Is $55000 enugh for a family of four?

[InformedConsent]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Informed,
My bad- Stevenson has gold medal rating. I guess sequence, my, out of order

Yes! Stevenson is the only suburban Gold Medal school! Excellent school!

A couple of years ago, I was at the College Board's 50th Anniversary Midwestern Regional Forum where Stevenson HS was recognized and honored for having the largest participation in the AP Program out of all the high schools in the country. Conant HS (Silver Medal) in Hoffman Estates was also recognized and honored.
Students First Illinois

[GreXican]

I would highly recommend Morton Grove. It is pretty financially diverse and contains pricey parts and affordable parts, and it is a very safe, very clean suburb. They recently just built a giant tract of townhomes near a Metra station where you could probably find some good deals.

The local school, Parkview, is great for education, and the two high schools in the vicinity - Niles West and/or Niles North (Depending on where you live in MG you go to west or north), offer some of the best education in Illinois.

other features:
-5-10 minutes away from three shopping malls. (Golf Mill, Old Orchard, Lincolnwood)
-Metra station provides convenient transportation
-Large police presence ensures safety.
-The Village of Morton Grove was selected by Family Circle magazine as one of the nation's "10 Best Towns for Families."

I live in nearby Lincolnwood, which is pricey and further from Northfield, but I wish I lived in Morton Grove because it offers so much.

[chet everett]

Still under the median income and the median home price: Estimated median household income in 2005: $67,700 (it was $63,511 in 2000) Morton Grove $67,700 Illinois: $50,260 Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $332,900 (it was $217,100 in 2000) Morton Grove $332,900 Illinois: $183,900

[InformedConsent]

Originally Posted by GreXican

...and the two high schools in the vicinity - Niles West and/or Niles North (Depending on where you live in MG you go to west or north), offer some of the best education in Illinois.

Stick with Niles North out of the two.

For the US News ranking, schools were evaluated according to three criteria...

"1) the best high schools serve all students well by achieving performance levels in the core subjects of reading and math on state accountability tests that exceed statistical expectations given their relative levels of student poverty

2) the best high schools serve the least advantaged student groups well by producing proficiency rates on state tests for black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged students that exceed state averages for these groups

3) the best high schools provide students with access to a college-level curriculum, measured through participation and performance on AP tests."

Schools that meet the first two criteria win a Bronze Medal, and continue on to be evaluated by the third criterion to possibly qualify for a Silver or Gold Medal. According to US News, the first criterion was the hardest for high schools to meet.

Niles North is a Silver Medal high school. Niles West did not meet the criteria to qualify for Bronze, Silver, or Gold.

[chet everett]

And I think there are a lot of people that would take issue with the notion that either of those schools "offer some of the best education in Illinois" -- while far from the worst, there are clearly better performing schools.

I have issues with anyone who reflexively offers up blanket statements. The use of the US News criteria is to be tempered by their selection methods, which IC helpfully provides. I can support the idea that many schools truly do need to do a better job if we are going to have a workforce that is capable of competing globally.

In the context of the OP's request for the information on the feasibility of living on $55K US the discussion of schools is relevant because their are some private schools in that area that would be a significant expense. While I don't know how many kids from Morton Grove or the surrounding towns opt instead for Loyola Academy or Notre Dame sometimes that can be indicator that there is dissatisfaction with the "free" schools...

[George_Sully]

Hi All
Please accept my sincere thanks to everyone that sent a post or contributed in anyway, I fully appreciate your time and thoughts.
Just to give everyone an update, I have declined the job offer! the more and more I looked into it, it seemed that on $55K it is going to be tight; we have a modest but excellent living standards in the UK and I didn’t want to move the family to a new place and not be able to afford a good holiday or be worried about buying decent cloths or good for the house, and so on...
All the information offered is still very valuable to me as there are other vacancies that I could apply for, within my company's group in north chicago.
Once again thanks to you all,
Cheers
George

[aragx6]

Cheers George! Good luck to you and your family!

[InformedConsent]

Originally Posted by chet everett

And I think there are a lot of people that would take issue with the notion that either of those schools "offer some of the best education in Illinois" -- while far from the worst, there are clearly better performing schools.

I have issues with anyone who reflexively offers up blanket statements. The use of the US News criteria is to be tempered by their selection methods, which IC helpfully provides. I can support the idea that many schools truly do need to do a better job if we are going to have a workforce that is capable of competing globally.

Chet is absolutely right about many (all?) schools needing to do a better job preparing students for whatever they will pursue after high school graduation - workplace, college, career training, or any other type of further education.

Too many times, people with good intentions will say that the schools in their area are 'excellent' or 'among the best in the state' without really knowing how well, poorly, or somewhere in between, the schools in their area are actually preparing students for whatever goals students have planned on pursuing.

It would be great if everyone would take an honest, objective look at their public schools' performance and become actively involved in making sure that the education their community's schools provide actually matches the community's students' post-secondary plans and goals.

A lot of people would be surprised at how large the percentage is of Chicago suburban high school graduates who can't meet the minimum prerequisite ACT score requirements to be placed into first year college credit courses at even their local community college.