Where do tree hugging, vegetarian liberals belong in north Chicago? (Deerfield: purchase, to move)

[Calidreemer]

Alright - that's two in for a tear down in Deerfield with no chance of rebuilding on that sliver of land!

Our area (pie house excluded) is actually a nice mix of old and new with modest, well built homes including some Sears models that are sprinkled around. It's a very friendly pocket of people. We were working in our yard and our neighbor, who we haven't had the opportunity to meet previously, walked over and introduced himself and offered us use of any of his tools. Very old school and a nice surprise. We are lucky to live by such nice people.

[chet everett]

I'd be in to get rid of that thing too. You know, sometimes an architect is also the person to say "while TECHNICALLY you could build something with XXXX sq ft, it makes more sense to build something that is ONLY XXX instead". When I see houses that architects build for themselves I often see that kind of solution. Often a little bit more garden and/or a bit of funky space makes a house MUCH more livable than "getting as much under the roof as we can cram". On of the biggest proponents of this is Sarah Susanka -- Amazon.com: Home by Design: Transforming Your House Into Home: Sarah Susanka: Books

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by mia220

It really blows my mind that you can't find something "decent" within your $550K price range. You're really fortunate to be able to afford that, even if it's a little bit of a stretch, on a single income.

I really don't see how owning a half a million dollar home in Evanston would constitute "simple living." I understand that the north shore is pricier than other areas (for good reason), but there a lot of other areas where you could live simply for a lot less money and not buy into the rat race of life.

I'd love to have your budget, especially with only one income. You're actually in a better situation than you think.

Like I said, we have been told by our financial planner that we can only afford $300K. We have always bit off way more than we can chew and since we do live such a simple lifestyle, we pull it off somehow. But this time we lost everything including most of our down payment.

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by chiados

Among the things which are potentially contradictory in her search is that she really wants to be in the New Trier District rather than Evanston or other places that with supposedly "lesser" schools.

I was only inquiring about New Trier as everyone said it was the best school. After reading all of the posts about how competitive and ugly the school can be and how it robs kids of a normal childhood, I would prefer not to send my kids there.

We aren't rich by any means. My husband and I came from lower middle class families and we have been able to live the way that we do because we have worked extremely hard. We, like many Americans, have been borrowing a lifestyle since we bought our first house when we were 20 years old. We can't afford $550K, we just tell ourselves that we can.

[Calidreemer]

Hi Jay,
There is a cute little brick ranch house for sale around the corner from us that has been reduced to 368K and really is in move in condition - it's cozy, not what I would call modern, but it would be about 20 minutes South East of Mettawa and it is a great price. It is being marketed as the only house in Deerfield under 400K with the amenities it has. I went through it and it was a nice starter home.

Also, I did post some photos for you a couple of pages back.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Calidreemer

Hi Jay,
There is a cute little brick ranch house for sale around the corner from us that has been reduced to 368K and really is in move in condition - it's cozy, not what I would call modern, but it would be about 20 minutes South East of Mettawa and it is a great price. It is being marketed as the only house in Deerfield under 400K with the amenities it has. I went through it and it was a nice starter home.

Also, I did post some photos for you a couple of pages back.

The only photo I see is the pie house...

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by CrazyJay

By the way, since when has recycling only been something the tree huggers do? I recycle everything i can, and i'm not a looney liberal.

I think we could do without the looney liberal comments here. My comment about people not recycling isn't a Liberals vs Conservatives or a Democrats vs Republicans. It is an issue of apathy. Apathetic people are the worst kind IMO.

[CrazyJay]

I never said anything about conservatives or republicans in the thread

i don't blame people for being apathetic about certain things. Not so much the environment though, but other things.

[jaynetarzana]

So we arrive next week and I can't wait to check out all of the areas all of you have spoken about especially Evanston. I have definetely (albeit reluctantly) accepted the fact that California may not be the promised land for my family. The more I read about Chicago, the more I think that moving back to the Midwest might just be the best thing for us.

So again, if anyone wants to help us locate the perfect little Atomic Ranch in which to raise the future generation of stewards of the environment, please feel free!

[Calidreemer]

Hey Chet - you can't see the other photos on the post I made for Jay a few pages back? Weird!