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Old 02-05-2009, 10:29 PM
 
Location: Chicago
15,585 posts, read 27,438,384 times
Reputation: 1761

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Quote:
Originally Posted by anoroc View Post
My wife and I both went to Taft ('97), and we're doing quite well, post graduate degrees, kids, own home and we are both born and raised in the city...
That is good to hear. I am glad some people have been doing well from Taft.
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Old 02-05-2009, 11:11 PM
 
3,674 posts, read 8,628,593 times
Reputation: 3085
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avengerfire View Post
Thanks.
If it's any consolation, I love nerds
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Old 02-06-2009, 12:33 AM
 
Location: Chicago
15,585 posts, read 27,438,384 times
Reputation: 1761
Quote:
Originally Posted by coldwine View Post
If it's any consolation, I love nerds
What are you doing Saturday night?
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Old 02-06-2009, 09:01 AM
 
Location: Chicago- Lawrence and Kedzie/Maywood
2,242 posts, read 6,214,008 times
Reputation: 741
Get a room.
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Old 02-06-2009, 09:04 AM
 
11,973 posts, read 31,635,920 times
Reputation: 4641
LOT'S of people are raising kids in the city these days who wouldn't have ten years ago. My recommendation is to live dead center within the attendance boundary for a good CPS "neighborhood elementary school" so you at least have that as an option no matter what. I say "dead center" because you don't want to fall victim to re-districting. These are schools like Blaine, Burley, Bell, Nettelhorst, Oriole Park, Norwood Park, etc. This will cover you through 8th grade. You will still have Magnet options available to you as well if you can get your kids in.

High School is another issue entirely, and you're kids will have to test well and apply to the good college prep high schools. Elite schools like North Side College Prep, Whitney Young, and Walter Payton can be very hard to get in to. Lane Tech isn't exactly a shoe in either. And the admissions process in Chicago is biased against white students at this time, though court challenges may change this in the future--as the current Supreme Court hasn't ruled in a manner favorable to affirmative action.
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Old 02-06-2009, 09:06 AM
 
11,973 posts, read 31,635,920 times
Reputation: 4641
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avengerfire View Post
What are you doing Saturday night?
City-Date is back in effect for lover man Avengerfire.
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Old 02-06-2009, 11:13 AM
 
12 posts, read 30,254 times
Reputation: 12
We have 4 kids and 1450 square feet and we don't feel at all cramped. Yeah, I am on constant clutter patrol but it works. There is so much to do in they city- we spend a lot of time away from home. I think that helps.

My oldest is in public school. We are very happy with the school, the teachers, the other parents, and her friends. You HAVE to stay involved. City schools that don't have heavily involved parents do not succeed. But for us it's worth the effort to stay in the city.
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Old 02-06-2009, 04:00 PM
 
527 posts, read 1,239,471 times
Reputation: 79
Default Get in this!

I am excited because I can tell you are moving back. This city rocks, and I know your family will be fine here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Houseboo View Post
Here the deal...

My husband and I moved out to the 'burbs about 5 years ago and still find ourselves homesick. Even after all this time, I still feel like a fish out of water. We moved to the 'burbs because that's what you're supposed to do when you have children and we had children, you know -- safer environment, better schools etc. Thing is, I didn't fully research our suburb as much as I should have and as it turns out, the elementary is great, the middle school is great but the high school is similar to many Chicago schools and about as safe too. So, now that my older son is starting Jr. High/middle school next year, we are in the process of looking for a private school in this "great suburban utopia" that we've moved to. To make matters more ironic/frustrating, our younger son, age 6, is attending Montessori because he's a very high functioning Asperger Savant and the public schools in our town have pitiful gifted programs. Seriously, it's basically non-existant.

Sooooo...to make a long story even longer...my husband and I were talking about how ironic it is that we moved out to the 'burbs, we're both miserable here (he's a writer and fairly non-social as it is) and that we STILL have to pay for private schools.

In looking into schools with gifted programs another irony hit me, Chicago probably has the best magnet programs and gifted programs in Illinois. (Who knew?) Montessori in our area only goes up to grade 3, so we have decided to stay here 3 more years and then move back to the city. We will actually save money on education because the same programs that my son can get at a CPS magnet would likely cost me about 15k a year out here and my older son can go to a Catholic school in the city and when it comes to education, we'll still come our ahead.

The only sacrifice we'll have to make is drastically reducing our space. We realize that our house will only allow us to buy a duplex, condo or townhouse if we're lucky but we've also come to find out that both of us hate yard work, I hate gardening, he hates fixing house stuff. Bascially, we are low maintence people.

I know a lot of high school kids exist by looking at the size of Lane Tech, but you know what, all those years I lived down there, I never noticed high school kids. Do people still raise their children for their entire childhood in Chicago. Everyone I know has moved to the 'burbs when their kids started school. We are going to be the family of reverse flight.

Are we crazy or do people really raise children successfully in Chicago? And are we nuts for considering that post age 40???
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Old 02-06-2009, 04:06 PM
 
11,973 posts, read 31,635,920 times
Reputation: 4641
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lookout Kid View Post
High School is another issue entirely, and you're kids...
I'm deeply embarassed by this incorrect use of "you're". Curse you, disappearing edit function!
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Old 02-06-2009, 05:56 PM
 
Location: Chicagoland
4,027 posts, read 7,259,277 times
Reputation: 1332
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avengerfire View Post
That is good to hear. I am glad some people have been doing well from Taft.
Taft is not bad. It's alright and used to be really good.
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