHenry county, the commute will be too much. Hebron would be an hour commute, and it's near nothing to do.

[Sweatin2theOldies]

Hi, I know that McHenry County is a commute and a half to Great Lakes, unless you are in the Spring Grove, Fox Lake or even Wauconda areas that put you far enough to the borders of Lake County.
Wadsworth is an untapped area right near Great Lakes. It would be near Hawthorne Shopping Mall, Gurnee Shopping Mall, Six Flags Great America Park, and much more and the prices and taxes are more reflective of unincorporated Lake County, and still very reasonable.

*Hebron is so rural, your daughter would have N O T H I N G to do out there. No movies, no grocery, no drug store, no shopping, no sports centers. Just a few antique stores and dive bars. One street goes through town, and I don't even think it has a stop light. Yikes. You'd have to leave town for everything except going to a bank, or getting your drink on.

*Winthrop Harbor is in Illinois, not far from Great Lakes but is not ethnically diverse. They are stuck in the dark ages a bit, which could be bad as it is not an area of forward thinking. And it's not because it's an exclusive area that wants to preserve something of great value. It's just that way. (???)

*Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Waukegan, Zion, North Chicago, Park City- too much CRIME. Don't move there. Be Safe.

My husband works for Abbott which is right near Waukegan and Lake Bluff. We still live in Woodstock IL (McHenry County) and don't plan to move to accommodate a shorter commute to his work. He likes the open green areas that the other suburbs don't have. However, If they keep building as they have been, Open, Green, Meadows will be a thing of the past in McHenry Co. too. Best of luck.