Relocating from Seattle to Chicagoland (Naperville, Arlington Heights: 2015, apartments, rentals)

[back2chicago]

Folks,

My wife and 2 kids both in elementary are moving to Chicagoland area in the first week of November. My workplace is in Downtown but I work from home mostly and do not need to travel to downtown every day. Our biggest priority is strong elementary schools. We plan to rent currently and may consider buying a house down the road. Both of our daughters are gifted and they currently attend gifted program in LWSD school in Seattle area.

Can you please suggest some great schools and apartment names?

Thanks for your help.

[twodoor2]

IMO, the best information for schools is this site.

https://illinoisreportcard.com/

Are there any suburbs or areas of Chicago you're interested in? Or, do you not know yet, and you're basing your move on the schools? There are lots of arguments on this board as to which schools are the best (a lot of people take pride in the schools they send their kids, which is understandable). Therefore, I would look to the above site if people make recommendations for you.

I've moved to get into great schools, and I chose the Northbrook area since we have to live in Cook due to my husband's job requirements, and it has great schools. However, that's just one place, and I'm sure there are others on your radar. It also depends on your budget and what you can afford for the type of home you want. The North Shore, for example, has great schools, but the average price for a single family home is around 1 million dollars. There are more affordable suburbs, and although the schools don't rate as highly as some of these highly affluent areas, the schools are still very good. If your children are gifted, I think your biggest issue will to make sure they're challenged. If you can get them into a magnet school, or gifted program, that will also help. Good luck.

Some highly rated schools can also be found in
Hinsdale
Barrington
Some of Arlington Heights
North Suburbs that feed into Stevenson High School
Vernon Hills
The entire North Shore
Northbrook
Glenview
Deerfield
Naperville

And I'm sure I'm missing some, so no need to offend others. They'll let us know.

[back2chicago]

Thanks. No, we don't have any preference on the suburbs. We are ready to go anywhere that has strong academic and challenging curriculum for kids. we want to rent a place first and then buy a house later. It's really difficult to find an apartment that feeds into a good school. Do you know of any magnet schools? Are these private or public?

[holl1ngsworth]

Longfellow Elementary in Wheaton is a perennial top-performer in Illinois. The school is conveniently located in Wheaton's picturesque downtown district, walking distance to the Metra station and many high-end rentals:
LONGFELLOW ELEM SCHOOL | Illinois Report Card

Regarding apartments, Wheaton 121 opened last year and I've heard and read lots of positives:

Vienna Beef exec has no beef with Wheaton 121 *|* REJournals.com
Morningside Group Wins 2015 Project Vision Award from the Urban Land Institute | Patch
Wheaton 121 Photo Gallery

[twodoor2]

Originally Posted by back2chicago

Thanks. No, we don't have any preference on the suburbs. We are ready to go anywhere that has strong academic and challenging curriculum for kids. we want to rent a place first and then buy a house later. It's really difficult to find an apartment that feeds into a good school. Do you know of any magnet schools? Are these private or public?

The only magnet schools I know of are public, and in the city, and I know mostly high schools.

If your budget allows for it, the North Shore area is academically challenging and these schools feed into New Trier HS, probably the best non-magnet high school in the state.

Hinsdale in the western suburbs also has top rated schools, but like the North Shore, it's extremely expensive to live there.

There are some areas where the primary schools tend to be better than the high school, or vice versa, so if I were to choose, I would try to base my decision on the best high school you can afford, even if the primary schools are great, but not at the very top. I think the North Shore, Naperville, and Hinsdale have all top schools at all levels. I am not sure about other suburbs. Use the Illinois Interactive report card to look at test scores, teacher to student ratio, and spending per student.

For example, the area I chose to move to has a top rated junior high, but the elementary school isn't as highly rated, but it is still above average. My youngest is almost out of elementary so that wasn't as important to me as the junior high. The high school is one of the best in the state however.

If you want top top top across the board, I would focus on the North Shore, Naperville and Hinsdale. Again, other people will object to my list, or add to it, and that's fine. It's just an opinion.

[holl1ngsworth]

I think it's incorrect to generalize "the North Shore" in this situation, which comprises many school districts that are not all top-performing. Hinsdale Central HS and it's associated feeder schools and New Trier HS and it's associated feeder schools are alone at the top of the top tier. Naperville's schools are still top tier, but more in-line with schools in Elmhurst, Barrington, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Libertyville, La Grange, Western Springs, Glen Ellyn, Highland Park, Evanston, Oak Park, River Forest, Arlington Heights, Deerfield, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Lake Forest, Mt. Prospect, Riverside, the Tri-Cities and the many towns that feed into Stevenson HS.

[DougStark]

How about the Chicago Public School system? I hear they have high academic standards and the teachers are top-notch!

[twodoor2]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

I think it's incorrect to generalize "the North Shore" in this situation. Hinsdale Central HS and it's associated feeder schools and New Trier HS and it's associated feeder schools are alone at the top of the top tier. Naperville's schools are still top tier, but more inline with schools in Elmhurst, Barrington, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Libertyville, La Grange, Western Springs, Glen Ellyn, Highland Park, Evanston, Oak Park, River Forest, Arlington Heights, Deerfield, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Lake Forest, the Tri-Cities and the many towns that feed into Stevenson HS.

When I meant the North Shore, I meant those schools that feed into New Trier. I think of the North Shore as primarily Wilmette, Glencoe, Kenilworth, Winnetka. I'm probably missing a few towns in there that don't feed into New Trier. Even of the towns I mention, some parents scoff at some of the primary schools, so to the OP, do your research. I think I personally would be happy with any primary schools in that area, but as parents, we're not all the same.

[Paige65]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

I think it's incorrect to generalize "the North Shore" in this situation, which comprises many school districts that are not all top-performing. Hinsdale Central HS and it's associated feeder schools and New Trier HS and it's associated feeder schools are alone at the top of the top tier. Naperville's schools are still top tier, but more in-line with schools in Elmhurst, Barrington, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Libertyville, La Grange, Western Springs, Glen Ellyn, Highland Park, Evanston, Oak Park, River Forest, Arlington Heights, Deerfield, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Lake Forest, Mt. Prospect, Riverside, the Tri-Cities and the many towns that feed into Stevenson HS.

Stevenson and Deerfield should be in the same "top" of the top as NT and HC. I would argue a few others should be added to that group, but will leave it to those two for now.

[Paige65]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

I think it's incorrect to generalize "the North Shore" in this situation, which comprises many school districts that are not all top-performing. Hinsdale Central HS and it's associated feeder schools and New Trier HS and it's associated feeder schools are alone at the top of the top tier. Naperville's schools are still top tier, but more in-line with schools in Elmhurst, Barrington, Wheaton, Downers Grove, Libertyville, La Grange, Western Springs, Glen Ellyn, Highland Park, Evanston, Oak Park, River Forest, Arlington Heights, Deerfield, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Lake Forest, Mt. Prospect, Riverside, the Tri-Cities and the many towns that feed into Stevenson HS.

There are only four public high schools on the North Shore. Evanston, New Trier, Highland Park and Lake Forest. They are all very good and all very different. Larger, smaller, completely homogenous, and somewhat diverse to very diverse. A very good education can be had at any one of them. They are all high performing districts.