Moving to Waukegan Area

[Glamona]

You can find a nice brick house in the price range that you are looking for in Waukegan. Higher the price, better quality house you will get. Lower the price (under 160,000) you should be willing to redecorate the space, accept house in as-is condition (maybe even foreclosure, with no warranty), get smaller rooms, accept house in as-is condition. Over $160,000 you can find nice houses.

[trailerguy]

Waukegan is nicer as you go north, which conveniently, is near the airport. Beach Park is nice and reasonably priced. There are several new home subdivisions off Green Bay Road (very convenient to the airport) in Beach Park and Zion. Very nice and very reasonably priced--in your range.

[misconceptions]

Originally Posted by JustinJenni

I briefly drove through the part you are speaking of as well, and I remember thinking it wasn't so bad and actualy featured some lovely homes. Then I was near the Navy Base... WOW! The buildings are rundown, the people are rude to the core, and you find yourself checking the locks on the car at stoplights. I felt like I had to look over my shoulder to go in and out of busisness and such so for most errands we went to Gurnee or Libertyville. Both a decent commute, but worth it.

For the OP, I suggest driving through whatever part you are interested in at different hours. See what parts of Waukegan you feel safest in.

The Navy Base is in NORTH CHICAGO, not Waukegan. North Chicago is notorious for BAD crime. Stay out of North Chicago.

Waukegan isn't bad at all compared to North Chicago. North Chicago can't even support a grocery store...

[Lake County Motorist]

Originally Posted by trailerguy

Waukegan is nicer as you go north, which conveniently, is near the airport. Beach Park is nice and reasonably priced. There are several new home subdivisions off Green Bay Road (very convenient to the airport) in Beach Park and Zion. Very nice and very reasonably priced--in your range.

I second trailerguy's recommendation of Beach Park and northwestern Waukegan near the airport. Waukegan isn't all bad. I would also suggest the Bonnie Brook area near Yorkhouse Road and the Glen Flora area near Sheridan Road. Speaking of which, Sheridan Road in Waukegan has some fabulous, well-maintained older homes that would cost three times as much if they were located further south on the North Shore.

The school district is not the best, but depending on where you live in Waukegan your kids may attend Gurnee schools. If this is a goal, I believe the Midland Golf Course and surrounding area has Gurnee schools, and the homes are affordable.

[brenty]

I'd like to start off with, Welcome to Chicago! This is a fabulous place to live. Even though you will be quite far from Chicago itself. You can easily enjoy it. Waukegan is going through a transformation. New lakefront condominiums in the very high price range and newer homes in the surrounding communities. If you buy now you should see a nice return on your investment. Schools in that area of Lake County are not great. Your children can get great educations, but you will have to put in more of your own energy than say if they were attending an elite institution like New Trier or Evanston.

Here are some places that I can recommend:

Zion

Zion is a nice lakefront community. It is very close to Waukegan Regional Airport. There are some nice developments going up. It has a nice population with a little diversity. It is almost entirely Middle Class. Your commute would be as litte as 3 minutes. Your price range will get you a nice house. Possibly new 3 or 4 bedroom house with a nice lot and 2 car garage.

Cypress Park - Pulte Homes

It seems like a nice development, very close to the airport, new homes, nice floorplans, in you price range. 3 or 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, 2100 to 2800 square feet, and 2 or 3 car garages.
Pulte Homes - Cypress Park

Sheperds Crossing - Deer Point Homes

Nice, Immediate Occupany Development, Private Greenspace, Very close to Waukegan Regional, nice floorplans, bigger lots than Cypress Park. Very nice exteriors and very family friendly.

Deer Point Homes - New Homes in Zion Il.

Volo

A little nicer and established than Zion. It has a little better schools and more prestige although none of the communities are prestigious. Volo is about 36 minutes from Waukegan Regional Airport. There is rarely traffic in this area. Volo is very safe. Low taxes, etc.

Remington Pointe - New Homes in Volo, IL | Remington Homes


If you move to Chicago you will be very happy and pleased.

[CubsRock!!!]

Waukegan...yuck! I lived there for thirty years up until it got really bad. Someone said it's nicer the farther north you go. Anyone thinking about living there might want to consider going all the way north (out of Waukegan) closest to the state line. It's sad because Waukegan used to be a nice place to live.

[thatgirl2478]

We've lived in Waukegan for 5 years now. It's really no where near as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Sure, there are bad parts, but every town has bad parts. In general, the further north of Grand you go, the better, but there are some really cute neighborhoods right around Grand as well.

For anyone thinking of moving to Waukegan, don't rely on the posts here to tell you what it's like. Drive through the areas you're thinking of, talk to the police about what areas you're thinking of. Most neighborhoods here are perfectly safe.

As for the schools, yes the middle schools and the high schools aren't GREAT. But, the elementary schools are really really improving. Take a look at how their test scores are moving and keep in mind that the current kids in middle/high school can't possibly be expected to perform well if they didn't get the strong base of education in elementary school. Honestly, even within the HS there are HIGH performing students - remember that it's not ONLY the teachers job to educate students - PARENTS have to take some of the responsibility too.

[jbwauk1]

I don't know where the originator of this thread decided to locate, but if someone is to work as far north as the airport, I would recommend going a few minutes north and settling in Pleasant Prairie, WI.

[Neighborhoodwatch]

Everyone is always down on Waukegan. They are ignorant and narrow minded. If you consider possibility of putting kids in private schools buying a house in the historic district in the north east part of town can be quite nice. The industrial areas people speak of are being demolished and a great deal of money is being put into transforming the city from a once industrial focused town into a more diversified living environment. You can purchase a wonderful home for around 200,000 to 250,000. Why live in this part of the country and not be as close as possible to the lake?