Taxes and schools - Niles, Morton Grove, Skokie, Glenview (Chicago: sale, 2013)

[RunningBagel]

I work in Evanston and my husband works in Morton Grove. We’re currently renting in the city and are looking to buy a house close to our jobs (we both dread long commutes). With a budget of 300-350k, we’re considering Glenview, Morton Grove, Niles, Skokie, and Wilmette (maybe). We plan to have kids soon, so goods schools are important.

For our budget, it seems that Morton Grove, Niles, Skokie would work best. HOWEVER, the schools are not as good as in Glenview and Wilmette. Or are we being too picky? People say not to look at the ratings but it’s hard to ignore, for example, that only 50% of Maine East students meet expectations. It’s also surprising that the three aforementioned suburbs have HIGHER property taxes than Wilmette and Glenview, which have better schools. Seriously, I see ranches that pay 7500-8000 in taxes a year. That’s crazy. Nice homes in Morton Grove with crazy taxes that feed into Maine East. WHY?

(We’ve been told by a relative to"avoid" Skokie cause it's "going downhill" – not sure if this opinion is warranted, as some areas seem really nice, but high taxes are still a concern).

The thing is, I don’t mind paying high taxes if I’m get quality for my money. But it’s crazy that I’d be paying much lower taxes in Glenview for a house (1) in a more desirable area, (2) on a larger lot, (3) with better schools. The problem is finding a decent house in Glenview that doesn’t cost 450k. Ugh!

Someone recommended Clarence Culver in Niles as a “compromise” (Niles West). Taxes in this part of Niles are pretty low and the school is good (test scores, spending per student, etc). Does anyone have experience with this part of Niles? Any other areas to consider that we missed?

[chet everett]

First I would never completely discount test scores -- though the standardized tests are far from perfect the fact is those tests do allow for comparisons that at the very least show what sort of range of student achievement is likely...

I don't know of particular forces that would effect Skokie but not Niles or Morton Grove.

Glen view is nicer, but more costly...

[cubssoxfan]

Glenview and Wilmette that feed into New Trier and Glenbrook high schools are worth the extra $$ because there IS a difference compared to Niles Township or Maine East!

[4122]

I wouldn't say that Skokie is going downhill, it's just not Glenview or Wilmette. Skokie is actually a nice place to live. Skokie is the closer to Evanston than Niles, Morton Grove and Glenview. The traffic around Niles/Morton Grove/Skokie is bad, so the closer you are to Evanston, the bigger of a difference it makes.
Skokie and Niles share the same schools. The elementary/middle school districts are district 68, district 69, district, 72, district 73, and district 73.5. 69 and 72 feed into Niles West while 69, 73, and 73.5 feed into Niles North. Small portions of Morton Grove attend Niles North and Niles West. It's funny how Niles North and Niles West are in Skokie not Niles lol. Anyway, both schools are good, but Niles West is the better school. Also, a small portion of Skokie go to Evanston schools. Evanston HS a great high school, however elementary and middle aren't good, but some are because there are really nice parts of Evanston and some bad parts of Evanston. This part of Skokie is in the boundaries of Walker Elementary, Chute Middle, and then Evanston HS. Walker is pretty good, but Chute is the worst middle school in the district.

Are you not sure of Wilmette because it's possibly out of your budget?

[RunningBagel]

"Are you not sure of Wilmette because it's possibly out of your budget? "

4122, yes. Well, that was our initial thought. The more I look at Wilmette, the more (surprisingly!) I realize that parts of Wilmette might actually be more affordable than Glenview. Especially the more "affordable" area in west Wilmette around the Edens expressway. Though I don't want to live too close to the expressway.

We're also considering townhouses. But then comes the whole "there's no way you're raising children in a townhouse! You need a yard and white picket fence, gosh!" I don't have kids, so I don't know whether it's a good idea or not.. My husband likes the idea of not having to do yard work!

[JTW2013]

Originally Posted by RunningBagel

"Are you not sure of Wilmette because it's possibly out of your budget? "

4122, yes. Well, that was our initial thought. The more I look at Wilmette, the more (surprisingly!) I realize that parts of Wilmette might actually be more affordable than Glenview. Especially the more "affordable" area in west Wilmette around the Edens expressway. Though I don't want to live too close to the expressway.

We're also considering townhouses. But then comes the whole "there's no way you're raising children in a townhouse! You need a yard and white picket fence, gosh!" I don't have kids, so I don't know whether it's a good idea or not.. My husband likes the idea of not having to do yard work!

I wouldn't worry too much about that. You don't even have kids yet so it will be years before you need a backyard and many years past that before you need to worry about high school.

I can see a lot of merit in buying whatever you can afford in the best school district with the idea that as your family grows you can move to a bigger house and stay within your children's school district so they are not disrupted.

The other benefit to a townhouse is that you don't need to shovel snow.

Wilmette has excellent schools all of the way through and IMHO it's worth sacrificing space and a yard to provide that kind of an education to your kids if you can. Although I think kids need some kind of outdoor space. Most townhouses have some kind of green space; e.g. a balcony or a small yard.

[4122]

Here's a very nice townhouse next to a park in Wilmette:

3030 Highland Avenue UNIT 3030, Wilmette, IL 60091 | MLS 08819848 | Listing Information | KoenigRubloff

[cubssoxfan]

What about parts of Glenview around Shermer and Central? Smaller, older homes that are more affordable, similar to some of Skokie housing stock but with much better Glenbrook HS.

[hopehome]

Re the townhome question, we went that route...and are now moving because the space doesn't suit our growing family. It was fine for the first child though so it can buy you some time. It would also help if you were right next to a park. They have to get their energy out somewhere. My two cents. I wish we had sprung for the house with the yard the first time around but as you have seen it's not the easiest to find in that price range. Western wilmette is nice though if you don't need a lot of space though all the flooding makes me nervous though I think they're working on a solution...

[RunningBagel]

Yes, I'm nervous about flooding too. I searched this forum and found some older posts about Western Wilmette's flooding problem - eek. We have relatives in the area who got lots of water in their basement back in 2013 so I'm even a bit apprehensive to buy a house with a finished basement now, ha, perhaps irrationally so. I've been told that "all" Chicago-area basements get water, so..

That's why a part of me really likes the townhouse idea. I'm not saying that townhouses don't flood, but since an association is usually involved and because flooding would affect an entire community, I feel it's more likely to be fixed and maintained. If your neighbor's basement floods, you've got a problem too, since you share a wall.. As opposed to, for example, my brother-in-law's elderly neighbor who has a severe seepage issue but doesn't care to do anything about it because "it will be the next owner's problem."

Also, townhouses in good areas seem to not have deferred maintenance issues, again because of the association. We've looked at older single family houses that haven't been updated/maintained in 20 years because the owners are/were old.

Of course I understand the potential downsides of townhome living. Some people wouldn't touch a property with a HOA with a 10 foot pole...

If I can only spend 350k right now and if I want to be in a good area, I'll get more for my money with a well-maintained townhouse than an "as-is" estate sale SFH. We're really not the diy-handymen type of people. I suppose we could buy an as-is property and update it over the years, sell at a profit later, but I don't want to live in a perpetual construction zone - I want to simply live. Maybe we should keep renting, ha ..