Need To Be South Of Milwaukee (Kenosha: house, private schools, to live)

[skyhigh76]

My husband is relocating to Milwaukee for work. We are from the south burbs of Chicago. I work in Chicago, so we would like to find an area to live that is somewhere in between. We want to get the most house for our money, and be in a good community. We also have 3 children, so we need good schools. Our children attend private schools now, so I was wondering if there are any areas that would meet all of our expectations.

[Drover]

Gurnee....

[WIArcher]

Where in Milwaukee will he be working? Where is Chicago will you be working? How long will to far of a drive be? The most house for your money will probably be in Wisconsin. But you could still get a good house for your money in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Will your kids attend private school or are you looking for a good public school system? Anywhere from Gurnee to Kenosha will be very close to the midpoint depending on exactly where the two of you will be working.

[Chinolala]

Kenosha, Lake Zurich

[Undecided2008]

Kenosha is probably about a 25-30 minute drive depending on traffic to Milwaukee, and a Metra line runs from Kenosha to downtown. Kenosha has a decent public school system as far as I know, and there is a private catholic high school (St. Joes) in Kenosha also. I'm not sure about the schools on the elementary level.

[radraja]

Gurnee! I know many people who lived there and loved it.

I'd really recommend staying slightly closer to Chicago. Traffic in WI is much more mild, whereas Chicago traffic can be gruesome. If you're too far away from your work, you'll be facing a long commute in addition to city traffic. Being closer to Chicago would lessen the burden for you, but wouldn't make too much of a difference for him (he could take the train to Milwaukee then face minimal city traffic).

[radraja]

Other northern suburbs to consider would include Green Oaks, Park City, Lake Bluff, Wadsworth, Waukegan, etc.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by radraja

Gurnee! I know many people who lived there and loved it.

I'd really recommend staying slightly closer to Chicago. Traffic in WI is much more mild, whereas Chicago traffic can be gruesome. If you're too far away from your work, you'll be facing a long commute in addition to city traffic. Being closer to Chicago would lessen the burden for you, but wouldn't make too much of a difference for him (he could take the train to Milwaukee then face minimal city traffic).

What train to Milwaukee? The only option is Amtrak, and that's not exactly a commuter-friendly option.

Whereas there is a Chicago-bound commuter train that runs all the way up to Kenosha, which slightly obviates the need to favor being closer to Chicago, depending on how close to downtown she works.

[radraja]

However, she'd still have to face the city traffic in Chicago in addition to the train commute, whereas he'd face minimal traffic once in Milwaukee.

I never thought the Amtrak was that bad?

[Drover]

Why would she have to face city traffic in Chicago if she took a train?