Relocating to Highland Park (Northbrook: section 8, real estate, rent) - Chicago Suburbs - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

dramaqueen1976 · 11-12-2009, 10:59 AM

My husband is transferring to Il for a job, we have two teenagers and a golden retreiver. I absolutely fell in love with Highland Park right away and we are so excited, we will probably be moving from Ca after the first of the year. My question is this, is there anything I need to know that I cannot find on the net? Such as what is the risk of tornadoes there? How are the people there? I am very outspoken and opinionated, although I am nice and am proud of my manners and thoughfulness, I seem to be a little 'in your face' and I do not want to offend or scare off anyone. California is definately different than Il. Any advice prior to our move? Thanks for all the answers!

chet everett · 11-12-2009, 11:21 AM

Highland Park has pretty low risk of torndaoes -- in fact all of Lake Co seems to have lower risk of tornadoes, it might have something to do with how the heat and patterns get messed up with the water and forests.

The size of Highland Park makes it hard to generalize about "the people" though it does have a tradition of more folks that identify themselves as Jewish than most other Northshore areas. Some of the older folks can be a bit stand-offish but I would not characterize this as universally true and there is a bit of history of the area being more 'progressive' in some ways than the more hide-bound folks of other towns on the Northshore: The Highland Park Woman's Club

Politics are hard to characterize. Lots of support for "Teddy Roosevelt" type conservation / environmental issues, while an almost libertarian view of many taxes and religious regulations coupled with very unwelcoming attitudes towards undesirable types makes for some contradictions in everything from shopping district zoning to parking. Agendas and Minutes (http://www.cityhpil.com/government/agendas-minutes.html - broken link) Parking (http://www.cityhpil.com/community/parking.html#Beach - broken link) Park District of Highland Park: Park Avenue Boating/Fishing Beach (http://www.pdhp.org/index.cfm/fa/parks.park_detail/object_id/8f7bb529-f01e-4089-9eb6-cab4a51b76a8/Park_Avenue_Boating/Fishing_Beach.cfm - broken link)

If you take advantage of the things that are very nice in Highland Park you can perhaps overlook some of the oddness...

Sunsmile · 11-12-2009, 11:35 AM

Rent first. I also "fell in love" with Highland Park while visiting - HP has charming architecture, great Downtown, lots of greenery, Ravinia festival and the lake. So we rented a house there for a year, with the idea that we'll eventually buy a house in Highland Park.

I'm so happy I rented! Highland Park didn't work out for me. I fell out of love within the first month of living there. The reason - the people. I've lived in many different places before, and NOWHERE ELSE have I had issues with the community. I really tried to make HP work and tried really hard to start liking it, but I just don't feel "at home" there. So I'll be buying a house elsewhere.

LaMaca · 11-21-2009, 12:35 PM

Sunsmile? Where are you going? We have had a very similar experience to yours at HP. However, there are many things we like about the suburb...even though the people are so hard to befriend.

dcisive · 11-21-2009, 04:11 PM

My brother and mother (now 89) still live there. I grew up there from 1967 leaving in around 1978. Back then the schools were top flight, had pretty much NO Hispanics in them (I'm sure things have changed a lot since then). Yeah, some of the folks there can have a bit of an attitude with the $$ they like to flaunt. On Jewish high holiday's the schools were pretty much shut down due to the high Jewish population in the school system. No shortage of Mercedes Benz's and Lexus's to be found. Lot's of shopping etc. I guess I can't speak of what it is now, but the resolve to avoid any so called "undesirables" like druggies, section 8's or such is not a bad thing. No rif raf so to speak. The police department is well run to this day, and their parks department does a great job. They are indeed a very environmentally conscious town to say the least. Over all not a bad deal. Crime is pretty low for that reason. Taxes aren't low but you do get a lot of services for your trouble. It still is, IMHO one of the better North Shore suburbs to be in. I would also suggest you check out their local paper for insight to the area. Newsletters (http://www.cityhpil.com/community/newsletters.html - broken link)

cohdane · 11-22-2009, 08:47 PM

I wouldn't worry about offending or scaring anyone off in Highland Park. Outspoken and opinionated are not rarities here.

It's a great suburb with plenty of nice people and terrific services.

Two thoughts if you're looking to buy a house:

1. Rent first: Check out Highland Park on Redfin (a free real estate site). There's lots of hard data there and you can parse it six ways to Sunday. Bottom line, the market isn't stable-- being from California, you know what the implications are. PM me for more on this.

2. If you do decide to buy and are looking near the lakefront, be wary of ravine properties. They're BEAUTIFUL. But poor conservation and record-setting rains have made some unstable. If you buy a property on the ravine and the ravine has problems....those are BIG problems for you. HP has a department that inspects ravines. Be sure to use them before purchasing a ravine property. If you believe in global warming, the record-setting rains are your first clue that a ravine property might not be a good idea long term.

Good luck!

Sunsmile · 11-24-2009, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaMaca

Sunsmile? Where are you going? We have had a very similar experience to yours at HP. However, there are many things we like about the suburb...even though the people are so hard to befriend.

We are going to Northbrook. Yes, I know it's not as charming as HP and is very suburban with strip malls, etc... but the community seems a better fit for me. The crowd in Northbrook seems more diverse and on average more simple... the kinds of people I've lived around for years (before moving to HP) and what I'm used to.

Mrs Banks · 11-30-2009, 03:56 PM

I think "surviving" in HP has a lot to do with your own personality. I'm a 25 year old minority and I have not had any issues with HP folks. I believe it's because, I could care less what people thought about me. I enjoy the safe communities, amenities and neighborhoods. My fiancee and I are perfectly happy in this area. I agree, some old folks can be a little stand offish, but that's not my social group so ...who cares!

Anthera · 11-30-2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrs Banks

I think "surviving" in HP has a lot to do with your own personality. I'm a 25 year old minority and I have not had any issues with HP folks. I believe it's because, I could care less what people thought about me. I enjoy the safe communities, amenities and neighborhoods. My fiancee and I are perfectly happy in this area. I agree, some old folks can be a little stand offish, but that's not my social group so ...who cares!

Of course in your other post today you state you are moving to HP "very soon". If you don't live there yet you really dont have any basis of comparison.

However, I have known lots of lovely people from HP - of all races, religions and incomes. The OP will be fine there.

linicx · 12-01-2009, 01:43 PM

Forty years ago HP was a soldily upscale Jewish community. After many years in a neighborhood change is hard to accept. Find a common subject and you'll find your olde tyme neighbors are very receptive.