I think I need to get out of Winnetka - but where to go? (Chicago: low income, high crime)

[NOLA101]

Originally Posted by civis

You are not going to find what you are looking for anywhere in the US.
Ask yourself: does US have free healthcare, free/almost free college education, long vacations, gun free culture?

No country has those things. There are no magic fairies delivering "free stuff", anywhere.

In Germany, you pay a special tax for healthcare (higher than in the U.S.), the college costs come out of educational tax, the vacations are a benefit that lowers salary, and guns are easily obtained for law abiding citizens.

And I have no idea what any of these things have to do with the thread topic.

[Blessed310]

Consider Hyde Park

[zizu]

I'm afraid that what you're really looking for (the conveniences of US living minus the social isolation, segregation, and extreme pockets of poverty) is found in Canada. Toronto in particular.

[damba]

Hardly a solution. Toronto has the byproducts of affluence as well,
with some degree of segregation.

[zizu]

Originally Posted by damba

Hardly a solution. Toronto has the byproducts of affluence as well,
with some degree of segregation.

You could make that comment for any city in the country. The OP wasn't looking for NO 'byproducts' of affluence or NO segregation at all, but merely less extremes of each. It helps to think in grays for this discussion rather than black/white. Torono would naturally have MORE Euro-like attributes than Chicago.

[civis]

Originally Posted by NOLA101

No country has those things. There are no magic fairies delivering "free stuff", anywhere.

In Germany, you pay a special tax for healthcare (higher than in the U.S.), the college costs come out of educational tax, the vacations are a benefit that lowers salary, and guns are easily obtained for law abiding citizens.

.

There's no such thing as "educational" tax. Guns are obtainable, but somehow you don't hear reports from Germany about 69 people shot after a holiday.

It's not about taxes, it's about different social philosophy - in Germany EVERYONE has same access to all social benefits, no one would ever create there "ivy league" for "special" people or health care system which profits from sick folks or dumps those which are too expensive to treat.

UK has same social philosophy, and it influences how people live and treat each other - that's why topic starter will never find what he/she's looking for in the US.

[jvr789]

OP - I think a move to the Northside area of Chicago and sending the kids to British School or the new Lycee French school may be worth checking out given your comments. Maybe these international schools will do a better job meeting your international expectations on education (can't hurt to at least check them out). As for living, based on your comments regarding Winnetka, don't look to live in an area like Lincoln Park or Lakeview. Choose something which is still on the safe side but has more of a mix in terms of economics in neighboring areas (I'm thinking of an area like Ravenswood or Lincoln Square). You are close enough to drive down and check out some of these areas to get a feel for the vibe.


Good luck!

[Rhino4401]

If looking in the city, include Ravenswood *Manor* as well as Ravenswood when searching. The manor is a pretty little triangle along & west of the river. It's seems like a great community, lots of kids, festivals. Seem to be many lovely SFHs & 2 flats. The local public, Waters, is very good, & neighborhood associations are very active. It'd still be a bubble, but there's more economic diversity. So even if you use an expensive private school, it might not feel so segregated.

The commute to ORD is similar distance-wise, but traffic-wise it getting into the city could be worse. Especially on Fridays.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by Finp06

So don't hate me but I think we need to get out of Winnetka. We've been here 2 1/2 years.
We are considering a move next Summer either to another suburb locally or out of State.
We have made many friends and my kids are happy so this is a big decision because I'm just not getting 'enough'. Plus the D36 school district isn't great for a Brit family which will probably end up back in England eventually where there is a more rigorous system in Grade school. (Not saying better btw - but it is further ahead and I need to be mindful of that)

As a Brit, used to more people in less space I really struggle with the segregation here both of color and wealth. I find it bizarre to be surrounded by hundreds of wealthy families with the only 'poor' ones being shop, restaurant workers and trades.
My expensive home town in England had streets of incredible wealth down to streets of social housing. Of course there was separation but the town was buzzing with many bars, restaurants, coffee shops and retail shops where all 'classes' of people frequented.
I know that I can't compare my old life to my new life and I don't expect to get the same way of living and I'm excited to try new areas so I just need to know - are there other areas I should look at? And where are they? My husband has a national job so needs to be commutable to O'hare.

I'm already aware of Wilmette, Glencoe, Northfield, Kenilworth, Highland Park, Glenview and am not interested in them - so where else?

Evanston?? That would be your obvious bet.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by civis

You are not going to find what you are looking for anywhere in the US.
Ask yourself: does US have free healthcare, free/almost free college education, long vacations, gun free culture? UK and US are 2 completely different worlds, there's nothing common in them except language.
UK values social skills, social protection, availability of high quality education to everyone, safe environment.
US values mostly individualism, which brings it to segregation by location, special education system they called "ivy league" only accessible to super rich, endless ghettos, etc. People of different races sincerely hate each other in the US because they are so segregated, just rarely show it up openly. Look what they do to each other on highways, or all these weekly mass murders - you will never see anything like that anywhere in Europe.

Cliche and lazy analysis.

Have you even been following the news in Europe the last year or so?? Terrorist attacks in France and Belgium (I know we are talking about the UK here but still) as a result of decades of segregation of muslims into commie block towers at the edges of cities? And the far right political parties anti-immigtaion parties that would make Trump blush?

Many Brits and Europeans actually are impressed by our integration in the US.

And Americans typically don't have any idea of a lingering traditional class system that manifests itself in subtle ways.

Sure its absolutely true that the poorest in UK and Europe have it better than the poorest here in the US, but do you really think that the poor and working class in the UK have access to Oxford or Cambridge? Do you think you would be able to access the same privilege of those with aristocratic lineage and the accent to match as someone with a Cockney, northern English accent, or any recent immigrant?

Besides the "US" varies greatly from state to state and region to region. Are you seriously suggesting that Vermont or Oregon are more similar to Mississippi or Arkansas in terms of attitudes and laws regarding free healthcare, college education, long vacations, and ESPECIALLY gun free culture??