Illinois To NWI Migration (Hammond, Munster: townhome, high income, living)

[jvr789]

Originally Posted by flamadiddle

Looks like we'll be bucking the trend and moving back to Illinois. We looked hard at NWI, but in the end it just didn't work for us. We're currently making offers on homes in the St. Charles and Geneva area. St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia along with their downtowns, restaurants/shopping, biking trails/forest preserves, riverfront and of course the schools just blow away anything in NWI. I don't like paying higher taxes, but in some cases, it's worth it...

Congrats on your upcoming move. St. Charles/Geneva is a nice area but I really think your statement that the schools there "blow away anything in NWI" is unfair.

Munster IN school system ranks high nationally. For example, Munster (#833) tops St. Charles East (#1184) and Geneva Community HS (#1645) per US News National Rankings. It falls somewhat below St. Charles North (#690) but honestly, my point would be that you can get a good/solid quality education at any of these top schools.

At any rate, happy home shopping in IL, just build in some extra cost $$$ contingency for future tax increases coming down the pike....I mean they have to be coming right? Or funding for services such as schools, etc will have to be cut, right?

[flamadiddle]

Thx, we'll be moving to the St. Charles North High School district. Unfortunately Munster would never work for us because we need at least 2 acres. The taxes between St. Charles and Munster aren't all that much different for a comparable home (*if one existed in Munster with 2 acres). Paying a little more for all the amenities and not having to hear my neighbors TV when I open my window is well worth it, IMO, but I realize not everyone is into large lots/acreage. Different strokes for different folks.

[CGab]

This was posted on Top 10 States in America With the Highest Taxes in 2016

An article in the Chicago Tribune also stated the same in regards to Illinois.


Illinois ranks as the worst state in America for taxes. The state’s average tax bill of $7,836 is almost 36% higher than the national average. It ranks dead last for real estate taxes ($3,959), and No. 30 for income taxes ($1,520). On a positive note, there is no vehicle property tax.

With that said, no one is disputing that there are some great amenities in Illinois and some people will over look the expenses of living there for those amenities. Others would rather live in another state, be it Indiana or another and use those funds that they are saving on the cost of living for things like their retirement, children's college, travel, etc. It's definitely a personal choice; however, with the fiscal state that Illinois is in with no relief in site any time soon my family made the choice to move out of Illinois. My husband still works in Illinois and commutes, but the home we purchased in Saint John is comparable to the one we had in North Plainfield without the hefty taxes! The funds we are saving is tremendous and I only wish we did it sooner! I'd rather use the funds we earn for our family then give it to a corrupt government. Again it's a personal choice, but there's no way that anyone can dispute the cost savings of moving out of Illinois to any other state; especially Indiana. Whether they want to come to grips with reality or not, the facts are there! And no, you CAN NOT compare the price and property taxes of a home in Hinsdale to a home in Munster. Such comparable does not exist.

[CGab]

Sorry, here is the link with that data!

Top 10 States in America With the Highest Taxes in 2016

[Humboldt1]

McdonaldIndy,

Your example of South Holland is totally inappropriate and fear mongering.

This suburb has seen significant decline from ongoing white flight like many south suburbs but most Chicago suburbs are not seeing significant white flight. Most white flight is on the south side and inner western burbs.

We are not seeing white flight in Oak Park btw, actually the reverse in past 2 decades

I agree that Illinois is in serious trouble and taxes will continue to increase until they finally cut the pensions (even if constitutional amendment is required it will happen eventually as there is a limit of how much debt Illinois can take on to fund budget deficits).

I believe you purposely posts untruths on this forum and need to stop.

We all agree that Illinois has serious debt issues and most agree that the pensions are not sustainable in their current form.

I am from Indianapolis area and it has it's appeal, particularly it's low COL but it is not perfect and fairly lacking on amenities compared to larger cities like Chicago.

[flamadiddle]

To be fair, I was fine with Valpo, but was overruled by the wife and kids.

They prefer the schools/programs and amenities that St. Charles / The Fox Valley has to offer over the lower taxes of Indiana and who am I to argue, I just pay the bills! lol

[Humboldt1]

I may be in similar situation where we may buy near Fox Valley area (probably closer to Naperville) to be near wife's family. I prefer Hinsdale area and Oak Park because of close proximity to the city.

I don't want to spend over 4k per month on housing (taxes and mortgage) and told the wife we are not looking to spend over 600k for a house. This limits our options in Hinsdale and to a lesser extent Oak Park (I also like River Forest which is our neighbor). Hinsdale taxes are much better for what you get.

Also, I do not want a 6000 sq ft home as we would probably have to hire a maid just to maintain place while we are at work (I refuse to spend all weekend cleaning like some couples who both work).

I really like St Charles but it is far from the Loop and not very close to expressways. It does have a lot of amenities that you will not find in NWI but Munster and St John do have some of these amenities. I just wish they had more and maybe they will if enough higher income people move there to avoid Illinois taxes.

Ultimately, though the wife is the boss and the only control I have is limiting our budget as I am not looking to spend over 1mm on a house with crazy high taxes which will only continue to increase in Illinois (at least until they finally agree to cut pensions, which is inevitable).

Again, South Holland is a poor representation of Illinois as a whole. Areas like Hinsdale will never see white flight and subsequent declines in property values and increased tax rates to pay for crumbling infrastructure.

South Holland is more comparable to Merrillville, a formerly solid middle class area that has seen whie flight and subsequent declines.

McdonaldIndy,

I would never say that just because that Merillville has seen shifts in population and subsequent declines that this is reflective of NWI as a whole and even Indiana. South Holland was a shameful example for what is next for Illinois. Things are not getting better for Illinois but it will never be that bad.

[My Kind Of Town]

The funniest (saddest) part about McDonaldIndy's posts is the fact that affluent Chicagoland suburbs are generally performing better over the past year than those found in NWI and Indy. Seriously, check these out. Flat or even negative appreciation in some cases for some of the most desirable suburbs in Indiana over the past year. How is that possible if IL residents are flocking to Indiana in droves?

[DEFAULT_PAGE_SUBTITLE] | Zillow

Carmel IN Home Prices & Home Values | Zillow

Munster IN Home Prices & Home Values | Zillow

[DEFAULT_PAGE_SUBTITLE] | Zillow

Crown Point IN Home Prices & Home Values | Zillow

Hidden Valley IN Home Prices & Home Values | Zillow

Fishers IN Home Prices & Home Values | Zillow

[My Kind Of Town]

Originally Posted by McdonaldIndy

Zillow is a laughable source at best. Try again.

Where's your source that proves differently?

[jvr789]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

McdonaldIndy,

Your example of South Holland is totally inappropriate and fear mongering.

This suburb has seen significant decline from ongoing white flight like many south suburbs but most Chicago suburbs are not seeing significant white flight. Most white flight is on the south side and inner western burbs.

We are not seeing white flight in Oak Park btw, actually the reverse in past 2 decades

I agree that Illinois is in serious trouble and taxes will continue to increase until they finally cut the pensions (even if constitutional amendment is required it will happen eventually as there is a limit of how much debt Illinois can take on to fund budget deficits).

I believe you purposely posts untruths on this forum and need to stop.

We all agree that Illinois has serious debt issues and most agree that the pensions are not sustainable in their current form.

I am from Indianapolis area and it has it's appeal, particularly it's low COL but it is not perfect and fairly lacking on amenities compared to larger cities like Chicago.

I agree, data can be cherry picked on both sides of the fence (or state line in this case) but what is interesting is that this story is being pushed/published by Illinois Policy Org. McDonald Indy didn't fabricate it out of thin air and the story is coming out of IL not IN.


Also, I really hate the term White Flight. Can we stop using it? There are plenty of people in my neighborhood that have more pigment in their skin than I do and they are awesome neighbors and friends. They have good jobs, care about their kids education and are a lot of fun to be around.