Making the move to Antioch... (Chicago, Mundelein: for sale, renting, house)

[Spartanacus]

Well, after a lot of preliminary research on the whole Lake County area, and after renting a home in Mundelein for a year (we relocated from Indy), we decided to buy our home in Antioch (my wife works in Lake Forest off 94 & 60/Town Line).

Obviously, you can get more for your money up there. I also really like the quaint little downtown, the schools aren't bad, and besides the ruralness of it and the work commute, I haven't heard any bad things about it (besides it being "blue collar" which I don't see as a bad thing).

It seems to be a real nice little growing community, and my realtor said it would be a good long term investment.

We bought an 11 year old home, as I didn't want to mess with building new again, or even buying a newer home in an unfinished Neuman, etc. sub.

Our other finalists in our price range (Libertyville was a no go for the type of home we wanted) were Grayslake, Lindenhurst, and Gurnee.

Did we make a decent choice???

[rgb123]

yes you did, I would reccomend Antioch to a friend! I would not label the area as "blue collar" that is unfair and not really correct. It is not as 'hoighty toighty' lol as some other Chicagol suburbs -- but its still pretty much just a slice of mid-america and probably more professional oriented than most of mid-america as it does happen to be between chicago and milwaukee.

The thing is -- people who chose to live in the Antioch and Fox Lake area may just prefer what the area offers in terms of being close to the water and recreation. I myself have never ever understood why people with money would want to live on top of each other just to compare their new cars in the driveway. I don't really get it.

If I have money I'd way more likely live in an area like Antioch but with a lot of land and maybe on the water, with lots of trees to obscure the expensive cars in my driveway!

To each their own. I am from the area and we do sometimes joke about the people around here....you will come to find people here are united more by a lifestyle choice than by money or professional status. You might think some biker dude looks like he's well...whatever (insert blue collar stereotype profession here) but he might really be the opposite, in fact he probably does not live here but in the city and is just getting away for the day.

Fox Lake does attract some scumminess, its kinda a capital for that but really, there are all kinds of people here. We have some great parks and lots of local businesses that make the area different, while still being close to everything you need.

You made a good choice!

[kmwheel]

Yes, I think you've made a great choice, but I'm biased. My husband and I have lived here for 12 years. We moved from Michigan and have been really happy in this town. It's grown quite a bit over the 12 years, even gotten a bit more upscale with some of the newer businesses downtown. You won't be wanting for fun stuff to do, especially if you like the outdoors.

Sadly, we have to move away...not because we don't like the town, but because my husband's military career is taking us away. My kids are heartbroken because they have so many friends...the kids in our neighborhood are great (which is good because they're here all the time).

Make sure to tell all your friends about Antioch...I still have a house for sale!!

Good luck, and PM me if you have any "village" questions.

[IbeDavid]

Good choice. Its not a blue collar community per se. I live in Lake Villa which is 4 miles south of Antioch. This part of chicagoland is the last to get really developed so home values should escalate well . You get alot more value for your money the further away you get from Chicago , and, people seem to be nicer overall . See you at Las Vegas restaurant on Main st. sometime !

[Spartanacus]

Thanks all. You always have a bit of buyer's remorse when making such a big decision I think...plus Gurnee would have been a lot closer to my wife's work.

But like you said 'rgb123'...one huge benefit to our house was that it is on a wooded lot, and we won't be right on top of our neighbors.

'kmwheel'...what sub do you live in?

Thanks again...I am looking forward to 'Vegas'!

[Ophidian14]

Don't forget that there is a Metra station in Antioch too. It's a long haul to Union Station, no question, but it still opens up a lot of (non-driving) opportunities for you.