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FYI here are the top 10 highest-scoring public elementary schools for 2013, in order:
1.) Oak Brook - Brook Forest Elem School
2.) River Forest - Lincoln Elem School
3.) Naperville - Highlands Elem School
4.) Lincolnshire - Half Day School
5.) Hinsdale - Oak Elem School 6.) Wheaton - Longfellow Elem School
7.) Schaumburg - Herbert Hoover Elem School
8.) Clarendon Hills - Prospect Elem School
9.) Barrington - Grove Avenue Elem School
10.) Western Springs - John Laidlaw Elem School
I'm a little biased towards Wheaton, but it's worth a look given the Itasca commute and $/sqft savings. Note that no North Shore schools made the top 10.
Last edited by holl1ngsworth; 07-16-2014 at 08:32 AM..
If you compare like-students, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Elmhurst and Hinsdale schools all score very similarly.
Hinsdale is a smaller, more homogeneously wealthy community than Wheaton, Glen Ellyn or Elmhurst and has a correspondingly uniform body of students. This has allowed the school districts there to produce high average test scores.
If you want the school district that is best "on paper," no doubt that will be Hinsdale. In reality though, your children would perform similarly in any of the towns in question.
I think each town is worth considering. Especially given the shorter commute and lower $/sqft that Wheaton and GE offer. Some folks just gotta have the highest ratings though, and don't care to look at statistics, and sadly that keeps beautiful towns like Wheaton, GE and Elmhurst off their short lists.
Assuming the OP has elementary school aged kids I tend to agree that the differnces in schools among the top 20+ towns are not worth worrying about. Things change quite a bit in middle school (generally 6th graders / 11 yr olds) as the better performing districts do tend to focus more on skills that will serve the kids better in more academically challenging settings.
Things get even harder in high school. When you have the chance to consider towns that have really top rated schools the relative access to really challenging classes (like "Advancement Placement" which is system of college level courses and corresponding tests that allow high school students to take truly college level courses and judge their ability to succeed in college...) is a fairly signficant factor. Having lots of other classmates in such a setting is hard to beat...
To be sure, even if you do not anticipate remaining in the region through the kid's high school education the value of a home in a top rated district ought to be a factor in your economic decision. Generally the tax rates tend to be higher in the less pricey towns too, though the actual out of pocket money on taxes may be similar for "typical" houses as the typical house in a wealthier area is likely more costly to begin with. The bottomline for someone with a budget in the very high six (or seven) figures is however worth considering... It is also a challenge to find acceptable rental options. Finally, it is not so much that other areas are an automatic "losing bet" as the relative price appreciation / price stability has been more solid.
Assuming the OP has elementary school aged kids I tend to agree that the differnces in schools among the top 20+ towns are not worth worrying about. Things change quite a bit in middle school (generally 6th graders / 11 yr olds) as the better performing districts do tend to focus more on skills that will serve the kids better in more academically challenging settings.
Things get even harder in high school. When you have the chance to consider towns that have really top rated schools the relative access to really challenging classes (like "Advancement Placement" which is system of college level courses and corresponding tests that allow high school students to take truly college level courses and judge their ability to succeed in college...) is a fairly signficant factor. Having lots of other classmates in such a setting is hard to beat...
To be sure, even if you do not anticipate remaining in the region through the kid's high school education the value of a home in a top rated district ought to be a factor in your economic decision. Generally the tax rates tend to be higher in the less pricey towns too, though the actual out of pocket money on taxes may be similar for "typical" houses as the typical house in a wealthier area is likely more costly to begin with. The bottomline for someone with a budget in the very high six (or seven) figures is however worth considering... It is also a challenge to find acceptable rental options. Finally, it is not so much that other areas are an automatic "losing bet" as the relative price appreciation / price stability has been more solid.
So, what are you saying here? Are you saying that Elmhurst, Wheaton, Park Ridge and Arlington Heights (etc.) don't offer enough AP classes in high school?
IMO, the whole issue of the "best" schools is really overblown. I wouldn't want to send my kids to Provizo, but there are a lot of very good high schools that I don't see mentioned here as anything special. St. Charles, where I went, had a ton of AP options and I took full advantage of them. I don't think things would be any different for me personally if I had gone to Hinsdale Central because there's just a limit to how much a student can take (in terms of time when you have a job, clubs, friends, etc.).
If I were the OP, I would definitely expand my search to include Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton and Arlington Heights. That's just me though.
Not saying that they don't offer enough, just that the value of the homes is driven largely by the perception of other home buyers that will pay more for homes in areas with more highly rated schools...
I frankly would not recommend that anyone happy in their current town / home specifically "shop for a better town" but when someone is relocating and may have to move again it makes sense to consider the resale potential...
All of the towns mentioned have great resale potential. Well, except Itasca.
OP, keep in mind that you are talking to people who actually live in many of the suburbs mentioned, and that influences the advice you are getting. Chet is in Clarendon Hills, which is adjacent to Hinsdale and also within the Hinsdale Central High School attendance area. I am in Glen Ellyn. Nikitakolata is in Elmhurst. I believe Holl1ngsworth is in Wheaton.
My wife and I looked at several houses in Hinsdale and didn't see the value as far as we were concerned in our price range. The cost/benefit ratio of getting a lesser house in "The #1" west suburban school district instead of just a "really good school district" didn't seem to work for us.
We are sometimes bothered by the displays of wealth and status in Glen Ellyn, but this town is a little more economically diverse and "down to earth" than Hinsdale or the North Shore. Maybe that doesn't bother you. And I don't know why it didn't bother us as much when we lived in Lincoln Park...
All of the towns mentioned have great resale potential. Well, except Itasca.
OP, keep in mind that you are talking to people who actually live in many of the suburbs mentioned, and that influences the advice you are getting. Chet is in Clarendon Hills, which is adjacent to Hinsdale and also within the Hinsdale Central High School attendance area. I am in Glen Ellyn. Nikitakolata is in Elmhurst. I believe Holl1ngsworth is in Wheaton.
My wife and I looked at several houses in Hinsdale and didn't see the value as far as we were concerned in our price range. The cost/benefit ratio of getting a lesser house in "The #1" west suburban school district instead of just a "really good school district" didn't seem to work for us.
We are sometimes bothered by the displays of wealth and status in Glen Ellyn, but this town is a little more economically diverse and "down to earth" than Hinsdale or the North Shore. Maybe that doesn't bother you. And I don't know why it didn't bother us as much when we lived in Lincoln Park...
I agree with everything here. I'm of the mindset that a really good school district is good enough, it doesn't have to be #1. My husband and I looked at every suburb mentioned in this thread, including Itasca, actually. I guess the OP needs to decide what their priorities are. If schools are #1, then stay with Hinsdale. For us, the house itself was #1 and schools were a secondary concern. We just kept looking until we found the right house (there were some nice houses in Itasca, but the price difference didn't offset the school difference and lack of a downtown enough for us).
True, and if you are in "for the long haul" different factors are part of the decision....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lookout Kid
All of the towns mentioned have great resale potential. Well, except Itasca.
OP, keep in mind that you are talking to people who actually live in many of the suburbs mentioned, and that influences the advice you are getting. Chet is in Clarendon Hills, which is adjacent to Hinsdale and also within the Hinsdale Central High School attendance area. I am in Glen Ellyn. Nikitakolata is in Elmhurst. I believe Holl1ngsworth is in Wheaton.
My wife and I looked at several houses in Hinsdale and didn't see the value as far as we were concerned in our price range. The cost/benefit ratio of getting a lesser house in "The #1" west suburban school district instead of just a "really good school district" didn't seem to work for us.
We are sometimes bothered by the displays of wealth and status in Glen Ellyn, but this town is a little more economically diverse and "down to earth" than Hinsdale or the North Shore. Maybe that doesn't bother you. And I don't know why it didn't bother us as much when we lived in Lincoln Park...
I often talk to my neighbors about how comfortable they feel seeing themselves living here 10 or more years after their kids are done with school. I have MANY neighbors that have lived here 40+ years. Generally their homes are quickly snatched up by folks eager to get a well priced place they can fix-up a litllet, and live in 'em for a long time, raise their kids, retire, etc. The other big competition for these homes is builder that tear down older homes and construct far more costly homes. Relatively few of the buyers of the newer homes really see themselves growing old in town...
That does sort of signal a shift from folks that are "more down to earth" to folks that hope to move to a lower tax / reduced cost of living area sooner. Truth be told the same factors are at work in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn, Elmhusrt, Western Springs, the North Shore, Lincoln Park, etc. Really from a poltical / generational standpoint that ship has sailed.
That does sort of signal a shift from folks that are "more down to earth" to folks that hope to move to a lower tax / reduced cost of living area sooner. Truth be told the same factors are at work in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn, Elmhusrt, Western Springs, the North Shore, Lincoln Park, etc. Really from a poltical / generational standpoint that ship has sailed.
Even though I am right around 40 myself, I find that most of my favorite neighbors are all about 15+ years older than me--and they are leaving in droves and mostly selling to young families with jobs in finance, etc. I'm not sure what that means about the direction of the town. Houses around us are selling fast if they are rehabbed and nice, or are becoming teardowns. People seem to be getting at or above asking, assuming they didn't shoot for the moon with their asking prices. Many of the houses we saw last year have already been bought up by developers and rehabbed. If anything, the level of wealth around us seems to be increasing quickly.
Not saying that they don't offer enough, just that the value of the homes is driven largely by the perception of other home buyers that will pay more for homes in areas with more highly rated schools...
I frankly would not recommend that anyone happy in their current town / home specifically "shop for a better town" but when someone is relocating and may have to move again it makes sense to consider the resale potential...
I like your point about resale potential.
Beyond resale potential in terms of "return of capital," the OP may also want to look at the "days on market" stats for whichever towns make their short list. Especially if a potential future relocation might happen abruptly and the OP might need to unload the home fast. Some markets have been hot since the crisis (more-or-less) ended, and some have not. And even within certain "hot" markets there are "hot" price-points and not hot price-points.
Certainly the safest region to have had a home over the past 8 years has been the West (versus any other suburban region). The attached table shows the suburbs with the smallest net change in home values since '06 (data through March '14). The Western suburbs are over-represented on the list. Also on the table is the "average number of days on market."
Hinsdale has proved to be the safest investment, but homes do take 45-60 days longer to sell versus comparable suburbs. For instance, Wheaton homes have had a slightly worse dollar return, but are typically easier to unload. Obviously this has to do with median prices and the fact that a wider range incomes can shop Wheaton.
It's up to the OP to decide if any of this is significant or matters at all. IMO markets are "cooling off" and it would be wise to chose a suburb that has proven itself a strong investment during the worst housing crisis in history.
Last edited by holl1ngsworth; 07-16-2014 at 12:41 PM..
Even though I am right around 40 myself, I find that most of my favorite neighbors are all about 15+ years older than me--and they are leaving in droves and mostly selling to young families with jobs in finance, etc. I'm not sure what that means about the direction of the town. Houses around us are selling fast if they are rehabbed and nice, or are becoming teardowns. People seem to be getting at or above asking, assuming they didn't shoot for the moon with their asking prices. Many of the houses we saw last year have already been bought up by developers and rehabbed. If anything, the level of wealth around us seems to be increasing quickly.
It is still pretty fresh in the minds of those selling that WHEN the most recent collapse happened it wiped out HUNDREDSS OF THOUSAND IN EQUITY in mere weeks!
You don't have to be Nostradamus to grok the reality that selling in an up market is a heckuva a better thing that suffering through another 2008! Look back at some of the thread here from that era -- there were posters trying to sell really nice homes in the western suburbs priced fairly while their neighbors had "mailed in the keys" to the lender. The lenders in some cases dumped those places at auction for HUGE discounts.
Nobody needs thatkind of uncertainity hanging over the "golden years" . Who is going to willing pass up an opportunty to "get out while the leaving is good"? Frankly I have had twangs both ways, when I see a place in a low tax area and I think about what I have got into my home I consider leaving. When I consider that I would also probably "hang up the spurs" and drastically alter my income that keeps me here...
The worst part of the mess in Ilinois is of course the corruption that keeps fattening up insiders at the expense of the rest of us "chumbalones" that can't even vote these crooks out. My greatest fear is not the direct escalation of taxes themselves but the horrible consequnces to our whole regional economy should the morons from Chicago ever use the taxation powers of Springpatch to drive out the financial markets. I kid you not, there are people in very very high powered positions that would massively and swiftly relocate the operational hardware to more tax friendly locations and the resulting loss of both revenue and talent would crater this place as surely as other midwestern cities have faced bankruptcy...
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A bit of a quibble...
