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I think when most people think of LF, they think of east of Sheridan Road. That area you pretty much can't touch for well over a million. But Lake Forest is actually quite large, and there are some very nice properties, albeit generally older and a bit out of date, that fit right in at that $750k range.
East of Sheridan Road!?!? That's a small fraction of the City. If people are even thinking about Lake Forest, I think people think of more of it than you might think. The Oasis, Halas Hall, the College... However, there are actually properties east of Sheridan in Lake Forest for under a million dollars. There are both condominiums and single-family homes that can be had for $500k-1.0mil that far east. They aren't petite or in disrepair either. I've seen some come to market under a million at close to 4k square feet.
Have you considered Deerfield? Not that I dislike LF, but DF just feels younger to me. When we moved, DF was on our list of considered towns but LF was not (for this reason).
I know plenty of families where the parents are in their mid - late 30's and LOVE the town.
I've heard from a long-time Northbrook resident that the property taxes in Northbrook are considerably lower than Deerfield and likely Highland Park as well.
That being said, I'm not sure how Northbrook's taxes would compare to Lake Forest. While Northbrook offers the shorter commute to the city, Lake Forest IMO is overall more aesthetically pleasing & leafier (and does give you closer access to the lake).
I've heard from a long-time Northbrook resident that the property taxes in Northbrook are considerably lower than Deerfield and likely Highland Park as well.
That being said, I'm not sure how Northbrook's taxes would compare to Lake Forest. While Northbrook offers the shorter commute to the city, Lake Forest IMO is overall more aesthetically pleasing & leafier (and does give you closer access to the lake).
Northbrook's property tax rates fall between those in Deerfield and Highland Park (on the high end) and Lake Forest (on the low end). One could mistake much of east Northbrook for Northfield—very bucolic. Lake Forest's tax advantages aren't beneficial if property values in Lake Forest can't hold their own. There is a lot to weigh here, and most buyers are choosing more expensive locations closer to the city. The tradeoffs of your lower Lake Forest tax bill shouldn't be understated. When we are comparing Lake Forest with Wilmette, for example, we are only talking about a 10% annual tax savings buying in Lake Forest over Wilmette. That's not great. I think you still need to want Lake Forest to have it make sense.
Northbrook's property tax rates fall between those in Deerfield and Highland Park (on the high end) and Lake Forest (on the low end). One could mistake much of east Northbrook for Northfield—very bucolic. Lake Forest's tax advantages aren't beneficial if property values in Lake Forest can't hold their own. There is a lot to weigh here, and most buyers are choosing more expensive locations closer to the city. The tradeoffs of your lower Lake Forest tax bill shouldn't be understated. When we are comparing Lake Forest with Wilmette, for example, we are only talking about a 10% annual tax savings buying in Lake Forest over Wilmette. That's not great. I think you still need to want Lake Forest to have it make sense.
You bring up some excellent points especially in regards to declining property values being a concern further north of the city. I'd also maybe add that Northbrook's demographics feel a bit different from Lake Forest. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Lake Forest has the larger downtown / main street type area along with a bit more of a pre-existing old money affluent "townie" culture that Northbrook possibly lacks. Not saying this is a good or bad thing. West Lake Forest & the less commercial parts of Northbrook seem to have a lot in common IMO.
You bring up some excellent points especially in regards to declining property values being a concern further north of the city. I'd also maybe add that Northbrook's demographics feel a bit different from Lake Forest. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Lake Forest has the larger downtown / main street type area along with a bit more of a pre-existing old money affluent "townie" culture that Northbrook possibly lacks. Not saying this is a good or bad thing. West Lake Forest & the less commercial parts of Northbrook seem to have a lot in common IMO.
I think the demographic differences as far as property values go are a wash. Lake Forest has some distinctiveness, but so does Northbrook and other North Shore communities. Northbrook has the largest and most visible Orthodox Jewish community on the North Shore, and also has a visible Greek community. These are qualities that draw multiple generations to Northbrook.
Northbrook's town center is more modern (strip mall-like and less aesthetically attractive, in my opinion), but I don't know that it would qualify as smaller, less walkable, or less amenity-rich. Northbrook's town center has a grocery store, Starbucks, ice cream parlor, and some restaurants just like Lake Forest's Market Square and surrounds. Market Square was technically built oriented around cars as well.
Much of West Lake Forest was developed in the '80s and '90s. Its housing stock is more modern like much of Northbrook's, in that regard.
Hi, I copy and pasted your questions with my answers below. We moved to Lake Forest two years ago from out of state and enjoy living here.
1) Does anyone do the metra commute to downtown at least 3-5 days/week? Is it reliable? Do you get used to it, or sick of it? Looks like 55min train ride is about as good as it gets.
My husband takes the express train 1-2X week and said it is reliable. We live in SE Lake Forest between the East Lake Forest station and the Fort Sheridan station. He finds the Ft Sheridan one easier to find plenty of parking and itis located slightly south. He usually works on emails during the commute so does not find it to be that bad.
2) My wife would quither job to stay home with 2 kids, is there a lot of stuff for them to do in thearea? We like to get outside (walk, hike, bike, etc) but that's only good halfthe year. What stuff is available for moms with kids?
I am in a similar situation to your wife. There is a lot todo in the area. We love the beach, biking/walking trails, rec center activities,area festivals, sports programs, and concerts, etc. Depending on the ages of kids/interests, I could share more...
3) We just don't know north shore/Lake Forest community well. It has a stereotype of being cliquey/snobby. Any credence to that? Is there a "from there""not from there" mentality at all? Related: I heard a realtor use the terms ELF and WeLF to denote east and west, that's what sprung my radar, do local people actually talk about what side of town they're from?
We moved here two years ago from out of state for a new job.We were pleasantly surprised how nice and welcoming our new neighbors are (we are in Villa Turicum by the way, a nice family neighborhood.) Three differentneighbors came by with welcome gifts to introduce themselves and one eventhrough a welcome party to introduce us to other neighbors. Also Lake Forest has a wonderful Newcomers Club that is a great way to people. We have met a lot of nice people through the club, made good friends and they have lots of fun activities….moms & tots, couple’s nights, luncheons, ladies nights, walks,tennis, men’s group, and special events like holiday party and lobster boil.Also getting involved in school volunteering is another good way to meet other moms. The schools are great here.
There are a lot of country clubs in the North Shore and it is such a nice area, there are many multigenerational families living here with long connections to the community, which is why I think some of the suburbs have the cliquey reputation. Personally I have not run into too many snobby people, most have been nice. I do not think ELF/WLF matters personally, it is just where is more convenient for you. I have friends that live in both areas and there are a lot of nice neighborhoods in both.
4) What types of community involvement/activity is there? Would we be able to meet people quickly if we got out and about?
We love of the community activities, festivals, concerts,etc. in Lake Forest and surrounding towns. Lake Forest has a fun summer concertseries on Thu nights in the quaint downtown area, terrific July 4th event (our fav), tree lighting festival, fall festival, Lake Forest day carnival, carshow, and various holiday events for young kids (eg, Halloween, Christmas,Easter). There are also various community events and programs throughout theyear by Elawa Farm, the Gorton Center, Wildlife Discovery Center, Stirling Art Center, and Lake Forest College. (The Gorton offers drop in child care for younger kids, which your wife might find helpful.) For middle and high school kids check out CROYA for fun activities. My son just did the glow in the dark dodgeball tournament last week (loved it), and is looking forward to the bumbleball soccer game and upcoming Halloween party.
Lake Bluff has great family friendly summer concerts on Sundays, block parties, and a good farmer’s market. Also we like a lot of their restaurants.
Highwood also has a fun Wed night summer concert series as well as lots of fun community events throughout the year, like Nashwood (country bands), Great Pumpkin festival, Garlic festival, Bloody Mary festival, etc. They also have a lot of great local restaurants.
Highland Park, Lincolnshire, Vernon Hills and Libertyvilleare also a close drive and there is a lot of good things to do in those towns as well.
Definitely join the Newcomers Club right away. That will start you off with a lot of fun activities and ways to meet other people new to the area that are looking to make friends.
5) We aren't necessarily lake people, but like the idea of having it as an amenity. How muchdo people use it? Do you weigh it heavily in valuing the area? Or like manythings, does it's importance fall away with time?
We LOVE the Lake Forest beach. We use it much more than we thought we would. It is a beautiful beach area with a winding, paved walking trail, park area with jungle gym, boat launch, and snack/changing area. A great place to take the family, go on walks, picnic, etc. They also have two family friendly community beach concerts a year that are terrific. We have heard very good things about the rec center’s boating programs for kids, but have not tried it yet.
6) Taxes are outstandingly low. Seems the city has things on a decent path. Any locals havegood/bad on city finances, gov't, etc. Can't be any worse than the criminalsaround here, I hope. Any risks on the horizon where they shoot up in the future(aside from IL generally, I mean specific to LF)?
Yes, we found taxes to be lower in Lake Forest as well. We looked at many houses within a commute to my husband’s job and similar priced homes were $7-10K more a year in taxes in other towns. We were surprised at the difference. But yet Lake Forest offers similar (or even better) amenities and government services than some of the other towns we looked at. I attended one Alderman meeting where they update residents on things going on, and was impressed by town management. They are fiscally conservative and trying to keep taxes low.
7) Realtors at openhouses looked at us like we were aliens when we said we were 36 and from nearthe city and looking in Lake Forest. One said she'd been waiting for us for adecade. I get it, millenials, trends, blah, blah. My thesis is that millennialswill eventually follow the same pattern as all previous generations. There isnothing new going on, it's just taking us longer. Lake Forest will come back,but it may be another 5-7 years for when the meat of the generation has kid****ting school age. I'm fine with that as this is presumably a 20+ yearpurchase for us. Thoughts??
There are good schools here and it is a great place to raise a family, so I think Lake Forest should be attractive to young families if it is located within their work commute. There are home prices of different levels.
Good luck with your house hunting and your move!
Last edited by Freewalker; 10-04-2019 at 01:18 PM..
Freewalker - we moved a few months ago to LF and we had several neighbors also drop off baked goods to welcome us. It was so nice! Little things like that (regardless of where you land) really can make a difference in feeling connected to your immediate community
Thank you so much for the detailed response, Freewalker. And to jvr as well. Glad to hear that you guys have enjoyed LF so much. Since I originally made this post, we've continued to look in LF. We've traveled up there for various open houses + agent led showings on probably 5-6 occasions. We've become even more sure of the decision to move there. It used to be on our list, now it is the list. Seen homes all over town, from Sheridan road to the far West Side.
We seem to settling in on the Whispering Oaks neighborhood. It's not too far east, not too far west, not too highly priced, but still nice. Big enough yards, but you can still be friendly with neighbors, walk to school, not feel isolated, etc. Basically, a bit Goldilocks. I'm not enamored with all the '60-'70s colonials, but I've noticed that the vast majority of LF residents do a lot to take care of their homes, inside and out. The pride of ownership really shows. So a house you'd drive past (or scroll past) without a second thought, can be gorgeously updated on the inside with a beautifully manicured garden in back. So we keep looking. Market is still soft and so it seems we can be patient in finding a deal.
If anyone (Hiruko?) has any inside baseball on Whispering Oaks specifically, I'd love to hear it.
If anyone (Hiruko?) has any inside baseball on Whispering Oaks specifically, I'd love to hear it.
I don't. But, I will say that its micro-housing market is warmer than the rest of the city. My perception is that there are more young families there than in other parts, and that's probably why it is somewhat sought-after. The homes there are typically priced in a sweet spot where the value that Lake Forest offers versus Winnetka, Glenview, or Evanston is very apparent. It's also very close to the Ft. Sheridan Metra and some of the commerce in Highwood. Finally, it's east of 41, and just like east of Sheridan, this makes it more attractive to a lot of buyers. Based on what you've stated, I think you have a good feel for that neighborhood.
Thank you so much for the detailed response, Freewalker. And to jvr as well. Glad to hear that you guys have enjoyed LF so much. Since I originally made this post, we've continued to look in LF. We've traveled up there for various open houses + agent led showings on probably 5-6 occasions. We've become even more sure of the decision to move there. It used to be on our list, now it is the list. Seen homes all over town, from Sheridan road to the far West Side.
We seem to settling in on the Whispering Oaks neighborhood. It's not too far east, not too far west, not too highly priced, but still nice. Big enough yards, but you can still be friendly with neighbors, walk to school, not feel isolated, etc. Basically, a bit Goldilocks. I'm not enamored with all the '60-'70s colonials, but I've noticed that the vast majority of LF residents do a lot to take care of their homes, inside and out. The pride of ownership really shows. So a house you'd drive past (or scroll past) without a second thought, can be gorgeously updated on the inside with a beautifully manicured garden in back. So we keep looking. Market is still soft and so it seems we can be patient in finding a deal.
If anyone (Hiruko?) has any inside baseball on Whispering Oaks specifically, I'd love to hear it.
I recently met a young family that moved to Whispering Oaks about a year ago and they were very happy with the location and had already made a number of good neighborhood family friends. They are renting but looking to buy and wanted to ONLY buy in that area. I absolutely love Ft. Sheridan Nature Preserve along Lake MI just to the east of that subdivision (check it out if you have not yet next time you visit). Another nature area (McCormick Preserves) will be open just to the north of Ft. Sheridan over the near term.
The value proposition is there for Whispering Oaks - the elementary school is right there, the lake is right there, both Highwood and downtown LF are super easy to get to, the Metra is within minutes and the price per SF of home is good for LF. We have looked at a few homes south of Westleigh (a couple of pretty cool ranches) but they were just too big for our needs and the bike path access can be more difficult (depending on specific location). The architectural significance in Whispering Oaks may be lacking compared to some other areas but then you have to contrast the age of improvements (cost to fix). Buying something that is cool looking but 100+ year old does come with a price and a lot of responsibilities. That can't be ignored either.
That's the beauty of real estate: different strokes for different folks!
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