Relocating to Glenview for job (Chicago, Evanston: fit in, short sales, foreclosures)

[roxieb5]

My husband is being relocated to Glenview for his job. Our biggest challenge is going to be to find an area to live that best suites our five boys. We have two in high school, two in middle school and one in grade school. We have to live in a school district with lacrosse. Our price range could be up to a million, but I would prefer to stay around $700-800K. I've seen a lot of homes listed that are expensive, but look REALLY dated....I want to be in an area that we can get the most bang for our buck, but stay within a 30 minute commute for my husband. Not sure which areas to look in - any ideas???

[chet everett]

Depending on where you are coming from I can sympathize with the perception that the Chicago region has some expensive and not up to date homes. The price range you mention, f rom $700k to about $1M is quite competitive. With five kids you understandably do not a tight house and with kids in school you will be under pressure to find a first rate district, ideally one that is also competitive in the sports your kids are involved with...

You do have lots of options. If you look in Glenview or Northbrook there are lots of houses that are served by the Glenbrook schools, because of tear downs the pricing on existing houses remains quite high. Staying nearby the situation will be much the same in desirable Northshore towns, or even heading to Park Ridge / Deerfield / Riverwoods / Lincolshire. Going a bit further afield to towns that have a larger number of newer homes you might consider Longgrove, Deerpark, Kildeer, Invnerness. Glenview itself has good access to the tollways and a commute into Lake Co. Is feasible, areas like Green Oaks or eastern Linertyville are not much more affordable, but tend to have some newer homes. Westeren Lake Forest has some similar development patterns.

If your timeline is flexible and/ or you first rent you may be able to shop some of the short sales/ foreclosures which represent the best values, but it would be unrealistic to plan on nailing one down with certainty...

[nana053]

Really dated? Not sure exactly what you mean by that.

Older houses often have charm that newer houses do not. And, the interiors may have been updated so that you have all the amenities you want.

I would suggest a trip to the area.

As far as LaCrosse goes, I think many of the High Schools have teams
Glenbrook South does

Glenview, IL - Glenbrook South High School Boys Lacrosse, Teams, Players & Recruiting

You can probably find out more from this website
IHSLA | Home

Good luck!

[Coyote27]

You have a ton of options. I've spent the past 10 years working in the area around Deerfield, but I currently live in Libertyville and work in Glenview. It takes me around 30-35 minutes to drive to and from work each day (8am-5pm schedule). If you want to stay within 30 minutes, this should be your north barrier. With your price range, there are too many towns that you would find a nice house in with a good school that has lacrosse (see IHSLA | Teams).

When you say most bang for your buck, are you talking house, yard, school district? Would you prefer a more country setting or more of in-town with good selection of activities?

[roxieb5]

Foremost on our list will be an area that has good schools and good sports (but not so competitive that only a handful of kids make teams.) We have already relocated six times and feel bad to move them again. (this would not be a choice move, but a "your position is moving to this location" relo) We want an area that is welcoming to transients. A 30 minute commute or so would be reasonable. I would like to be in an area that has a sense of "community" - things to do, neighbors who are friendly, places to bike/shop, safe for kids.

As far as "bang" - we don't want a $800K fixer upper... I like the charm of alot of the houses in Glen Ellyn, but am not attracted to houses that look like the 70's and 80's. New houses are fine too. But in all reality, the house isn't going to matter as much as putting the kids in the best fit for their needs.

We will be planning a trip, but there are so many areas that I would love to have it narrowed down to 5 or so suburbs. Otherwise, I envision it to be completely overwhelming without some insiders point of views.

Thanks for any input!!

[chet everett]

My sense, and this is just from reading the two posts you have made, is that you probably will find a better fit in north central /north west Cook Co. or Lake Co., DuPage Co. is probably farther than you would want to be unless you got very lucky with something right near the tollway in Elmhurst, or possibly Hinsdale, but the prices i n Hinsdale are almost certainly higher than you would be comfortable with. The stuff in Glen Ellyn that is very near the train and such would see you pay a high premium for a "feature" you are unlikely to use...

My experiences in the Chicago region is that "friendliness" is highly subjective, with some transferees lucking into a situation where there happen to be nice neighbors with kids of similar ages, and others unfortunately landing in block with mostly retirees, but a house that holds all their kids / stuff for a price that is within reason. Stay at home moms tend to have an easier time of integrating into the more affluent burbs as there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer and get to know others -- if you've move before you probably already know that...

Is you look closely at the list of schools that are competitive in lacrosse that will quite a task, but. One that will pay off.

[US-Traveller]

New Trier High School has an excellent LaCrosse program, as does Evanston Township High School. Evanston Township High School has the bonus of an affiliation with Northwestern University's LaCrosse program which is arguably the best in the country.

I'd look into Wilmette, Evanston, Northfield, or Glencoe. Also portions of Glenview and Skokie attend New Trier and Evanston respectively.