What is Lincolnshire like? (Waukegan, Buffalo Grove: travel, zoning, townhomes)

[GoCUBS1]

We're now considering moving to Lincolnshire. We've been to the Marriott Theater there and know the town has excellent schools.

What else does the town offer for families? What are the residential areas like? Is there any town center with shopping, sports fields, etc.?

Thanks for any info you can provide!

[DonkeyTeeth]

Lincolnshire has a very small residential population (around 6,000 according to Wikipedia) compared to the other surrounding suburbs. I think the residential areas there are made up of mainly older, but nice homes and lots of mature trees.

There really isn't a town center to speak of, other than the retail complexes along Milwaukee Ave. However, you'd be very close to Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Highland Park, Vernon Hills, and Long Grove, which are larger towns with park districts, downtowns, etc. Many of these surrounding areas feed into Stevenson HS in Linconlshire, so you don't need to live there to have your kids attend it.

Its a nice town, but if you're looking for a wider range of services/facilities from your village, you might want to consider the larger nearby burbs.

[racerx68]

I would love to live there. (cant afford to)
I think you would be more than ok living in such a nice town if you could. Some of the other towns people here are asking about are ghettos compared to Lincolnshire.

[ahava]

I’m going to attempt a very detailed description of Lincolnshire, so this may be long. The major roads passing through the town are Milwaukee Ave (Rt 21/45) which travels north-south and Rt 22 which travels east-west, plus I-94 which is the eastern border of Lincolnshire. Most of the residential neighborhoods are east of Milwaukee Ave on either side of Rt 22. People who aren’t familiar with this area drive through on Rt 22 and think they’ve seen Lincolnshire, but if you venture into any of the neighborhoods it’s beautiful. Very wooded, and houses that range from 1960s style ranches and split-levels to new mansions. Lots of kids playing outside and people walking or biking on the many trails through the neighborhoods and nearby forest preserves. There are six neighborhood parks, one of which has a small lake with a beach. Near the middle school is a huge park with tennis courts, baseball diamonds, soccer fields, a basketball court, a volleyball court, playgrounds, an ice rink, and a nature area. There is not an official downtown/town center area, but there are two places that somewhat serve that purpose. One is a shopping center called Lincolnshire Village Green (or something to that effect – it’s been a while since I’ve been there), which is off of Olde Half Day Rd just east of Milwaukee Ave. It has several restaurants, a few stores, and a paved area with benches and a fountain. The better one is City Park, which is located on the corner of Milwaukee Ave & Aptakisic Rd. It’s like a small outdoor mall with restaurants, stores, one of those places where you can paint your own ceramics, and a glow-in-the-dark mini golf place. There is also a playground and the requisite fountain with benches. On Friday and Saturday nights there is a free trolley between there and the huge movie theater nearby.

The portion west of Milwaukee Ave is newer and more commercial. Stevenson HS is located here. There are several subdivisions of townhomes and one of single-family homes, all of which has been built in within the past decade. A huge shopping center on the opposite corner of Milwaukee Ave & Aptakisic Rd from City Park was completed last year, but they are still building stores and restaurants there. A Barnes & Noble will be open soon and I’m looking forward to that. Many upscale stores and restaurants are going in there. When you need to get downtown, the Metra station is down the street from Stevenson, but it’s on the North Central Service line which is basically a joke (it doesn’t run on weekends and has few trains), so most people use the Deerfield or western Lake Forest stations on the MD-N line.

[trailerguy]

Lincolnshire has very nice houses on large lots with many trees, mostly set well back from the road. They are quite expensive; prices of $1 million or more are not uncommon.

[ahava]

Originally Posted by trailerguy

Lincolnshire has very nice houses on large lots with many trees, mostly set well back from the road. They are quite expensive; prices of $1 million or more are not uncommon.

The average price of a home in Lincolnshire is $751,582.

[GoCUBS1]

Thanks everyone for the great info! I looked at the town's website. The nature preserves and parks look beautiful. I'll look at some houses there as well as in other towns. My hubby is worried about the commute though. He believes "Lincolnshire is landlocked between Routes 21 and 22 and it will take us 20 minutes just to get out of our driveway." No town is perfect though. And traffic is EVERYWHERE.

[SBD]

Not sure if you are still looking but Lincolnshire has winding roads and 'homes built in to the forest' feeling. There are very few towns like Linsolnshire in the suburbs and people who don't live there like may be quick to discount its accesibility and other amenities. Yes, route 22 has a lot of traffic...but I recall times in Northbrook at Waukegan and Willow roads where I literally would turn around because of the congestion. Lincolnshire has organized sports leagues but not a park district. There are camps and everything a child could possibly need, including some of the finest parks on the north shore. Check out Spring Lake Beach and you will immediately fall in love with Lincolnshire. It also has a small town feel while very accessile to just about everything. And the tollway is just on the west side of town. There are some really great deals on beautiful homes right now too (though all burbs are experiencing that). To sum up, if you are looking for quiet, community/family oriented, large and wooded lots with beautiful homes - Lincolnshire is a great choice amongst suburbs that seem to have forgotten what a Zoning Board is meant for.

[GoCUBS1]

SBD - Thanks for the great info on Lincolnshire. Lincolnshire is still a contender as our top priority is schools and Lincolnshire seems to have some of the best. Plus we are nature lovers and love a "forest feeling." We'll definitely check out Spring Lake Beach. Now if we can only sell our home in this market...

[SBD]

The market is tough - but if you do sell, you should be in a great position with some terrific deals in any of the north suburbs. The schools are excellent in Lincolnshire, but in all honesty, I sometimes think people get too wrapped up in the schools around the north shore and forget that most of the progress children make is going to come from themselves and their parents. You can't beat any of the north shore districts so that should not hold you back from any of those suburbs. You will also find people in Lincolnshire to be very nice. It has a small town feel and I think people really admire that quality when it is still in such close proximity to everything. And yes, Spring lake Beach/Park was something that when I came across, I felt I had found a little gem that few people knew about and still do (which is what a lot of people like about the town. The July 4th parade definitely gives it that feel too. Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck with the house sale.