Gurnee/Wadsworth/ Grayslake vs. Crystal Lake (Mundelein, Lake Zurich: for sale, rentals, houses)

[4122]

Thank you everybody for the info you've given me so far. I'm torn between the Gurnee area and Crystal Lake. I like how both these towns have everything you need, so you wouldn't have to drive far to go grocery shopping, etc. I like that Gurnee has Six Flags and I love how Crystal Lake has the lake. I've always loved lakes and boating. At first I thought I was going to buy because I didn't see a lot of good rentals, but there have been a lot of great rentals new to the market. Here's what I found:

Crystal Lake:
House: $488k right by the lake, the nicest house out of all of them, but basement is unfinished.
Rental: $2.5k on the same street as the house for sale and fast move in (within 10 days)

Gurnee:
House: $489k far from Warren's O'Plaine campus where my daughter would go for the second semester of Sophomore year and not super close to the Almond campus either
House: $450k has a pool same distance from school except flipped (far from Almond Campus, and not close but not far from the O'Plaine campus)

Wadsworth: (still in the Gurnee School district)
House: $260k and extremely low taxes but not significantly smaller than the Gurnee houses, but VERY far from both of Warren's campuses

Grayslake: (still in the Gurnee school district)
Rental: $2.5k but VERY far from the O'Plaine campus and not close to the Almond Campus.

I would like info on Crystal Lake Central and Warren Township. I like the schools from what I've read and heard about them, but if someone has experiences with these schools or knows them well I would like to know. I've also been considering a private school for my daughter.

We've been looking at Carmel in Mundelein. It's about 25 minutes from my house, but I can get her there and she would drive to school as a junior and senior. However, we're not sure if we can afford it. I may be able to, but I'm not sure because I have another daughter going to a private college out of state. However, it's cheaper than the north shore private schools. Does anyone know if Carmel allows mid year transfers? If they do, do they offer financial aid for the remainder of this year? Would I have to pay the full year $10,000 or half of that since she would be going for only half a year this year? We're planning on transferring my daughter at the end of the semester of her current school. I know it is a challenging school academically, but they actually want their students to succeed, unlike my daughter's school. Anyone have any other private school recommendations? It doesn't have to be a catholic school.

Even if my daughter ends up going to Carmel, we might be moving anyway, but maybe not Crystal Lake because moving further from school and driving 40 minutes to school would be stupid but not impossible, but my daughter would drive to school for a majority of her time at Carmel. Any suggestions about we should move to?

Should we rent first or buy right away if we decide to just move to Crystal Lake or Gurnee/Wadsworth/Grayslake? Crystal Lake or Gurnee/Wadsworth/Grayslake?

[cubssoxfan]

Look into Lake Kilkarney in Crystal Lake, on the Cary border. Not lakefront but access to non-motorboat lake and beach via neighborhood association. Crystal Lake schools, should be able to buy for much less than $488 and its a nice neighborhood. Otherwise if top schools are #1 priority, why are you not considering neighborhoods that feed into Barrington HS, Stevenson HS, Lake Zurich HS, Fremd HS or even Hersey/Prospect in D214? Is your job WAAAY out there?

[4122]

Work is actually all over the north and northwest suburbs. We aren't considering those districts because it's too expensive. We're in a school district like those, but only because we got an AMAZING deal for land to build a house. However, we thought we were in a different school district and aren't happy with our assigned schools. The house that we found is again an AMAZING deal for $488k, which is why we're considering it. Our budget is 500k. I've tried looking in schools like those and tried raising my budget to $550k but still with taxes it was just to much money. I've heard of Lake Killarney, it seems very nice. What HS would my daughter attend if we moved there?

[BrianHunter]

I am not too familiar with any of the suburbs but the one issue with Crystal Lake is there are no expressways near it which makes it hard to get to which can be a nightmare.

[wjj]

Originally Posted by 4122

We've been looking at Carmel in Mundelein. It's about 25 minutes from my house, but I can get her there and she would drive to school as a junior and senior.

Have you checked into the student driving policies at Carmel? I don't know what they are but I would check. When my kids went to Stevenson, juniors could not drive to school (actually were not allowed to park at the school which pretty much eliminated driving for all except those who rented a space on a driveway at a home near the school). Seniors could park at the school but not the entire year. Parking is tight at most NW suburban high schools, so student parking is often restricted. Don't assume because she is a 16 year old licensed driver with a car, that she can drive and park at the school. Plus most schools will charge a fee for parking.

[4122]

Yes we have checked the student driving policies. Juniors and Seniors can park at school for $175. It's better than at her current school where only seniors can park and they have to pay $360 and take a class. At her current school, there's less parking available because the school is doing construction for the next 5 or so years. Unfortunatley, there's no nearby parking lot by her school where she can park. However, at Carmel, there are many parking lots nearby she can park if she isn't able to park at school. I may let her drive to school and park in a nearby parking lot once she gets her license in the beginning of March. I didn't know you can rent a driveway to park. I don't think you can do that where my daughter goes to school. Does only Stevenson do that or do other high schools allow you to do that too?

[wjj]

Originally Posted by 4122

Yes we have checked the student driving policies. Juniors and Seniors can park at school for $175. It's better than at her current school where only seniors can park and they have to pay $360 and take a class. At her current school, there's less parking available because the school is doing construction for the next 5 or so years. Unfortunatley, there's no nearby parking lot by her school where she can park. However, at Carmel, there are many parking lots nearby she can park if she isn't able to park at school. I may let her drive to school and park in a nearby parking lot once she gets her license in the beginning of March. I didn't know you can rent a driveway to park. I don't think you can do that where my daughter goes to school. Does only Stevenson do that or do other high schools allow you to do that too?

The school knows nothing about it. If a student cuts a deal with a homeowner to use their driveway during the day, that is between the student and homeowner.

Also, be careful when using a non school parking lot. One of my kids thought he would outsmart everyone and parked in an office complex parking lot. He got ticketed with a warning that the next time he would be towed.

[4122]

Originally Posted by wjj

The school knows nothing about it. If a student cuts a deal with a homeowner to use their driveway during the day, that is between the student and homeowner.

Also, be careful when using a non school parking lot. One of my kids thought he would outsmart everyone and parked in an office complex parking lot. He got ticketed with a warning that the next time he would be towed.

Thanks for the tip. Do you think she would be ok in a strip mall parking lot as long as she doesn't park in a 15 minute parking space or something like that?

[wjj]

Originally Posted by 4122

Thanks for the tip. Do you think she would be ok in a strip mall parking lot as long as she doesn't park in a 15 minute parking space or something like that?

I suspect she would be ticketed and possibly towed. Most all of those small strip malls have signs posted stating that the parking lot is for customers only. Owners of these malls have seen it all and are on the lookout for violators. For example, strip malls near train stations will not let commuters park in the lots. Same for strip malls near high schools. Think about it if you were a business owner in the strip mall. You would not want kids from the local high school taking parking spots meant for your paying customers. The business owner is paying rent for those parking spaces when they lease their store front.

She will probably be okay for a day or two, but will probably be nailed after that. Even the Metra lots are off limits. The Prairie View Metra station is not too far from Stevenson and kids would park there and pay the parking fee. Until the lot got full and so commuters could not find a spot. Then the tickets and towing began in earnest. Cops just sat there and observed who got on the train and who started walking down Half Day Road.

[4122]

Thanks. That's good to know. Luckily, I can drive her most of the time, so she'll still have a ride in case she can't get parking junior and/or senior year. If she ends up going to Carmel, there's a good chance we will move, but if we don't, I won't have problems getting her to and from school since Mundelein isn't far out.