What About Westchester Illinois?

[crbcrbrgv]

Originally Posted by OakBrookMom

College admission is so competitive now that if your kid is average, you want them to be in an environment where at least statistically they perform better on the ACT. Everyone has access to these test scores and both renters and buyers use these to make decisions.

I disagree with you a little on this one. Parents are so competitive now that if their kid is average, they cannot accept the fact that their kid may have to attend Western or Southern Illinois University as opposed to Northwestern.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by ihynes

We can't afford Oak Park and I'm allergic to towns with a huge smugness factor, anyway.

Oak Park isn't that smug. The smugness is largely imagined by those who have issues with Oak Park. It's not the North Shore... Or even River Forest!

[mendelman]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Oak Park isn't that smug. The smugness is largely imagined by those who have issues with Oak Park. It's not the North Shore... Or even River Forest!

As a former resident of Oak Park, I agree that there is little to no smugness from the residents. Perhaps residents' enthusiasm for their village gets misinterpreted by some as smugness, as you alluded to LK.

[Warrior9004]

WESTCHESTER DOESN'T HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL!!! MORE KIDS GO TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS OR MOVE THEN THE PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL! THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. THE TOWN IS GETTING WORSE ALL BECAUSE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL DILEMMA!

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Warrior9004

WESTCHESTER DOESN'T HAVE A HIGH SCHOOL!!! MORE KIDS GO TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS OR MOVE THEN THE PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL! THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. THE TOWN IS GETTING WORSE ALL BECAUSE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL DILEMMA!

Did they teach you about the "cap lock" key at Proviso West? If not, just look over to the left side of your keyboard and push the little button with those words on it. Thanks.

[cmoscinski]

Home prices have dropped since January in Westchester as well as La Grange Park, La Grange and Brookfield. From what I have heard from parents in South Westchester, they are very happy with the schools. The community in general is very active but I feel needs more public activity. I suggest those considering a Weschester move, to come out for the 4th of July parade and talk to the parents that live there. Many are young professionals and love it there.

I suggest you visit the towns you are thinking about moving to on parade or special event days and talk to the people that live there to find out their likes and dislikes about the town, schools, etc.

[Vespatian]

"Many are young professionals and love it there."

Young professionals in Westchester? Do they only come out at night when the rest of the geriatric population is soundly asleep, thus accounting for their lack of visibility?

Westchester is in decline, no matter how rose-colored one's glasses may be.

Where are all the businesses, restaurants and entertainment options neighboring towns have?

Westchester is in dire need of something more than a grocery store and an aging bowling alley. The fact we don't have any transit options apart from a few limited-run buses also dosen't help, and to hop on Chicagoland's most congested expressway we must do so at the Hillside Strangler (drive on that at 6:30pm going east or west and tell me that project helped in some way).

You'd be hard-pressed to find young professionals and families that are willing to spend $350k on a house in Westchester when they could get a flat in Lincoln Park or a bungalow in La Grange and Oak Park for that amount.

And let's not get started on the school situation. People care about the quality of education their children recieve. Why do the few kids of high school age in Westchester attend Nazareth in La Grange Park rather than St. Joe's (let alone Proviso)?

How is Divine Providence still in operation? Their graduating classes have been known to contain under 20 students some years. That's not enough to keep a school healthy.

[MaReKoKa]

Originally Posted by Vespatian

How is Divine Providence still in operation? Their graduating classes have been known to contain under 20 students some years. That's not enough to keep a school healthy.

I totally know what you mean. I just moved to Westchester (Temporary, while we look for a house) with my family from Alpharetta, Georgia. We went to DP to enroll my son in the 7th grade. There were only 10 students in the 7th grade class.

[ihynes]

I noticed that Westchester was not only built in the 1950s, but it's still populated mostly by its original residents. There are no kids playing outside, no young people riding bikes or walking dogs. Just elderly sitting on lawn chairs, if anything. Kinda like Sun City, Arizona. Having said that, some of the houses are totally 1950s groovy.

[chet everett]

There are some kids in every town -- decades of video games and multiple televisions keep way too many kids in every town "out of sight" except for things like organized youth sports...http://www.wpdparks.org/images/SSCat...inalforweb.pdf
There is a pool and other facilities that I have seen actual human children at:
Westchester Park District - Community Swimming Pool