What School Disrict Should I Choose? (Aurora, Evanston: condos, new home, school district)

[homewifeev]

It looks really nice. The homes seem closer together than they are up here. Do you know what the average lot size is? Also, I think we might want to rent an apartment before we buy another house. I found a good deal at Elm Creek in Elmhurst. I have been told that there are good middle schools here. Do you know anything about this place and the town Elmhurst? Is there anything in Western Springs/La Grange? Close to a middle school? Nice neighborhood? Are there any other Apartment communities in Hinsdale or Oak Brook?

[homewifeev]

I found some nice condominiums in Clarendon Hills. Also some townhomes. We might get these just to start out. Freshmen year we will probably be moving to Hinsdale or Western Springs depending on where we choose. I noticed the thing about Western Springs is that your money can go really far in real estate. How is the expressway/tollway commute to the loop and medicine district (Rush-County Hospital Area)? I have heard people say that this area has a killer commute.

[chitownnburbs4eva]

After a long break from this site, I finally return.

homewifeev,
First off, the Newsweek Rankings are not a very accurate assessment of the quality of public schools. As you might know, they do the rankings based on the number of AP Classes taken per student. Well, anyone has the ability to take AP Classes. My question is: what's the percentage of these students that actually get a 3 or above on these tests? The best assessment of the best public schools in the state would be % of students that recieved above a three (usually the score equivilent to recieiving college credit). Unfortunately, no publications rank schools this way.

However, i do know of a school where 79% of the students recieve a three or higher on AP tests; has a good amount of students attending Ivy League/Equivilent (ala Johns Hopkins or Duke) or Public Ivys (UofI, UWisconsin, UMichigan); and is even ranked 15th in Illinois in those precious Newsweek Rankings. That would be Libertyville High School.

Libertyville, though not on the north shore, is sometimes considered to be part of the North Shore inland suburbs (look up North Shore on Wikipedia). There is a lot of "new money" in this area and a lot of very nice areas to live with a north shore feel. My advice would be looking at Green Oaks, Mettawa, and Knollwood (all in the LHS school district). If you live here, you are right next to the highway so you have easy access into the city. Libertyville is also ranked 52nd best town to live in by money magazine.

As for your concern about the drug problem, I must say that there is a drug problem in most high schools in America. It is most prominent in rich, affluent areas. There probably is a drug problem in high schools in the Raleigh/Durham Area as well (it is "Tobacco Road").

In conclusion, the North Shore high schools are not declining. Newsweek has a skewed poll and there is too much of a bias toward southern schools in that poll. You should keep checking out any of the North Suburban Schools such as GBN, GBS, New Trier, Deerfield, Highland Park, and Lake Forest. Just try and consider the Libertyville Community HS dist 128 as one of your options.

[ahava]

Originally Posted by homewifeev

It looks really nice. The homes seem closer together than they are up here. Do you know what the average lot size is? Also, I think we might want to rent an apartment before we buy another house. I found a good deal at Elm Creek in Elmhurst. I have been told that there are good middle schools here. Do you know anything about this place and the town Elmhurst? Is there anything in Western Springs/La Grange?

I have no idea what the average lot size would be. It varies widely. Mine is 55'x120'. Lots tend to be larger south of 47th St though. Elmhurst is a nice town and does have good middle schools. Western Springs has some apartments but not many. There are more in La Grange, including a mid-rise apartment building in downtown.

Originally Posted by homewifeev

How is the expressway/tollway commute to the loop and medicine district (Rush-County Hospital Area)? I have heard people say that this area has a killer commute.

Commuting to the loop by Metra is very popular. I-290 is awful between Oak Park and the loop at pretty much any time of day; I don't personally know anyone who lives here and drives downtown. Even when our elementary schools take field trips to Chicago, they take the Metra.

[homewifeev]

We are looking at condos and townhomes to invest in to have more funds for a home. We want to buy a condo between $200,000 and $375,000. Are condos good investments in Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Western Springs, La Grange, or Clarendon Hills? We found some nice places, specifically 20 & 40 N Tower Road in Oak Brook, 400 McDaniels Circle in Clarendon Hills, Rachael Court Area in Hinsdale, and some other place in Clarendon Hills. Are these places nice? We have also picked out a few fixer upper ranches in Clarendon Hills for less than $350,000. Would this be a wise decision? Since we are doctors we cannot take the train. My husband has an office at Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he works from 2:00PM to around 7:00 or 8:00PM, hows the traffic then? I work anytime of day since I am in general surgery. I usually work nights around 12:00 AM to around 6:00 AM and have clinic on some weekdays at 2:00PM, how is traffic at those times?

[ahava]

Originally Posted by homewifeev

We are looking at condos and townhomes to invest in to have more funds for a home. We want to buy a condo between $200,000 and $375,000. Are condos good investments in Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Western Springs, La Grange, or Clarendon Hills? We found some nice places, specifically 20 & 40 N Tower Road in Oak Brook, 400 McDaniels Circle in Clarendon Hills, Rachael Court Area in Hinsdale, and some other place in Clarendon Hills. Are these places nice? We have also picked out a few fixer upper ranches in Clarendon Hills for less than $350,000. Would this be a wise decision? Since we are doctors we cannot take the train. My husband has an office at Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he works from 2:00PM to around 7:00 or 8:00PM, hows the traffic then? I work anytime of day since I am in general surgery. I usually work nights around 12:00 AM to around 6:00 AM and have clinic on some weekdays at 2:00PM, how is traffic at those times?

I don't know about condos specifically, but generally any real estate in this area is a good investment. I haven't heard anything bad about the places you're considering. Just make sure you stay in the Hinsdale 181 school district or Butler school district 53 in Oak Brook. I wouldn't suggest trying to flip a house now that the housing market has cooled. As I said, there's always traffic on I-290, but if you're not traveling during rush hour you should be fine.

[homewifeev]

Are those condos I metioned in Butler? I have been comparing New Trier, Evanston, Hinsdale Central, and Lyons. I noticed that spending per pupil is lower at Hinsdale and Lyons than it is at Evanston and New Trier (Evanston being the highest.) Is this a concern? Also teachers don't have masters down there.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by homewifeev

Naperville I am not a fan of. It seems too large, too cookie cutter, too close to Aurora, and it has too many people who think there something but they are nothing. I have heard Naperville is diverse. I am not racist or anything but I prefer less diversity.

I am going to miss that lake and snootiness the North Shore provides you!

I am considering are Riverside-Brookfield, Hinsdale Central, Hinsdale South.

I am concerned about where the schools are located because we still have to live there and there has to be something to do.

I prefer a town and high school where everyone comes from a similar economic backround, households with incomes around $500,000.

We had a problem with jealousy in Evanston.

And other people tell me why I should come to the West!

Your paragraph was a little (er, very) long so I broke a few things out for you. Being from the West, I definitely think you shouldn't come here. If you find Naperville to be too diverse then you are going to absolutely hate Riverside, and the school it shares with the more "common" Brookfield. To the east, Berwyn is very economically and racially diverse, including a large Hispanic population. To the west and north, Brookfield and North Riverside have a lot of blue collar working class folk, and increasing numbers of Hispanics. They may or may not take a shine to your child. And just to the northwest is a very large population of generally low income African-Americans in Maywood.

You're only isolated so much from this in Riverside. For example, there's no electric fence yet so this Berwynite is able to run through it almost every day. Don't worry, I try not to break anything or drag any mud onto the streets. And because Riverside has no economic development to speak of (and it just lost the Chew Chew Cafe, may it rest in peace ), you'll be sharing your grocery stores and restaurants with them. I can hardly imagine your reaction when someone in line in front of you pulls out a LINK card for the first time -- just blocks from your toney million dollar + home!

And let's not forget the North Riverside Park Mall -- right in Riverside's back yard. The Mall caters to a certain demographic, and it ain't yours. My wife and I went to the Mall last weekend and we were practically the only white folk there. Ditto for Cermak Plaza. So you will have to deal with them on a daily basis on your way to and from your chalet. I don't mind all this because I'm used to the City and in fact sought out a more urban suburb but I've a feeling you may not feel the same way.

Included in Hinsdale's lofty sale prices is a little more isolation but there are still more humble communities surrounding it, including a whole host of suburbs containing people "who think there (sic) something but they are nothing." Ditto for Western Springs.

Judging from your posts, my vote goes to the North Shore. That's a much more isolated area where everyone around is in the same bracket, except Evanston which is segregated to the point where you don't notice the diversity in certain areas. If you're so worried about schools, and are as affluent as you say you are, why not a private school?

North Carolina also sounds like an excellent choice for you. I've heard that Raleigh-Durham is like heaven on earth. Better yet, you should go there.

[oakparkdude]

I agree with BRU67. There are too many people here whose household incomes are only in the low 6 figures. I live in northern Oak Park, and even here, I see lots of non-whites (including myself). Our next door neighbor even drives a domestic-made car.

[BRU67]

Mere low six figures? Domestic cars? Good heavens, what has Oak Park come to?? Your neighborhood has been scratched from my running route! I only run amongst $1 million plus homes (with the police close behind trying to chase me out of there).