Glenview vs. Northbrook (Chicago, Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect: hardwood floors, low income, to rent)

[SE256PU]

Merry Christmas Everyone.


Long-term lurker, first time poster.

My family and I are looking to move to the northern suburbs in Feb or March of next year and looking for some advice to help us narrow our search.

Looking for the following

- Proximity to Ohare, 294, train station and Deerfield (where in-laws live)
- Quality school district
- Strong Park district program

Will look to rent initially, however, we will eventually want to be able to buy in the same district where we are renting.

For the rental, we are looking for

- at least 2000 square feet
- modern kitchen
- at least 2 car garage (ideally 3 but understand that is probably not realistic)
- "newer" feel with mostly hardwood floors (allergy issues) and good ventilation
- am open to either single family home or townhouse
- budget $3000 - $3500/month

I actually grew up in the far west suburbs of Chicago so I have an idea of the towns but really don't know the details. Based on our research Glenview and Northbrook came to the top of the list. Does anyone have a strong opinion of one over the other or are there other communities we should be looking at.


Thanks for the help.

[4122]

Personally, I like Glenview better because they it's more scenic, has better parks, and the Glen and downtown Glenview. Both towns have quality schools but Northbrooks are ranked higher, but that's only because Glenview has more low income students. I've heard great Northbrook's park district, but I haven't really heard anything about Glenview's. Glenview and Northbrook have more older homes, but not as old as towns on the North shore like Highland Park, Lake Forest, Winnetka, Wilmette, etc. You could also look at Highland Park, Mount Prospect, Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, and possibly Park Ridge depending on what's available in your budget.

[SE256PU]

Thanks for the reply. I am a bit reticent about wilmette/Winnetka because I am not crazy about the hyper competitive new trier school district.

[MillennialUrbanist]

Glenview and Northbrook are more similar than different. Both are located in the I-294 corridor. Both have Metra stations. Both have a shopping area (The Glen and Northbrook Court, respectively). Both share the Glenbrook High School district. Northbrook is somewhat wealthier, and has a larger Jewish population. Glenview has a slightly younger vibe (referring to human age). Other than that, just go by your budget and location deal-breakers, rather by suburb name.

[4122]

Originally Posted by SE256PU

Thanks for the reply. I am a bit reticent about wilmette/Winnetka because I am not crazy about the hyper competitive new trier school district.

Then you probably wouldn't want Buffalo Grove. It's in tbe Stevenson HS district which is very similar to New Trier. All of the top ranked high schools like the Glenbrooks, Highland Park, Deerfield, Lake Forest, etc. are just as competitive as NT and Stevenson, just on a smaller scale. I assume that you would be worried about your kids making it on sports teams, etc. with so many students trying out but NT has multiple teams per level unlike other schools which gives more kids an opportunity to participate. However, I wouldn't recommend Wilmette/Winnetka for you because you would not find much in your budget.

[twodoor2]

I looked at both Glenview and Northbrook during my home search and I ended up with Northbrook. Northbrook, at least to me, seemed to have better resale value, and GBN and the other schools ranked higher. I didn't care much about all the low income housing I saw in the Glenview area, for such an affluent suburb. I actually used to live in a lower income condo in Glenview when I first got married, over 20 years ago. We were young and not making as much $$. It was a really nice place to live, but I really tried to avoid burbs that had large pockets of low income housing. You can still take advantage of Glenview's ammenities as well, even though you live in NB. It's not like it's restricted only to Glenbrook residents.

However, both are very comparable, I just went with Northbrook because a home is also an investment, and I wanted to make a good investment as well.

[pvande55]

Not much difference, but Northbrook is more "corporate" due to direct access to I294. Glenview has newer housing thanks to the building boom following decommissioning of the Naval base.

[BrianRF]

Curious if more people have thoughts about the differences between these two towns. They seem really comparable in terms of schools, access, etc. but people have strong feelings about them. What are the true differences, if any?

[twodoor2]

Originally Posted by BrianRF

Curious if more people have thoughts about the differences between these two towns. They seem really comparable in terms of schools, access, etc. but people have strong feelings about them. What are the true differences, if any?

Well, I almost got killed by two senior citizen drivers in Northbrook the other day who cut me off, so beware of elderly drivers there, LOL, but not much difference between the two burbs. The schools are perceived to be better in Northbrook, but as one poster mentioned, there's more low income housing there which probably accounts for it. Glenbrook South is still an amazing high school.

[BrianRF]

Thanks- there does seem to be a preference for Northbrook schools, though I can't figure out why exactly.

Originally Posted by twodoor2

Well, I almost got killed by two senior citizen drivers in Northbrook the other day who cut me off, so beware of elderly drivers there, LOL, but not much difference between the two burbs. The schools are perceived to be better in Northbrook, but as one poster mentioned, there's more low income housing there which probably accounts for it. Glenbrook South is still an amazing high school.