What about Grayslake area? (Chicago, Des Plaines: relocation, property taxes, budget)

[georgiadawg]

I have been offered a job in the Des Plaines area and my family and I are considering a move, specifically we have looked at the GraysLake area primarily due to price and small town look. I was wondering if anyone could give any advice about the area: schools, neighborhoods, commute times, etc... We are coming from Georgia and know it will be cold and we will need a second job to pay property tax but very little else. I commute about 45 one way currently and would like to stay in that range. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[illinnative]

Greetings,

While I don't currently live in Grayslake (I live in McHenry County, about 15 miles west of Grayslake), I know the area well as we have plenty of friends that live in the area and seriously looked at living in the community several years ago.

Grayslake is definitely a family community and went through some heavy expansion in the late 80's into the 90's. The community is pretty built out now, so you won't see very much of the massive new developments as you may have seen 10 years ago.

The community seems committed to education, however like most other suburban communities that have experienced growth, they have had to go to the citizens to get additional referendums passed, which has added to the property tax rate. They have a new high school on the north end of town, mostly to accommodate the growth of population of neighboring Round Lake, which in that specific section, sends its kids to Grayslake schools. Grayslake is known as a middle to upper middle class community, while some parts of the various Round Lake communities are more in the lower middle class socio- economic level.

Grayslake is on the North Central Metra commuter train line and while this specific train line doesn't go through Des Plaines, it does have stops that may provide commuter bus service transfers to the area of Des Plaines where you will be working. The Union Pacific Northwest branch line is the Metra line that has stops in Des Plaines - here is the Chicago metra website: http://www.metrarail.com/.
I've taken Metra to commute to the city and it's an incredibly reliable, safe and overall positive commuting experience. If you don't take public transportation, count on a minimum of 1 hour each way for drive time. A 45 minute drive might happen on a Sunday morning, but not during rush hour.

I'm not sure what your housing allowance is, but do plan on budgeting several thousands of dollars for your annual property taxes. For some folks from other parts of the country, this may seem extreme, but you are paying for what I consider to be a great quality of life, including great school systems and overall low crime rates.

And yes we have winter. It's not the snow as much as it is the cold and gray days that accompany the cold. It's interesting; my husband is considering a possible job relocation to Broward County, Florida (specifically Sunrise) and we were down there this past weekend to check out the area. I have to tell you that while it's tempting to think of sitting on a beach in February rather than shoveling out a driveway, I can't think of a better area to raise a family than the Chicago area.

Best of luck to you. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

[georgiadawg]

Thank you for the infomation, taxes certainly are an issue since it appears it will triple what we pay here for the same priced house. I pay around $1600 a year and that includes a city tax. We are primarily worried about the quality of the schools and you have helped with that issue. If you know of any other areas that have good schools and reasonable homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 range I would appreciate any anyput. I will have a comapny vehicle and will be commuting by car so the drive is an issue.
THANKS

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by georgiadawg

Thank you for the infomation, taxes certainly are an issue since it appears it will triple what we pay here for the same priced house. I pay around $1600 a year and that includes a city tax. We are primarily worried about the quality of the schools and you have helped with that issue. If you know of any other areas that have good schools and reasonable homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 range I would appreciate any anyput. I will have a comapny vehicle and will be commuting by car so the drive is an issue.
THANKS

Good luck! We lived in Grayslake and found the property taxes outrageous and not worth it. You may want to look west of Des Plaines since train commuting isn't an issue and you aren't having to go into the city.

Your price range isn't going to get you much by way of a single family home ... sorry to say that. The Chicago market is abyssmal for reasonably priced homes. We left Illinois for Indiana ... better housing prices and property taxes are more along the line of what you are used to.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by domergurl

Good luck! We lived in Grayslake and found the property taxes outrageous and not worth it. You may want to look west of Des Plaines since train commuting isn't an issue and you aren't having to go into the city.

Your price range isn't going to get you much by way of a single family home ... sorry to say that. The Chicago market is abyssmal for reasonably priced homes. We left Illinois for Indiana ... better housing prices and property taxes are more along the line of what you are used to.

I was getting ready to say the same thing.
We lived in Crystal Lake for 3 years and ran from Gray's when we saw the property tax rates. Heck Crystal Lake was high enough, but the same house in Gray's was about 35% higher. (In Crystal I was paying 7,000 per year ) Don't want to tell ya what my Georgia taxes are now

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by Georgia

I was getting ready to say the same thing.
We lived in Crystal Lake for 3 years and ran from Gray's when we saw the property tax rates. Heck Crystal Lake was high enough, but the same house in Gray's was about 35% higher. (In Crystal I was paying 7,000 per year ) Don't want to tell ya what my Georgia taxes are now

Are you still moving? Consider moving to Indiana and commuting ... I know, it's a bear, but you'd be reverse commuting. I don't know, I wouldn't touch Illinois with a 10 foot pole right now.

[georgiadawg]

Yeah, I don't have much choice on the move at this point since its a promotion I can probably go a lttle higher on the house price and I guess my commute will be longer than I wanted. Hopefully I can go further out west and find something cheaper with less tax.

[georgiadawg]

I appreciate everyone's opinion. I looked at Cary and it does look more affordable and the tax seems to be somewhat lower. Not having had the benefit of getting to drive around a look at the areas and get a feel for the neighborhoods, I really do appreciate the input and suggestions. We will have a limited time to find a house and move so all your help will be put to very good use. I am hoping that Cary schools are also good because that is more important that other issues.

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by georgiadawg

I appreciate everyone's opinion. I looked at Cary and it does look more affordable and the tax seems to be somewhat lower. Not having had the benefit of getting to drive around a look at the areas and get a feel for the neighborhoods, I really do appreciate the input and suggestions. We will have a limited time to find a house and move so all your help will be put to very good use. I am hoping that Cary schools are also good because that is more important that other issues.

Cary schools are very good. Have a few friends that still live there. The only issue with Cary is you only have one choice. Rt 14. As long as it's moving your fine.

[Eric David]

Grayslake is definately the way to go! Lake Co is known for high taxes for sure, but I'd suspect you'd pay similar in most other surrounding cummunities. yes, the taxes are high in GL, but the return is worth it if you have children and believe in a good quality of life. I've done research on the current mayor of GL and he has been dedicated to preserve its lifestyle only to expand on its quality of life and family friendliness. There is a lot to do in GL if you enjoy outdoor activities. There are plenty of lakes, forest preserves, and WI is very close which offers plenty of outdoor enjoyment. The commute to Des Plaines won't be too bad as you'd take 294. My wife works in Des Plaines.