Is the North Shore still regarded prestigious? (Chicago, Aurora: fit in, townhouses)

[j33]

I'd take a few cases of aged Bordeaux please

Hell, we are talking about the north-shore aren't we?

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by j33

Why? Perhaps that person is more interested in the location of the home, the craftsmanship of the home, the materials used to finish the home than they are the size of the home. I'll be the first one to admit, if I were faced with the choice of a 'smaller' lakefront estate in Lake Forest and a giant mansion in Hinsdale, I'd go with the lakefront estate

I probably would too, but Hinsdale is chock full of magnificent old estates too. I think the only advantage that LF holds over Hinsdale is the lakefront, and only a few homes are on the lakefront, the rest of the town is on wooded streets, just like Hinsdale. In fact, I find areas of Hinsdale to be very comparable to LF.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by via chicago

i know you're half joking, but the whole idea that bigger is automatically better is really flawed. would you rather have an aged bottle of a fine Bordeaux to be savored, or a few cases of busch light? there are certainly people who would prefer the cases of beer, but that dosent mean the choice to choose the wine is irrational.

When you have the money to go that big and that expensive, those custom mansions out here are very finely crafted. You should see my old bosses house in St. Charles, its a masterpiece of design and craftsmanship, every bit as much as a fancy Lake Forest home. Im willing to bet that the Lake Forest homes dont have rock climbing wall in their attics and heated driveways. Money takes you further out here, gets you more toys (if youre into that high-tech stuff) and a bigger home.

[j33]

Heated driveways and indoor rock climbing walls just strike me as crass.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by j33

Heated driveways and indoor rock climbing walls just strike me as crass.

To some yes, but to others no. Im not a fan, but I have to admit that it would be fun, especially on a rainy day. I wont mention the 25 seat theatre in his basement either.

[Frank the Tank]

What a wacky thread. I guess one could call the the North Shore more "prestigious", but also keep in mind that a place such as Naperville has over ten times the population of Winnetka - downtown Naperville taken by itself would be the size of a number of North Shore suburbs and would be comparable in terms of land and housing prices (I just saw a listing today for an old 3 BR home in downtown Naperville for $1.5 million which essentially is the price of the land for a teardown).

For that guy who was trying to pump up Peoria at the expense of the western suburbs, come on now. The median income in Naperville in the 2000 census was over $93,000 (which is a little bit more than the median income in Glenview and a little bit less than the median income in Northbrook, with Naperville being several times larger than both of those towns - also compare Oak Brook's median income of $146,000 to Winnetka's $167,000 in terms of similarly-sized towns, and you can see that the notion of west suburbanites not being able to afford the north suburbs is blown out of the water), while the median income in Peoria is just over $36,000, and that's with Naperville having almost 40,000 more residents. If "most people" that you know hate the western suburbs, why is it the fastest growing area of the state by far? If the west suburbs are so terrible, why has the population in Peoria been stagnating for years? You can reasonably argue about how nice the North Shore might be, but you lose a ton of credibility by dissing the western suburbs and then saying that a place like Peoria is anywhere near the same level. At the very least, the western suburbs and the north suburbs have a whole lot more in common than they do with Peoria.

[Joe107]

Here is a comparison of some of the home prices North Suburbs vs. Dupage


North suburbs (Cook/Lake)
Waukegan $162,000
North Chicago $142,000
Mundelein $322,000
Libertyville $566,000
Morton Grove $422,000
Lake Zurich $ 377,000
Skokie $428,000
Evanston $621,000
Zion $164,000

Dupage County
Burr Ridge $1,048,405
Clarendon Hills $813,796
Downers Grove $471,000
Elmhurst $549,000
Wheaton $441,000
Glen Ellyn $514,000
Naperville $511,371
Itasca $475,000
Oak Brook $1,172,729
Hinsdale $1,135,633

[trailerguy]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

My old boss, who lives in a 11K sq. ft home in St. Charles, could probably afford several homes in Lake Forest. Hell, he also has a 10 million dollar home in Park City, Utah ...

I had to do a double-take on that till I realized you said Utah. I think you could buy all of Park City, Illinois for that much. My house in Park City (IL) cost me $19,000, and that included the wheels!

[BUalumni]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

What a wacky thread. I guess one could call the the North Shore more "prestigious", but also keep in mind that a place such as Naperville has over ten times the population of Winnetka - downtown Naperville taken by itself would be the size of a number of North Shore suburbs and would be comparable in terms of land and housing prices (I just saw a listing today for an old 3 BR home in downtown Naperville for $1.5 million which essentially is the price of the land for a teardown).

For that guy who was trying to pump up Peoria at the expense of the western suburbs, come on now. The median income in Naperville in the 2000 census was over $93,000 (which is a little bit more than the median income in Glenview and a little bit less than the median income in Northbrook, with Naperville being several times larger than both of those towns - also compare Oak Brook's median income of $146,000 to Winnetka's $167,000 in terms of similarly-sized towns, and you can see that the notion of west suburbanites not being able to afford the north suburbs is blown out of the water), while the median income in Peoria is just over $36,000, and that's with Naperville having almost 40,000 more residents. If "most people" that you know hate the western suburbs, why is it the fastest growing area of the state by far? If the west suburbs are so terrible, why has the population in Peoria been stagnating for years? You can reasonably argue about how nice the North Shore might be, but you lose a ton of credibility by dissing the western suburbs and then saying that a place like Peoria is anywhere near the same level. At the very least, the western suburbs and the north suburbs have a whole lot more in common than they do with Peoria.

When did I ever hint at the fact that Peoria is better than Naperville?! There isn't even a valid comparision. And yes Naperville does have more incommon with Peoria and Bloomington than the North Shore suburbs. Income is not the only determining factor when comparing cities. I was speaking in terms of size, and attractions. Most North Shore towns are very small compared to Naperville, and offer far less. Yes Peoria is not gaining in terms of population, but that is why Peoria has a metro area, which if you include Bloomington/Normal and the small towns around it, is well over 500K, which is bigger than some of the biggest cities in the midwest. Yes, Peoria might not pack a big punch when it comes down to personal income. But take a look at towns like Germantown Hills, Morton, Dunlap, Washington, Tremont, Normal, and Bloomington. These are very well to do areas that can hold their own against the suburbs anyday when it comes down to the things that the suburbs hold dear. Also, remember that Peoria is a very interesting place in the sense that it is a city that big buisness look at to see what it happening in America. As we all have heard America is loosing the middle class in almost every major city. Peoria mirrors this prefectly and has been predicting this for the past twenty years. The middle class is shrinking in Peoria, and as a result you see many areas that hold million dollar homes, just down the road from ghetto. Not to be rude, but where do the western burbs get off attacking Peoria. Have you heard of cities like Elgin, Aurora, and Joliet?! Talk about cities that would be dumps if Chicago wasn't right next door.

Where do you get off thinking that I am trying to pump Peoria up either? Do you feel that way because I said that Naperville tends to be a running joke down here? Well, I'm sorry, but that is just the way it is. Peoria and Bloomington are actual cities that have a long Illinois history, and well, act like cities. Naperville is a suburb. Nothing more! It doesn't even have anything close to a skyline. Heck, it doesn't even have a mall! It has grown because of Chicago and not because the city itself has had to really try very hard to bring people in. Look at Plainfield, Illinois. What has that town done to attract people? Peoria, and Bloomington still has plenty of room to grow. Naperville does not. In fact, the reasons behind Bloomington's growth have past. But people are still flocking to the city. When you say that the western suburbs are growing, I assume that you are speaking that towns like Plainfield and Joliet. Plainfield is nothing but cookie-cutter sprawl that is more than likely the overflow from Naperville, and Joliet is one of the junkiest cities in the state. If you are speaking of those towns like Wasco and Elburn than I wouldn't be proud of that fact. It is sad to think that Chicago has become so bad that people now have to live almost two hours from downtown. Hope this can clear some misconceptions up.

[rgb123]

wow....you have to be pretty insecure about your location if you have to compare the wealthy suburbs in dupage to the poorest ones of lake county, deliberatley leaving the wealthier ones off your very subjective list....

anyway, the word "prestigious" means something different to a lot of people (apparently) and frankly, some of them seem to be attracted to personal rock climbing walls in big, newer suburbs (dare I say new money) and some are attracted to the more .....traditional, older addresses where you can live next door to a poor person (probably the old workmans quarters) and try to blend in, while bragging about your wealth only at charity functions with your rich friends.

Or something along those lines.....

I think one side has a hard time understanding the other...anyway....and the more that times change the more these two groups blend.