Grayslake, Mundelein or Vernon Hills (Chicago, Waukegan: apartments, rental, crime)

[Honeybear6703]

We are moving to chicago and need your advise. We have had a very hard time finding a rental property that is decent. It seems like most of them that are available are in Mundelein Vernon Hills or Grayslake.

Which one has a little bit more going on as far as restaurants, shopping, happy hours and bars? we do not have any young kids so we do not have to worry about any schools. Gurnee is also a possibility, but since it's not on the train route we ruled it out, aldo the statistics say Gurnee has much higher crime??

[pvande55]

Doesn't sound like any are a good choice. Mundelein and Grayslake are good if you have children, otherwise not. Vernon Hills has shopping and some bars. Gurnee does have higher crime thanks to shopping and is mostly family oriented. Sounds like you should be closer to Chicago, but if work is in Lake County understandably you don't want the long commute.

[chet everett]

Mundelein is NOT generally considered desirable; its schools are less well regarded. Even some of the spots with "Pub" in their name are much more accurately called "pizza joint" or maybe "old man bar". There are couple of 'cocktail lounges' inside the local hotels too, as I recall ... There are a handful of spots that do have bit of the "Happy Hour" theme where the weather is nice and people are out on Diamond Lake, but since it is not part of the bigger "Chain O' Lakes" the crowd is more local.

Grayslake has a bit of a traditional core, around Whitney & Center St, I recall there being a handful of burger / beer type spots but there are many subdivisions far removed from that area that don't have any of that appeal.

Vernon Hills kind of snakes around the office parks and retail centers, other than something like a sushi place in a strip mall or similar food & beverage locations it really is not very entertainment oriented.


If you are looking for a more varied social scene that the obvious choice in that part of Lake County is Libertyville, though rents tend to be quite a bit higher even for the older apartments as the schools are also very desirable. Realistically even the most booming section of brew pubs in Libertyville is not going to compare with anything in a more post-college neighborhood of Chicago nor is the live music scene even as varied as something in Milwaukee where at least the college kids from Marquette and other schools make that a priority...

[4122]

Gurnee has some petty crime because of Six Flags and all of the touristy places. It's actually pretty safe. Mundelein and Grayslake are very boring for young adults w/o kids. I would go with Vernon Hills. Mundelein is also by Vernon Hills and Grayslake os by Gurnee so it wouldn't hurt to look there.

[Daze55]

I have relatives who live out in Vernon Hills and they love it. I know that there is a mall within 5 minutes driving distance from their house, so maybe that is enough entertainment for you? Out of those three towns you mentioned, I'd definitely go with Vernon Hills.

[BOBNCHI]

Are you looking for a home or apartment rental? What is your price range? It sounds like downtown but where will you be working?
Take a look at Arlington Heights or Palatine as they have plenty of shopping and adult activities available. Plus its is a short drive to Schaumburg or Hoffman Estates for even more shopping and restaurants.

[Honeybear6703]

Thank you for the information everybody what does people think about Highland Park expecially Sunset Park area? Is it safe ? Does Highland Park have a lively downtown? How would you compare Highland Park to Libertyville?

[4122]

Originally Posted by Honeybear6703

Thank you for the information everybody what does people think about Highland Park expecially Sunset Park area? Is it safe ? Does Highland Park have a lively downtown? How would you compare Highland Park to Libertyville?

Highland Park is very safe an there's no bad areas but it is family oriented,but so is Libertyville . Sunset Park is very nice. It's convenient to downtown HP, the highway, and Sunset Park obviously. between downtown HP amd downtown Libertyville and downtown HP is the winner.

[LakeCountyBang]

Originally Posted by Honeybear6703

We are moving to chicago and need your advise. We have had a very hard time finding a rental property that is decent. It seems like most of them that are available are in Mundelein Vernon Hills or Grayslake.

Which one has a little bit more going on as far as restaurants, shopping, happy hours and bars? we do not have any young kids so we do not have to worry about any schools. Gurnee is also a possibility, but since it's not on the train route we ruled it out, aldo the statistics say Gurnee has much higher crime??

You are comparing a 20 year old Chevy Malibu(Mundelien) to a 5 year old Accord(Grayslake) to a Mercedes Benz(Vernon Hills).

Mundelien, horrible schools(for value), bars are crime infested. It might be improving a bit, but stay OUT. Rents probably under 1.4k. Comparable to Waukegan, Round Lake, McHenry.

Grayslake is pretty nice, especially on Rte 45 and closer to Gurnee. Pretty peaceful, and friendly. Country atmosphered too. Comparable to areas like Antioch, Gurnee, Hoffman Estates and Palatine. Rents under 2k mostly.

Vernon Hills is NICE. Especially close to the mall and VH High School. Rents are around 2k for a decent place. Many restaurants. Check it out if you got some more cash.