Family moving to Chicago area. Safe areas? Good schools? (Lincoln: place to live, budget)

[lenniel]

I agree with Marothisu, look in the Lincoln Square area. Great place for families with small kids, lots of parks, green space and fun adult activities as well. There were a lot of condos built in LS over the last 8 years so might be some bargains to be had.
Plus, close to public transportation if needed.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by marothisu

My impression from my friends with children is that elementary schools in the city are fine, but the high schools is where the suburbs do better for normal non selective enrollment/private/magnet high schools. A 3 bed/2 bath for $2000/month is not going to be possible in Lincoln Park really. From a pure budget perspective, your budget would probably afford you some places in the Ukrainian Village area, Logan Square, Irving Park, Lincoln Square/Ravenswood maybe, Avondale, Bridgeport, etc.

Here's a few examples from Lincoln Square/Ravenswood, for example:
4950 N Bell Ave # 1, Chicago, IL 60625 is For Rent - Zillow
4450 N Ashland Ave # GARDEN, Chicago, IL 60640 is For Rent - Zillow


But how good each school is, is beyond me. There are people on here who have elementary aged kids and live in the city though. I'd consider both the suburbs and the city, but obviously there are 3/2's in the city for your budget. It's just a question about schools and what your priorities are for living situations.

Perhaps it is truly beyond the technical capabilities of some to look up school performance but CPS and the state do provide tools for this.

Those tools show that the schools serving the Bell and Ashland (which is directly on a MAJOR thoroughfare...) apartments are NOT desirable -- the have not made adequate yearly progress, they are on the Academicd Watch Status (which could leave them open to additional state sanctions...), they have large percentages of low income children (a reliable indicator of underpreparedness for school...) they have large class sizes (highly correlated with poor performance in the early elementary grades...) and just not the kind of schools that any sane person could classify as "good" by any objective standard.

Further anyone that cares about their children's education in Chicago knows the majority of non-selective admissions are woefully off the mark, the handful of neighborhood schools that are not abysmal are in areas where gentrification has pushed the demographics and rents into the stratosphere.

Look it up:

CPS address locator: Pages*- SchoolLocator


Illinois Interactive Report Card hosted by Northern Illinois University: IIRC: Home

[cbsmom]

If you do want to live in the city, I'd highly suggest learning about the CPS system - there are quite a few classical/magnet schools you can apply for that are not neighborhood schools and are highly lauded. You could get lucky and get into one (lottery system), and there are some you can test into (gifted and classical, I believe). Neighborhood schools are a little trickier (as you might guess, the neighborhoods with the best schools tend to be pricier). But as Chet said, you can easily find information on which schools have the best test scores (and are neighborhood schools), and then see if your there are rentals that fit your price range. Good luck!

[cbsmom]

I just did a quick search, and this thread has good information on CPS schools:
//www.city-data.com/forum/chica...ic-option.html

I suggest joining neighborhood parents network as a resource to research schools, too.

[yoyoniner]

I would strongly consider Avondale, Lincoln Square, Roscoe Village and Irving Park.

[niketg23]

Try Oak Park downtown. They have a city-like feeling w/ a nice downtown. Great High School and public school system. Easy access to Blue line/Green Line CTA and Metra. Easy access to expressways. Great place to raise a family. Its very close to the city and feels like an extension of Chicago. If you want to try something in the city up north, then check out Lincoln Square. Great and a very safe neighbhorhood w/ decent public schools. Great restaurants and nightlife in Lincoln Square as well. More affordable than Lincoln Park.

[masdumas]

getting a 3/2 for 2K in Lincoln Park is impossible - I'm a Leasing agent
I would tell you that Ravenswood, Lincoln Square, North Center to the north would be the best bet in Chicago proper. For the burbs, look at Evanston to the North and Oak Park to the west - both have great school districts

[Chicago60614]

Lincoln Park is just a small piece of Chicago's 230 square miles. It gets a ton of press and you would have heard of it and how it's great, but that's a fairly general statement. As others said, don't get caught up that it has to be your focal point or anything, there are tons of other safe, family friendly areas to live as a resident.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Lincoln Park is just a small piece of Chicago's 230 square miles. It gets a ton of press and you would have heard of it and how it's great, but that's a fairly general statement. As others said, don't get caught up that it has to be your focal point or anything, there are tons of other safe, family friendly areas to live as a resident.

There are many safe family friendly areas served by excellent commuter rail that are not inside the 606xx zipcode. The OP would be well served to explore all options.

[lenniel]

Moving from Miami to Chicago? Have you spent much time in the Midwest? Are you from the area? Ever been in Chi for the winter? If not....you're going to have to do some shopping.