Company relocating to Schaumburg - where is an affordable place near Schaumburg with good schools? (Chicago: insurance, low crime)

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by dhammerman2003

I'd personally look in Lake County as well as we have cheaper taxes than Cook County (7% vs 10/10.5%). Lake Zurich is also good for schools and education.

True and no C(r)ook county government. BUT, sometimes property taxes are higher.

[MPFireman]

Mount Prospect. This year it won the national award as the best community to raise children. South of Golf Rd there are a lot of apartments, but there is also many single family homes also. The North East section of town is the older homes built after WW 2. But sad to say, Cook county is a not tax friendly to anyone.

[cubssoxfan]

I am a Mt. Prospect fan. The sections near the Mt. Prospect Golf Club are really pretty. Some nice sections S. of Golf Rd., but I prefer sections north. Also like the neighborhood west of Lions Park. Dist 57 and Prospect are very good schools, but Dist 26 is pretty good as is Hersey HS.

[thndrcloud]

It's hard to recommend an area when you don't say what you're looking for in a house. How much land are you looking for or would you prefer a townhouse with no land at all? Is a 3br acceptable, do you want 4br so each kid can have their own room and how many bathrooms do you want? Is square footage more important than the number of rooms or vice versa? Would you prefer older or newer construction? Are you looking for a small town feel, someplace with a nice downtown, walkability, public transportation, more kid or adult oriented entertainment options, access to major expressways, dual income neighbors or lots of stay at home moms at the park with their kids.

Without knowing what's important to you all the rest of us can do is tell you what we like which may or may not be relevant or helpful to you.

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by thndrcloud

It's hard to recommend an area when you don't say what you're looking for in a house. How much land are you looking for or would you prefer a townhouse with no land at all? Is a 3br acceptable, do you want 4br so each kid can have their own room and how many bathrooms do you want? Is square footage more important than the number of rooms or vice versa? Would you prefer older or newer construction? Are you looking for a small town feel, someplace with a nice downtown, walkability, public transportation, more kid or adult oriented entertainment options, access to major expressways, dual income neighbors or lots of stay at home moms at the park with their kids.

Without knowing what's important to you all the rest of us can do is tell you what we like which may or may not be relevant or helpful to you.

Giving the work locale, housing budget and importance of schools was enough for folks to give recommendations. The home price alone limits certain options with that desired location area.

[AZgarden]

OK, so could somebody tell me what the heck is wrong with living in Schaumburg, going to district 54 and 211 schools??? I raised my kids there back in the late 80s and early 90s. It was an excellent school district at that time. So what happened? Why isn't anyone recommending them now? I live in AZ now, but always try to keep in the loop when it comes to Schaumburg.

[gramirez2012]

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

OK, so could somebody tell me what the heck is wrong with living in Schaumburg, going to district 54 and 211 schools??? I raised my kids there back in the late 80s and early 90s. It was an excellent school district at that time. So what happened? Why isn't anyone recommending them now? I live in AZ now, but always try to keep in the loop when it comes to Schaumburg.

AFAIK, there's nothing wrong with either district - it's just that there are better public schools in the area, namely Dist 220.

[MPFireman]

The problem with the Schaumburg area is the traffic. No saying the se-rounding town's do not have traffic, but the Schaumburg area has a lot more. The only rapid transit to and from that area is by bus, where towns like Mt Prospect, they also have train service to the city, and a short bus ride to the rapid transit lines, plus less than 20 min to O'Hare field.
With todays economy, look for the best house you can afford, then weigh the plus and minus of the town, schools, taxes, crime rate. Most of these towns are around 40,000 to 50,000 people, so all can not be bad.

[purplesky]

Actually, if the OP is going to be working in Schaumburg, the traffic point is moot. I live in Schaumburg and have never found the traffic to be all that bad (on the west end). I tend to avoid Golf Road and use Schaumburg Road instead or various other ways.

[chicagojlo]

Originally Posted by dhammerman2003

I'd personally look in Lake County as well as we have cheaper taxes than Cook County (7% vs 10/10.5%). Lake Zurich is also good for schools and education.

Sales tax might be less but take a look at property tax!

Actually OP I don't know what property tax is doing where you are coming from but you might want to reconsider how much house you can afford when you see the $8-10K property tax bills that most Lake County houses are coming with these days. It's certainly made us rethink our home buying.