Barrington or Inverness/Palatine - Differences? (Chicago, Hoffman Estates: apartment complexes, rental, houses)

[zippety]

We're considering moving to an area where we can buy an acre of land (or more) but still be in a great school district for our kids and fairly close to a nice downtown. We've ruled it down to either:
A) Barrington/Barrington Hills or
B) Inverness/Palatine in the Fremd district

Does anyone have any insights into the differences between these two options? Whether it be the feel of the towns, number of families with young kids, more liberal vs. conservative, activity options, types of neighborhoods & houses, school differences, etc...whatever observations you have are welcome!

On paper both options seem quite comparable, but I'm not familiar with the areas, so it's hard to know the nuances of each to find the best fit. If they are pretty similar, it might just come down to where we happen to find a good house.

Proximity to Chicago/trains is not relevant as we both work from home.

[Hiruko]

Hopefully, someone with more insight into the northwest suburbs can chime in, but I can share some insights. Both school districts have equally positive reputations. Both areas have a substantial number of households with children, but Inverness and Palatine skew younger. My perception is that Palatine is relatively more vibrant than the Barrington area. The northwest suburbs are pretty politically conservative, much more so than the North Shore and other northern suburbs. While Palatine swung to Hillary Clinton in 2016, Barrington Hills, South Barrington, and Inverness were solid Trump territory.

[wjj]

Originally Posted by zippety

If they are pretty similar, it might just come down to where we happen to find a good house.

This.

You can't go wrong in either place. Just be careful regarding school district boundaries. They often do not make sense so be sure you are in Fremd or Barrington and not for example, Palatine or Hoffman Estates.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

Hopefully, someone with more insight into the northwest suburbs can chime in, but I can share some insights. Both school districts have equally positive reputations. Both areas have a substantial number of households with children, but Inverness and Palatine skew younger. My perception is that Palatine is relatively more vibrant than the Barrington area. The northwest suburbs are pretty politically conservative, much more so than the North Shore and other northern suburbs. While Palatine swung to Hillary Clinton in 2016, Barrington Hills, South Barrington, and Inverness were solid Trump territory.

It’s quite a stretch to label Palatine as ‘vibrant’.

[chet everett]

It not accurate to say that "Inverness skew younger" -- the data from our own hosts here are City-data.com bear this out --

http://www.city-data.com/city/Inverness-Illinois.html . Median age 49.3
http://www.city-data.com/city/Barrington-Illinois.html Median age 44.1

It should also be noted that Palatine is orders of magnitude larger -- nearly 70k residents, many in large apartment complexes, while Inverness has under 8k, with no significant rental development, and Barrington has just a tad over 10K residents, the majority in traditional single family homes.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Palatine-Illinois.html . Palatine has made efforts to improve the walkability of its core but as it lacks direct access to Metra from the core it will never really be on par with other towns that have been able to leverage their connections the UP-NW line like Barrington.

Similarly though Fremd is a decent enough high school, and there are some good elementary school in Palatine the comparison to Barrington is not apples to apples -- this recent ranking puts Barrington at the top of Illinois: https://patch.com/illinois/barringto...llinois-report . The unique financial strength of the district and the fact that it is far and away the best performing "Unit District" (in Illinois that means the same school board runs k-12) makes it rather hard to beat...

There are BIG differences between Barrington itself, which has a nicely developed traditional feel, and the much more sprawl-ish towns of South Barrington & Barrington Hills. Some of the more equestrian areas have been preserved but as other have been carved into generic and overly large gated subdivision that are out of step with trends toward transit and such it is very important to really understand the patterns of development...

[amd555]

Have you looked into Prospect Heights. They also have very large lots.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by damba

It’s quite a stretch to label Palatine as ‘vibrant’.

Keyword, 'relatively.'

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by chet everett

It not accurate to say that "Inverness skew younger" -- the data from our own hosts here are City-data.com bear this out --

http://www.city-data.com/city/Inverness-Illinois.html . Median age 49.3
http://www.city-data.com/city/Barrington-Illinois.html Median age 44.1

It should also be noted that Palatine is orders of magnitude larger -- nearly 70k residents, many in large apartment complexes, while Inverness has under 8k, with no significant rental development, and Barrington has just a tad over 10K residents, the majority in traditional single family homes.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Palatine-Illinois.html . Palatine has made efforts to improve the walkability of its core but as it lacks direct access to Metra from the core it will never really be on par with other towns that have been able to leverage their connections the UP-NW line like Barrington.

Similarly though Fremd is a decent enough high school, and there are some good elementary school in Palatine the comparison to Barrington is not apples to apples -- this recent ranking puts Barrington at the top of Illinois: https://patch.com/illinois/barringto...llinois-report . The unique financial strength of the district and the fact that it is far and away the best performing "Unit District" (in Illinois that means the same school board runs k-12) makes it rather hard to beat...

There are BIG differences between Barrington itself, which has a nicely developed traditional feel, and the much more sprawl-ish towns of South Barrington & Barrington Hills. Some of the more equestrian areas have been preserved but as other have been carved into generic and overly large gated subdivision that are out of step with trends toward transit and such it is very important to really understand the patterns of development...

That's why I referred to the Barrington area and not the Village of Barrington.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

Keyword, 'relatively.'

So you’ve effectively indicated that a toad is faster than a chameleon.

I get it. You are trying to be helpful although you are clearly unfamiliar with the area