Sanity check, please. Are Lincoln Park schools decent?

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by emathias

If education of your child(ren) is your primary concern and you don't want to live in the suburbs, it would make more sense for you to buy outside of lincoln park and send them to a decent private school with the money you save in housing costs.

Bridgeport, McKinley Park, Jefferson Park, Kenwood, Albany Park and a few other neighborhoods would all be more urban than almost any Boston suburb and you could get a decent townhome - maybe even single family home - for half of what it costs in Lincoln Park. Between mortgage and property tax savings, you'd at least be quite close to covering tuition for one kid at a time.

This is very good advice. People tend to completely ignore the quality of CPS schools because they automatically assume that their kids are smart enough to test into a magnet program. Sadly, they are often incorrect as these schools are very competitive, particularly near a community area like Lincoln Park.

In addition to the above neighborhoods, you could also consider Berwyn and Forest Park. These inner-ring suburbs are urban (on the Chicago "grid" system and serviced by public transit), have low taxes, and are surrounded by good private school options that are competitive but not as competitive as those near the affluent Chicago neighborhoods. They're also about as close to the Loop in terms of commute times as Lincoln Park is.

And if those two towns are not affluent enough for you and you don't mind paying higher taxes, there's always Oak Park, which borders these two communities and is equally accessible to the Loop. Oak Park isn't cheap but probably cheaper overall than Lincoln Park, and you get much better public schools for your dollar.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by coldwine

I think it was Drover who pointed out that acceptance into Yale or Harvard was a more material likelihood than acceptance to private education.

Actually I said that in reference to CPS's top magnet schools (Whitney Young, Northside Prep., etc.) A lot of outsiders come in here asking about these schools thinking their little whiz kid can waltz right into one of them by nailing an entrance exam. Of course it's far, far more complicated than that.

As for Catholic schools as ManheimMadman brings up, the issue with many of them -- particularly the ones run by the archdiocese -- is that they're generally no better than a fair-to-middling suburban school district, yet you're still paying for it out of pocket on top of your property taxes. A lot of people, especially non-Catholics, just don't see the value in that arrangement when they can buy the same or better level of education with their property taxes alone just by living in the suburbs. And I believe tuition is typically higher if you're not a parish member.

[rajman2009]

This all seems reasonable and I think it has been well established in this thread that CPS schools even in a nice area are not equivalent to good suburban schools (likely because of the good private schools). But I still think it is reasonable to ask these questions for a childless couple because if we happen to have a kid and are locked into a house due to a downturn in the market - you'd like your kid to at least be going to the best public school in a neighborhood, even if it's average.

So... I was trying to assess which LP elementary school is best; and as a corollary, which is the most "desired" Lincoln Park neighborhood (Wrightwood Neighbors, Sheffield Neighbors, Lincoln Park, etc.) The second part question was more for fun; the first more factual I would assume.

[surlycue]

Originally Posted by rajman2009

This all seems reasonable and I think it has been well established in this thread that CPS schools even in a nice area are not equivalent to good suburban schools (likely because of the good private schools). But I still think it is reasonable to ask these questions for a childless couple because if we happen to have a kid and are locked into a house due to a downturn in the market - you'd like your kid to at least be going to the best public school in a neighborhood, even if it's average.

So... I was trying to assess which LP elementary school is best; and as a corollary, which is the most "desired" Lincoln Park neighborhood (Wrightwood Neighbors, Sheffield Neighbors, Lincoln Park, etc.) The second part question was more for fun; the first more factual I would assume.

Most motivated parents also apply to several elementary programs from without their boundary. I suppose it's a nice thought to consider the resale value but really you are thinking awfully far in advance for your own potential children since the quality of a particular school will ebb and flow with the teachers and principles who are hired and leave.

[rajman2009]

Originally Posted by surlycue

Most motivated parents also apply to several elementary programs from without their boundary. I suppose it's a nice thought to consider the resale value but really you are thinking awfully far in advance for your own potential children since the quality of a particular school will ebb and flow with the teachers and principles who are hired and leave.

Not to belabor the point, but is there any impression of which parts of Lincoln Park have the more stable value? Is it fair to say the closer to the Armitage mansions, the more established the real estate market (thus making the NW corner near Wrightwood Park, slightly more economy labile?) For my viewings, the NW corner seems to have more fairly similar tear downs, whereas the area near Armitage and Halsted seems to have the more unique architecture.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by rajman2009

Not to belabor the point, but is there any impression of which parts of Lincoln Park have the more stable value? Is it fair to say the closer to the Armitage mansions, the more established the real estate market (thus making the NW corner near Wrightwood Park, slightly more economy labile?) For my viewings, the NW corner seems to have more fairly similar tear downs, whereas the area near Armitage and Halsted seems to have the more unique architecture.

Most people that read my posts know that I am pretty harsh on Chicago, but honestly I think it can be a good option for some people.

My sister lives in Lincoln Square and loves it. She does not have kids and never will so that removes a whole level of "city uncertainty" from her decision.

I know folks that DO have kids and live in Chicago. Some are way out in Jefferson Park and live in Chicago for family ties and employment with City. They send kids to parochial schools. Other families that I know in Lakeview and Roscoe Village are pretty active in the various groups that assist parents in knowing the ins and outs of CPS. Some of them LOVE City living and others feel at least a little bit stuck as housing prices have not moved enough to let them move to their ideal situation.

When it comes to "price stability" the reality is that EVEN the MOST desirable suburbs have seen LOTS of price declines. Some is driven by factors like foreclosure either directly or nearby, changes in neighboring land use (everything from school expansion to retail encroachment), unkempt homes nearby (even tough zoning / HOA laws have to wind through courts) to random events (fires can strike anywhere and often the settlement / investigation results in an ugly shell next to your mansion for an extended period).

These same factors are present in Lincoln Park and even more factors are likely to effect values -- any sort of violence tends to tamp down real estate activity, as do store vacancies, restaurant openings, issues with parkway and road maintenance and dozens of things that are very hard to predict.

If you want to live somewhat close to some desirable features of Lincoln Park or any other spot in the region odds are that someone else will too...

Focus less on the "micro neighborhood" than the desirable locations that have no glaring negatives-- quieter is worth more than louder, privacy is worth more than over exposure, prettier is worth more than ugly, et cetera...

[Cindy1971]

You could move to the suburb of Park Ridge, which is a stone's throw from the city and very close to a city feel. The schools there are all great.

However, as I am planning to send my kid to both CPS elementary and CPS high school (Taft, in about 10 years) I may not be the best source of what you consider good. I think for the most part, as long as the school is safe and the teachers care, a kid can get a good education at any school. And the reverse is true, too.