How do you like raising your kids in Lincoln Park? (Chicago: real estate, house)

[miamilisa]

Mom and dad with 4 kids are moving to Chicago from Miami Beach, Florida. We are moving because of our new jobs in Downtown Chicago.
We have 4 children age 3, 5, 12 and 15. We are thinking about the Lincoln Park area. Mostly because of its location. We want to make sure we are picking the right neighborhood. What are the public schools like? I see they have good ratings but are they over crowded? What about the private schools? We currently have 3 of our children in private schools in Miami and it is expensive. Anywhere from 20-30K annually for each kid. Which private schools are good. Costs?
We have looked at the real estate listings and can comfortably afford the homes in Lincoln Park. We are moving from a very expensive area of Miami Beach.
Are there specific areas of Lincoln Park that are more family friendly? Where are there tons of kids? Would our 12 and 15 year old be able to walk around the neighborhood to visit friends, go to activities?
Are there other nice family friendly and safe but close to downtown neighborhoods that we should consider?
We love spending time together as a family. Spending time with friends. My husband is a guitar player and will be looking for a local band to join. We love eating out, shopping visiting parks and playgrounds. We try to use public transport whenever possible. We are not folks that can live in the suburbs.
Help us find the perfect fit.

[NealIRC]

What are the public schools like? That's really a question about race. It's all about if you want to mix your kids with students of other races.

If you think this is a good post, please quote it even if you don't have anything to reply to, in case it gets deleted.

[ToriaT]

If you are well to do and make or have a lot of money, Lincoln Park will suit an urban family. While I am sure there are some good public schools in Chicago, overall they are not good. Some that are excellent are magnet schools and may be far away from Lincoln Park. In Chicago you don't necessarily send your kids to the local school. And it maybe difficult to get into the top schools. Here is a very telling set of FAQs from Whitney Young Magnet School, one of the top schools in Chicago. Of course there are others too.
Whitney M. Young Magnet High School

The housing in Lincoln Park is very expensive and there is not necessarily a lot of green space for kids to play in, of course there are many top notch parks but they may be a distance away, its not like in the suburbs where I live, where you open the door and the kids play next door sledding down a hill.

Also parking is a real hassle in the city. I am mentioning the downsides. Lincoln Park is a beautiful urban neighborhood to live in actually. I personally would not want to raise four children there.

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

The housing in Lincoln Park is very expensive and there is not necessarily a lot of green space for kids to play in, of course there are many top notch parks but they may be a distance away, its not like in the suburbs where I live, where you open the door and the kids play next door sledding down a hill.

That's what nannies are for.

[oakparkdude]

BTW, if you find housing, private schools, and hired help are beyond your budget, you'll be happy to know that there are plenty of suburbs around Chicago which are relatively urban, have good public schools, and great transit access to the Loop.

[glass_of_merlot]

Or....you can move to a less expensive neighborhood, very family friendly and send you kids to private school. ...Ravenswood

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by miamilisa

Mom and dad with 4 kids are moving to Chicago from Miami Beach, Florida. We are moving because of our new jobs in Downtown Chicago.
We have 4 children age 3, 5, 12 and 15. We are thinking about the Lincoln Park area. Mostly because of its location. We want to make sure we are picking the right neighborhood. What are the public schools like? I see they have good ratings but are they over crowded? What about the private schools? We currently have 3 of our children in private schools in Miami and it is expensive. Anywhere from 20-30K annually for each kid. Which private schools are good. Costs?
We have looked at the real estate listings and can comfortably afford the homes in Lincoln Park. We are moving from a very expensive area of Miami Beach.
Are there specific areas of Lincoln Park that are more family friendly? Where are there tons of kids? Would our 12 and 15 year old be able to walk around the neighborhood to visit friends, go to activities?
Are there other nice family friendly and safe but close to downtown neighborhoods that we should consider?
We love spending time together as a family. Spending time with friends. My husband is a guitar player and will be looking for a local band to join. We love eating out, shopping visiting parks and playgrounds. We try to use public transport whenever possible. We are not folks that can live in the suburbs.
Help us find the perfect fit.

Firstly, having known MANY MANY clients that relocated from Manhattan, San Francisco, London, Miami, Singapore, Hong Kong and other global cities it is exceedingly unlikely that any of the walkable suburbs in the region would not offer an excellent situation for your family. From Evanston and Wilmette on the north to Oak Park and Hinsdale on the west with lots of adjacent towns there is a multitude of excellent dining / entertainment options as well opportunities to visit local cultural establishments, including those focused on music. The outstanding rail service into the Loop means your work commute would likely be far quicker from a town that has express Metra service than poking along in an overcrowded CTA vehicle with too many stops.

Bluntly, even the most well regarded neighborhood Chicago Public Schools can't hold a candle to the open enrollment public schools in the desirable towns. The chaos wrought by the extreme fiscal mismanagement is something that has severe negative consequences on students from kindergarten through high school -- class sizes are orders of magnitude larger, teacher turn over is far higher, threats of strikes that can cut short the preparation students need for AP classes are a reality in CPS that just do not happen in the desirable towns that control their own schools.

Even if your annual income is well above $300k the real issues of trying to support a family of SIX in Lincoln Park in an appropriately sized home and private schools is something that is exceedingly challenging. Quite literally the majority of one's take home pay would be going directly to support private schools -- factoring the need to save for college and one's own retirement an income even 3X that may not go very far, especially in the face of increasingly burdensome taxes necessitated by the fiscal mismanagement of Chicago. Homes of appropriate size in Lincoln Park are far more costly than those in nice towns just a short ride away on Metra. The prospect of 4 children heading in completely opposite directions every morning, in often horrifyingly bad weather ought to be reason enough to question the feasibility of Chicago's magnet schools. Factor the completely different environment for safety and it is no wonder that one is far more likely to quickly see the appeal of city living rapidly fade.


I would urge anyone that has not experienced the unique towns outside of Chicago to understand that these are not the boring the tract developments of beige suburbia decried by urbanophiles, but rather vibrant towns with a long history of fostering the kinds of values that appeal to worldly families who want their children to move with ease among people of all backgrounds. Significant numbers of high schoolers do ride the trains to schools inside Chicago that their parents / grand parents may have attended, further enhancing that sort of transit ease.

[chicagobear]

I have to agree with looking at the suburbs. Raising four children in the city in an upper middle class way is going to be much more expensive than doing it in one of the really nice suburbs like Hinsdale or Winnetka. I know people who wanted to stay in the city after they had kids, but finally moved to the suburbs due to the schools situation. The commute by train in Chicago is quite easy. I think it would be easier to put down roots and become part of the community with your children attending the local public school in a place like Hinsdale as well.

[jjjttt]

The upper-level programs at Lincoln Park High are incredible (HH, PDP, DP), but the regular track would likely not be a good fit for your children. I hear nothing but fantastic things about the elementary school, Little Lincoln.

[beaniemac]

Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot

Or....you can move to a less expensive neighborhood, very family friendly and send you kids to private school. ...Ravenswood

this would be a better option IMO. lincoln park is EXTREMELY expensive, and like others have said, you're not likely to get a large yard in that area for multiple children.

ravenswood is further north, but they have large single family homes with large yards which would probably work better for a house with multiple kids.

I dont live on the north side, but I'm sure there's viable public transportation in that area to make getting to and from downtown fairly easy as well.