Deerfield - worth it? diverse? (Chicago, Arlington Heights: big home, neighborhood, purchase)

[replacement80]

We're looking home in several North and Northwest suburbs around the $650-$700,000 range. Primarily looking for best schools and a good community. We're also South Asian, so we'd love to have some of that community close by.

We've looked at homes in the John Hersey, Adlai Stevenson, William Fremd, Buffalo Grove, and Deerfield areas and are looking to get some opinions about them.

So far, we really like Deerfield and the John Hersey areas of Arlington Heights most -- Which would you choose? Should we be a little concerned about how non-diverse Deerfield High School is? (91% White versus all the surrounding towns - Northbrook, Glenview - are all in the high 70's, low 80's)

Other things that are important - nice neighborhood feel to the homes (suburbia is a plus), good metra access to go downtown as needed.

[chet everett]

Personally I would not put too much concern on statisical measure of "diversity", it does shift and the bottomline is that high performing schools have lots of kids whose parents are immigrants. That said the trends in some areas probably do favor a certain mix of folks from South Asia -- hiring patterns at some firms drive larger concentrations of IT workers which tend to be higher percentage of immigrants compared to jobs say in marketing or less technically demanding fields...

My general rule of thumb is to aim for the town with the highest average price where you still feel like you are getting good value. It is better to get the most affordable home in the nicest town than to have a big home in a relatively modest town. The benefits of this is likely not just the best schools but also the lowest propety taxes and best potential for resale.

By these measures Deerfield probably has an edge. Of course most parts of town are not particualry walkable and even if you are a modest distance from the rail station it is likely you would need to drive and park as opposed to towns where most residents walk to the commuter station from home ... Of course if work is in N/ NW suburbs odds are you driving to work....

To be sure Arlignton Heights has more homes that one could to walk to Metra station though it is a bigger town and actually has lots of parking at the Metra station at horse racing park too. Most folks would put Deerfield High and Hersey in same "performance tier"...

Steveson's numeric performance might notch it up a bit though given the crushing size of the student enrollment that mighty give some folks reservations....

Fremd and BG high are probably a wee bit less desirable. Certainly no real reason to steer clear, just not quite as uniformly high performance by statisical measures...

[DamenVChicago]

Arlington Heights would definitely be a better fit for you. It's (a bit) more diverse than Deerfield, in that there's a larger Asian (not sure if south Asian, I think moreso Japanese and Chinese) presence, and has an array of Asian stores and restaurants. It also seems like it would fit your price range. Schools should also be fine. Not too many undesirable suburbs surrounding Arlington Heights (though that could also be said about Deerfield)....

Overall, a quick demographics search will show you Deerfield has not been less than 90% white then (in 2000) and now. Arlington Heights, is 82% white, so it's "a bit" more diverse.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by DamenVChicago

Arlington Heights would definitely be a better fit for you. It's (a bit) more diverse than Deerfield, in that there's a larger Asian (not sure if south Asian, I think moreso Japanese and Chinese) presence, and has an array of Asian stores and restaurants. It also seems like it would fit your price range. Schools should also be fine. Not too many undesirable suburbs surrounding Arlington Heights (though that could also be said about Deerfield)....

Overall, a quick demographics search will show you Deerfield has not been less than 90% white then (in 2000) and now. Arlington Heights, is 82% white, so it's "a bit" more diverse.

If considering Arlington Heights that attends Heresey HS, I would also consider Prospect heights that attends Hersey (Stay south of Palatine Rd and west of Wheeling Rd.) D23 is close to D25 performance for K-8. Would also consider parts of Mt. Prospect that attend D57 & prospect HS. Prospect is thisclose to Hersey and sometimes ranks one or two places higher in yearly rankings. Definitely consider parts of Arlington Heights that attend prospect as well.

I would also consdier Northbrook or Glenview as well, parts that attend Glenbrook HS's. When comparing homes of equal value, Northbrook property taxes are always lower than the other areas you are considering! If you are averaging $1500-$2500 per year less in property taxes, that allows adding more $ into purchase price or enhancing your savings account!

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

If considering Arlington Heights that attends Heresey HS, I would also consider Prospect heights that attends Hersey (Stay south of Palatine Rd and west of Wheeling Rd.) D23 is close to D25 performance for K-8. Would also consider parts of Mt. Prospect that attend D57 & prospect HS. Prospect is thisclose to Hersey and sometimes ranks one or two places higher in yearly rankings. Definitely consider parts of Arlington Heights that attend prospect as well.

I would also consdier Northbrook or Glenview as well, parts that attend Glenbrook HS's. When comparing homes of equal value, Northbrook property taxes are always lower than the other areas you are considering! If you are averaging $1500-$2500 per year less in property taxes, that allows adding more $ into purchase price or enhancing your savings account!

The sizeable base of commercial and retail space helps to keep down the property taxes in Northbrook and the higher median price means individuals each shoulder a smaller burden....

[Lookout Kid]

Maybe add Park Ridge to the mix as well?