Where do tree hugging, vegetarian liberals belong in north Chicago? (Evanston: mortgage, environment)

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by nanannie

Thanks Avenger- as you point out,a "plant" IS the correct term. Dont understand the nit picking.

They've always called it a power plant at NU, because, well, it generates power.


ETA - Evanston Hospital has one too, as do several large local high schools.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by jaynetarzana

I need to find a good place to move our CD that is currently at bank in California. It is our down payment money so I need to keep it liquid, but I was wondering if anyone happened to know of a banking institution in Evanston that tends to pay well on CD's. I'm also open to other means of investing that would still keep our money liquid enough that we could access it in 30 days if need be. I am leaning toward an account with Chase since they seem to have so many locations. We've had a mortgage with them in the past so I know their mortgage rates are competitive. Feel free to PM me.

If you're comfortable with internet banking, ING Direct has FDIC-insured money market accounts and CDs with really good rates and no minimum deposit amount. The only down side is that deposits cannot be acessed for five days and withdrawals take a couple days. We tend to use chase for checking only, but keep our non-retirement savings in ING. You can link your checking account to the ING account for direct transfers.

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

What happened to Anthera? She is no longer a member?

What an interesting assumption.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Anthera

What an interesting assumption.

It said "not a member" under your name for a while... Not sure why.

[Calidreemer]

Yes- we wondered what happened - glad you are still here

[pba]

Originally Posted by Calidreemer

Yes- we wondered what happened - glad you are still here

Good job! As usual!

[jaynetarzana]

I am wondering if anyone can tell me some of the best automobile insurance companies with the lowest rates. In California, Wawanesa was the lowest by far and everyone knew it, but they only service CA and OR. We have perfect driving records and we're just looking for the best rate. Right now we are paying $375 a year for our Toyota Prius. Thanks in advance.

[Calidreemer]

Wow - I don't know the answer to that one, we use State Farm for all our insurance, but I can't say if it's the lowest cost. We just focus on coverage and reliability and feel pretty safe with State Farm.

[jaynetarzana]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

There is hardly any Section 8 in Lincoln Park at all! Lincoln Park is the perhaps the most completely gentrified neighborhood I have ever seen--even compared to San Francisco and New York, which are more committed to affordable housing. Your realtor's info is definitely dated in a big way. The schools are mixed in CPS, but only because of busing from poorer neighborhoods. Lakeview and Lincoln Park are pretty much interchangeable in terms of safety, but I'd actually give Lincoln Park the edge there... Lakeview is a little bit cheaper, and there are a few problem spots in Northern Lakeview near my place (i.e. the infamous Hotel Chateau and the Gill Park Cooperative). But both neighborhoods are very safe for city neighborhoods.

Okay, so I finally got us settled for the most part with our living situation so I was able to do some research for myself, namely with regards to dancing. It won't be long before our children are in school and when they are, I will be pursuing my dancing career at least part time. So I have been looking up the dancing scene and just as I figured, it seems that 99% of it is in the city. So we are thinking about considering Lincoln Park again. I just looked up the Lincoln elementary public school and it gets an 8 out of 10 on greatschools.net. I also did a quick search on mls to see what was available in our price range and there is a ton of great stuff. We are LOVING the urban lifestyle and thinking that perhaps Evanston isn't quite urban enough. What I mean by that is the housing is less dense and so there is a limit to what is available within walking distance. It seems like Lincoln Park just might have more of what we are looking for. I know the commute up to Mettawa isn't going to be fun, but my husband said that he works with people who live downtown and they take public transit. He only goes into the office twice a week, but I will be dancing almost every day. So, we are going to start looking at Lincoln Park and comparing it to Evanston. Can anyone give me some pointers? The Evanston map that someone posted has been a HUGE help to me. I'm looking for guidance such as that. Thanks in advance!

[chet everett]

Like I said, since you have quite some time before school is needed (kids are 3 and under one, right?) you ought to have the time to get the scoop on getting your kid into the kind of kindergarten that ought to be OK.

There are some quirks to searching "by neighborhood" when it comes to Lincoln Park. Technically, Lincoln Park is also known as "community area 7" has incorporates the following official neighborhoods:

• DePaul
• Old Town
• Park West
• Lincoln Park
• Ranch Triangle
• Sheffield Neighbors
• Wrightwood Neighbors

Lincoln Park, Chicago - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

None of these neighborhoods are "gang warfare unsafe", but there is quite a bit of variability in the housing stock and the access to the kind of transportation that would make it easier to get up north to Mettawa, you are going to map that stuff out. There are some blocks that are going to be a MUCH more expensive, and even if otherwise great blocks there can be quirky things that make one house far less desirable than others -- I have seen a few places that were unskillfully converted from single-family to rental and back and they just can be quite a money pit. Some of the worst of these were probably torn down and replaced with the "cinderblock mansions", but you should be aware that age is not as big a factor as QUALITY...

Good Luck!