Moving from Maine to work in East Dundee (Elgin, Crystal Lake: for sale, real estate)

[MissSissy]

I am moving from Maine with my two middle school aged children and would like some help in seeking the best suburb based on the following qualities:

A great school system with a good special education department.

Ample extra curricular activities. i.e. hockey, baton, basketball, baseball.

Limited driving time to East Dundee.

Low crime rate

Rentals (appartments/townhouses) within the $1000 - $1500 range

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thank you!

[Steve-o]

You could look into Crystal Lake, Algonquin, South Elgin, Sleepy Hollow, all are lovely towns. Stay away from Elgin schools, theyre notoriously bad. There are many apartments in the area, you shouldnt have a problem finding something in that range.

[Schnooks]

I don't know anything about the Dundee school systems, but you could probably find a really cute victorian house to rent in West Dundee.. we almost rented a really cool one when we moved to the burbs.. but ended up in Arl. Hts. instead.

[tcs1366]

my best friend lives in W. Dundee. She sent her kids to private school as she said Dundee Crown [the high school] is a horrible school... I do not know anything first hand about it... that is just what i was told.

I would think going north or East Dundee may be the way to go.
I'm not aware of where the Sleepy Hallow kids go ... and i dont think they have apartments there either. but it's gorgeous country. My friend lives off of Sleepy Hallow Road.

might wanna try this site to look for good schools, then narrow your search from there.
GreatSchools.net

[nanannie]

Dundee is a nice, affordable town,some nice restaraunts,shops,hilly old 'hoods meandering around the river,but the high school has had troubles. The immigration issue in neighboring Carpentersville has not helped the reputation at the once very good school as students from both towns attend. I hope the school improves as Dundee is a nice family town. (maybe theres another high school other then Dundee-Crown area students attend ? dont know) The other towns Steve-o mentioned are good ideas as well. Good schools and with the park districts and the school systems, you will have no trouble having extra curicular events. Sorry, dont know about special ed. Good luck to you with the move.

[MissSissy]

Thank you all for the information, it is most helpful! I am so glad I "stumbled" upon this site.

As far as schools go, I believe Cary and St. Charles may be good choices. Does anyone have any experience with either?

I also heard (but cannot find) about some new townhouses up for sale on/near Bangs Lake in Wauconda that are being sold really cheap because they have been on the market so long. I have done a search on the internet and can't find the actual location (I have searched by Rt. 176 and Bangs Lake). I do come up with Townhouses however they are not new and certainly don't say "$150,000.00 or best offer". By chance does anyone in this area know about these?

Again, thank you all for your help. I appreciate it.

[tcs1366]

I always loved Wauconda. We used to slip our boat on Bangs. Nice quiet lake, on week days... weekends are a nightmare.

Housing up there has gone thru the roof, being on the lake, we looked years [10 or so] ago .... but way out of our price range.

I'll look around to see if i can locate the 150k or so townhomes... but my bet is, they are not on the lake.

[tcs1366]

well, i have found a few
Wauconda, IL, Real Estate Listings and Wauconda, IL Condo/Townhouse/Co-Op for Sale - Realtor.com
but they are not brand new construction

hope the link works.

[emmi605]

I was just up in that area. Algonquin is a very cute, quaint town along the river. I loved the older homes and hills. Driving up through Cary made me feel like I was back in upper Michigan or Wisconsin...very vacation-like. As for schools, yes St. Charles has a wonderful reputation, but it is very expensive to live there. I'm not sure about Cary, but try the Illinois School Report Cards (isbe.net) and you should be able to get information such as class size, teacher education, test scores, etc...