Help, moved to Highland Park, don't think this is the place for us? (Chicago: homes, neighborhoods)

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by vester72

"Oh. . ." trailing off, then they tell me about how they live in Highland Park, Northbrook, Deerfield, Lake Forest, etc and say it like they are embarrassed because they are living in such a "prestigious" place and I do not live around there. Seriously, that is the reason I decided not to buy there (yes, I can afford a nice house there).

I really thought it was a fluke the first time this happens which was years ago, but it still happens today - it is funny now and a running joke.

You are soooo right about this! I thought I was the only one. My DH and I have the same running joke. I grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in the North Burbs (Waukegan) and many of my H.S. friends had 1 goal in life: to move to Lake Forest. Many of them have realized their dream but would never talk about their blue collar roots. I was just at a party in Lake Forest for a close H.S. friend. We were talking to some locals and they asked where we grew up (she had nebulously told them "far north shore"). When I told them Waukegan (I am proud of it), they gave me that embarrassed, oh-so-sorry look and looked away. It was too funny. Of course, DH and I like to egg them on a bit and talk about how tough it was for us growing up.

And like you, we could easily afford to live in L.F. We just choose not to. I was hoping that H.P. was a little better (closer to the city, slightly more diverse, seems less insular) as we've been considering moving there. If it's very similar to L.F. then it's definitely not the place for us either.

[bugggy48]

Looked like it was invaded by south america last time i was there.

[Paige65]

Originally Posted by vester72

My friend thought I was crazy moving to the SW side, until they saw the house I was building and the neighborhoods in Frankfort and the schools and shopping, now they feel not as smart for having to pay $750k for a 3,000 sq ft house they had to rehab when I got new construction for the same price that is twice the size with twice the yard.

That being said, I love the North Shore, just not the place that I wanted to raise my kids, but it is one of the nicest areas in the Midwest, or country for that matter.

You think it's news to people on the North Shore that they could get a bigger house and yard if they moved elsewhere? I think it's pretty common knowledge!

For the most part, people who are moving to the North Shore don't care about land, or they wouldn't move there in the first place.

[Paige65]

Originally Posted by GoCUBS1

And like you, we could easily afford to live in L.F. We just choose not to. I was hoping that H.P. was a little better (closer to the city, slightly more diverse, seems less insular) as we've been considering moving there. If it's very similar to L.F. then it's definitely not the place for us either.

I think you should still consider it. You may find it's not to your liking, but most people aren't like the stories you hear/read. I was born and raised in a small city in IL, surrounded by very small farming communities, I've never experienced any sort of snobbery about where I grew up or the fact that my father had a blue collar job. My next door neighbor was born and raised in the Ukraine and many of my neighbors are not from the North Shore either.

To be sure, it isn't very diverse, but you are right in that there is more diversity in HP than Lake Forest.

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by Paige65

I think you should still consider it. You may find it's not to your liking, but most people aren't like the stories you hear/read. I was born and raised in a small city in IL, surrounded by very small farming communities, I've never experienced any sort of snobbery about where I grew up or the fact that my father had a blue collar job. My next door neighbor was born and raised in the Ukraine and many of my neighbors are not from the North Shore either.

To be sure, it isn't very diverse, but you are right in that there is more diversity in HP than Lake Forest.

Paige65, thanks for all your feedback on Highland Park. We've been researching lots of towns and H.P. has become our first choice. I have reviewed many of your postings on H.P. and have found them very informative. Thanks for taking the time to describe your town in (IMO) a very objective way.

There are 2 things about H.P. that are very important to us. The first is excellent public schools (we're in a district that is not rated well and have the kids in private schools). Our research shows that H.P. schools, from elementary through H.S., are excellent. We also like that the H.S. is smaller than nearby H.S. Our 2nd criteria is to be close to the lake. I grew up 1 block from the lake and just can't seem to get it out of my system. I would love to have my kids experience sailing, swimming, fishing, etc. on the lake.

I understand that no town is perfect, but it seems like H.P. may be the best fit for us. We're really looking forward to spending more time there. I was also just looking at the park district programs and they looked great.
I wonder why the OP does not think the town is a good fit.

BTW, we just put our house on the market. We had our first showing yesterday. Keep your fingers crossed.

[Kiki Jensen]

Skokie, Morton Grove, Evanston are highly diversified without the HP attitude.
I know what you mean; I lived there for 7 years and it was quite trying at times.

[Calidreemer]

I would suggest Evanston or Ravinia (neighborhood in HP). It must be very hard to have made a move only to find it's not the community you thought it would be. My friend and her husband bought in California and didn't like the community after they moved in. The neighborhood looked nice, the houses were nice and the neighbors and community, not so nice for the exact opposite reasons discussed here. Good luck and I am sorry you feel you have to move. I hope you are renting and don't have to sell in this market.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Paige65

... I'd suggest Evanston, even though there isn't a significant jewish population there. I don't think there's a synagogue in Evanston, but I could be wrong about ...

I hope you find a place that is more like what you are looking for.

This congregation in Evanston has a really cool "eco freindly" synagogue and if the guy that told me about the building is any indication a very very helpful attitude:

JRC - Home

[laurler]

Originally Posted by Paige65

I think you should still consider it. You may find it's not to your liking, but most people aren't like the stories you hear/read. I was born and raised in a small city in IL, surrounded by very small farming communities, I've never experienced any sort of snobbery about where I grew up or the fact that my father had a blue collar job. My next door neighbor was born and raised in the Ukraine and many of my neighbors are not from the North Shore either.

To be sure, it isn't very diverse, but you are right in that there is more diversity in HP than Lake Forest.

I am new in this forum, and a little late to the game, but I too have found your comments very helpful! I was wondering if you had an opinion on the exact elementary schools in Highland Park. They look about the same, perhaps only differing in size? We are considering a house (to rent) in Indian Trails, that would be walking distance to the lake. I do not want to have to move my 6 year old in schools again, so while we are renting for now for convience, we would be in it for tha long haul. Do you have advice?

[Paige65]

Originally Posted by laurler

I am new in this forum, and a little late to the game, but I too have found your comments very helpful! I was wondering if you had an opinion on the exact elementary schools in Highland Park. They look about the same, perhaps only differing in size? We are considering a house (to rent) in Indian Trails, that would be walking distance to the lake. I do not want to have to move my 6 year old in schools again, so while we are renting for now for convience, we would be in it for tha long haul. Do you have advice?

From what I know, Indian Trail is a good school. I don't know a lot about the culture there, but I haven't heard anything negative. The ISAT scores seem to be pretty much in line with the other top performing schools in the District (Braeside, Ravinia, Lincoln). New ISAT results (for the 2007-08 school year) are coming out in the next few days, so if you want to look at any sort of trending, you could see the new scores at:

Interactive Illinois Report Card

Even the schools in HP that don't perform as well on ISAT are very good schools. Their test scores may not be as high, but the instruction is good. It's hard to know everything about the culture of a school and the philosophy of the principal and all of that. Obviously, ISAT's are an indicator of how a school is doing academically, but it's really hard to know what a school is like unless you know people who have personal experience there.

The middle school Indian Trail feeds into is Elm Place, which is also very good, and within a block of Indian Trail.

I think you may have had another post about Glencoe, which is a great town. Smaller, less diverse than HP, and, on a whole, wealthier. The schools are grade based as opposed to neighborhood based. All K-2 go to one school, 3-4 to one school, and 5-8 to one school. The public high school is New Trier.