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Thanks all - we would likely be mostly flying from O'hare. Knowing my husbands personality, he will probably drive or use a car service a lot and I will be more prone to take the Metra or drive my own car.
Sounds like either location is doable so maybe down to some further "on the ground" research and driving around neighborhoods and visiting a few schools.
Hi.
Bit of a brain dump: I've just moved to Winnetka from the UK. I spent time looking at 3 schools and a few areas - Glencoe, Wilmette, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Winnetka, Barrington. Not only were the areas different, The schools were all completely different despite being within 5 miles of each other and I would very much recommend you look at them all. We fell in love with a house in Kenilworth but then didn't like Sears although I hear the principal may have changed again. Results speak for themselves though. The other issue is that the housing market is very limited if you are renting.
Are you renting or buying? Property taxes are incredibly high here - listening to conversations, I think around $30k annual is the norm. For us, living very close to Sheridan, renting is much better value. Btw I've met a few mums locally who send their kids to the French immersion school which then feeds to 1st grade but I think this may be part time.
My son had already been in reception and 1 term of a very good Surrey state school and I do think he is bored going only part time in SK. He has enrolled in one morning programme at the community house and will do more - they end up being over $20 a session. I'll end up paying a lot of money to keep him stimulated. As a stay at home Mum it has been difficult to lose my spare time again especially when I have so much to do (our relo agent was useless) however as you will have a nanny you won't have to worry. Stay at home mums are more the norm here than they were back in Surrey but you certainly won't feel isolated because of it! I'm also 41 and don't feel old as a mum of 2 young children.
Btw check out pea pod - on line food delivery like ocado.
Should also say - from very limited experience, If you leave regular London commute time - I.e by 6.30am the roads from the north shore to the airport / down town are fine, despite what lots of people may tell you.
finp06--- glad to see you back here; I remember your posts a few months back when you were searching for a new house/community. In the final analysis, it sounds like you were focused more on the North Shore over Hinsdale/Clarendon Hills or Barrington? What made the final decision of Winnetka for you? Just curious. I find these thought processes interesting. It's always tough to figure out where to go when you don't have something drawing you to one town, in particular-- so it's interesting to hear how others make the final decision of where to live.
Hi Doglover. Thanks for the interest. You may remember we were incredibly limited to what housing stock was available. We were looking for 4 beds that accepted animals with catchment into a 10 school. I also wanted a village downtown and ability to walk to school and shops. I had a very narrow requirement! From internet research, Wilmette was top of our list as it was big but even when we decided we would have to leave our pets at home with relatives there was only 1 home to see - Avoca feed - great school - isolated home environment.
Barrington felt too far away from down town Chicago. Hinsdale too cutsie but nothing to see housing wise anyway!
Kenilworth - too isolated and just not 'us' as people.
Winnetka - so much money here that it's obviously a bubble but it was Greeley school that sold us the area - so welcoming and made us feel sure our kids would settle well, be cared for and would thrive.
We are nearly into our 3rd week, I've met a bunch of Brits and US mums. The kids have been on play dates and lunch dates. They both have best friends already and although their behaviour has been awful with the move across the Pond they are settling down more and more daily.
Now I just need to sort myself out. Thankfully I'm not shy and the mums I've met so far have been incredibly welcoming. The move has probably hit me the most - I had a huge network of friends and support back in the UK which when I let myself think about, miss terribly. Landing in Winnetka however I think, was a great decision and I have a wonderful standard of living that I couldn't afford in the UK.
That's fantastic. Sounds like you chose well. I had forgotten that you were initially trying to rent, and I can only imagine how hard it was to find a good rental -- let alone homes for sale -- in this market. I also love that you've already found friends -- all of you - you and your kids. Sounds like you're doing everything right. And now those dear friends of yours from across the pond will have a reason to visit Chicagoland!! Also, if you're really homesick, I'm sure there's good British food to be had here, as Chicaog has become quite the foodie destination. While I haven't been there myself, I've heard rave reviews for a place called Pleasant House Bakery (pleasanthousebakery), and I think the owners might be British and/or had lived in the UK before setting up shop here. It's not in your neck of the woods, but it's always fun to travel around Chicagoland for good eats. I should also mention that there's a great foodie web site called www.lthforum.com. I mention all of this because I think seeking out great restaurants (there's supposed to be a great one called 'Michael' in Winnetka) is part of the fun and a great way to learn your way around the city and suburbs. Welcome.
Hi again. Been away for a while but just saw the input by Finp06 and Doglover5 - thanks so much!
Finp06 - I saw your OP and sounds like my criteria is similar to yours! We are hoping to buy a house before we move (we also have 2 dogs so rental will be tough). We have now engaged a real estate agent and are furiously reviewing everything that comes up on MLS! We have decided we are definitely going to go with NS area (vs Hinsdale/west).
I am very interested in your observations on one NS community versus another as my husband just did another scouting trip to look again at neighborhoods (I have only been once so far). He fell in love with a house in Glencoe but I'm not sure I want to go that far north. We would really love being able to walk to both train and downtown village shops, etc. Since being there for a short while, do you have any thoughts about pros/cons of one community vs another as well as access to shopping etc for daily life? What was it that felt isolating about Kenilworth - was it the lack of a downtown?
I am glad also to hear about an equivalent to Ocado as we do 90% of our grocery shopping on Ocado (as I can do 7am deliveries before I go to work!)
Another wild card right now is schools. My son would be going into reception August 2014 if we stayed in the UK and already goes to school from 8:30-12:30 daily. Because of his birthday in Oct, he will miss the Sept 1 cut off to go to Sr. Kindergarten and will have to do "Junior Kindergarten" as it appears to be called and I suspect what he is doing this year in his school (ACS) is already more advanced. So, now we are applying to North Shore Country Day School and Baker Demonstration school because they have full day Jr. Kindergarten and Sr. Kindergarten programs as otherwise he will be bored and we will be trying to supplement as it sounds like you are doing.
I am not looking forward to dealing with all the challenges of relocation from UK to US and re-buying US electronics etc. I'm sure you are still dealing with that fun on top of settling in with the kids! My son doesn't get the concept of a permanent move since he was born in the UK and keeps telling me we will only "go to America for a while and then come back home"...
I'll add my quick two cents...I live in East Wilmette. I would say 50% of my friends are working moms, most working downtown in upper level jobs, and many of the ones who quit working full time are doing something...consulting, freelance writing, teaching yoga, etc. I even know quite a few stay at home dads, although they are all work from home dads manning the kids. We are also in the same age bracket as you and so are many of our peers. It is a antiquated notion that most of Wilmette is only one working parent. I also think Wilmette has many options that cater to working parents via the park district with kindergarten enrichment. I moved here with one semester to go for preschool and park district was the easiest option. I had some concerns, as my child was coming out of a highly regarded new England private school. I loved PD, and choose to continue to put my child in kindergarten enrichment. We lived in NY and Boston and frankly did not want to go the private school route again (although there are several fantastic options here) but wanted top notch public schools. We have been very happy with our children in public and are seeing ISAT testing in the top 3-5% nationwide.
As for ethnic food - not a problem. Tons of options in Skokie, Evanston, even at the local grocery stores. Plus great options for dining out. And we've lived in NYC, Boston, Seattle, Ann Arbor, San Fran, and traveled pretty much everywhere. One of our UK friend uses our house as home base to stock pile all his goodies to take home.
As far as Kenilworth vs. Wilmette. People like Kenilworth for the small town feel and continuity in Sears which is a wonderful school. If your kids are into Lacrosse, it's great for that to because they have a very organized in school program. Some people don't like it because their children are in with the same children k-8, and perhaps they would benefit from a larger pool to draw friends from. Wilmette has 4 public elementary schools which allow children to have that small base for 4 years, then they move to middle school for 5-6 and all come together, then continue to narrow down and add schools and expand the number of children. Some families are drawn to the diversity that can add. I have heard that some children who come from Sears struggle a bit when they combine because they are "behind" in meeting their peers, however I have no experience and am friends with Sears graduates who said they experienced no issues.
Good nanny community because they can take the EL here which is more reasonable than Metra. AuPairs also very popular and even a solid babysitter/summer help pool from Northwestern.
There are a couple of streets in Wilmette that use Sears school but are on Wilmette taxes. Wilmette offers more amenities for tax dollars.
Wilmette is better commuting IMHO. Hinsdale express a bit quicker, but if you miss express, its longer. Expressway always bad. Our friends in Elmhurst used to complain about the commute all the time, but they needed to have easier access to Ohare. Wilmette has multiple routes downtown -- LSD and 94 access into city. It takes me about 35 min rush hour to get to Merch Mart via LSD, 45 min on EL. DTD downtown for my husband via metra is 50 min with 10 min walk to Metra and walk to loop. There is always parking at the Wilmette station. The only time I did not see open spots is when everyone went down for the Blackhawks parade. 23 min home after dinner in the city. :-)
Housing dollars go further in Wilmette than Kenilworth. More newer construction in Hinsdale/Elmhurst area. More big box in Hinsdale/Elmhurst.
Hope that helps. Good luck with the move!
Christine
Christine- thanks so much! Very helpful and good to know parking isn't a huge issue like it is in some areas and the point on the nanny community is hugely valuable. We are now looking really closely at Wilmette due to combination of the factors you state. It is now mostly down to finding a house we like somewhere in the corridor between Wilmette and Winnetka that best fits our mix of priorities!
It is nice to know I won't be the only working mom around. Currently I am quite the anomaly where I live since almost all expats have a stay at home spouse (usually the mom) due to reality of most couples only having one person with overseas job options. So I am used to it but would be nice to not be the ONLY mom who can't make it to weekly 11am "coffee mornings" and book clubs... (they invite my nanny instead lol)
Piersti: To obtain the best and most reliable information for the area you are considering, I would suggest you speak to a local real estate agent. They will be able to provide you the answers you seek and guide you towards the best home for you and your family. I'd recommend Howard Meyers, The Hudson Company (click HERE). He also lives in the area and has kids that have attended local schools, so can speak from personal experience regarding them.
Best of luck to you. I'm sure you will enjoy our area ...
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