I think I need to get out of Winnetka - but where to go?

[ToriaT]

To get out of "the bubble" I also suggest Evanston or Oak Park. They have good schools. Although Chicago has places too, the schools are mostly bad. The British School is frightfully expensive. You might also look into the suburb Riverside which is south of Oak Park and very "quaint" ....its a unique place like nothing else in the Chicago area.

[Argon18]

Lincolnshire is an excellent place to live. It's cheap and there are a lot of amenities nearby. Plus, there's too much pressure on kids at New Trier.

[847mom]

Doesn't Lincolnshire feed into Stevenson High? I know kids who go there and they are every bit as stressed out as anyone at New Trier. That is a very large and super competitive High School. They have almost 4,000 kids there. It is actually a bit larger than New Trier and has similar competitive vibe.

[cpm314]

Since this has been discussed Libertyville is a nice alternative to Lincolnshire and Stevenson. A slightly more vibrant community with a slightly smaller higher school but high performing. However, I do know several families that pick Stevenson for the continued high rankings and you can't argue with that.

[CBB_bear]

I think you would be happier in Evanston or a Northside Chicago neighborhood. More dense and walkable and more diverse.

As far as schools go, fundamentally this is an issue between the differences in the American and British school systems. When I was a child, I lived in Washington DC, and I went to school with a lot of international families doing short stints in the US. Typically, British kids who transferred in got to skip a year in school, since instruction at the level of first grade here begins at age 5 in the UK (instead of 6 here). In general, in early elementary school (particularly math) is a little more accelerated in the British system. Somewhere along the line things even out. There are just differences between how different countries do things, particularly in elementary school. You would run into this issue at any public school in the US, even ones with high quality instruction. I think the only way to get around this is to go to a private British school or international school.

[Careless]

Originally Posted by NOLA101

Chicagoland has never had social housing in proximity to the rich, for a variety of reasons.
.

Not that it's still there, but Cabrini Green?

[Careless]

Originally Posted by Argon18

Lincolnshire is an excellent place to live. It's cheap and there are a lot of amenities nearby. Plus, there's too much pressure on kids at New Trier.

She's looking for a lot more density and more pressure in school and more ethnic diversity, and that's your suggestion? I award you no points

[Rhino4401]

SE Evanston is diverse, walkable, and beautiful, but the schools are not comparable to Winnetka. Let me clarify. The standardized test results for kids of OP's background in Evanston are the same as tests or other results similar kids in Winnetka. But the school experience is very different. Upward differentiation that takes place in D65 is limited--when it happens, it's the result of individual dedicated teachers working around administrators. Kids with special needs are not nearly as well served, which puts a strain on everyone else.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Argon18

Lincolnshire is an excellent place to live. It's cheap and there are a lot of amenities nearby. Plus, there's too much pressure on kids at New Trier.

What? Lincolnshire is cheap? ROTFL Now there's a new one. [Stevenson tax bill=ouch!]

Didn't we already cover posting info about areas you are relatively unfamiliar with?