Need Advice on towns and areas. North Suburbs preferably. (Chicago: condos, low crime)

[BlackHawksfan102]

Hi All,

Hope that you all are well and in the best of health.

Okay so, after living for a long time in southern lake county, my family is considering moving out. Our yard is too big, maintenance costs are very expensive, taxes, commute, its just become too much of a burden for us and we would like to be some place where we can cut down costs obvously. It really doesn't make sense at all for us living here anymore.

A little insight on us though so you all can better understand our situation hopefully. We are a family of 5 and all of us are grown up now. We all work and spend our time for the most part in the North Shore areas(Skokie, Evanston, Wilmette, etc.) and we live in the northwest suburbs in South Western Lake County. Our Jobs are in Skokie/Niles that same area and we commute a good 45 minutes to 1 hour for work. Its very difficult. We moved here a long time ago because we like many others during the housing bubble, fell in love with our home and got a lot of yard and bang for our money lol. We now aren't really happy with our decision which we made but the past is the past and yeah.

Anyways though We're looking for an area to move which is fairly inexpensive and which we can very easily afford, preferably within a maximum 30 minutes commute to the north shore. Close to suburban downtowns, train stations, shopping, highways, etc. Our budget is anywhere from 0K-300K. We would like somewhere with low taxes lol because the taxes in this area are very outrageous. I should also mention our standards have also gone up a bit since living in this house for a while, and I do def realize we won't get as much bang for our buck somewhere closer to the NS. But we are looking for somewhere with low crime that is atleast fairly decent and respectable. Not an area of high crime or a small farm town. We are also open to other places maybe even further out depending on the taxes and price of the home.

Here are our preferences for the ideal house we are looking for:
4 Bedrooms 21/2 Baths
Full Basement(Preferably Finished but can be unfinished)
Small average size yard
2 Car Garage
30 Years old or newer
Convenient Location(Retail, Shopping, Highways, Train Stations, etc.)
Established Neighborhood


How are these towns?
Waukegan
Gurnee
Wadsworth
Beach Park
North Chicago(heard Mostly Bad stuff but is there good areas?)
Wheeling

Any other towns you think would match our preferences and needs?

We are open to western areas/suburbs too depending on if we can cut down on our costs.

Thanks and Best regards
-Blackhawksfan102

[4122]

Waukegan, Beach Park, and North Chicago aren't good areas. Gurnee and Wadsworth wouldn't be the best commute ever. During rush hour, it can be as much as a 45 minute commute. There's also no metra in either of them either.

Wheeling is a good choice. Also add Des Plaines. It's closer to Skokie and it's still affordable and relatively safe.

[LakeCountyBang]

Antioch to Skokie(for Old Orchard mostly) is well over 50 minutes. Antioch is a town near Gurnee, and also great especially east of Deep Lake Road, and on Lake Marie. It is where I reside.

Do you like this commute? If so, then look at Antioch and Wadsworth, maybe Gurnee in good school districts.

Wheeling is a dump, a bit better than North Chicago and Waukegan. Like Beach Park. Schools are terrible, also sketchy in, pretty much all parts except Milwaukee stretch from Palatine/Willow Rd to Lake Cook Road. It's the only super affordable suburb in the area, with Des Plaines, because of all the things I stated.

Also, another place to try is Grayslake. Looks pretty nice actually for the money, if you know where to look.

For that money, good parts to look at would be: East Antioch(Deep Lake to I-94), Grandwood Park in Gurnee(Near US 45 and Stearns School Rd), Wadsworth, Grayslake, Arlington Heights or Mount Prospect(watch commute on Palatine Road though)

However, all these areas have a 40 minute+ commute, if you don't mind. Otherwise, you will have to look in the Schaumburg area for more affordable areas, but I included North Suburbs only due to your request(except Arlington Heights).

[damba]

Wheeling is fine if you don't have kids in schools. It's probably the most centrally located of the OP's list.
Far better than N Chicago or Waukegan, that's for certain.

FWIW, you can still find halfway decent 4/2's in Wheeling off Dundee rd w/ $5-7K property taxes. 30 min from Wilmette too.

Examples:

44 Laurel Trl, Wheeling, IL 60090 | MLS #09149704 | Zillow

580 W Paddock Dr, Wheeling, IL 60090 | MLS #09299774 | Zillow

Originally Posted by LakeCountyBang

Antioch to Skokie(for Old Orchard mostly) is well over 50 minutes. Antioch is a town near Gurnee, and also great especially east of Deep Lake Road, and on Lake Marie. It is where I reside.

Do you like this commute? If so, then look at Antioch and Wadsworth, maybe Gurnee in good school districts.

Wheeling is a dump, a bit better than North Chicago and Waukegan. Like Beach Park. Schools are terrible, also sketchy in, pretty much all parts except Milwaukee stretch from Palatine/Willow Rd to Lake Cook Road. It's the only super affordable suburb in the area, with Des Plaines, because of all the things I stated.

Also, another place to try is Grayslake. Looks pretty nice actually for the money, if you know where to look.

For that money, good parts to look at would be: East Antioch(Deep Lake to I-94), Grandwood Park in Gurnee(Near US 45 and Stearns School Rd), Wadsworth, Grayslake, Arlington Heights or Mount Prospect(watch commute on Palatine Road though)

However, all these areas have a 40 minute+ commute, if you don't mind. Otherwise, you will have to look in the Schaumburg area for more affordable areas, but I included North Suburbs only due to your request(except Arlington Heights).

[LakeCountyBang]

Originally Posted by damba

Wheeling is fine if you don't have kids in schools. It's probably the most centrally located of the OP's list.
Far better than N Chicago or Waukegan, that's for certain.

FWIW, you can still find halfway decent 4/2's in Wheeling off Dundee rd w/ $5-7K property taxes. 30 min from Wilmette too.

Examples:

44 Laurel Trl, Wheeling, IL 60090 | MLS #09149704 | Zillow

580 W Paddock Dr, Wheeling, IL 60090 | MLS #09299774 | Zillow

Who in the world would spent 299k on a house at Wheeling... I don't care if it's new, who would do that?

[wjj]

Originally Posted by LakeCountyBang

Who in the world would spent 299k on a house at Wheeling... I don't care if it's new, who would do that?

There are some very nice parts of Wheeling where homes go for well over $300K. Heck, look at the Prairie Park condos. Some of those condos are going for over $400K.

The problem with Wheeling is that there are also some very bad areas as well. More than in any bordering or nearby suburb. I view Des Plaines about the same. Some nice parts and some awful parts.

If one has faith in US News high school ratings, Wheeling HS holds its own. Certainly well below neighboring high schools like Stevenson, Buffalo Grove, Prospect, Hersey, Deerfield.....but on par with the likes of Naperville North, Maine South, Conant, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Schaumburg, and the Glenbards. So not great but a far cry from awful.

Just choose wisely in Wheeling. There are bargains to be had.

[damba]

Totally understood. I wouldn't either since I can afford to live in a nicer area with good schools- a requirement for my family.

OTOH, for someone who does not have kids in schools and is looking to lower cost of living slightly/locate closer to work, this could make sense. FWIW, I'm not sensing 'white collar' needs per se from the OP, just somewhere that does not have a large tax burden and enough space for five adults to live comfortably.

cheers

Originally Posted by LakeCountyBang

Who in the world would spent 299k on a house at Wheeling... I don't care if it's new, who would do that?

[LakeCountyBang]

Originally Posted by wjj

There are some very nice parts of Wheeling where homes go for well over $300K. Heck, look at the Prairie Park condos. Some of those condos are going for over $400K.

The problem with Wheeling is that there are also some very bad areas as well. More than in any bordering or nearby suburb. I view Des Plaines about the same. Some nice parts and some awful parts.

If one has faith in US News high school ratings, Wheeling HS holds its own. Certainly well below neighboring high schools like Stevenson, Buffalo Grove, Prospect, Hersey, Deerfield.....but on par with the likes of Naperville North, Maine South, Conant, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Schaumburg, and the Glenbards. So not great but a far cry from awful.

Just choose wisely in Wheeling. There are bargains to be had.

Wheeling HS does not compare with any you mentioned. It can be compared to Waukegan, Mundelein, Streamwood, Elgin HS.

It is below average, test scores are horrible, and from a friend's experience, the district is doing terrible.

[4122]

Originally Posted by LakeCountyBang

Wheeling HS does not compare with any you mentioned. It can be compared to Waukegan, Mundelein, Streamwood, Elgin HS.

It is below average, test scores are horrible, and from a friend's experience, the district is doing terrible.

Waukegan and Elgin are extremely worse. Mundelein HS and Wheeling HS do compare, but they're just average, not terrible. Waukegan HS and Elgin HS are terrible. Streamwood HS is bad and will soon be as bad as Waukegan and Elgin

[wjj]

Originally Posted by LakeCountyBang

Wheeling HS does not compare with any you mentioned. It can be compared to Waukegan, Mundelein, Streamwood, Elgin HS.

It is below average, test scores are horrible, and from a friend's experience, the district is doing terrible.

As I said.....if you have faith in US News rankings.......

Wheeling is on par with all of the schools I mentioned - and ranks above many of them according to US News. It is much, much better than Waukegan, Elgin, Streamwood, etc. It may be on par with Mundelein, which itself, is not all that bad of a school (Mundelein looks bad simply because it cannot compete with the powerhouse schools near it like Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Stevenson, and Carmel). Lake Zurich HS suffers from the same phenomena but not to the same extent.