Relocating from UWS Manhattan to Chicago w toddler (Lincoln, Roscoe: condos, neighborhood)

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by Drover

The first thing you should know about Chicago is that, at least in Chicago proper, it is really hard to find really good schools, especially beyond the 5th grade. I mean, you live in NYC, you know what urban school districts are like. That's why most of your recommendations are going to be for suburbs.

In Manhattan, the schools are astounding. New York's public schools in general are better than what you'd find anywhere in Chicago. They have a significantly higher density issue and they still do better.

I don't know if this is going to remain the case, however, as there's been a recent "baby boom" in Manhattan; there was in the recent past a lot of money to be spread around fewer children.

For K12 education, Chicago and most of its suburbs are relatively barren places. Private's the way to go, and from what I've heard from my friends with kids it's very challenging.

[seventyseven]

Originally Posted by nyswede

Interesting, how was the transition from the UWS and what was your experience in cost of living between the two areas?

I grew up around Chicago and went to undergrad at Northwestern, so the transition was pretty easy. My wife, who is from Northern California, also found the transition easy.

You're going to miss NYC at first. There's no place like it. But I think you'll find living in Chicago a much easier place to raise a toddler.

For one, you're likely to have much more living space than you had in the UWS. Our mortgage + taxes + assessments on our 3br/3bt condo are far less than the rent we were paying on a 2Br apartment when we left NYC.

Cost of living is noticeably less here. Also, state income tax is less here, and there is no city tax.

The hardest adjustment to Chicago is the winters. It's a good 5 months of lousy weather and generally staying inside. This gets to a lot of people come this time of year, and especially when it drags into March and April.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by coldwine

In Manhattan, the schools are astounding. New York's public schools in general are better than what you'd find anywhere in Chicago. They have a significantly higher density issue and they still do better.

That must explain their exemplary 45% on-time graduation rate.

Originally Posted by coldwine

For K12 education, Chicago and most of its suburbs are relatively barren places. Private's the way to go, and from what I've heard from my friends with kids it's very challenging.

Please. There are numerous very, very good school districts out in the suburbs.

[thePR]

Originally Posted by coldwine

For K12 education, Chicago and most of its suburbs are relatively barren places. Private's the way to go, and from what I've heard from my friends with kids it's very challenging.

The suburbs have an overwhelming amount of good schools, even in not so good cities.

If you do choose the city you might want to look into private schools depending on where you end up living.

[seventyseven]

Originally Posted by coldwine

In Manhattan, the schools are astounding.

This is a joke, right?

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by coldwine

...For K12 education, Chicago and most of its suburbs are relatively barren places...

That is quite a blanket statement to make and it is incorrect. VERY incorrect.

Perhaps there is some partial truth if you were just talking about the city schools, but even then there are more than a handful of decent public schools in Chicago.

[Chicago60614]

There are good private schools in Chicago, and actually good public schools on the north side. You can raise a toddler in the city, just watch the schools where you enroll.

I would recommend Roscoe Village, Lincoln Square, West Lakeview.

The area from around Racine West to Damen, and from Armitage north to Montrose is pretty decent.

Lakeview is fun, but with a child I wouldn't live right at Belmont and Clark or anything.

Andersonville is the Swedish neighborhood, but it's more a historic area, and not as many actual Swedish people as their use to be. Chicago use to have the 2nd highest number of Swedes after Stockholm in the 20th Century.

I'm Swedish myself, but our people came over here almost 100 years ago.

[Avengerfire]

Large portions (along with the Germans and English) of North Park,Lincoln Square,and Ravenswood as well as parts of Lake View, Edgewater and Uptown were settled by Swedes as well. Later on the Irish came. Then the Greeks and Italians...


North Park still has a decent number (probably way more than Andersonville) of Swedes. For many decades a portion of North Park, Ravenswood, Budlong Woods,Summerdale (a name for a neighborhood that is falling out of use-between modern Andersonville and Budlong Woods),and Bowmanville had the nickname "Andersonville"."

It basically ran a few blocks north and south of Foster from Broadway all the way to where Northeastern University is now located. What I describe is the original area nicknamed "Andersonville."

Evidence of this is shown in Swedish Covenant Hospital which has been at Foster and California since 1897.

Also here is some good reading that I looked up after I first wrote this post:

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohisto...ages/1222.html

[b0nb0n]

I have to disagree with people who are saying that Chicago and the surrounding suburbs have bad public schools. Most suburbs have good schools but at the same time, some of the best public schools can be found in the city as well. I don't know much about elementary schools but I know Northside Prep is rated as the best public high school in IL and that's a Chicago public school. I went to a school in the northern suburbs and most schools there have excellent educational programs.
Again, I dont know much about elementray schools so I'd suggest you take a look at this website:
2008 Report Cards on that site you can find out where the best elementary shcools are in IL, and if your child doesnt get into those schools or you are still worried you can always try the private school route.
Good Luck!

[Johnny Northside]

Although Lincoln Square has been linked with Germans for decades, old maps show the intersection of Wilson and Leavitt as something called "Swedentown." Although there's no commerce at this intersection, it is the site of a weird bend in Wilson Avenue -- perhaps indicating it was some kind of crossroads before Wilson came through from the east. Some websites have picked up on this and added it as sort of a ghost neighborhood within Lincoln Square:

Map of Chicago Swedentown - Neighborhood Map

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Large portions (along with the Germans and English) of North Park,Lincoln Square,and Ravenswood as well as parts of Lake View, Edgewater and Uptown were settled by Swedes as well. Later on the Irish came. Then the Greeks and Italians...


North Park still has a decent number (probably way more than Andersonville) of Swedes. For many decades a portion of North Park, Ravenswood, Budlong Woods,Summerdale (a name for a neighborhood that is falling out of use-between modern Andersonville and Budlong Woods),and Bowmanville had the nickname "Andersonville"."

It basically ran a few blocks north and south of Foster from Broadway all the way to where Northeastern University is now located. What I describe is the original area nicknamed "Andersonville."