Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-28-2009, 10:35 PM
 
1 posts, read 6,194 times
Reputation: 11

Advertisements

I'm taking a job in Lake Forest and am wondering what might be a good area to look for a home would be. We are late 20's with a baby on the way, combined income only around 80k. I realize Lake Forest and similar are well out of our range. Looking for community with similar young couples. Would enjoy high school football, tennis club, and some downtown nightlife could be nice on occasion.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-28-2009, 11:28 PM
 
15 posts, read 39,694 times
Reputation: 15
Libertyville
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-29-2009, 08:39 AM
 
Location: on god's green earth
71 posts, read 242,981 times
Reputation: 36
@ ChiLubeck

would you happen to know if this is a diverse area?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-29-2009, 11:31 AM
 
2,115 posts, read 5,383,653 times
Reputation: 1138
It sort of depends on what you're looking for. Another poster mentioned Libertyville, and I agree that it's a good suggestion if you're sticking to Lake County. If you're looking for a more urban lifestyle a stone's throw away from Chicago I'd suggest Evanston. If you want to invest in an area for the long haul (with a high quality public school district in mind) in Cook County, I'd say look into Wilmette. For Lake County, Libertyville does have a great school district.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanmc22 View Post
I'm taking a job in Lake Forest and am wondering what might be a good area to look for a home would be. We are late 20's with a baby on the way, combined income only around 80k. I realize Lake Forest and similar are well out of our range. Looking for community with similar young couples. Would enjoy high school football, tennis club, and some downtown nightlife could be nice on occasion.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-29-2009, 12:19 PM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
5,479 posts, read 12,189,313 times
Reputation: 2847
Quote:
Originally Posted by reppin_the_847 View Post
It sort of depends on what you're looking for. Another poster mentioned Libertyville, and I agree that it's a good suggestion if you're sticking to Lake County. If you're looking for a more urban lifestyle a stone's throw away from Chicago I'd suggest Evanston. If you want to invest in an area for the long haul (with a high quality public school district in mind) in Cook County, I'd say look into Wilmette. For Lake County, Libertyville does have a great school district.
I really question if a gross of $80K will work in Wilmette, Evanston or even Libertyville. And if the dear wife decides to or needs to stay home with the baby, then how do you afford these locales on one salary?! Not really sure where to suggest, perhaps Vernon Hills or Buffalo Grove? Cook Co. part of Buffalo Grove has smaller, older homes than the Lake Co. portion. But many of the homes are cheaper and carry lower property taxes. Perhaps a townhouse instead of a single family home?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-29-2009, 02:22 PM
 
71 posts, read 297,740 times
Reputation: 52
Agree with Libertyville and Evanston. Might also want to look north to the nearby Gurnee area. The home prices are a bit more reasonable, still good schools, and not a long commute.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-29-2009, 08:46 PM
 
Location: Chicago
2 posts, read 7,510 times
Reputation: 10
Lake Bluff is an area to consider as well
There is also "unincorporated" area of Northbrook

Buffalo Grove

Deerfield, Glenview have that "city feel in the suburbs"

And Wheeling is not bad for a home, high school football, families... and you can always find nightlife in the surrounding areas
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-29-2009, 11:13 PM
 
28,455 posts, read 84,921,999 times
Reputation: 18723
$80K of household income is not going to get a mansion, but if the OP is smart with his money there are ways to live in some pretty close to Lake Forest areas. Renting is not a crime and with the right situation a very nice house can be had close to a fair price. There are school teachers, cops, college professors and lots of regular folks that live in every town on the North Shore, you just have to be smart.

Towns like Northfield and Highwood are a lot more affordable than their neighboring towns and get nicer with every passing year. If you move to Rondout you just might find some buried loot: Rondout, Illinois - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would recommend shopping TOWNS first as even when you rent you can become quite attached to the patterns of commuting and the offerings of the various towns. If you decide to buy down the road you will be better able to judge what is a value that you feel good about.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-02-2009, 12:37 PM
SBD
 
52 posts, read 204,631 times
Reputation: 26
Some of the older homes in Lincolnshire could work for you - and part of Lincolnshire has a Lake Forest address (gives you an idea how close they are to each other). Stevenson high school also a top school in the state.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-02-2009, 02:20 PM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
5,479 posts, read 12,189,313 times
Reputation: 2847
Is my math off? 80K. 21% for housing (not including taxes) is $16,800 a year for P&I. That's $1400 a month. So that is roughly a $230K mortgage at 5.75%. So unless the OP is willing to live in a condo, townhouse or has a downpayment saved that is pretty limiting. Even if they had a $150K downpayment, that means $380K for a house. Then add $6500-$10,000K taxes per year depending on location. Then add what, $2,000-$5,000 a year for maintenance and upkeep. Doable, but I really question what kind of single family house you get for that in Lincolnshire, Lake Forest, Northfield etc. And if they're tapped out, where does the $ come from for renovations? For aggressively funding retirement? For funding the wife's unexpected desire to be a stay at home Mom? To replace the old car that got too expensive to keep repairing? To have a little fun-vacation, sports? To avoid running up credit card and other debt? Sorry, I'll get off my "Fatherly Advice" soapbox now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago Suburbs

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top