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Old 01-26-2014, 04:46 PM
 
Location: Chisago Lakes, Minnesota
3,810 posts, read 6,398,354 times
Reputation: 6564

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We're from northern Michigan. In 2 weeks we're taking our daughter to the Shriners Hospital in Chicago so they can assess a condition she was born with. There are only a few select places in the country that treat this condition. Thing is, if we decide Chicago's the place for her we're going to move to the area as soon as we can, because we've been traveling hundreds of miles back & forth for her care since she was born, and we are not doing that anymore.

Since Chicago and its suburbs are pretty pricey, we thought about going out to the country.....places like Malta, DeKalb, Sycamore, Genoa, etc........anywhere that's within an hour and a half or so of the hospital so we could easily get to appointments and back home in time for dinner or whatever the same day. Found that home prices out there are very reasonable, but the PROPERTY TAXES!! Good Lord in Heaven.....6, 7, 8 thousand dollars a year???? Is that right, or am I just looking at things incorrectly? How on earth does anyone who isn't borderline wealthy afford that?? We really want to stay in the Midwest if possible, and this Shriners hospital is supposed to be pretty renowned. Are there decent areas out there with lower taxes perhaps? We don't really want to live in Indiana or anything near Chicago's south side.
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Old 01-26-2014, 07:05 PM
 
120 posts, read 293,558 times
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Are you concerned about the quality of the public schools? You could try genoa IL, or look just over the border in Mchenry county to Wisconsin (Twin lakes, paddock lake, lake Geneva, etc) Still 1.5 hours from downtown but taxes will be 2-5k instead of 5-9k. Rockford can be reasonable but is far more dangerous than any of the other areas recommended.
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Old 01-26-2014, 07:44 PM
 
Location: Chisago Lakes, Minnesota
3,810 posts, read 6,398,354 times
Reputation: 6564
Quote:
Originally Posted by maddog49 View Post
Are you concerned about the quality of the public schools? You could try genoa IL, or look just over the border in Mchenry county to Wisconsin (Twin lakes, paddock lake, lake Geneva, etc) Still 1.5 hours from downtown but taxes will be 2-5k instead of 5-9k. Rockford can be reasonable but is far more dangerous than any of the other areas recommended.
Are the schools poor in your recommended areas? We have 2 elementary school age kids and 2 babies. I know higher property taxes fund better schools, but I have never seen them that high in a semi-rural area of the Midwest. How in the world does someone who can only afford a $170,000 home pay 7K a year in property tax??
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Old 01-26-2014, 10:25 PM
 
11,973 posts, read 31,649,227 times
Reputation: 4641
You just kind of factor it in to your home budget, and roll with it. As a percentage of home value, the property taxes in Illinois really aren't that high. Wisconsin has higher taxes in that respect, at least in most municipalities (because it does vary from place to place). But the issue is that the home values around Chicago are quite a bit higher than elsewhere in the Midwest. They are entirely tax deductible, so there is that…

I wish you the best in finding the appropriate treatment for your daughter. Let us know if you have any further questions, or if we can help in any way!
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Old 01-27-2014, 03:50 AM
 
21 posts, read 33,216 times
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Try Crown Point or St. Johns Indiana.... Prop tax is capped at 1% of value in Indiana. Much better deal & less than an hour to downtown Chi.
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Old 01-27-2014, 07:33 AM
 
Location: Chisago Lakes, Minnesota
3,810 posts, read 6,398,354 times
Reputation: 6564
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lookout Kid View Post
You just kind of factor it in to your home budget, and roll with it. As a percentage of home value, the property taxes in Illinois really aren't that high. Wisconsin has higher taxes in that respect, at least in most municipalities (because it does vary from place to place). But the issue is that the home values around Chicago are quite a bit higher than elsewhere in the Midwest. They are entirely tax deductible, so there is that…

I wish you the best in finding the appropriate treatment for your daughter. Let us know if you have any further questions, or if we can help in any way!
Thank you, very kind.

How does one "factor in" $7,000 a year in property taxes, though? I mean, even a good income tax return wouldn't cover that for us.

It does appear taxes are lower across the border in Wisconsin. Randall, Twin lakes, etc. I suppose we should consider Indiana as well if the taxes are that much lower.
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Old 01-27-2014, 07:37 AM
 
35,095 posts, read 50,990,220 times
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Why not try one of the border states?
As far as the taxes go everyone I know who owns a home puts aside the appropriate amount each month throughout the year.

I wish you well with your daughter and safe travels.
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Old 01-27-2014, 08:03 AM
 
Location: Chisago Lakes, Minnesota
3,810 posts, read 6,398,354 times
Reputation: 6564
Quote:
Originally Posted by CSD610 View Post
Why not try one of the border states?
As far as the taxes go everyone I know who owns a home puts aside the appropriate amount each month throughout the year.

I wish you well with your daughter and safe travels.
Thank you for the well wishes. Much appreciated.

At 7K a year, that's basically $600 a month. That's like renting a small apartment on the side. There must be a lot of people making a lot more money than I would be in northern Illinois! Not trying to be a wise guy, I just can't fathom how a family pulling in 50 to 70k a year (us) could make a go of that.
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Old 01-27-2014, 09:30 AM
 
Location: broke leftist craphole Illizuela
10,326 posts, read 17,342,335 times
Reputation: 20321
It is tough. The state of Illinois is badly designed and badly run. The high property taxes often don't provide better schools but less efficient ones. Nearly every town almost has its own school district sometimes several with far too many six figure administrators. There is a terrible need for consolidation but noone wants to merge districts with a less afluent neighborhood. Also corruption, patronige and obscene pensions are a huge drain on tax money in Illinois. There are no caps or anything in place to prevent the dozens of overlapping government entities with taxing authority from raising your taxes every year so the government decides how much money they want and they find a way to extract it from their hosts I mean citizens. Fiscal discipline does not exist in Illinois.

The net result is a continuing flow of people and businesses from the state and those businesses that remain are hesitant to invest any more money on growth and employment in the state. I have decided not to buy in this state as I don't want to become trapped here.
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Old 01-27-2014, 09:42 AM
 
11,289 posts, read 26,073,473 times
Reputation: 11353
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Northerner View Post
Are the schools poor in your recommended areas? We have 2 elementary school age kids and 2 babies. I know higher property taxes fund better schools, but I have never seen them that high in a semi-rural area of the Midwest. How in the world does someone who can only afford a $170,000 home pay 7K a year in property tax??
Where do they have taxes like that? I live in Chicago and pay around $2,400 on my place that's worth around $200,000. I have a few friends who pay around $8,000 a year, but their place is also worth over $500,000.
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