Family moving to Chicago North Shore - Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff (Naperville: where to stay, 2014)

[brian571]

I agree with Chet that your budget is going to be stretched in Lake Forest or Lake Bluff. The starting point in Lake Forest is probably $750k and up and Lake Bluff isn't far behind that. You'll be able to find more in Highland Park, but even then you'll be limited. Bang for the buck isn't very good in any of the prestigious North Shore communities.

Given your budget, I'd look at Libertyville. It's not on the lake, but your dollar will go further. The schools are excellent, it has a great downtown, lots of young families, and it's less uptight than Lake Forest or Lake Bluff. It's just west of Lake Bluff on the other side of I-94.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

If trips to family in Wisconsin are frequent it probably makes sense to focus on north suburbs -- additional distance to Naperville could mean a couple a more hours of travel.

The key to better affordability is often just targeting areas without the uner costly lake front homes of the north shore.

I have family all over Wisconsin and drive up there frequently, and it's not a two hour difference between Naperville and the northern suburbs. Maybe 45 minutes tops. We considered Highland Park as well, but the houses were simply too expensive and it wasn't worth the extra cost to shave 45 minutes off of an occasional trip north.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Fullyoak

Deerfield is definitely a contender.

That could be a good choice for you. However, if you really like the charm of the true North Shore suburbs, I encourage you to look at the western suburbs as well. Places like La Grange, Western Springs, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Naperville, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Elmhurst, River Forest, Riverside, and Oak Park are all somewhat affluent communities that offer a lot of what the North Shore offers. Each has pluses and minuses. And if you stay close to I-294, the trips north will still be pretty quick. And if your family is further west in Wisconsin, you have routes to Madison along I-355, I-290, or even I-88 to I-39.

If you can afford a $900,000 house, then the North Shore might make more sense. But it's realy difficult in the price range you have stated, and probably not worth the trouble. Deerfield is a little more affordable, but is kind of "blah". But many people love it, and the schools are great.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

That could be a good choice for you. However, if you really like the charm of the true North Shore suburbs, I encourage you to look at the western suburbs as well. Places like La Grange, Western Springs, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Naperville, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Elmhurst, River Forest, Riverside, and Oak Park are all somewhat affluent communities that offer a lot of what the North Shore offers. Each has pluses and minuses. And if you stay close to I-294, the trips north will still be pretty quick. And if your family is further west in Wisconsin, you have routes to Madison along I-355, I-290, or even I-88 to I-39.

If you can afford a $900,000 house, then the North Shore might make more sense. But it's realy difficult in the price range you have stated, and probably not worth the trouble. Deerfield is a little more affordable, but is kind of "blah". But many people love it, and the schools are great.

I agree.

The other thing to consider is that it sounds like at least one person is commuting to Chicago daily. The commute from Elmhurst (what I'm familiar with) is usually less than 30 minutes on the train. In Highland Park you are looking at an hour on the train. So, you'll spend an extra hour 5 days a week to save half an hour on a trip that you probably make less than once a week. It really doesn't make that much sense if saving time is your goal.

[Fullyoak]

Thanks everyone!

Lookout Kid- we are not spending $900k, but hopefully there will be more homes in the $400-$600k range when we are in a position to buy. We only need one.

Brian571, Libertyville will get a checkout.

Nikitakolata- great info on the Evanston commute to WI. Wouldn't have known so appreciate the heads up.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by Fullyoak

Nikitakolata- great info on the Evanston commute to WI. Wouldn't have known so appreciate the heads up.

Yeah, I loved living in Evanston and it's a great location if you mostly stay in Evanston/Chicago. The problem is that it is so far from any expressway that it really takes forever to get out of Evanston, especially if you're living on the east side (which of course I was).

Evanston has a great downtown, but it really stinks getting in and out of the area to visit friends/family. A lot of old, narrow road with a lot of lights (Dempster comes to mind...).

[Fullyoak]

I agree with the daily commute factor regarding north shore and west suburbs. However my husband will be taking the train in and he also travels a couple times a month. When he travels, we will probably head up to WI.

I really don't like driving and having two little kids in the car on a road trip is not my idea of fun. So wherever I can save time on that makes me happy. Plus my husband won't have to go into the city everyday.

We do need to spend more time in the west burbs, we spent time in Hinsdale and my husband didn't really like it.

[Fullyoak]

Is Evanston good for a night out? Say instead of going all the way into Downtown?

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Fullyoak

Is Evanston good for a night out? Say instead of going all the way into Downtown?

Yes, it's not so bad. I occasionally went out in Evanston with my wife even when we lived on the North Side of Chicago.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by Fullyoak

Is Evanston good for a night out? Say instead of going all the way into Downtown?

I think it is. There are a lot of good restaurants and you can go walk by the lake or also see a movie right in the downtown. It depends what you want to do, of course. But if you're thinking about dinner and a bar or movie, you can definitely do that in Evanston.