best priced northern burb (Evanston, Des Plaines: apartments, condos, neighborhoods)

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by pesco

But, we're not talking about the Maine East portion of the district. In Park Ridge, children either attend Maine South or live in the far NW part of town where homeowners have the choice to send their child to Maine South or Maine East without any additional financial burden.

Pesco is dead on. The fact is the tax rate that applies to property in any portion of specific school district is the same.

The single greatest input into how much the actual tax bill is for ANY property within Maine Township High School District 207 is the assessor's valuation of the property. There are creaky old little ranches in all parts of the district that are assessed at a fraction of the value of the brand new teardowns.

I have helped many people to understand the best value for their tax dollar is almost always to get a less expensive home within the higher performing attendance area...

[Dncr]

I will call the district offices and pose this question. I personally know people that have had to pay to get out of Maine East. Things have changed since your days as a MTHS Student.

[thePR]

Originally Posted by Dncr

I will call the district offices and pose this question. I personally know people that have had to pay to get out of Maine East. Things have changed since your days as a MTHS Student.

How old are you?

[Lookout Kid]

This was an interesting conversation that got sidetracked in the Maine South/Maine East argument... I know the OP's $200,000 budget was unrealistic, but say we increased that to $300,000? Or the low $300,000s? That would rule out most of the "North Shore" and upper income suburbs, but is a price range that a lot of middle class homeowners might be interested in. Where would you live in the north/northwest suburbs in that price range with decent amenities, good schools, low crime, metra access, reasonable commute times to the Loop, etc?

[thePR]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

This was an interesting conversation that got sidetracked in the Maine South/Maine East argument... I know the OP's $200,000 budget was unrealistic, but say we increased that to $300,000? Or the low $300,000s? That would rule out most of the "North Shore" and upper income suburbs, but is a price range that a lot of middle class homeowners might be interested in. Where would you live in the north/northwest suburbs in that price range with decent amenities, good schools, low crime, metra access, reasonable commute times to the Loop, etc?

Without a question I would live in Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect or even Park Ridge if I found a deal.

Even though this is old, if the OP really only wanted to spend that much, going out to Antioch, McHenry, Woodstock etc... would work.

[cubssoxfan]

If you don't mind an older home (built before 1980) that may need some updating, there is a selection of homes listed in Arlington Heights under $400K

[Lookout Kid]

I think Arlignton Heights and Park Ridge are great choices. The only issue I have with Arlington Heights is the long-ish Metra commute. Isn't the express still about 45 minutes? It's a nice town with a lot to offer, though. And it does have some older pre-war homes for people interested in vintage houses, though the split-level ranch seems like the most common housing type there.

[Lookout Kid]

What about places like Des Plaines, Morton Grove, and Palatine? The schools seem to be a notch or two down from Arlington Heights and Park Ridge. But other than that, they are affordable places to live. Des Plaines and Palatine have downtown areas with potential.

[cubssoxfan]

Good point. Morton Grove in Parkview and Golf SD are OK and most of Palatine is nice. Des Plaines- not so sure of. I would add sections of Wheeling to the list. What about Buffalo Grove?

[thePR]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Good point. Morton Grove in Parkview and Golf SD are OK and most of Palatine is nice. Des Plaines- not so sure of. I would add sections of Wheeling to the list. What about Buffalo Grove?

I usually don't list towns that may have problems like Wheeling or Des Plaines sometimes because it varies in quality a lot from one area of town to another.