Barrington D220 vs St Charles D303. Which is better? (Chicago: real estate, houses)

[nwsuburbs_resident]

We need some opinions on which school district is better nowadays: Barrington D220 or St. Charles D303. We plan to stay in either place from the start of KG to the end of HS. So please compare all grade schools - elementary, middle and high.

The second question is which school district is a better value for the money. That means even if one district is significantly better education wise, if it costs a whole lot more to live in that area (maybe 1.5 times as much for example), it may not be the best value for the money.

Thanks in advance for all your inputs.

[chet everett]

Both D220 and D303 are "unit" school districts (k-12 all under one school board / superintendent) which are little less common in the region than district that only cover either high schools or elementary/ middle schools. In theory such an arrangement might afford better coordination as kids advane however the performance does not bear this out. In fact, the top performing districts (like nearby Stevenson, New Trier, Hinsdale, etc) are not unit districts...

That said the biggest driver of performance is not some magic formula but the level of education and success of the parents, there is a one-to-one correlation of these things.

Thus the future 12+ years of "success" of St. Charles vs Barrington is what is really being asked about and THAT is an awfully long view to take into any crystal ball. Currently BOTH Barrington and St. Charles are feeling the effects of an economy that HAS NOT RECOVERED fully from the crisis of 2008. There are huge office campuses in those areas (as well as others) that are VACANT. If one held my feet to the fire I would say that since Barrington has both a traditional rail centric core that offers acceptable commute times to the Loop as well as good access to successful regional shopping it probably has a bit of an edge but even then 12 years is a LOOONG time and MUCH could change.

Depending on where one currently works it may be wise to consider looking more closely at towns that are a bit close in and have a more established history of stable real estate values as well as higher performing schools. Of course depending your price point you might get a whole lot more house in some fringe area of St. Charles than your would in a town closer to the eastern edge of DuPage Co...

[nwsuburbs_resident]

Chet, thanks for that detailed insight.

Based on what you said regarding rail traffic: We do not foresee needing to go to Chicago very often at all. The only trips there will be for pleasure probably once a couple months or so. So proximity to metra or travel times to the loop are not a big concern.

For shopping, is Naperville/Aurora close enough to St Charles that it is not a concern?

Our jobs are and (will be in the future) in the NW and W suburbs. Barrington is closer to our workplaces but housing there is definitely much more expensive than St. Charles. The type of house we like is around 650K in St Charles and almost 850-900K in Barrington. St. Charles adds about 15-20 minutes to our current commute times which is probably ok because of the savings. We can even pay off the house and don't have to move away after high school is done (which is actually a big concern for us in Barrington).

In light of these additional points, would you say the 303 and 220 schools will provide us about the same satisfaction and we do not lose anything by going to the 303 schools?

Thanks again.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by nwsuburbs_resident

Chet, thanks for that detailed insight.

Based on what you said regarding rail traffic: We do not foresee needing to go to Chicago very often at all. The only trips there will be for pleasure probably once a couple months or so. So proximity to metra or travel times to the loop are not a big concern.

For shopping, is Naperville/Aurora close enough to St Charles that it is not a concern?

Our jobs are and (will be in the future) in the NW and W suburbs. Barrington is closer to our workplaces but housing there is definitely much more expensive than St. Charles. The type of house we like is around 650K in St Charles and almost 850-900K in Barrington. St. Charles adds about 15-20 minutes to our current commute times which is probably ok because of the savings. We can even pay off the house and don't have to move away after high school is done (which is actually a big concern for us in Barrington).

In light of these additional points, would you say the 303 and 220 schools will provide us about the same satisfaction and we do not lose anything by going to the 303 schools?

Thanks again.

In a nutshell: Yes, you will probably be fine.

Not just the nearness of shopping in Auora / Naperville but also strip centers on the west side of Geneva & St. Charles are unlikely to disappear (don't ask me about the Charlestowne Mall on the east side, that place is about as doomed a ghost mall as I've seen...).

And even if gas prices double from where they are (it could very well happen, look at the history of last 12 years Weekly U.S. Regular All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices (Dollars per Gallon) ) it won't force everyone to a rail based commute...

If savings and other costs (be sure to check property taxes!) are better for you now in St. Charles maybe the same will be true for buyers when you finally do want to sell...


{And for those that may find this answer uncharacteristic for me be aware the OP specifically is not looking for "top tier" schools, which would change my answer...}

[middle-aged mom]

Given the price points of the houses you like suggests that you prefer newer ( 1990's-current) and larger home construction. Do I have this right? If so, there is substantially more newer construction in St Charles than in the greater Barrington area and your assessment on the difference in prices, is spot on.

60010/Barrington is a 100 square mile area that encompass many villages, South Barrington, North Barrington, Barrington Hills, Deer Park, Tower Lakes, Timber Lake and the Village of Barrington. These villages span four counties, Cook, Kane, Lake and McHenry which makes for some interesting property tax scenarios.

The schools are solid in both Barrington and St. Charles. Regardless of school, student performance is variable and dependent upon the time and effort put forth by the student and the value the family puts on education.

Property taxes are a wild card. Schools, libraries, recreational facilities, town and county infrastructures all deteriorate over time and will need to be substantially renovated or replaces. It is not unreasonable to assume that your property taxes will more than double by the time your children leave for college. Then their is teacher and municipal labor and pensions.

Lastly, pay some attention to the distance between your intended property, the schools and recreational facilities as well as typical commuting time during the time you are most likely to commute.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by chet everett

In a nutshell: Yes, you will probably be fine.

Not just the nearness of shopping in Auora / Naperville but also strip centers on the west side of Geneva & St. Charles are unlikely to disappear (don't ask me about the Charlestowne Mall on the east side, that place is about as doomed a ghost mall as I've seen...).

And even if gas prices double from where they are (it could very well happen, look at the history of last 12 years Weekly U.S. Regular All Formulations Retail Gasoline Prices (Dollars per Gallon) ) it won't force everyone to a rail based commute...

If savings and other costs (be sure to check property taxes!) are better for you now in St. Charles maybe the same will be true for buyers when you finally do want to sell...


{And for those that may find this answer uncharacteristic for me be aware the OP specifically is not looking for "top tier" schools, which would change my answer...}

On a side note, I know STC is trying to do something with the Charlestowne Mall. Whether or not it will pan out remains to be seen, but the location isn't being ignored.

To the OP, in my opinion, you can't go that wrong with either suburb. Personally, I lived in St. Charles from high school on (and my younger siblings from middle school on). My siblings and I turned out just fine; all three of us got college degrees from good schools in 4 years and all three of us had professional jobs within one month of graduating and we're all independent now. Actually, my youngest sister just moved back to St. Charles a few months ago because that's where she and her husband want to raise their family.

I personally think that many people obsess way too much about sending their children to "top schools." The reality is that you don't have to go to New Trier to be successful and going there is no guarantee of success anyway. The crowd you hang out with and the influence of your parents are far more important in my opinion and experience. But then again, that's just me; I feel that I'm quite successful and I was a pretty average student at St. Charles East High School (back when there was only one high school in St. Charles).

If my husband's job allowed for us to live that far west I wouldn't hesitate to live in St. Charles again.

[nwsuburbs_resident]

Yes, we like houses built after 2000, at least 4000sqft and with open floor plans.

We see that St Charles has such houses in the 600s-700s which is our comfort range.

We are looking in North/South/Lake Barrington/Inverness/Barrington Hills for similar houses but all we see are houses built in the 80s/90s and most of them look very dated. Any similar house built after 2000 or with open floor plan is over 800k.

We are also looking at areas feeding into Stevenson HS (kildeer/Long Grove/Buffalo Grove) but the property taxes there are simply outrageous for us (almost 30k).

We are both professionals (engineer/doctor) and value education a lot so this school rating+house price+property tax trade off triangle is causing us some major heartburn

Thanks for all your comments. I appreciate it.

[chet everett]

Commute is likely the biggest variable. Especially for physicians that may have unusual hours (surgeons, anesthesiologists, obstetricians , etc...) an extra couple of minutes can be make huge differnce in quality of life / lack of stress...