lake county (Chicago, Arlington Heights, Schaumburg: credit, employment, buy)

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by miasmommy

We are looking right now in Lindenhurst. My mother's side has lived there for years ( I went to highschool in Lake County). You can get the same home with more yard for the half the price as one in Cook County.

It's becoming more busy and crowded however with the new water park added to Great America and the indoor/hotel park across the street. The summers are packed with people because of the Chain of Lakes.

I love it. Fishing, boating, swimming, more trees, less polution and the best thing of all THE PEOPLE: More down to earth and not as obsessed with material things.

It sounds like you have a comfort level from having lived there before. The more rural aspect and proximity to get away weekends in WI are benefits. However, traffic is getting worse and the road capacity is not always keeping up. Property taxes can be higher than Cook Co. as well. And although there are good schools, many would still rate the So. Lake County and No/NW Cook county schools better. ONE THING MANY OVERLOOK IS HOW FAR THEY ARE FROM EMPLOYMENT. Long commutes can be a real negative on a family's quality of life. If you live in No./NW Cook you are much closer to a greater number of employers than in Lake Co. Now if you have a solid job with a Lake Co. employer-groovy. If not, and you need to find another job, the drive from Lindenhurst to Schaumburg or Linden hurst to Chicago is a real drag. I would rather buy existing construction in an established, mature neighborhood in Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Palatine for 300-350K rather than face long commutes and additional time in my car. I do, again, really see the appeal of more space, larger lot, newer home. Sections of Lake Co. are beautiful.....then again some sections are sub-division hell.

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

ONE THING MANY OVERLOOK IS HOW FAR THEY ARE FROM EMPLOYMENT. Long commutes can be a real negative on a family's quality of life. If you live in No./NW Cook you are much closer to a greater number of employers than in Lake Co.

Oh Please. Educate yourself:

Lake County Employers-

1. Abbott Corporate- Abbott Park
2. Baxter International Corporate- Deerfield/Waukegan/Round Lake
3. Takeda Corporate- Deerfield
4. Walgreens Corporate- Deerfield
5. Brunswick Corporate- Lake Forest
6. Hospira Corporate- Lake Forest
7. W.W Grainger Corporate- Lake Forest
8. Pactiv Corporate- Lake Forest
9. Tenneco Automotive Corporate- Lake Forest
10. Salton Corporate- Lake Forest
11. CDW Corporate- Vernon Hills
12. Rust Oleum Corporate- Vernon Hills
13. American Hotel Registry Corporate- Vernon Hills
14. Hewitt Corporate- Lincolnshire
15. Quill Corporate- Lincolnshire
16. BFG Technologies- Lake Forest
17. Discover Card Financial- _ Riverwoods
18. Fortune Brands Corporate(Jim Beam, Titelist)- Deerfield
19. Solo Cup Corporate- Highland Park
20- TAP Pharma Corporate- Lake Forest
21. Zenith Electronics- Lincolnshire
22. Motorola Mobile Phone HDQ- Libertyville
23. Sauer-Dan Fross U.S- Lincolnshire
24. Cardinal Health- Waukegan
25. Uline- Waukegan

Plus just south of the Lake County line you have Allstate Corporate in Northrook, Kraft Corporate in Glenview, Underwriters Laboratories Northbrook, etc. etc....etc.

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

However, traffic is getting worse and the road capacity is not always keeping up.

Give some specifics.... I can be delayed forever driving on Rand Rd./Arlington Heights Rd. and Palatine Expy in and around Arlington Heights. Lake-Cook Rd. through Buffalo Grove on any weekday afternoon....Crazy Gridlock. Major Grid lock throughout Arlington, Buffalo Grove and Palatine.

I don't see that in Lake County. Give me some examples of road capacity issues. It gets backed up on 120 in Grayslake sometimes---but thats about all I see. Are you talking Six Flags traffic? Come on.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by lakecountylifer

Oh Please. Educate yourself:

Lake County Employers-

1. Abbott Corporate- Abbott Park
2. Baxter International Corporate- Deerfield/Waukegan/Round Lake
3. Takeda Corporate- Deerfield
4. Walgreens Corporate- Deerfield
5. Brunswick Corporate- Lake Forest
6. Hospira Corporate- Lake Forest
7. W.W Grainger Corporate- Lake Forest
8. Pactiv Corporate- Lake Forest
9. Tenneco Automotive Corporate- Lake Forest
10. Salton Corporate- Lake Forest
11. CDW Corporate- Vernon Hills
12. Rust Oleum Corporate- Vernon Hills
13. American Hotel Registry Corporate- Vernon Hills
14. Hewitt Corporate- Lincolnshire
15. Quill Corporate- Lincolnshire
16. BFG Technologies- Lake Forest
17. Discover Card Financial- _ Riverwoods
18. Fortune Brands Corporate(Jim Beam, Titelist)- Deerfield
19. Solo Cup Corporate- Highland Park
20- TAP Pharma Corporate- Lake Forest
21. Zenith Electronics- Lincolnshire
22. Motorola Mobile Phone HDQ- Libertyville
23. Sauer-Dan Fross U.S- Lincolnshire
24. Cardinal Health- Waukegan
25. Uline- Waukegan

Plus just south of the Lake County line you have Allstate Corporate in Northrook, Kraft Corporate in Glenview, Underwriters Laboratories Northbrook, etc. etc....etc.

OK, let me re-phrase this. Find work first, then make your decision. I guess some people can find work almost anywhere. Then there are those who are in niches or smaller industries who cannot. MY POINT IS TO AVOID LONG COMMUTES BECAUSE THEY ARE STEALTHY AT INCREASING YOUR LIVING EXPENSES AND DECREASING YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE. Too many people say "Gee, i'd love to live in XYZ Town; proceed to buy a home there and then look for work. Then they are bummed and surprised when thay are facing 1+ hour commutes each way because they couldn't land a job at a nearby employer. I did NOT say there were no employers in Lake Co. there are FAR more in Cook Co. AND the 4 Deerfield & 1 Riverwoods employers you listed are closer to Arlington Heights/Buffalo Grove/Palatine than Lindenhurst. So don't twist the meaning of my message. Oh, you forgot Medline in Vernon Hills.

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

And although there are good schools, many would still rate the So. Lake County and No/NW Cook county schools better.

This is misleading. Yes, I would rate Deerfield High School (Southern Lake County) and Glenbrook North High School (Northern Cook County) ahead of High Schools in Northern Lake County.

Would I rate Hersey or Buffalo Grove High School in the Arlington Hts. & Buffalo Grove area as in the same league as Deerfield or GBN? Not a chance.

Would I rate Libertyville H.S or Warren H.S as similar to Buffalo Grove and Hersey H.S---You bet I would.

When talking about "southern lake county and northern cook county schools" lets compare apples to apples.

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

OK, let me re-phrase this. Find work first, then make your decision. I guess some people can find work almost anywhere. Then there are those who are in niches or smaller industries who cannot. MY POINT IS TO AVOID LONG COMMUTES BECAUSE THEY ARE STEALTHY AT INCREASING YOUR LIVING EXPENSES AND DECREASING YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE. Too many people say "Gee, i'd love to live in XYZ Town; proceed to buy a home there and then look for work. Then they are bummed and surprised when thay are facing 1+ hour commutes each way because they couldn't land a job at a nearby employer. I did NOT say there were no employers in Lake Co. there are FAR more in Cook Co. AND the 4 Deerfield & 1 Riverwoods employers you listed are closer to Arlington Heights/Buffalo Grove/Palatine than Lindenhurst. So don't twist the meaning of my message. Oh, you forgot Medline in Vernon Hills.

The way you write about Lake County--- "rural" (really, you used the word rural for up here?) and implying there are no jobs makes it apparent that you haven't driven north of Buffalo Grove in 20 years. Go ahead and argue that the Arlington Heights 1950's ranch slab lifestyle is great and all.....but if you start misleading people with generalizations and inaccuracies (such as I just did)----then I'll throw it back your way too. If you would have posted your "re-phrase" first---I would have said kuddos.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by lakecountylifer

Give some specifics.... I can be delayed forever driving on Rand Rd./Arlington Heights Rd. and Palatine Expy in and around Arlington Heights. Lake-Cook Rd. through Buffalo Grove on any weekday afternoon....Crazy Gridlock. Major Grid lock throughout Arlington, Buffalo Grove and Palatine.

I don't see that in Lake County. Give me some examples of road capacity issues. It gets backed up on 120 in Grayslake sometimes---but thats about all I see. Are you talking Six Flags traffic? Come on.

I-94 north of Lake Cook rd. US 41 north of Lake Cook Rd-both have slow spots equal to ar worse than Palatine Rd. Gilmer Rd. north and south because the NIMBY's don't want a 4-lane Gilmer or Rte 53 extension. Lake Cook Rd. near AH rd. delay is because of Lake Co. not having road capacity going north. Rte12 traffic is due to people going home to Lake Co, again because there is not enough road capacity. Major Gridlock throughout AH, Palatine and Buffalo Grove??!!
.............PUH-LEEZE. (By the way this Major Gridlock is a very nefarious dude. Did you know he's related to Major Bedhead?)
The Grand Av. Rte 45, Rte 21 areas are just as sucky during rush hour. In AH you use Dryden/Windsor/BG Rd to avoid AH rd. You use Willow/Thomas to avoid Palatine.
Try going north on rte 83 or rte 45 from Cook Co. to Lindenhurst and tell me that isn't a sucky commute-it really gets bad on the stretches that are still 2 lane instead of 4-lane. IF you work reasonably close in Lake Co. the traffic probably isn't bad. And it's the same thing in Cook Co.
If you live NW and commute downtown it's not the same as living in AH and working in Schaumburg.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by lakecountylifer

This is misleading. Yes, I would rate Deerfield High School (Southern Lake County) and Glenbrook North High School (Northern Cook County) ahead of High Schools in Northern Lake County.

Would I rate Hersey or Buffalo Grove High School in the Arlington Hts. & Buffalo Grove area as in the same league as Deerfield or GBN? Not a chance.

Would I rate Libertyville H.S or Warren H.S as similar to Buffalo Grove and Hersey H.S---You bet I would.

When talking about "southern lake county and northern cook county schools" lets compare apples to apples.

According to Schooldigger.com using PSAE 11th grade math and reading scores you are partially correct.
Rankings:
Stevenson-5, Deerfield-6, Glenbrook N-10, Prospect(AH & Mt. Prospect)-14,
Lake Forest-15, Libertyville-16, Vernon Hill-20, Hersey-21, Highland Park-23, Glenbrook S-25, Buffalo Grove-49, Grayslake-72, Grayslake N-103, Lakes-106, Warren-129. So I stand by my statement that the high schools in NORTHERN Lake Co don't have the cachet that the high schools in NW Burbs do.
Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Lake Forest, Highland Park, Deerfield, Lincolnshire are NOT northern Lake County.

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

According to Schooldigger.com using PSAE 11th grade math and reading scores you are partially correct.
Rankings:
Stevenson-5, Deerfield-6, Glenbrook N-10, Prospect(AH & Mt. Prospect)-14,
Lake Forest-15, Libertyville-16, Vernon Hill-20, Hersey-21, Highland Park-23, Glenbrook S-25, Buffalo Grove-49, Grayslake-72, Grayslake N-103, Lakes-106, Warren-129. So I stand by my statement that the high schools in NORTHERN Lake Co don't have the cachet that the high schools in NW Burbs do.
Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Lake Forest, Highland Park, Deerfield, Lincolnshire are NOT northern Lake County.

Huh? I didn't state they were. Libertyville though is regarded as northern Lake county and I compared LVHS and WTHS to Hersey and Buffalo Grove. Your blanket statement including Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Palatine as in the same comparison as Glenborok North/South, Deerfield, etc. is what I was laughing at. It is laughable. At least I can be honest....

I went to Deerfield and I know that it stands out compared to other schools in the area---- Hersey and Buffalo Grove being compared to Deerfield is disingenious. Same with Libertyville and Warren Township. Now you can come up with some abstract data off a pre sat test to show that Hersey is superior to Warren or Libertyville----just like I could dig up data as well to show it the other way. If you like the it in Arlington HTS, great.... I just wouldn't paint it as a place with "great schools" like DHS and GBN.... I would never say that about Gurnee, Libertyville or northern lake county. North Shore schools are in a class of there own (until education reform in Illinois at least)...... I have met a lot of people over the years that tied to "tag along" the "north shore prestige"----and sorry---its still the same---Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, Palatine = All not north shore. Not even close.

[lakecountylifer]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

I-94 north of Lake Cook rd. US 41 north of Lake Cook Rd-both have slow spots equal to ar worse than Palatine Rd. Gilmer Rd. north and south because the NIMBY's don't want a 4-lane Gilmer or Rte 53 extension. Lake Cook Rd. near AH rd. delay is because of Lake Co. not having road capacity going north. Rte12 traffic is due to people going home to Lake Co, again because there is not enough road capacity. Major Gridlock throughout AH, Palatine and Buffalo Grove??!!
.............PUH-LEEZE. (By the way this Major Gridlock is a very nefarious dude. Did you know he's related to Major Bedhead?)
The Grand Av. Rte 45, Rte 21 areas are just as sucky during rush hour. In AH you use Dryden/Windsor/BG Rd to avoid AH rd. You use Willow/Thomas to avoid Palatine.
Try going north on rte 83 or rte 45 from Cook Co. to Lindenhurst and tell me that isn't a sucky commute-it really gets bad on the stretches that are still 2 lane instead of 4-lane. IF you work reasonably close in Lake Co. the traffic probably isn't bad. And it's the same thing in Cook Co.
If you live NW and commute downtown it's not the same as living in AH and working in Schaumburg.

I live near Grand Ave. Its fine during rush hour. Its no where near the bottle neck of Palatine Rd. or Lake Cook Rd. in Buffalo Grove/Wheeling. You have to site major highways as the source of congestion Lake County? And you site "capacity" COME ON! Rt. 94 will have an 4 lanes in each direction throughout the county when construction is over (soon hopefully). Rt. 41 is busy from construction on 94.

Now I would never travel from Cook County to Lindenhurst on 45 or 83 unless all I could afford was a scooter that I wouuldn't want to take on 94.......and if you choose that route during rush hour its your own fault.


Don't you think its disingenuous to site "capacity" at the same time a major construction project is increasing capacity?