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I would suggest that nearly an analysis that compared the relative benefits of being inside the school districts that serve Glencoe would show neither educational nor financial benefits compared to being in a similarly priced single family home in the more affordable parts of Wilmette or Northfield served by nearly identical public schools.
The experience I have had both as a teacher and when my own kids were in school is that condos are rather uncommon living choices for intact families in nicer areas. The majority of residents are retirees. The odds of a resident having school aged kids also being divorced are quite high. I realize that the subsequent likelihood of kids not having as many nearby playmates is not really a true "cause and effect" but the bigger issue, of at least having the possibility of more "mainstream" friends / neighbors as well as much better prospects for price appreciation / stability cannot be ignored...
You are making a lot of assumptions and broad brush strokes here, amigo. Much diatribe and not a lot of room for exceptions.
Nothing wrong with living in a condo or townhome (gosh- will all the 'roving Glencoe gangs' put a flaming tire around your neck?). Nothing to see here folks...
Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett
I would suggest that nearly an analysis that compared the relative benefits of being inside the school districts that serve Glencoe would show neither educational nor financial benefits compared to being in a similarly priced single family home in the more affordable parts of Wilmette or Northfield served by nearly identical public schools.
The experience I have had both as a teacher and when my own kids were in school is that condos are rather uncommon living choices for intact families in nicer areas. The majority of residents are retirees. The odds of a resident having school aged kids also being divorced are quite high. I realize that the subsequent likelihood of kids not having as many nearby playmates is not really a true "cause and effect" but the bigger issue, of at least having the possibility of more "mainstream" friends / neighbors as well as much better prospects for price appreciation / stability cannot be ignored...
Not about "gangs", far more about what the OP has ALREADY seen in their search...
Quote:
Originally Posted by damba
You are making a lot of assumptions and broad brush strokes here, amigo. Much diatribe and not a lot of room for exceptions.
Nothing wrong with living in a condo or townhome (gosh- will all the 'roving Glencoe gangs' put a flaming tire around your neck?). Nothing to see here folks...
The OP already had an ugly incident at a townhome development in Northfield they were shopping, if you missed their report the summary is simple: "crazy old lady type" muttering about the apparent ethnic / religious background of said shoppers. They can expect more of that. Even in the nicest areas there is a very nasty / bitter streak among folks living in condos / townhomes. I've seen this over and over when trying to get things like required copies of HOA documents from the smaller complexes where some self-important retiree tries to be a legalistic tyrant. It is unfortunately an all too common occurrence and one of the main reason that I recommend against such situations.
Neither is there any secret that when a family is broken up by divorce the economics of maintaining two households in very costly towns often forces one or both parents into a condo to maintain residency for the kids to finish school with their classmates. The toxic environment that often accompanies the understandably bitter divorce is hardly the best for kids or making new friends.
There are simply lots more "normal" intact families that value a quality education living in the less desirable corners of towns like Wilmette or Northfield in single family homes that would be a better situation for the OP financially as well as for the likely friendships that their children might develop. I would even go so far to say that if they really thing about the influences that matter to their kids development it might well make sense to find a home in their budgetary comfort range in town that is more overall more affordable even if that means accepting schools that are step down. Near the North Shore that would include Evanston, Skokie, Niles, Morton Grove and probably DesPlaines -- the fact is many other parents have made this trade-off and I would argue it is a sensible move, especially if the natural presence of friends provides a more situation for their children.
Honestly, when I say "find the most affordable home in the nicest town you can" I really do mean SINGLE FAMILY DETACHED home as that does provide the best opportunity for full participation in the community. I have seen the benefits of such participation in terms of thing like sports, music /arts, and longer term friendship be at least as important as the raw numbers of academics...
You wont have any trouble if you mind your own business and be respectful of our culture.
Americans get angry when someone moves here from a middle east or African $hit hole and tries to change our country instead of assimilating.If you run around in a burka screaming obscenities at store clerks for selling bacon and alcohol,yes you might have a problem
No, that is not the sort of thing the OP has to worry about...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samiamnh
You wont have any trouble if you mind your own business and be respectful of our culture.
Americans get angry when someone moves here from a middle east or African $hit hole and tries to change our country instead of assimilating.If you run around in a burka screaming obscenities at store clerks for selling bacon and alcohol,yes you might have a problem
The OP has been a long term resident of the area, they seem very unlikely to try to "change anything" and frankly there is no shortage of ethnic businesses that already serve the large Desi community in the region -- Chicago Indian Movies, Chicago Indian Events
What the OP has to consider is the mindset of folks that choose to live in a complex where the potential for a strictly interpreted HOA agreement can give a cantankerous busy body the ammunition to intrude on their neighbor's life to an unreasonable extent.
Compounding that problem is the fact that in the desirable town the OP is currently focused on there is such a large gap between the typical value of a condo and the much more common single family detached home that they are really stigmatizing them self as from a more constrained economic strata -- in Glencoe IL there are currently just FIVE townhomes/ condos/ mutlifamily listings with an average listing price of $220K https://www.redfin.com/city/7559/IL/...family+other11 while there are 111 single family detached homes with an eye-popping avg list price of over $1.28M -- https://www.redfin.com/city/7559/IL/...pe=house+other
If the OP truly has a budget that cannot cross over $300K and feels compelled to focus on the areas served by New Trier I might suggest this very cute cottage as an option that at least would free them from any small minded condo board -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/Winnetka/5.../home/13786127
As a European American (I hate the term "white"), the only issue that I incurred when I lived around many Indians in an apartment complex, were the cooking smells from curry. They tended to smell pungent to me (no offense, I just don't like curry). It's not something that people from outside the South Asian culture can usually tolerate. If you cook a lot indoors, and you use curry, I would just be worried about moving to an apartment or condo complex as the smells can travel, and there may be complaints. In fact, I know a lot of Indian people that like to live only around other Indian people because they enjoy curry dishes, and they know their fellow Indians won't have an issue with it. If you don't cook that much, or use curry, then I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think people will care as much about your religion or cultural background in Glencoe. Inidans even live in Kenilworth.
You wont have any trouble if you mind your own business and be respectful of our culture.
Americans get angry when someone moves here from a middle east or African $hit hole and tries to change our country instead of assimilating.If you run around in a burka screaming obscenities at store clerks for selling bacon and alcohol,yes you might have a problem
If ANYONE did that, no matter the color or country they're from, yes it would be a problem. Have you personally seen someone running around in a burka yelling obscenities at store clerks? if so that was a crazy person and there are crazy people everywhere. And if people were to assume all people from the middle east or Asia and Africa are trying to change the country, it would be extremely naive to think so and show insecurity on the part of the person making said assumptions.
The OP has been a long term resident of the area, they seem very unlikely to try to "change anything" and frankly there is no shortage of ethnic businesses that already serve the large Desi community in the region -- Chicago Indian Movies, Chicago Indian Events
What the OP has to consider is the mindset of folks that choose to live in a complex where the potential for a strictly interpreted HOA agreement can give a cantankerous busy body the ammunition to intrude on their neighbor's life to an unreasonable extent.
Compounding that problem is the fact that in the desirable town the OP is currently focused on there is such a large gap between the typical value of a condo and the much more common single family detached home that they are really stigmatizing them self as from a more constrained economic strata -- in Glencoe IL there are currently just FIVE townhomes/ condos/ mutlifamily listings with an average listing price of $220K https://www.redfin.com/city/7559/IL/...family+other11 while there are 111 single family detached homes with an eye-popping avg list price of over $1.28M -- https://www.redfin.com/city/7559/IL/...pe=house+other
If the OP truly has a budget that cannot cross over $300K and feels compelled to focus on the areas served by New Trier I might suggest this very cute cottage as an option that at least would free them from any small minded condo board -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/Winnetka/5.../home/13786127
Thanks Chet, I sincerely appreciate the advice. Yes we had an ugly incident in Northfield that was unfortunate and I do understand that we may run into more of that, but honestly, that is sometihng that can happen anywhere, not just north shore. We are keeping all of our options open and ideally a single family home is the best option but right now economically we can't afford that in areas with the best schools. perhaps a few years down the road maybe
As a European American (I hate the term "white"), the only issue that I incurred when I lived around many Indians in an apartment complex, were the cooking smells from curry. They tended to smell pungent to me (no offense, I just don't like curry). It's not something that people from outside the South Asian culture can usually tolerate. If you cook a lot indoors, and you use curry, I would just be worried about moving to an apartment or condo complex as the smells can travel, and there may be complaints. In fact, I know a lot of Indian people that like to live only around other Indian people because they enjoy curry dishes, and they know their fellow Indians won't have an issue with it. If you don't cook that much, or use curry, then I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think people will care as much about your religion or cultural background in Glencoe. Inidans even live in Kenilworth.
I agree Indian food can be quite "aromatic" and it is true that smells travel. My sister used to live in an apartment in Des Plaines that had lots of Desi (south asian) people living and you could definitely tell as soon as you walked in the hall there was plenty of cooking going on. We personally don't use a lot of "curry" spice but do cook ethnic food that can sometimes smell overwhelmingly delicious We use the exhaust fan all the time while cooking, so we do try to be mindful of smells.
IMNSHO, the best homes to visit are those with a pot of curry on the stove ~24/7 Takes me back to my time spent visiting friends in London when I was younger. Yummy!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagodesi
I agree Indian food can be quite "aromatic" and it is true that smells travel. My sister used to live in an apartment in Des Plaines that had lots of Desi (south asian) people living and you could definitely tell as soon as you walked in the hall there was plenty of cooking going on. We personally don't use a lot of "curry" spice but do cook ethnic food that can sometimes smell overwhelmingly delicious We use the exhaust fan all the time while cooking, so we do try to be mindful of smells.
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Not about "gangs", far more about what the OP has ALREADY seen in their search...
We use the exhaust fan all the time while cooking, so we do try to be mindful of smells.
