moving to Chicago - where to live (Oak Park, Brookfield: upper-class, apartment)

[johnchandler]

Hi, We are moving to Chicago in about a month due to job change. Work will be in downtown Chicago. We need help in figuring out best places to live (rent) and elementary school. Chicago seems daunting. What should we be considering to decide these things?

-Johnc

[linicx]

Your budget for rent, and where your employer is located, will dictate where you live more than anything else. Chicago Public Schools are not the best. Your choice is private schools or live in a suburb. The nearest suburb to Chicago is Oak Park. It happens to have good K-8 schools. All high schools have the same problem: Teenagers! How the school handles it, defines whether or not the kid gets a good education. The parents who are involved in school, school homework, school activities, school sports, teachers and school board meeting is going to have a child that has a good education - despite what the child wants.

You will get a much better answer to your question, if you post in the Chicago Forum.

[johnchandler]

Thank you for the reply.

I would say under $1500 for rent 2BR. Work will be close to Chinatown.

I am almost panicking b/c it is too many things to consider in a short amount of time. However, I need to think for only the first year b/c I can always move to a new location after I have time to learn more. I know changing schools not good for kids but better than staying in one that didn't turn out to be good.

I didn't find the CPS website easy to navigate. I wonder if public schools there always have open spots for families relocating or they have a lottery system.

Are there any resources to learn about private elementary schools? I feel a guide is thoroughly lacking.

[Manigault]

Do you have a car? How old are your children?

I think that the south Loop may be a natural for you if you are going to work in Chinatown. It has a mix of public, private and parochial schools.

To compare schools, this is one resource:

GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community

[marothisu]

Their budget is not going to work in the South Loop

[johnchandler]

Yes I have a car, school going kid 6 yrs old.

[bella84]

There ARE good schools within the CPS system. Don't be fooled by people who tell you that they are all bad. Do your research on the individual schools, as there are many that are good. Some of the best are on the north side. Your budget may work within the boundaries of some of them but not all. Although no one will admit it, they are usually the best because the students attending have involved, well-educated, often middle- to upper-class parents, whereas many students attending schools on the south and west sides have parents who lack education and live in poverty. It really has very little to do with the teachers, administrators, or school policies themselves. The district is facing a huge financial burden and has received a lot of bad press related to that, but the education students receive within the individual schools is not significantly different than your average suburban school. If the choice is spending $ on private school or adding more $ to your rental budget and moving into a neighborhood where you can send your kids to a good public school, which would you choose? Let that be the question you consider when looking at schools. Don't just assume that public equals bad.

[NealIRC]

Originally Posted by johnchandler

and elementary school.

Mod cut.

So if not the public schools, as well as charter schools, you have the choice of taking your kids to the religious schools.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by johnchandler

Thank you for the reply.

I would say under $1500 for rent 2BR. Work will be close to Chinatown.

I am almost panicking b/c it is too many things to consider in a short amount of time. However, I need to think for only the first year b/c I can always move to a new location after I have time to learn more. I know changing schools not good for kids but better than staying in one that didn't turn out to be good.

I didn't find the CPS website easy to navigate. I wonder if public schools there always have open spots for families relocating or they have a lottery system.

Are there any resources to learn about private elementary schools? I feel a guide is thoroughly lacking.

There are some CPS schools that do perform most excellently, unfortunately they tend to be either: a) selective admissions schools, and the test for admission to them was LAST FALL so you are probably out of luck for that OR b) in areas where the the 'local attendance school' is well supported by an influx of affluent parents with a commitment to public school , but those areas tend to have rents that have been driven quite high by gentrification...

You may want to consider the benefits of living in an apartment in a close-in suburb that is well served by frequent Metra service. Here is a THREE bedroom in your budget in Brookfield IL -- 9109 Sahler Ave APT 3, Brookfield, IL 60513 is For Rent | Zillow
The schools in Brookfield are mostly well regarded and there are no hassle in enrolling. You show up with proof of renting in the district and POOF you are set...
Metra service is like 18 minutes or so on an express -- Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Schedule

[bella84]

Originally Posted by chet everett

There are some CPS schools that do perform most excellently, unfortunately they tend to be either: a) selective admissions schools, and the test for admission to them was LAST FALL so you are probably out of luck for that OR b) in areas where the the 'local attendance school' is well supported by an influx of affluent parents with a commitment to public school , but those areas tend to have rents that have been driven quite high by gentrification...

For the most part, I agree with what you've said. However, there are other good neighborhood CPS schools, particularly on the northwest side of the city. They are not in located in trendy, urban neighborhoods, so the rents are more affordable than some of the others that happen to be in those trendy, urban neighborhoods.