Please Help With Info on Kenilworth

[portiamills]

Thank you so much to everyone who helped me get a better understanding of the area. My husband just found out that he has to start sooner than we expected, so we are renting in Chicago's Lincoln Park until we find our house. We are working with a realtor and looking at Kenilworth and Winnetka, but mostly Kenilworth and we will hopefully purchase something by the New Year.

We just moved into our new house (even though the movers are packing up our old house) and we like Chicago quite a bit. We are welcomed by snow and wind and while it was expected, it is a huge shock. The sheer beauty of this city and the surrounding areas are unmatched and once we get settled we will look for preschools and all sorts of other fun activities.

We aren't as close to the lake as I would like, but that is what you get when you get a quick rental. The homes that we are looking at are all within blocks of your beautiful lakeshore and I can't believe that this really is a lake. I mean this feels more like home than we would have ever thought.

Hubby and I will spend our first Christmas away from family (because we have only been here for a few days) and it will be quite difficult, but I can't wait to discover all that Chicago has to offer in the upcoming days, weeks, and months.

Thank you again... your insight has been invaluable.
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[Sarah H.]

Welcome to Chicago! Glad you like it. Lincoln Park is great and really fun with kids.

The best thing about living downtown in the winter (besides the beauty of fresh snow) is grocery delivery. Treasure Island and The Market Place deliver. There may be others but I shopped at these stores mostly when I lived in Lincoln Park. There are also local pharmacies that deliver- really nice with little ones. I used Parkway but now that they're owned by Walgreens they may not be an option.

It's nice you're getting a taste of the city before moving out to the suburbs. There's so much to do (go to Lincoln Park's Zoo Lights during the holidays) and if you stay until spring it's even better.

Enjoy! And Merry Christmas!

[chicagobound?]

Here's one last plug: while you're searching on the North Shore, you might want to give Glencoe a look. It's in between Winnetka & Kennilworth in size (about 9,000 people) and has recently experienced a large influx of young families. It's a wonderful, tight-knit community and has an interesting history with a small but dedicated African-American population. We have a "diversity" of religions (many interfaith marriages) and people take pride in the town's safety, excellent schools and proximity to the lake.

I'd be happy to chat with you offline if you'd like to talk more. I grew up in the Boston 'burbs and know exactly what country club you referred to. I am also a product of a prep school education and always intended on sending my kids to private school, but thus far have been so impressed with the Glencoe schools and resources that I don't know if we'll ever take the kids out...Good luck in your search: it sounds like you are a very interesting, well-educated person who will be welcomed into any community you choose!

[mdwest transplant]

Originally Posted by Rlest8

Winnetka is not at all like Kenilworth. Winnetka has 4800 households, Kenilworth under 800. Most people in Winnetka are not at all going to be concerned with skin color. Your educations, professions and lifestyles are going to be much more important and interesting to most in Winnetka.

This realtor obviously has more homes to sell in Winnetka than Kenilworth - which makes sense since K is very small - but I feel a need to set the record straight. I have lived in both communities, still do, and the people in Winnetka and Kenilworth are absolutely alike, and I would include the "CAGE" area of Wilmette also (ask your realtor what this is), as we are one large community along the lakefront. Lovely historic homes, good schools and welcoming, well-educated families.

In response to the question of a mixed race family moving here, the vast majority of us would not only welcome you with open arms, we would celebrate the addition of some racial diversity into the New Trier school district! I think the racial and religious biases that did exist generations ago are almost entirely gone now. We are a new generation. Even in Kenilworth, Winnetka, Hinsdale, Lake Forest, etc. Hoping you come to Sears!

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by mdwest transplant

This realtor obviously has more homes to sell in Winnetka than Kenilworth - which makes sense since K is very small - but I feel a need to set the record straight. I have lived in both communities, still do, and the people in Winnetka and Kenilworth are absolutely alike, and I would include the "CAGE" area of Wilmette also (ask your realtor what this is), as we are one large community along the lakefront. Lovely historic homes, good schools and welcoming, well-educated families.

In response to the question of a mixed race family moving here, the vast majority of us would not only welcome you with open arms, we would celebrate the addition of some racial diversity into the New Trier school district! I think the racial and religious biases that did exist generations ago are almost entirely gone now. We are a new generation. Even in Kenilworth, Winnetka, Hinsdale, Lake Forest, etc. Hoping you come to Sears!

I too have lived in both towns and agree with everything you say.

[Rlest8]

Originally Posted by mdwest transplant

This realtor obviously has more homes to sell in Winnetka than Kenilworth - which makes sense since K is very small - but I feel a need to set the record straight. I have lived in both communities, still do, and the people in Winnetka and Kenilworth are absolutely alike, and I would include the "CAGE" area of Wilmette also (ask your realtor what this is), as we are one large community along the lakefront. Lovely historic homes, good schools and welcoming, well-educated families.

In response to the question of a mixed race family moving here, the vast majority of us would not only welcome you with open arms, we would celebrate the addition of some racial diversity into the New Trier school district! I think the racial and religious biases that did exist generations ago are almost entirely gone now. We are a new generation. Even in Kenilworth, Winnetka, Hinsdale, Lake Forest, etc. Hoping you come to Sears!

I was referring to the population, size and schools. The two towns are very different. It is sweet that you would like Kenilworth to become more diverse. According to this site there are no African Americans in Kenilworth. Kenilworth, IL » Job listings, ZIP codes, demographics, income stats, schools & more

No idea why you would say I have more homes to sell in Kenilworth. Although Kenilworth is so very oversupplied (just doesn't have the cache it once had) I just sold another one there. I was simply trying to inform the OP that Kenilworth is really very different from many other North Shore communities.