Lake forest (Chicago, Geneva, Winnetka: homes, neighborhoods, subdivisions)

[Nysee53]

Lake Forest has much looser restrictions on development in West Lake Forest, it is almost like two different systems. My business partner lives in West Lake Forest, and he is an architect, and the only reason he lives in West Lake Forest is because he designed the entire subdivision and it was all he could afford. Wilmette, Glencoe, and Winnetka are older and by many are considered to be more well-done than West Lake Forest, but that is because they are more affluent also. In West Lake Forest you will get about 4 or 5 times what you would get in terms of square footage in the lower North Shore, and around 10 or 12 times as much land. Even East Lake Forest is considerably more affordable.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

Lake Forest has much looser restrictions on development in West Lake Forest, it is almost like two different systems. My business partner lives in West Lake Forest, and he is an architect, and the only reason he lives in West Lake Forest is because he designed the entire subdivision and it was all he could afford. Wilmette, Glencoe, and Winnetka are older and by many are considered to be more well-done than West Lake Forest, but that is because they are more affluent also. In West Lake Forest you will get about 4 or 5 times what you would get in terms of square footage in the lower North Shore, and around 10 or 12 times as much land. Even East Lake Forest is considerably more affordable.

"4 to 5 times as much sq ft, 10 to 12 times more land" FANTASTICO!!! Let us dance.

[sammy22]

It's obvious that you are obsessed with your neighborhood in Glencoe and its surrounding areas, no amount of facts or common sense will convince you to think otherwise. But to say that Wilmette is more affluent than Lake Forest (even West Lake Forest) is a joke. Check the household income stats (like $140k vs. $113k for Wilmette). I would even argue that West Lake Forest has higher income than the eastern part because there is more "new money" (people actually deriving incomes now, instead of living off of family wealth). And to say that you get 4 to 5 times more square footage is wrong too (I know, I am looking to buy in both areas right now). No way is a 5,000 square foot house worth $2.5 million in Lake Forest worth $10M+ in your neighborhood. The house sizes/prices are approx the same, it's the small land tracts that are different in Glencoe, etc - but luckily those communities don't have the strict "estate" zoning of Lake Forest (you can build a 5000 sq foot home on a .4-.5 acre lot in Glencoe, you need an acre in Lake Forest - each will cost you a million or so for the home site).

[nanannie]

I agree with sammy and chet. The 'facts' presented by some posters simply astound.

[sammy22]

As an update, not sure what their criteria was, but the latest Money magazine had Lake Forest as the #3 "top earning town" in America... I'm sure Kenilworth/Winnetka were too small for their survey... Wilmette made it as #20.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/...oneymag/3.html

[Nysee53]

Those surveys are not accurate, they drop a lot of towns and Money Magazine is highly political. The editor of the best place article's hometown was featured at #1 this last time.

Are you kiding? .25 acre in North and East Glencoe even Bluff would cost you over $1,000,000 in Lake Forest you can get a .5 acre for sometime $300,000. Lake Forest, is far less expensive than Highland Park, southward. For people that don't know this, actually Evanston has the most expensive land prices on the North Shore.

[hsw]

The affluence stats are fairly meaningless....though amusing in their pseudo-precision....

Most affluent business owners/hedge fund/private equity guys, etc carefully structure their recognized annual income for tax efficiencies....and use more than a few legal structures to legitimately protect their privacy vs any published stats re: income, net worth or even amt pd for land/houses....

Would choose the area of NS that one views as most attractive in terms of land/house/schools/neighbors/commute, etc...and that works vs one's budget....

My sense is that if have unlim budget in Chic's suburbs, most would choose either Eastern LF or Winnetka (esp adjacent to Lake)....anything else is usually a product of various necessary real-world compromises....

[Nysee53]

I don't think the Siskels chose Glencoe because they couldn't afford Winnetka. Generally if someone, say wants New Trier High School, they look all over the school district. Northfield, Winnetka, Kenilworth, etc. They choose which house they like the most, because all the towns are pretty much alike and have the same feel and attitude. My understanding is that Lake Forest is not as popular with working executives because it is located so far from the city. It is about an hour train ride. Wilmette around here is considered to be the most popular choice right now.

[chet everett]

In case anybody is still paying attention, there are a few dozen major CEO's that live in Lake Forest, many of whom have their company HQ nearby. Abbott, Baxter, Discover, Caremark, Walgreens, Medline, Brunswick, Trustmark, ITW, Uline, more whose names escape me, including a more than a few hedge funds.

Believe me, when you get a price point that these people are in they have very specific ideas about where they want to live. They are not used to compromising on much and they often want a specific set of things that they are willing to do a lot acquire.

The towns are not pretty much all alike, as any developer ought to know some towns are very unwelcoming to changes and others are more flexible. When dealing with a high end property it can make a big difference.

[sammy22]

If you're paying over $1M for a quarter acre in Glencoe and it's not on the lake you are getting fleeced. Check the lots on the market right now, nothing fits into your imaginary price points. A half acre can be had for 1 million easily in Glencoe. To your point, the only land in Lake Forest for 300k are those that are much small smaller (Amberly Woods -quarter acre or less) or those in the Vernon Hills school districts (west of 94). Most of west lake forest and all of east lake forest is considerably more expensive - I wish it weren't!

As to HSW's comment: "My sense is that if have unlim budget in Chic's suburbs, most would choose either Eastern LF or Winnetka (esp adjacent to Lake)....anything else is usually a product of various necessary real-world compromises...." - I couldn't agree more.