Hinsdale vs. Western Springs vs. Clarendon Hills (Chicago, Westmont: appointed, apartments)

[destination-unknown]

Hi all. I'm new to this forum but have been reading up on some older threads regarding Hinsdale, Western Spring, and Clarendon Hills. My wife and I are relocating from Chicago's Old Town neighborhood and have narrowed our search down to these three towns. We have a maximum budget of $900,000 but would prefer to be in the mid $800,000 range. We are a young family looking for a good suburban area to raise our kids. We chose these towns based on the schools, central location, and overall town vibe. They are each very different but also the same in many ways. We just love the tree lined streets, older/quaint downtown areas, and multitude of parks in each town. What can you all tell me about these three towns - pros and cons?

[4122]

All of the towns you mentioned are very nice. Hinsdale is definitely the most expensive out of the three towns. However, Hinsdale has the best downtown out of the towns you're looking at.

Compare schools and whichever schools you like better, buy in the boundaries of those schools. Compare elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools because your kids will also go to a middle school and a high school. All of the towns have only one middle school. Western Springs goes to Lyons Township HS while Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills go to Hinsdale Central HS.

Lyons Township is a huge school with around 4,000 students because many schools from many towns feed into the HS. On the other hand, Hinsdale has a student population in the upper 2,000's since not only do students from Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills feed into it, so do kids from Oak Brook's Butler school district. Hinsdale is also know to be a very competitive school academically. Both schools are great though.

[pesco]

Compare schools and whichever schools you like better, buy in the boundaries of those schools. Compare elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools because your kids will also go to a middle school and a high school. All of the towns have only one middle school. Western Springs goes to Lyons Township HS while Hinsdale and Clarendon Hills go to Hinsdale Central HS.

That's not entirely accurate. The Springdale and Ridgewood neighborhoods of Western Springs attend La Grange Highlands Middle School.

[destination-unknown]

Thank you for the response. If we had to rank them we would put Hinsdale at the top; however, we aren't thrilled with the available housing stock in our price range. Maybe this will change when spring arrives. Western Springs isn't a whole lot cheaper in the part of town we like but appears to be a bit more affordable. Clarendon Hills seems like the most affordable of the three but again not too many options partly because it is such a small town. We do prefer Hinsdale Central over Lyons Township so we may end up eliminating Western Springs...

[destination-unknown]

Originally Posted by pesco

That's not entirely accurate. The Springdale and Ridgewood neighborhoods of Western Springs attend La Grange Highlands Middle School.

It seems like the southern part of Western Springs attends Highlands. We prefer the area south of Ogden Avenue and north of the Metra tracks which appears to feed into a few highly ranked grade schools.

[Chris_H_2]

Originally Posted by 4122

All of the towns have only one middle school.

Depending on where you live, Hinsdale has two. Monroe Elementary feeds into Clarendon Hills Middle School (which is a far superior school in terms of facilities).

[Chris_H_2]

Originally Posted by destination-unknown

Thank you for the response. If we had to rank them we would put Hinsdale at the top; however, we aren't thrilled with the available housing stock in our price range. Maybe this will change when spring arrives.

You should strongly consider living north of Ogden. That area, which has some parts that encompass Oakbrook, has more affordable houses with bigger lots. Your kids will still go to Monroe Elementary, Clarendon Hills Middle School, and Hinsdale Central, but you'll pay significantly less in property taxes (especially if you live in the area on the southern border of Oakbrook).

[destination-unknown]

Originally Posted by Chris_H_2

You should strongly consider living north of Ogden. That area, which has some parts that encompass Oakbrook, has more affordable houses with bigger lots. Your kids will still go to Monroe Elementary, Clarendon Hills Middle School, and Hinsdale Central, but you'll pay significantly less in property taxes (especially if you live in the area on the southern border of Oakbrook).

Honestly, we haven't look in the area north of Ogden yet but what you describe sounds like it might be worth checking out. I will say though that we are not a big fan of Oak Brook. Just doesn't seem to have that tight-knit community feel. Is the Hinsdale neighborhood north of Ogden the same way?

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by destination-unknown

Honestly, we haven't look in the area north of Ogden yet but what you describe sounds like it might be worth checking out. I will say though that we are not a big fan of Oak Brook. Just doesn't seem to have that tight-knit community feel. Is the Hinsdale neighborhood north of Ogden the same way?

If you are don't have any friends to guide you all these towns can look visually similar but there are some "insider tricks" that tend to make it easier to settle in.

The biggest difference between the experience kids will have at Hinsdale Central vs Lyons Township is likely due to the much larger area from which LT draws. There are kids from as far east as Brookfield and as far west as Burr Ridge. The northern edge of the LT attendance area is LaGrange Park and the southern edge is way down near Willow Springs. The frosh-soph campus is on the Lagrange/WS border south of 47th and the jr-sr campus is just a bit further north & east. Lots of kids have a rather lengthy bus ride. Kids from various feeder schools have to get used to a wide mix of kids and the coordination for various sports / clubs can be a little tricky. The overall range of offerings is pretty good but the kids at the very highest level of academic readiness might be a little less well served than they might be at a single campus school. That does result in things being a little less boosted up by these top performers but it does not really have a negative impact on the true college readiness of most students.

HC gets all the kids from the desirable D181 feeder schools (CHMS & HMS) as well as kids from D53 (Butler) that serves Oak Brook. Additionally, there are significant numbers of kids from parts of the northern parts Burr Ridge, a bit of Westmont, and some of Willowbrook. The geographic spread is not quite so large as D86 also has Hinsdale South, a four year school that serves the more southerly parts of the district and Darien. Largely becuase of the mix of apartments and such the aversge reported performance is not quite as impressive but there is still a nice range of course offerings.

Beyond the schools there are differences in the livability of the various options. Homes served by D181 in southern Oak Brook or the parts of Hinsdale north of Ogden do tend to be on larger lots. It is not practical to walk into the downtown portion of Hinsdale but the access to the Forest Preserve at Fullersberg is a nice plus. There is a very nice facility focused on swimming & tennis, the Salt Creek Club, as well as good access to the Village of Oak Brook's Bath & Tennis and the very nice Park District facilities. These tend to be nice pluses and serve as social hubs for families. Additionally one does tend to get more house for the money on lots that do sometimes also have some rather dramatic elevation changes and mature trees. Definitely worth giving some serious thought to! The other more affordable options in Hinsdale include some streets that were developed more recently than the oldest parts of town. These homes are too nice to tear down. Lots of these homes built in the 60s or 70s have been updated and are ideal for modern family life. The vibe on many of these blocks is very kid focused and down-to-earth. Instead of the "focused inward" wine cellars and spa baths of the tear downs, you tend to get families with basketball hoops and backyard ice rinks. A very nice experience!

The same sorts of differences are also evident in parts of Western Springs that are a bit more affordable. The more "subdivision" style devlopments tend not to have the disparity of huge costly tear downs looming over more modest cottages & bungalows. Some folks specifically buy the 50s-60s style split levels so the "rec room" is a year 'round hang out for kids and the lower level garage hosts basketball hoops and skateboard ramps. Driving through town in the winter you are more likely to see a jaunty snowman on the lawn of such a home than will grace the manicured grounds of either a true historic property or the wanna be reproduction tear downs. Really comes down to how casual / showy one wants to be. I know lots of folks that could have afforded major upgrades and instead decide that they love their block too much.

In Clarendon Hills there are also some different pockets of housing styles. The twistier streets have a wider range of homes -- there are some really cute older homes that retirees are perfectly comfortable in. Adjacent there may be brand new homes with 4000 sq ft ++ and yard totally tricked out for sports and/or entertaining. There are also a fair number of updated / expanded homes too. Inventory is low and likely will increase slowly as the snow melts but even if you can go to seven figures you need to be realistic about just how desirable the town has become. Though there is a bit of town that extends south of 55th St, that portion is not served by D181 nor is the western portion of town, Blackhawk Heights. That creates a "perfect storm" -- anything walkable to town (admittedly small but surprisingly attractive to moms with strollers, a quick run to the hardware store, families or couples enjoying a nice meal, kids hanging out at the ice cream shop or locally owned smoothie emporium) tends to get snapped up quickly! The folks that do live in Blackhawk Heights can choose from Manning or the private schools and there are many families very satisfied with those options.

You cannot beat the speedy BNSF service with any of these options. Each of these towns also has absolutely awesome public libraries, comically low concern for crime, great neighbors that look out for one another, make great jogging partners / paddle tennis partners, or just low key "wave while you walk the dog" types. I have seen lots of people try to track down the "perfect block" with folks having kids of similar ages only to be disappointed that those neighbors also have a vacation home (which often means their real "social time" is spent in New Buffalo, Galena, Lake Geneva, or Colorado...) and thus are never around or just when you get to know them they get a work related transfer. It is totally nuts to get overly hung up! Instead give yourself a realistic timeline to get a handle on what features in home / location are most important to you and then be prepared to make a solid offer when a house that checks the most boxes is available. I assure that if you put forth any neighborly goodwill you will soon be building ties to neighbors and your kids will be well served by the some of the most desirable schools in the region.

[destination-unknown]

Thank you so much for the detailed response! This just reaffirms our idea that we should focus on these three towns. We plan to start working with a local realtor next month and I'm sure they will help guide us through the different neighborhoods. Most of our experience to date has been from driving through and around the area. I work in Oak Brook so I have been taking slight detours on the drive home to check out the area. We are very excited but slightly concerned about finding a home that suits our needs within our price range. Ultimately, the market will likely dictate where we buy. It's just a matter of finding that right home.