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Old 02-01-2016, 03:13 PM
 
Location: Loudoun County, VA
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We are moving to Chicago this summer with two kids and two dogs. We have to rent due to husband's job. Would love to live downtown so that for our three years we can easily experience everything the city has to offer. Would we find good public schools in areas like Lincoln park? Any other possibilities? I work from home and husband will commute to Millenium Park. We are also considering Evanston...
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Old 02-01-2016, 04:20 PM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
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Monthly budget? How many rooms to the apartment? People will most likely tell you to try the suburbs, but I am curious.
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Old 02-01-2016, 05:00 PM
 
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Depending on what you consider "downtown" and what real advantages there are with being inside the city vs still easily accessible to it via transit, you probably should both specify a preference for the kind of housing and define a budget.


The South Loop Elementary School is probably closest to the actual "downtown" of Chicago's Loop. Performance is much better than CPS averages -- SOUTH LOOP ELEM SCHOOL: School Profile

The various public schools that are technically in Lincoln Park include a few with magnet programs as well as those that are more traditional boundary based.

ALCOTT ELEM SCHOOL: School Profile

LASALLE ELEM LANGUAGE ACADEMY: School Profile

MAYER ELEM SCHOOL: School Profile

NEWBERRY ELEM MATH & SCIENCE ACAD: School Profile

BURLEY ELEM SCHOOL: School Profile

One of the more desirable areas for families is actually north of Lincoln Park, in Lakeview. This is currently one of the most affordable homes in the attendance area served by Burley -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/15.../home/13364426


For comparisons sake this is one of the better performing schools in Oak Park, about nine miles from the Loop via public transit

HORACE MANN ELEM SCHOOL: School Profile

A home served by Horace Mann -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/Oak-Park/1.../home/13275346


This a school in Evanston, about 15 miles north of the Loop, fully accessible via transit.

KINGSLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: School Profile

Home in Kingsley attendance area -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/Evanston/2.../home/22816972
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Old 02-01-2016, 05:39 PM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,932,109 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post

This a school in Evanston, about 15 miles north of the Loop, fully accessible via transit.

KINGSLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: School Profile

Home in Kingsley attendance area -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/Evanston/2.../home/22816972
I would not say that this is fully accessible via transit - it's on green bay road and mccormick boulevard, so you would need to take a bus if you took the el into Evanston. It would depend on where you are coming from. From that house, though, you can walk to Kingsley.
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Old 02-01-2016, 05:43 PM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,932,109 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post

This a school in Evanston, about 15 miles north of the Loop, fully accessible via transit.

KINGSLEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: School Profile

Home in Kingsley attendance area -- https://www.redfin.com/IL/Evanston/2.../home/22816972
I would not say that this is fully accessible via transit - it's on green bay road and mccormick boulevard, so you would need to take a bus if you took the el into Evanston. It would depend on where you are coming from. From that house, though, you can walk to Kingsley.

There are other schools that are easier to get to on transit. I think that there are still school buses though to the elementary schools depending upon how far away you live. Lincoln School is close to the *el.*
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Old 02-01-2016, 06:33 PM
 
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I suspect that the OP will first have to decide if they really want to rent an apartment / condo with two school aged children and two pets. If they are coming from a normal US sized home that might be the deal breaker. If the relocation allowance includes a very healthy budget that might make something like this possible -- 218 W Saint Paul Ave, Chicago, IL 60614 | Zillow

Still, twice as costly as Evanston -- 1939 Dewey Ave, Evanston, IL 60201 | Zillow

or Oak Park 848 Mapleton Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302 | Zillow
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Old 02-01-2016, 07:21 PM
 
17,183 posts, read 22,932,109 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chet everett View Post

Still, twice as costly as Evanston -- 1939 Dewey Ave, Evanston, IL 60201 | Zillow
That Evanston house is not in a desirable location - too close to the high school which is the one area where there is more crime.
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Old 02-01-2016, 07:23 PM
 
28,453 posts, read 85,421,872 times
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Default Renters often have to except limitations

Quote:
Originally Posted by nana053 View Post
That Evanston house is not in a desirable location - too close to the high school which is the one area where there is more crime.
There's really no place in the whole region that has a huge inventory of rental homes
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Old 02-01-2016, 10:13 PM
 
397 posts, read 603,073 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jvclute View Post
We are moving to Chicago this summer with two kids and two dogs. We have to rent due to husband's job. Would love to live downtown so that for our three years we can easily experience everything the city has to offer. Would we find good public schools in areas like Lincoln park? Any other possibilities? I work from home and husband will commute to Millenium Park. We are also considering Evanston...
First, you really don't want your kids experiencing "everything the city has to offer." I love Chicago and I liked exposing my kids to a real American big city but I knew we had to move when I heard gunshots down the street.

The image you have in your mind of your family enjoying the "big city" isn't reality. "Downtown" most likely means an apartment with no yard. It means schools that will shock you. And maybe some violence too.

The schools are constantly discussed on this forum so I recommend that you do some searches. I don't think anyone disagrees that CPS is a failed school system although some will send their kids to neighborhood elementary schools on the North Side.

And there are many good, even great, private schools in Chicago if you can afford them.

All of the cool stuff that you're imagining about living in the "big city," can be easily experienced by a family living in a close in suburb. The added bonus of the suburb is that you can be confident about putting your kids in the local, not selective admission, public school down the street. Chicago parents who use the public schools have to jump through all kinds of hoops to find a decent school for their kids. It's nice not to worry about jumping through hoops or paying consultants to help you navigate the selective admissions process (yes this is a real thing in Chicago).

These close in suburbs are on the rail line to Chicago so your family can easily get downtown to do all of those cool Chicago things. Your DH might even have an easier commute on the Metra (commuter rail) than on the El or the bus. Some of these suburbs are very walkable and have charming, urban downtowns.

I lived in the City for many years. Both as a single woman and as a mother. Through the years, I've watched so many families move to the suburbs. Always for the same reasons. It's easier and cheaper to provide a good education for your kids in the suburbs. I think many of us are kind of sad that it has to be that way but it is what it is.
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Old 02-02-2016, 03:52 AM
 
6,438 posts, read 6,924,520 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nana053 View Post
That Evanston house is not in a desirable location - too close to the high school which is the one area where there is more crime.
Actually it's even worse than that. The area east of the high school is rapidly gentrifying, but the Evanston house shown is in an African American neighborhood that has shown no sign of change.

Still, Evanston's good areas are less expensive than comparable areas in Chicago.
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