Possible Relocation Help please! (Chicago, Carol Stream: real estate, day care, homes)

[samirax4]

I have been reading the threads and everyone has a lot of great input. I want to relocate myself and family around the area I am from (Carol Stream). I am moving from Vegas, and have been a teacher for seven years. I have noticed there are several positions out there in various districts but wanted to know about the stability of the districts, in terms of budgets (one major reason we want to relocate is the cuts in my salary from my district’s current budget issue). Which districts would you recommend? I also was wondering about the housing market of course coming from a city that was hit number 1 in terms of the market there are plenty of homes with good prices but what about there? Did the market take a drastic fall? Has it bounced back yet? Another question is the job market for my husband. He has a degree and has worked in security management for the past few years; is there a job in his area there? For my last question I would like to know what the average day care costs are. I do have family, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. but I may not live near them we would be moving with 4 children total two older school age and 2 young ones, also a baby! Right now we work different schedules so it’s never been an issue so I am not sure what the costs are these days. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[middle-aged mom]

Originally Posted by samirax4

also was wondering about the housing market of course coming from a city that was hit number 1 in terms of the market there are plenty of homes with good prices but what about there? Did the market take a drastic fall? Has it bounced back yet?

This is the only question I feel I am remotely qualified to respond to.
Generally speaking, the greater Chicagoland area is off 20-30% from the market peak in late 2005.

There is no such thing as a bounce back going on anywhere in the U.S. Heck, no 2 people could even define a bounce. Does that mean to values at peak? Does that mean to annual appreciation rates leading to the peak? Or does it mean normal....home values appreciate with inflation?

Really focus on the cost of living between your current and intended area. Housing, including property taxes, is likely about 75% higher in the greater Chicagoland area than LV. Utilities are going to also be substantially more than LV,too.

[chet everett]

I tend to agree with MAM -- it is still LOTS cheaper to live in Las Vegas than pretty much any place in the Chicsgo region. Even the most "cratered" part of Chiapcafo area real estate are not nearly as depressed as the LV market.

The desirability of Carol Stream lags that of towns in DuPage Co that have better options for commuting, better schools and a more traditional lay out.

The school situation, from an employment standpoint, is not terrific for a relocation. You will need to have certification in Illinois and you will be competing with LOTS of both recently minted teachers as well as some teachers with experience that want to move to better paying districts. Even neighboring districts can have dramatic differences in pay, based mainly on how generous a deal the local school board worked out with the unions. That leaves less desirable districts scrambling to fill openings and better districts inundated with applicants. With seven years of experience you may "too expensive" for some districts to justify hiring you... The rule of "last hired first fired" when it comes to cuts also makes for tough employment scene.

If "security management" means things like guards at casinoes and such I doubt that you will find as many opportunities here as in Vegas, the other thing that happens in the Chicago region is large numbers of cops that retire early mean it is VERY common for the security firms to be connected to many relatively young people for many jobs...

Just trying to be realistic. Hope things work out no matter if you stay or come here.