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Old 09-26-2010, 08:03 PM
 
46 posts, read 405,389 times
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I have recently posted info about moving to Bend, Oregon, but we also could be transferred to the Northern Chicago area. If could tell someone from Oregon moving to Chicago something, what would it be? Like I put on my recent thread, we could be transferred to Bend, Oregon or the Chicago area.

Thanks!
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Old 09-26-2010, 08:18 PM
 
Location: Chicago
15,585 posts, read 27,484,478 times
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Living in the burbs is far different from living in the city. Living in some burbs is far different from living in other burbs. There is no way to answer your query in detail or very specifically. The Chicago area has a lot of people and many different aspects of living-just about every kind one can imagine.
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Old 09-26-2010, 08:22 PM
 
46 posts, read 405,389 times
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Well then, were does a middle class family live? And no, he doesn't make a million a year. We are truly middle class $$. He's been to Chicago, but we haven't. I just want a nice area, good school and place to call home...
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Old 09-26-2010, 08:30 PM
 
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The more specific you are, the better answers you will receive. Middle class varies greatly by one's own definition and the area in which you live. Many people in Chicago call themselves middle class, but make between $50K- $150K per year. Where is your husband's job? How far is your husband willing to commute to work from your house? Chicago traffic is 2nd or 3rd worst in the US. What type of people do you want to live around? There are hundreds of ethnic groups in Chicago. What type of house do you want? How old are your kids? Most important, how much can you afford?
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Old 09-26-2010, 08:41 PM
 
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Wow.... so much to look at, so much to determine. My husband doesn't want to commute more than 40ish mins each way. He'll work in Skokie or Arlington Heights? We have three young children (in grade school). School very important, maybe need private? Don't know? We don't make a huge amount, somewhere in the middle of what you indicated.
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Old 09-26-2010, 08:46 PM
 
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You can find decent places to live in both of those towns, or in the adjacent towns. Keeping a <40min will be no problem. The worst traffic is for those who commute into and out of downtown Chicago.

If he works in Skokie, he'd have an easy commute from Skokie, Niles, Deerfield, Northbrook, Glenview, Highland Park. From what I remember, all of those towns have decent school systems (Skokie and Niles maybe not as good as the others I mentioned though?)

If he works in Arlington Heights, I would just live there. It's a nice town. Buffalo Grove would be another option.


Quote:
Originally Posted by us2add3 View Post
Wow.... so much to look at, so much to determine. My husband doesn't want to commute more than 40ish mins each way. He'll work in Skokie or Arlington Heights? We have three young children (in grade school). School very important, maybe need private? Don't know? We don't make a huge amount, somewhere in the middle of what you indicated.

Last edited by odie91; 09-26-2010 at 09:22 PM..
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Old 09-27-2010, 10:41 AM
 
1,728 posts, read 4,711,380 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by us2add3 View Post
Wow.... so much to look at, so much to determine. My husband doesn't want to commute more than 40ish mins each way. He'll work in Skokie or Arlington Heights? We have three young children (in grade school). School very important, maybe need private? Don't know? We don't make a huge amount, somewhere in the middle of what you indicated.
I am going to assume your family income is around $100K. This means you can buy a $300K- $350K home. It is more cost effective for you to purchase a home in a suburb with good schools rather than purchase a cheaper home in a worse suburb with bad schools, forcing you to pay for private school.

Skokie is a near north suburb. Affordable within 40 minutes is Skokie itself, Morton Grove, Lincolnwood, Des Plaines, and Wheeling. The school systems vary, but are all at least pretty good.

If husband works in Skokie, try Skokie itself as it is convenient and has many close by amenities.

Arlington Heights is a NW suburb. Affordable within 40 minutes is Arlington Heights itself, Wheeling, parts of Buffalo Grove, Palatine, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates. For the most part, all of the school systems are pretty good.

With your budget, it will be tough to find something new, but you should be able to get a good home. With you not being from the area, I would go with Schaumburg because schools are good, property taxes low, it's affordable, and there are people from all over the country. Plus it has a lot of convenient shopping centers with all kinds of stores.
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Old 09-27-2010, 03:11 PM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,796,869 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by us2add3 View Post
Wow.... so much to look at, so much to determine. My husband doesn't want to commute more than 40ish mins each way. He'll work in Skokie or Arlington Heights? We have three young children (in grade school). School very important, maybe need private? Don't know? We don't make a huge amount, somewhere in the middle of what you indicated.
You would NOT need private schools in Skokie or Arlington Heights as the publics schools are quite good there.

If he works in Skokie, I would suggest living in Skokie as you would have easy access to downtown on the *el* and good schools and very nice diverse neighborhoods.

I would agree with chitown85 if he is working in Arlington Heights just live there.

Dorothy
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Old 09-28-2010, 11:22 AM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
5,479 posts, read 12,211,553 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chitown85 View Post
I am going to assume your family income is around $100K. This means you can buy a $300K- $350K home. It is more cost effective for you to purchase a home in a suburb with good schools rather than purchase a cheaper home in a worse suburb with bad schools, forcing you to pay for private school.

Skokie is a near north suburb. Affordable within 40 minutes is Skokie itself, Morton Grove, Lincolnwood, Des Plaines, and Wheeling. The school systems vary, but are all at least pretty good.

If husband works in Skokie, try Skokie itself as it is convenient and has many close by amenities.

Arlington Heights is a NW suburb. Affordable within 40 minutes is Arlington Heights itself, Wheeling, parts of Buffalo Grove, Palatine, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates. For the most part, all of the school systems are pretty good.

With your budget, it will be tough to find something new, but you should be able to get a good home. With you not being from the area, I would go with Schaumburg because schools are good, property taxes low, it's affordable, and there are people from all over the country. Plus it has a lot of convenient shopping centers with all kinds of stores.
Whereas there are no really "bad schools" (that I know of) in the towns you mention, I perceive a wide variance in quality of schools in the list of towns you suggested.
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Old 09-28-2010, 11:43 AM
 
10 posts, read 21,769 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chitown85 View Post
I am going to assume your family income is around $100K. This means you can buy a $300K- $350K home.
Keep in mind that 300-350K will get you a lot more in the Arlington Heights area than it would in the Skokie area due to the considerable variation in property taxes. To get a better gage of what the actual monthly payment will be in that price range from town to town, you can try searching for homes in the towns chitown85 mentioned on homefinder.com. A lot of the homes for sale in illinois on that particular website also list the property tax info from the previous year, so you can narrow down your budget in different cities. There might actually be a website run by the state to give specific property tax info on exact addresses. Can't remember what the name was, but it can be googled. Hope this helps!
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