Help me find an affordable family home near Evanston! (Chicago: power lines, schools)

[wjj]

Originally Posted by wjj

A 4 bedroom updated home on the Lake County side of BG is going to be hard to find. But possible if a 30 year old plus home is okay.

I meant to say hard to find for less than$450K. There are plenty of 4 and 5 bedroom updated and newer homes in the Lake County side of BG. Just not many below $450K.

[2357]

There are 4-5 4BD houses under $450,000 for sale in Wilmette right now, off season, not counting pending sales. With OP's need for top notch public schools and proximity to Evanston, I don't see how one could do better than this, except to actually live in Evanston....but at that price range Wilmette actually gets quite a bit more for the money, all things considered.

The discussion of distant Western suburbs seems pretty out of place here, given the impact of difficult commutes on family life, but to each his/her own.

[hopehome]

2357, Thanks. Yes, Wilmette was a top choice for proximity and general feel. But money just doesn't go far there. We initially looked at some places on the west side of Wilmette (more affordable) and I just don't want to buy a decaying money pit with a flooding basement that's just waiting to be torn down. If we're going to stretch financially to buy a large enough home, I'd like it to be a reasonably nice place to live. Hence opening up our search to other neighborhoods. But I appreciate the suggestion and will certainly take a look at what is currently on the market in Wilmette.

[hopehome]

Originally Posted by Paige65

You might also want to consider Deerfield. You can get a little more for your money than HP.

Paige, thank you for the info on HP. As a not very religious family, just wanted to get a feel for to what degree we would be the religious minority in our neighborhood. Your estimates are helpful. I grew up in a heavily Jewish area (went to many, many bar and bat mitzvahs over the years!) just wanted to get a feel for what HP was currently like. And thanks also for the Deerfield suggestion -- I didn't realize money went further there than HP. I wonder if it would be possible/quicker to drive to live in Deerfield but part at the HP metra and take that to Evanston.

WJJ, thanks also for the detailed info on Buffalo Grove and your thoughts on the nightmarish commute. That's too bad. Since you seem to know the area quite well, I am also getting lots of Vernon Hills and Hawthorn Woods hits when I do a Stevenson HS search on Redfin in our price range. Commute aside for a moment, are those communities less desirable for some other reason? Good school and home prices made me wonder what I was missing...

[cubssoxfan]

I do not equate Skokie with excellent schools. Good to very good perhaps, but not excellent and not as good as the other towns OP mentioned. Also if considering Buffalo Grove, I would consider the east side of Arlington Heights, Prospect heights or Mount Prospect. Closer than Buffalo Grove. Although Stevenson is one of the best high schools in the area, if you are in D214 high school in the Prospect or Hersey attendance are, you have excellent schools. Elementary D's 25, 23 and 57 are my preferences.

[wjj]

Originally Posted by hopehome

WJJ, thanks also for the detailed info on Buffalo Grove and your thoughts on the nightmarish commute. That's too bad. Since you seem to know the area quite well, I am also getting lots of Vernon Hills and Hawthorn Woods hits when I do a Stevenson HS search on Redfin in our price range. Commute aside for a moment, are those communities less desirable for some other reason? Good school and home prices made me wonder what I was missing...

Nothing wrong at all with either Vernon Hills or Hawthorne Woods, but the commute would be even worse, especially from Hawthorne. You seem to be focused on Stevenson, but beware that only a few small pockets in Vernon Hills are in the Stevenson district. Hawthorne is also not entirely in the Stevenson district either. Most of VH goes to Vernon Hill HS which is an excellent school and much smaller and compact when compared to Stevenson (which with its sprawling campus and nearly 4000 student body, is more like a small college than a neighborhood high school). But I think some might be in the Mundelein district which is a big step down. I think some of Hawthorn might be in Lake Zurich district which I would estimate to be a notch down from VHHS but a big notch up from Mundelein.

HW and VH are really polar opposites as far as community goes. HW is a more secluded rural setting with large homes on minimum 1 acre lots, no sidewalks, well and septic in most parts, etc. You have about a 15 minute drive for just about anything. If a house in HW is available for less than $450K, I would be very careful because it probably has some serious issues - maybe well and septic issues. VH is the complete opposite. A retail hub of the area (this is where all the HW residents drive to to shop). Very active suburb. No downtown or core, but retail galore.

[Lookout Kid]

I think the biggest challenge for you will be the housing budget in that particular portion of Chicagoland. I would open your search to the following towns with excellent schools (truly top tier), and pick the best house/location you can find:

Wilmette
Glenview
Park Ridge (no one brought this one up yet?)
Highland Park
Northbrook
Deerfield

I won't even bother putting Winnetka or Glencoe on the list, as any $450k house in those towns won't be worth living in. If you haven't guessed it yet, you will probably see more you like further north or in far western Wilmette. Highland Park is also more affordable west of Hwy 41, but watch the taxes there... They can be VERY high.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by hopehome

Glenview is a good idea - thanks for that. I need to look more at the various elementary schools, as it seems some are better than others, at least from the rankings.

"Rankings" for elementary schools are stupid, as they are nearly always 100% based on standardized test scores, and it's not worth splitting hairs over which schools have 95% meeting or exceeding state standards over those who have 93% meeting or exceeding state standards. Instead of looking at rankings, get familiar with the Illinois School Report Card site and decide for yourself which schools seem to be doing a good job. There you will also find the percentages of students who are low income and other demographic data that may be impacting the test scores. Often the difference between a "top-ranked" elementary school and one that is in the next quartile is simply a handful of low-income students. Or perhaps one school in a district has an ESL program, which brings the test scores down for that particular school but has no potential impact on your own child. It's important to look at the entire picture, and I think our local media do a disservice when they "rank" elementary schools across the metro area.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Although Stevenson is one of the best high schools in the area, if you are in D214 high school in the Prospect or Hersey attendance are, you have excellent schools.

I agree that Prospect and Hersey are excellent schools, and A.H. and Mt Prospect are perhaps a little more of a value than the "North Shore" in that respect. But that commute may be worse than what you want. Better than Buffalo Grove, Vernon Hills, or Hawthorn Woods by a long shot, though!

[holl1ngsworth]

Hard to believe it took until today for someone to mention Park Ridge (credit LoK). Straight shot into Evanston and Maine South is one of the best high schools in the area -- top 20 PSAE score in the state.

Plenty of nice homes listed around $450k:

1612 S Prospect Ave PARK RIDGE, IL 60068 | Redfin
2001 S Washington Ave PARK RIDGE, IL 60068 | Redfin
818 East Ave PARK RIDGE, IL 60068 | Redfin