North Suburbs and Jewish community (Arlington Heights, Skokie: schools, university, taxes)

[Chiguy1957]

Have you considered the West Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago? It has a very large Jewish community, both Orthodox and reformed. THe area to which I refer would be from Devon to Howard and from California to Kedzie. It's a pretty attractive city neighborhood with a mix of housing, but it's mostly single-family homes, which gives it somewhat of a suburban patina.

There seems to be a temple every couple blocks. Devon Avenue west of California has a lot of ma/pa Jewish buisnesses such as delis, bakeries, bookstores, and restaurants. If the small neighborhood feel isn't important to you, the large supermarkets, Jewel on Howard and Dominick's on McCormick, have huge Kosher sections.

Not sure about K-8 education, but the Ida Crown Academy, at Pratt & California, is well-regarded at the HS level.

There's a new luxury development on the western edge of the neighborhood where the prices of the houses are said to start at $1MM. However, in this market I'm sure you could negotiate.

Unless you're dead set on having a "prestige" address that is outside of the 606 zip codes, you might be pleasantly surprised at what you find in West Rogers Park.

[AnnaBanana77]

I think it's wonderful that you want to raise your children in a community with other Jews! I can tell you that Deerfield and Highland Park, in my experience have many Jewish families, and that Hinsdale doesn't have as many.
Blessings on your search!

[Kiki Jensen]

Predominantly Jewish suburbs are:

Skokie, Highland Park, Glencoe

[brschoppe]

Buffalo Grove or Deerfield would probably be your best bet. There is still a nice mix of people in those communities, but there is a larger than normal Jewish population in those areas. My wife used to teach in Deerfield and they got all the Jewish holiday's off. I believe the same is true of Buffalo Grove.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by brschoppe

Buffalo Grove or Deerfield would probably be your best bet. There is still a nice mix of people in those communities, but there is a larger than normal Jewish population in those areas. My wife used to teach in Deerfield and they got all the Jewish holiday's off. I believe the same is true of Buffalo Grove.

virtually all north suburban and North Shore (as well as extending into the NW suburbs) school districts have traditionally had the Jewish holidays off.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by DBF

I grew up in Deerfield. In the 60s-80s only Skokie and Highland Park were Jewish communities.

Hardly restricted to Skokie and Highland Park, even at the 1960's end of things. Lincolnwood and Glencoe, among others, were heavily Jewish. Within the much larger Evanston community, southwest Evanston (south of Oakton and west of Asbury (Western) was a very strong Jewish community. West Wilmette was as heavily Jewish as any during that time.

Mention has been made of Glenview as not having been very Jewish friendly. To a degree that was right; east Glenview was almost as gentile an area as Kenilworth was and I believe it did have housing restrictions. But the 1960's was a time when suburban sprawl really got going and edges of the western portions of Glenview where it abuts with Northbrook became very Jewish.

In the early 1970's it was Wheeling, not Buffalo Grove, that was leading the way for Jewish expansion northwestward.

[UriAvnery]

Originally Posted by AnnaBanana77

I think it's wonderful that you want to raise your children in a community with other Jews! I can tell you that Deerfield and Highland Park, in my experience have many Jewish families, and that Hinsdale doesn't have as many.
Blessings on your search!

I'm Jewish and I think that's racist. What if someone here said: "I think it's wonderful that you want to raise your White children in a community with other Whites!"

My God, my liberal Jewish friends would be calling for the diversity police to come, arrest them, and sign them up for some diversity -training.

Northbrook used to be the speed-skating capital of the USA, but today it has over 11 Jewish synagogues and schools, so the demographics have really moved in our favor. Mention has been made of Northbrook as not having been very Gentile friendly, but that's really only since the 1980's. There are subdivisions in west Northbrook that are exclusively Jewish (OK, maybe a couple of Asian families) and they offer no diversity whatsoever, but rather a solely Jewish environment which sounds like what you are seeking.

[katgrl43]

Hi!
A few towns come to mind! Glencoe has a good-sized Jewish population as does Highland Park. Also, Skokie and Northbrook. There a quite a few synagogues around the north shore in Northfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, Skokie and Glenview.
Good luck!

[katgrl43]

"Rada475" said:
"We are both Jewish and while we like the idea of a diverse suburb, but we also want a strong Jewish community."
With all due respect, "UriAvnery", I believe the original poster claimed that they would like to seek out a more Jewish neighborhood. I don't see any racism on AnnaBanana77's part? I am Catholic and recently a Catholic friend of mine asked if there were any parochial schools up in my area because she wants her children to have a Catholic education! I fail to see the offense in a person wanting to seek out that which strengthens and supports ones beliefs? But, I mean no disrespect, you are entitled to your opinion.

[edsg25]

I hope this isn't an overgeneralization about Jewish communities, but I would tend to look at this way:

Evanston: Evanston attracts progressive, liberal Jews who are comfortable in a once very conservative community that is sort of the opposite today. Evanston attracts Jews like Hyde Park and for the same reason. As a result, Evanston's Jewish community tends to be more spread out without the real concentration of a "Jewish neighborhood". At one time, southwest Evanston (west of Asbury and south of Oakton) was somewhat akin to nearby Jewish communities in Skokie.

Skokie: older Jews still live there in abundance, largely in condos. Religious Jews congregate around Dempster and Crawford, principally in Timber Ridge, where orthodox services abound with kids more rarely going to the public elementary schools and ETHS. My guess is that the single family Skokie neighborhood that most resembles the old Skokie Jewish days is Devonshire.

Glenview: old Glenview is not very Jewish as such, but the old days when the area had a restricted reputation like Kenilworth's are long gone. What gives Glenview a strong Jewish presence is newer subdivisions to the west which are more sprawl suburbia and share irregular borders with Northbrook. Jewish kids in either district 34 or GBS hardly feel uncomfortable.

Buffalo Grove: the Lake County part is very Jewish; the Cook part...not so much

Wilmette: west Wilmette when it first came into being was very heavily Jewish, an extension of the Jewish belt that spread north from Lincolnwood to Skokie and on into Wlmette. I believe these areas, west of Hunter, are more Asian than Jewish today.

Glencoe: kind of Jewish like HP but wihtout the steroids. More Jewish lite.

Highland Park: the mother ship of the north suburban Jewish communities with plenty of Jewish neighborhoods throughout. Ages ago when Deerfield High School opened and the western end of Highland Park was lopped off of the HPHS attendance area to go there, students were given the opition to go to either HPHS were there was a more comfortable Jewish atmospher (obviously DHS very much offers one today); from what I understand, the option is still there.

Northbrook: Max and Benny's. Need I say more?