family wants house (500-600K): Evanston, Wilmette, Skokie (middle-class, rentals)

[academic_family]

Hi. This forum has been really helpful.

We (married couple, one toddler-aged child) are looking to buy a 3-5 bedroom house in the range of 500-600K. I will work at Northwestern University. Being able to get to work on foot or on public transportation would be a huge plus. We are not super-suburban people; we live in a city now, and we love the walkability/diversity/cultural offerings. That said, we want to send our daughter to public schools, and would sacrifice urban living for her education.

EVANSTON
Pros: I like the urban atmosphere and cultural life of Evanston. Evanston seems very walkable.
Cons: I am a little worried about safety. I am not sure we will be able to afford a 4 or 5-bedroom house in Evanston that is also near a good elementary school. I don't know what will happen with the high school... (a long way off, of course...)

WILMETTE
Pros: The schools in Wilmette seem good, and some parts of Wilmette are really close to campus.
Cons: Wilmette doesn't seem as fun or interesting as Evanston, and it is not as diverse either. Not sure about affordability.

SKOKIE.
Pros: Seems more affordable than Evanston or Wilmette.
Cons: We're not sure. We've never been to Skokie. From reading this forum, I am a little worried that home prices in Skokie are depreciating, whereas Evanston and Wilmette seem a bit more recession-proof.
Is that right?

Thanks a lot to everyone.

[Sunsmile]

Wilmette has the best schools, you can't go wrong with any neighborhood in Wilmette. It's pretty suburban though.
Evanston has the urban feel, but has good neighborhoods and REALLY bad heighborhoods, you need to talk to the insiders before buying there.
Skokie is a dump, I would avoid it.

[academic_family]

Dear Sunsmile,
Thanks. Two questions:

1) Can you explain what you mean when you say Skokie is a dump? In what sense? Are the schools good?
2) Are ALL the schools in Wilmette good? Are some better than others?

[Sunsmile]

Originally Posted by academic_family

1) Can you explain what you mean when you say Skokie is a dump? In what sense? Are the schools good?

Skokie used to be a decent middle-class suburb, but really changed for the worse in the past 10 years. The schools in Skokie are bad. Don't mean to sound racist... but due to lots of cheap rentals Skokie has lots of uneducated lower-class minorities... it's less than half white now.

Drive down the Dempster street in Skokie, and you'll see the whole strip malls boarded up... creepy... And on a warmer day, see what kinds of people are walking around...

Originally Posted by academic_family

2) Are ALL the schools in Wilmette good? Are some better than others?

They are all good. I'm sure there are some differences in educational approach, demographics, etc., but you just can't go wrong with Wilmette.

The west side of Wilmette is more diverse (but diverse in a good sense - upper-middle class, just not all white). The east side is pretty homogenious and more snobby than the west.

[Anthera]

If you live in Wilmette, you can still bike to work at NU, go to the same restaurants in Evanston, etc.

[nana053]

Originally Posted by academic_family

Hi. This forum has been really helpful.

We (married couple, one toddler-aged child) are looking to buy a 3-5 bedroom house in the range of 500-600K. I will work at Northwestern University. Being able to get to work on foot or on public transportation would be a huge plus. We are not super-suburban people; we live in a city now, and we love the walkability/diversity/cultural offerings. That said, we want to send our daughter to public schools, and would sacrifice urban living for her education.

EVANSTON
Pros: I like the urban atmosphere and cultural life of Evanston. Evanston seems very walkable.
Cons: I am a little worried about safety. I am not sure we will be able to afford a 4 or 5-bedroom house in Evanston that is also near a good elementary school. I don't know what will happen with the high school... (a long way off, of course...)

WILMETTE
Pros: The schools in Wilmette seem good, and some parts of Wilmette are really close to campus.
Cons: Wilmette doesn't seem as fun or interesting as Evanston, and it is not as diverse either. Not sure about affordability.

SKOKIE.
Pros: Seems more affordable than Evanston or Wilmette.
Cons: We're not sure. We've never been to Skokie. From reading this forum, I am a little worried that home prices in Skokie are depreciating, whereas Evanston and Wilmette seem a bit more recession-proof.
Is that right?

Thanks a lot to everyone.

I am very much an Evanston booster, but then I lived there for over 30 years (hated to move out). The schools in Evanston are good. The high school is still good at this point, but who knows what is down the road. I don't think any of the Evanston elementary schools are bad. The junior highs were our major problem and that had more to do with bullying and a principal who was not up on the problem and she is no longer there.

Evanston is very walkable. When we bought our home there we were able to get rid of one of our cars, so that made it easier to afford a house. If you are working at Northwestern, is there any possibility that the University will help with your housing?

Wilmette has good schools and if you live near the Lake you can probably either bike to NU or take the *el* to an Evanston stop that is closer to where you work. Wilmette, however, is not urban. It is very much suburban.

Skokie is NOT a dump. We lived there for several years and it is a very diverse community. However, it does not have a city feel and there are areas where you would probably not feel comfortable or safe. My neighborhood in Skokie, btw, was within a couple of blocks of Dempster Street, but near the canal and sculpture park. On my block, we had one African American family, one or two Hasidic Jews, a Pakistani family, a Mexican American Family, ourselves (Russian and Italian heritage). We all got along just fine. My dil's parents live in Skokie as well, but in the part that goes to ETHS - they are of Indian Heritage. Skokie has a very large Indian Community as well.

You would need to visit and see for yourself where in these communities you would feel most comfortable. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

[Bogey]

You've got 3 great options for places to live. I agree that spending time in each one, especially visiting a school (probably elementary since that's in your near future) would be a great way to get a feel for the people and priorities of each area.
I've lived in and worked in Evanston for a decade, and am now considering moving my young family to Skokie. Two of my children currently attend preschool in Skokie and we have enjoyed our experience.
Housing is costly in this area. Be sure to check on the taxes of the homes you look at, as the closer you are to the lake, the more you'll pay. Of course, that made be a trade off you're willing to make for a walkable/bikeable commute.
Good luck in your search.

[Larry Siegel]

Evanston and Wilmette are both within your reach at $500-600K, although in Wilmette that will get you a 3 bedroom older home. So I would not live in Skokie given your financial position. Skokie's schools are not in as good shape and basically the town has no charm. I would not exactly call it a dump but it is a poor third choice compared to Evanston and Wilmette.

As between Evanston and Wilmette, the choice boils down to whether you'd be comfortable sending your kids to the racially mixed, but mostly pretty good, Evanston school system or the all-white-and-Asian and very achievement oriented Wilmette system. This balances against Evanston's lower prices and better access to the city.