Lake Bluff/ Lake Forest/ Libertyville (Highland Park, Deerfield: buying a home, buying, school districts)

[gracie97]

Anyone have any input/ insight into these three towns? We're considering buying a home in the area so we're close to 41 but don't know much about the towns. Thank you!

[chet everett]

Why do you need / want to be close to Rt 41??

Most folks would recommend putting some distance between yourself and a major thoroughfare. Money will probably go farther in Libertyville than Lake Bluff, though depending on your preference for size & age one might a better fit. Lake Forest is going to be pricier unless you gate something on a location challenged site...

Kids? Work? Budget? Tastes?

[MSchemist80]

My impression of Lake Bluff and Lake Forest are that most of the homes are $1E6+ very exclusive. Libertyville is further west but there are more middle class areas. How about Deerfield? It is closer to 41 and had plenty of middle class areas.

Bottom line we need to know something about your budget.

[chicagojlo]

I live in Lake Bluff and in fact it's not as snooty as people assume. There are families from all income levels here, and I think people feel welcome.

Lake Forest has pretty low property taxes in relation to other nearby towns which is a big plus for me.

Libertyville is the largest of the 3, again there are families from all income levels here.

All 3 school districts are excellent, all have good Metra connections, all are easily accessible by car.

[cpm314]

We just bought a home in Libertyville and were looking in the same three areas: Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and Libertyville (with some soft searches in Deerfield and Highland Park). Our budget was ~460K and we wanted a great community feel with great schools.

From what we saw in Lake Forest there were a few ranch homes that were in the price range but nothing that was really that impressive. It does have a nice downtown but interacting with the people you could tell it was a bit 'stuffy' and lots of old money. We aren't from that background and I didn't really want my kids to feel constant pressure with trying to keep up with their friend's families..

Lake Bluff was nice and they had a few houses within walking distance of downtown and had a great community feel. You could get more than Lake Forest for the money but the downtown was the least impressive and other than bluffvina and the 4th of July parade it didn't seem to be a 'hub of activity.'

Libertyville is the largest area but the community really seems to rally around the schools. Most business sponser a student and you can always see cars with a Libertyville Highschool sticker on it. The downtown has lots of energy and there is always something going on throughout the year. Houses were more reasonably priced and the community is just great.

All three areas of great schools and you can't go wrong but for us Libertyville was the clear winner.

We liked Deerfield but it didn't have a traditional downtown area that was walkable. The taxes seemed high, and houses didn't seem to justify the price. The schools are great but again it didn't have the community involvement feel to it.

Highland Park has some nice areas, Ravina, botanic garden, etc but we couldn't find what we wanted within walking distance and the schools didn't rank as high (although they are very good).

[gracie97]

Hi- Sorry, I didn't really give any details, did I? My husband is taking a job over the border in Wisconsin and 41 is the best way to get there. We don't really want to go any further south, but we don't need to be right next to the highway, just accessible. We are looking for houses in the 700-800 range, and we have little children. Prefer a little more lawn space/ trees if possible? Thank you all!

[chet everett]

If you have not yet driven around norther Lake Co you might be surprised how many ways there are to cross through the "cheddar curtain" into Wisconsin.

Secondary routes like Dilley's Rd, Hunt Club Rd, or even 94 or 131/Green Bay Rd may all be good alternates.

I think Libertyville has much wider range of inventory in the $700-800k range, also look to Green Oaks.

If you want something a little more rural there are town in southern Wisconsin that have terrific value too.

Originally Posted by gracie97

Hi- Sorry, I didn't really give any details, did I? My husband is taking a job over the border in Wisconsin and 41 is the best way to get there. We don't really want to go any further south, but we don't need to be right next to the highway, just accessible. We are looking for houses in the 700-800 range, and we have little children. Prefer a little more lawn space/ trees if possible? Thank you all!

[MSchemist80]

Also rt-41 merges with 94 just before WI so anything adjacent to the I-94 tollway should also be good. However living along the Union Pacific North Metra line makes public transit an option though you may need a ride from wherever you work to either the Winthrop Harbor or Kenosha station.

[gracie97]

He works some pretty weird hours (leaves the house at 530am), so public trans isn't usually an option. Do any of these places have more/ less in the way of lot size, trees, green spaces?

[reppin_the_847]

Lake Bluff & Lake Forest are closer to 41, but Libertyville (particularly the eastern half of it) is closer to the 94 toll road. I personally find the toll road to be the faster way to get into Wisconsin but to each their own. Libertyville will probably get you more for your money, but you also asked about green spaces, trees etc. There are some parts of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff that just seem to be sculpted so beautifully and seems rather difficult to replicate anywhere other than near the Lake Michigan shorelines. You need to drive through these areas to see what I'm talking about. If you pick Libertyville, avoid going too far west (ie. Butterfield Road areas), because that's a solid 5 or 6 mile trek just to get to the 94 toll road and this is a prime chance to make your husband's long commute a bit shorter.