French family move to Northbrook : where to live and wich school?

[Franceclaire]

Thanks, my husband will work at Libertyville so Evanston and Wilmette are too far for him. I saw on the map that he needs 25/30 mn to go from Northbrook to Libertyville. (he will be close to the road 94).

The "Lycee français" is too far : I call them and they told me if I live in northbrook I need 1 hour to go to the French school : it's too much for my children and I would like to put them in a local school (to have local friends and learn English).

The deal is : I want to be not too far from Chicago and in a area with a lot of things to do with children and my husband want to be not too far from his work ....very difficult........

[code10t]

Deerfield schools are supposed to be very good. Deerfield is the next town north of Northbrook on IL Route 43 (Waukegan Road). They also have a very nice upscale downtown area that you might like. You'll also still be pretty close to Libertyville (a little closer than Northbrook) , either by local road or the tollway (94). Like Northbrook, they also have a Metra stop so that you can take the commute train either north towards Libertyville or south to Chicago.

[Nysee53]

I think you would be very good if you look into Glencoe, Winnetka, Northfield, Glenview, Northbrook, Deerfield, Highland Park, or Lake Forest. Glencoe, Winnetka, Northfield, and part of Glenview are in the top-rated New Trier High School district. All of those communities K-8 schools are excellent as well. New Trier Township is along the lakefront, so there are a lot of recreational oppotunities associated with Lake Michigan. Glenview and Northbrook are in the Glenbrook South and Glenbrook North school districts, both of which are well regarded. Highland Park and Deerfield have very good schools as well, and Deerfield is just a little more preferable, but Highland Park has more amenities and is along the lake. Lake Forest is excellent. The schools are very small, so your kids should be able to make a lot of friends and have more opportunity for one-on-one attention, but New Trier can provide that as well. It is not as easy to get lost in the Lake Forest school system as it is in others. Another area that comes to mind is the Lincolnshire area, but I don't think that is your taste.

[tcubed]

Originally Posted by Franceclaire

The deal is : I want to be not too far from Chicago and in a area with a lot of things to do with children and my husband want to be not too far from his work ....very difficult........

Still, for the level of sophistication on a day-to-day basis, it is hard to top Evanston's east side: university influence, shopping, restaurants, hotels, churches. And the lakefront is truly beautiful. I would take a long look at it before I ended up in a bedroom community.

Alternatively, Libertyville itself is an established town, with a Main street, parks, etc. My wife has a friend who lives there, in a big house on a tree-lined street. Take a look at places up there, they are fine. Quite a bit less exciting than Evanston, though.

Good luck, Bonne chance.

Hope this helps.