Does anyone know anything about Crete, IL? (Chicago, Princeton: how much, new house)

[mylittlesnoopy]

My husband got a job in the Chicago Loop and we're currently looking at houses online (we're in Colorado now) and it seems like you can get more for your money there. What is the catch? School systems good? How far is the commute? I know it's 30 miles - but roughly what is the drive time? Thanks for anyone that can help.

[Jons99]

Originally Posted by mylittlesnoopy

My husband got a job in the Chicago Loop and we're currently looking at houses online (we're in Colorado now) and it seems like you can get more for your money there. What is the catch? School systems good? How far is the commute? I know it's 30 miles - but roughly what is the drive time? Thanks for anyone that can help.

If you want to move that far out, I would suggest going a shade farther and looking at Peotone, Beecher or even Manteno, they are nicer towns, more rural with better schools..

[Mamama Mia]

Crete is diverse. Peotone, Beecher, Manteno are not.
The school district is about 5 times the size of the 3 smaller communities since it takes in all of Crete and Monee townships. We have several families of friends who reside in Crete and Monee (I have posted about this in other threads) who absolutely love the community and their children are products of the public schools and are doing extremely well in top tier universities. These are wonderful families who are very involved and civic minded and would make perfect neighbors.
There are with beautiful wooded lots that are comparable with any place in the western suburbs or the north shore. Plum Creek Nature Center is there with great trails and opportunites for winter sledding. The library in Crete is new and beautiful, as is the high school.
Another advantage, as I see it, is that Crete is right near I-394 and we can get from downtown to Crete in 45 minutes.

[Jons99]

Crete-Monee is a horrible high school...

[Mamama Mia]

Originally Posted by Jons99

Crete-Monee is a horrible high school...

The people who have kids who go there don't feel that way. Their kids attend or graduated from Princeton, West Point, Northwestern, Vanderbilt and the University of Chicago. All were accepted to every Big 10 to which they applied.

[At1WithNature]

Crete has some $800 to $900 thousand dollar homes sprinkled in with a lot of older ones. You could do worse than Crete. There's some new houses/subdivisions off of Richton Rd.

[Mamama Mia]

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

Crete has some $800 to $900 thousand dollar homes sprinkled in with a lot of older ones. You could do worse than Crete. There's some new houses/subdivisions off of Richton Rd.

I agree.
Off of Klemme and south of Exchange, many valued over a million. Balmoral Woods (a golf course subdivision), Jacob's Woods and others east of I-394 have amazing homes. I love that they all have some land and wooded lots.

[Jons99]

Originally Posted by Mamama Mia

The people who have kids who go there don't feel that way. Their kids attend or graduated from Princeton, West Point, Northwestern, Vanderbilt and the University of Chicago. All were accepted to every Big 10 to which they applied.

Their test scores are amongst the lowest in the suburbs..

[Mamama Mia]

Originally Posted by Jons99

Their test scores are amongst the lowest in the suburbs..

It is a diverse population and has a high mobility rate which are directly correlated to the test scores. There are plenty of other districts with scores much worse.

[Jons99]

At the high school, about 30% of their kids are meeting the state standards, not sure how much worse other schools can be. There are just much better options in that area..