Potential relocation from uk. British school of interest but where to live? (Chicago: appointed, renting)

[Finp06]

Hi
We are On holiday in Florida where a poolside chat has thrown me! We are looking at relocating to Chicago next Spring.

Background: uk family with 2 kids who will be 5 and 7 by September. Both Presently in a very good school in the uk and according to teachers and test results they are well above national average ability. Speaking with a lady today who lives in Chicago she recommended the British school. This makes sense to me as I think our relocation will only be 3-4 years and will,keep them in the English curriculum.

Question: where would we live? when my husband talked about re-location i had only considered the suburbs such as Glenview. Having been told how good the British school is, I may need to re focus.

We would be renting with a decent budget. Unfortunately I can't give a figure on this yet but at present we live in an affluent area south of London where we don't get much for our money

Any help much appreciated

[Drover]

Obviously Chicago is a far, far cheaper place to live than London. Salaries are lower too but I wouldn't be surprised if housing is a significantly lower portion of income here than London. £2,000/mo should get you into a comfortable and well-appointed 3-bedroom townhouse or condo in safe, solid neighborhood fairly close to the CBD and/or the British School. Will you and/or your husband be working in the CBD?

British School is a very reputable school but it's also very expensive. I do hope you'll have an executive-level salary if you intend to pay the freight for two kids to attend there.

[chicagobear]

I would think Lincoln Park or the Gold Coast which are neighborhoods close to the British School and north of downtown. Note that there is an actual park of Lincoln Park along Lake Michigan and a neighborhood of Lincoln Park.

[marothisu]

London is way more expensive..that's true, although they didn't say they're from London. They said UK which could mean one of a number of places. If you want to live in the city and within reach of the British School in Lincoln Park...then yeah, I'd look at Lincoln Park, Lakeview, North Center, etc. Also, the school is expanding to the South Loop area within the next few years.

Suburbs are good, but if you can afford to live in the city then I'd say go for it. I don't want this to turn into a suburbs vs. city debate, but there are definite benefits for actually growing up in the city itself sometimes.

[chet everett]

The relative performance of ANY private schools is extremely hard to determine becuase they typically do not widely distribute any objective data.

As a former teacher in both public and private schools in the region it is my experience that very few folks have the experience to objectively compare schools. The impressions that one gets from ones own children / that of friends largely is of the social environment of the schools. Granted this may a valid basis for some folks but I would not recommend using just this to determine that one school is superior to another. As fate would have it, one of my younger colleagues has a spouse that does work for the Britiish Schools of Chicago. She works in an administrative capacity. She and her husband live in Chicago and the opportunity to utilize that school at a reduced tuition is something she greatly appreciates. They have thought about relocating to the suburbs but given the relative cost difference between what they paid for their house several years ago and what it would sell for today it is likely a house of similar size / quality / age might cost signficantly more in today's market in a school district that would be equal to the opportunity that are available to their kids via the private school, for them the combo works well...

I have asked this friend about the "curriculum" issues and they told me this tends to be something that transfereees who come midyear / plan to be in Chicago only a short time and have kids in the "upper elementary" grades or US high school often ask about. Even in her admittedly biased opinion the actual differences in the core classes are quite minor when compared to the offerings in high performing public schools that do a good job preparing students for selective universities... Kids adjust quickly to differnces in sequence/ emphasis and the social differnces are harder to judge -- some kids are more sensitive while others make new friends quickly.

To sum up -- private education in Chicago can be extremely costly. Housing prices in desirable parts of Chicago that offer easy access to the British School can be far higher than similar housing served by top performing suburban schools. The performance of students in private schools is exceedingly hard to compare to those in public schools. No parent ought to be concerned that their child will be at a "disadvantage" in attending a top performing US public school compared to their peers back home.

If your commute / employment / lifestyle is better suited to life in Chicago or life in the suburbs THAT should be the primary driver. Weigh the total costs of each option and do not hesitate to question others for proffering an opinion that one or the other is "best"...

[Drover]

Originally Posted by marothisu

London is way more expensive..that's true, although they didn't say they're from London. They said UK which could mean one of a number of places.

This kinda narrows it down a bit: "at present we live in an affluent area south of London..."

[Finp06]

Thanks all.

I put south of London as we are about 15 miles out but we are in the county of Surrey. (Which doesnt mean much unless you have lived here!) We live in a 4 bed semi- detached which would cost in excess of £550,000 if I put it on the market. (And 2 of these rooms are single rooms) House prices here are crazy - great schools, low crime rate etc etc attracts the city commuters. It is impossible to compare the 2 locations in terms of what your buck can buy.

We are executive salary level and I expect to do private education in the uk when they hit senior school - not necessary for primary as the local states are outstanding. So the U.S fees aren't a scary proposition. Although if we don't have to pay we would rather not of course!
I guess I was thrown by my poolside chat when I was told by a Chicago citizen that the public schools wouldn't match my expectations.

I will also need to bring the kids' kittens with us if we relocate. To leave them and their grandmother may be too much for them to bear so that's another factor in looking at areas! I know I am making things very difficult for myself but as I reckon I'll hardly see my husband for the first 6 months I've got to get this right!

I am a stay at home Mum. Husband will be commuting a lot by air and car so he needs good transportation links. Primary objective is to get the kids happy and settled. But us parents also need some quality restaurants to visit on our time off!
Time for me to start googling the Gold Coast, Lake View and others that have been recommended.

Thanks so much for your input and time for me to out feelers out. Any other recommendations vy welcome.

[chet everett]

You will very likely get "more house for your money" sticking to areas closer to O'Hare and that would also afford a more pleasant transition from airline travel to "home". I have studied the way that the UK has instituted the national curriculum and I do not think it is fair to say that top performing public school in the US would automatically fall far short. If I recall the actual objective data of schools in the UK is supposed to be disseminated by the "county councils" and "Local Education Authority". This is similar to the way that US state funded schools report objective data through a state Board of Education. I would recommend focusing on schools that have attained the status of "Honor Roll for Academic Excellence" and allow for non-selective admissions -- schools such as Avoca West in Glenview would be in this tier as would many schools that are towns where your approximately $765,000 US housing budget would buy a nice family sized home... Illinois Honor Roll - Academic Excellence Awards 2012 List

Towns such as Park Ridge, Northbrook, Elmhurst, Western Springs, Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale and Deerfield also have many well regarded schools to choose from that are open to all residents.

Should you attempt to gain admission to a public school in Chicago the period for selective enrollment has passed.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Should you attempt to gain admission to a public school in Chicago the period for selective enrollment has passed.

True, but you can also live within attendance boundaries of many good CPS schools and applications become irrelevant.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

True, but you can also live within attendance boundaries of many good CPS schools and applications become irrelevant.

If you care to list the CPS facilities on the Honor Roll that are neighbor attendance schools and not over crowded / offer good access to O'Hare / a nice range of housing options at the OP's price point that would be helpful.