Gurnee or Palatine

[olive03]

Originally Posted by damba

He’s looking at housing prices/size/condition without a doubt. The same $ buys more house in Palatine right now.

Obviously.

What's the budget?

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by rick1906

OK. It seems like many on here generally don’t care for Gurnee. But why is that? Bad schools or is it something else?
Park Ridge could be a possibility but I haven’t seen anything in Morton Grove that fits our criteria.

I really appreciate all of the input from this post and previous ones.

Gurnee is fine. It's just not my cup of tea. In your case, I think it is way far out, and I also think that the other areas closer to Niles are much nicer, including Palatine. That's my opinion. Gurnee is so far north that I would get a nosebleed.

[rick1906]

Originally Posted by olive03

What's your criteria?

I agree. If your employment is based in Niles, the commute from Palatine (or Gurnee) is not going to be pleasant. Another vote for Park Ridge (feeding into South).

If you're open to it, I'd also look at Glenview/Northfield (Glenbrook South HS/New Trier HS) and even Mt. Prospect/Prospect Heights/Arlington Heights (feeding into Hersey HS).

I want my commute to be no more than an hour, 1:15 tops. Shorter is welcomed, but I don’t mind a longer commute. I’m looking for square footage of 2800 or more, no more than 20-25 years old, and priced in the upper 4’s, low 5’s but no more than 600k. We’re also looking for good access to shopping, restaurants, entertainment, etc. From what I’ve seen, Gurnee, Palatine, possibly Vernon Hills fit the bill. I like Morton Grove, Park Ridge and other areas but I haven’t seen much meeting that criteria.

[damba]

Originally Posted by rick1906

I want my commute to be no more than an hour, 1:15 tops. Shorter is welcomed, but I don’t mind a longer commute. I’m looking for square footage of 2800 or more, no more than 20-25 years old, and priced in the upper 4’s, low 5’s but no more than 600k. We’re also looking for good access to shopping, restaurants, entertainment, etc. From what I’ve seen, Gurnee, Palatine, possibly Vernon Hills fit the bill. I like Morton Grove, Park Ridge and other areas but I haven’t seen much meeting that criteria.

You have a ton of very nice homes to choose from with those additional parameters.

There are a couple of immaculate looking homes off of 83 if you search zillow for Vernon Hills. One was zoned to Stevenson and the other Vernon Hills HS (part of Libertyville HS district). One was near a friend of mine who can walk to the Metra stop. Things to think about...

[olive03]

Originally Posted by rick1906

I want my commute to be no more than an hour, 1:15 tops. Shorter is welcomed, but I don’t mind a longer commute. I’m looking for square footage of 2800 or more, no more than 20-25 years old, and priced in the upper 4’s, low 5’s but no more than 600k. We’re also looking for good access to shopping, restaurants, entertainment, etc. From what I’ve seen, Gurnee, Palatine, possibly Vernon Hills fit the bill. I like Morton Grove, Park Ridge and other areas but I haven’t seen much meeting that criteria.

Based on your budget, I think you can find what you want without needing to be in Gurnee or Palatine. Vernon Hills and Libertyville are also both lovely communities with great schools. I'd pick them over Warren or Palatine HS in a heartbeat. In my mind, there's no comparison.

The only caution that I will give about living in Vernon Hills is to make sure that you avoid the Diamond Lake school district like the plague (district 76). Though it's located in Mundelein, there is a small portion of VH residents that feed into it (i.e. the Grosse Pointe Village subdivision). It feeds into Stevenson after 8th grade which is fabulous, but elementary - junior high is rough. I know many people opt for private school until their kids are at Stevenson. I also have a close friend that lived in D76, moved away to CO for work, and then came back to VH a year later but returned to an area outside of Diamond Lake. You'll notice that house prices in 76 are significantly less than other areas of VH too. There's a good reason for that. I will say, I've never understood how the 76 kids are supposed to make a transition from Diamond Lake to Stevenson. The schools are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

As far as the Hawthorn school district in VH, I had once heard that the south schools were preferred over the north but unsure if that still carries weight.

There are very small portions of VH that feed into D103 (Lincolnshire/Prairieview) and D96 (Buffalo Grove/Long Grove/Kildeer/Lake Zurich) and then into Stevenson. Those would be my first choices if I was set on VH.

Libertyville is going to put you even further north. Another good choice as far as schools but I'm definitely not as familiar with them.

I hope this helps! If you do look at the VH area, just REALLY pay attention to school boundaries. They can be pretty wonky.

[olive03]

Here's a VH house that feeds into 103 (Lincolnshire) and D125 (Stevenson):

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...-21551?view=qv

And I just saw a couple of other VH houses that feed into Mundelein HS (which I didn't know was possible), so watch out for those as well.

[olive03]

I just recalled that you have a high schooler which means that he/she would be too old for Diamond Lake and could go straight to Stevenson... I'd still avoid it due to re-sale value.

[damba]

Originally Posted by olive03

Based on your budget, I think you can find what you want without needing to be in Gurnee or Palatine. Vernon Hills and Libertyville are also both lovely communities with great schools. I'd pick them over Warren or Palatine HS in a heartbeat. In my mind, there's no comparison.

The only caution that I will give about living in Vernon Hills is to make sure that you avoid the Diamond Lake school district like the plague (district 76). Though it's located in Mundelein, there is a small portion of VH residents that feed into it (i.e. the Grosse Pointe Village subdivision). It feeds into Stevenson after 8th grade which is fabulous, but elementary - junior high is rough. I know many people opt for private school until their kids are at Stevenson. I also have a close friend that lived in D76, moved away to CO for work, and then came back to VH a year later but returned to an area outside of Diamond Lake. You'll notice that house prices in 76 are significantly less than other areas of VH too. There's a good reason for that. I will say, I've never understood how the 76 kids are supposed to make a transition from Diamond Lake to Stevenson. The schools are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

As far as the Hawthorn school district in VH, I had once heard that the south schools were preferred over the north but unsure if that still carries weight.

There are very small portions of VH that feed into D103 (Lincolnshire/Prairieview) and D96 (Buffalo Grove/Long Grove/Kildeer/Lake Zurich) and then into Stevenson. Those would be my first choices if I was set on VH.

Libertyville is going to put you even further north. Another good choice as far as schools but I'm definitely not as familiar with them.

I hope this helps! If you do look at the VH area, just REALLY pay attention to school boundaries. They can be pretty wonky.

Agreed. You have to pay attention to the school boundaries, especially before high school in that part of VH.

D76 is unfortunately faced with the large component of English language learners from households with less amounts of formal education.

[rick1906]

A lot to consider here. Thanks for the info.