Close to Evanston, gay-friendly, budget -- where would you live? (Chicago: 2009, to rent)

[inthemarket2]

I was hoping you might give me some thoughts on our housing plans. We're expecting a child and are looking to move out of the city into a northern suburb, close to Evanston. Right now we're looking at NW Evanston and Glenview. Do you agree? Are we missing anything?

Here's what we need:

1. Safe and good schools -- that rules out some parts of Evanston, but NW still looks good (just quite pricey).
2. Gay-friendly -- we're a same-sex couple, expecting a child. From previous threads, I've heard anywhere on the northshore should be OK, though of course Evanston would be great in this respect.
3. Good resale in 5 years -- am I correct that it is smarter to buy a fixer-upper in a good location in EV/Glenview that we could improve over time, rather than a cheaper option in Skokie/Morton Grove? I just have the impression that location is key (and that the better school districts will help hold value) -- but maybe I'm wrong...
4. Reasonable commute to both Evanston and downtown (we like the idea of Glenview because I could take the Metra downtown and my partner would still have a reasonable 30 min drive to Evanston).
5. And the sticking point: Hopefully 3 bedrooms, 1 or 1.5 baths, with a yard...at price cap of 350K (ideally a bit closer to 300K). Ideally we'd get a solid single family home that just needs cosmetic type updates, but we might have to go with a townhome based on our budget. We'd need to go under contract by Apr. to take advantage of the first time buyer extension -- hopefully there will be some options on the market over the next few months.

In our searches, two big questions have arisen:
6. Is the entire town of Glenview flood prone, or are there particular areas that are safer than others? We do not want to get stuck with major basement mold issues. We'd love to be within walking distance (1 mile) of the Metra.
7. In terms of resale, what effect does being in a neighborhood that has some teardowns/new builds have? For example, we've looked at a couple subdivisions in Glenview where it's mostly older homes (300-400K) with a few big mansions sprinkled through (obviously new builds). Will that help or hurt the value of an older home in that neighborhood over time?

I'd love feedback on any of these points. Thanks very much in advance.

[US-Traveller]

Evanston is a fairly liberal community, but there is not a significant gay population and definitely not a large alternative family population. Most Evanston families are traditional. I also know of gay bashing occuring in many of the Evanston schools as well as New Trier schools. I think I would look into Rogers Park or Andersonville and consider private schools.

Also, Glenview is fairly conservative. Northfield Township (Golf, Glenview, Northbrook, Northfield) and New Trier Township (Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe) are very traditional family communities and are historically GOP strongholds, if that means anything to you.

[chet everett]

Tell that to Mark Kirk and Melissa Bean...

[US-Traveller]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Tell that to Mark Kirk and Melissa Bean...

Melissa Bean doesn't represent that area. Mark Kirk does and Northfield and New Trier have typically been his base. They haven't been as GOP as they have been say 5-10 years ago, but the area is still largely Republican and largely traditional in nature. Mark Kirk's district also includes more liberal and Democratic areas like Highland Park, Deerfield, Waukegan, Highwood, and North Chicago. On top of that both Bean and Kirk are much more moderate than their national parties. New Trier gave Topinka like 67% in 2006.

[chet everett]

Believe me the folks that voted against the Hairdo were smart, not necessarily conservative...

[chisub]

We're basically looking for the exact same thing and have made the same observations and have the same questions that you do. While we're a straight couple, a community that is gay-friendly is a big plus and something we want for our son (he turns 1 this weekend!). Congrats on the new addition!

[chet everett]

Chicago is much more gay friendly than any suburb, and generally has larger collection of lower cost homes. Since your son won't be in school for sveral years that would give you plenty of time to find your big plus and get into a school that is not terrible.

Good Luck!

[reppin_the_847]

You mentioned one of the plus points of Glenview as having Metra access to the city. Just as a useful FYI, Evanston also has excellent Metra access to the city. In fact, Evanston has three different Metra stations. There's a station in NW Evanston @ Evanston Central Street, a station in downtown Evanston @ Evanston Davis Street, and a station in southern Evanston at Evanston Main Street. All three of these stops are along Metra's Union Pacific North Line which basically runs along the lakeshore towns most of the run into the city. The Glenview stop is along the Milwaukee North line which is a bit more inland during its run to the city. Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by inthemarket2

I was hoping you might give me some thoughts on our housing plans. We're expecting a child and are looking to move out of the city into a northern suburb, close to Evanston. Right now we're looking at NW Evanston and Glenview. Do you agree? Are we missing anything?

Here's what we need:

1. Safe and good schools -- that rules out some parts of Evanston, but NW still looks good (just quite pricey).
2. Gay-friendly -- we're a same-sex couple, expecting a child. From previous threads, I've heard anywhere on the northshore should be OK, though of course Evanston would be great in this respect.
3. Good resale in 5 years -- am I correct that it is smarter to buy a fixer-upper in a good location in EV/Glenview that we could improve over time, rather than a cheaper option in Skokie/Morton Grove? I just have the impression that location is key (and that the better school districts will help hold value) -- but maybe I'm wrong...
4. Reasonable commute to both Evanston and downtown (we like the idea of Glenview because I could take the Metra downtown and my partner would still have a reasonable 30 min drive to Evanston).
5. And the sticking point: Hopefully 3 bedrooms, 1 or 1.5 baths, with a yard...at price cap of 350K (ideally a bit closer to 300K). Ideally we'd get a solid single family home that just needs cosmetic type updates, but we might have to go with a townhome based on our budget. We'd need to go under contract by Apr. to take advantage of the first time buyer extension -- hopefully there will be some options on the market over the next few months.

In our searches, two big questions have arisen:
6. Is the entire town of Glenview flood prone, or are there particular areas that are safer than others? We do not want to get stuck with major basement mold issues. We'd love to be within walking distance (1 mile) of the Metra.
7. In terms of resale, what effect does being in a neighborhood that has some teardowns/new builds have? For example, we've looked at a couple subdivisions in Glenview where it's mostly older homes (300-400K) with a few big mansions sprinkled through (obviously new builds). Will that help or hurt the value of an older home in that neighborhood over time?

I'd love feedback on any of these points. Thanks very much in advance.

[chisub]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Chicago is much more gay friendly than any suburb, and generally has larger collection of lower cost homes. Since your son won't be in school for sveral years that would give you plenty of time to find your big plus and get into a school that is not terrible.

Good Luck!

While we think we're only going to be in the place for about 5 years, I don't want to make that assumption and be screwed like so many people are these days. Don't want to have to be in a position where we're forced to sell b/c of the school situation if we're not ready financially. Does that make sense? We're not completely ruling out parts of the city that have decent schools, but those areas are few and far between and don't seem to be any more liberal than the neighboring suburbs. I'm talking about the NW neighborhoods of Chicago. Plus my goal is not to just get my son into a school that "isn't terrible"!

[chet everett]

If you are only going to be someplace for five years my recommendation is to rent.

The better schools in CPS have some test scores that are quite high, frankly leading the state results if that is important to you: http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/...0/50168344.pdf

Many posters have repeatedly reported on the fact the suburbs cannot compare to the diversity / liberal superiority of Chicago.