Barrington vs. Libertyille (Chicago, Palatine, Libertyville: houses, transfer, neighborhoods)

[TofuEater]

Hello-
My family and I are planning to move. We have narrowed it down to either Libertyville or Barrington. I'd love to hear any and all opinions on these areas.

A bit about us and our needs -
- budget 700-850k
- Want a 4 bedroom house, and hopefully a large basement. House itself shouldn't be too massive, though. I'm not a big fan of houses bigger than 3000 or 3500 square feet. I'd rather have a 2800 square foot house, well built and in a good neighborhood than a 6000 square foot place in mansionville anyday.
- want nice walkability to parks, sidewalks in neighborhoods, and a downtown of some sort
- We have two kids, both are very gifted and require a district with a good gifted program and flexibility (we are considering sending them to Quest Academy, a private gifted school, if the public schools aren't up to the task - but of course we'd prefer to not have to spend that $ is possible!)
- Commute is not an issue as we work from home
- Preference would be for easy driving, not too much congestion, easy turns out of neighborhoods (lights or four-way stops, so no hard left turns on to major busy roads) I drive like an old lady and those left turns in heavy traffic are just really sad for me.

We are leaning heavily towards Libertyville right now. We know the Barrington schools have a great gifted program, one that actually recognizes the difference between a profoundly gifted kid versus a moderately gifted kid. But that is the only major plus of Barrington as far as we can see. (And, yes, to us it is major.) The traffic seem worse in that area, the neighborhoods a bit more congested (if you want to live in walking distance to town - which we would). My husband has a biased against Barrington because he said the kids he met in college that were from Barrington seemed a bit snooty. (No offense intended to anyone here from Barrington! I'm sure his biases don't hold water for most residents!) We'd rather raise our kids in a community with a bit more socio-economic diversity and not just have them surrounded by rich families.

Libertyville seems to have a really nice community feel. The schools are very good. I'm not sure if they'll meet our kids needs as their gifted program doesn't begin until 4th grade. We've spoken with the schools, and they do say they differentiate curriculum (but, then, they ALL say that nowadays!). The schools have a good reputation, and I can tell the principals, teachers, and parents care and are involved.

But, if needed, we were thinking we could enroll them in the private gifted school until 3rd grade and then transfer them to the public schools once the gifted program kicks in. This private school is in Palatine. Google maps claims the commute would be just 30 minutes, but I imagine with traffic it would be more - maybe 45? Anyone have a feel for traffic between Libertyville and Palatine - probably taking 83?

I would love to hear from anyone living in Barrington what their thoughts are on the town. Same with Libertyville. I think both seem like really nice communities, but it's hard to know for sure until you actually live there.

Thanks, everyone!

[middle-aged mom]

Both are rock solid communities.

The commute between Libertyville and Quest Academy will position you in the middle of traffic congestion and will likely require you to be on the road 3.5-4 hours each day, to transport your children to/from school. Please consider test driving from Libertyville town center to Quest/return during both weekday commuting hours to compare reality to the timeframes suggested by Mapquest.

Assuming you can afford the tuition to Quest it may become increasingly challenging to be satisfied with public education.

Given you prefer to be within walking distance to the center of town, you are talking about the Village of Barrington, which generally trends similar to Libertyville from an economic standpoint.

In my opinion, snoot is in the eyes/ears of the beholder. Your husband was likely 20 years old when he met some kids from Barrington and acquired his perceptions.

There are people everywhere who feel entitled to all sorts of things and appear obessed with looking down on others, just because. While not your intent, your quest ( pun intended) to place your children in gifted education programs might be perceived as snooty, by some.

I can relate to old lady driving habits. There are times of the day when it is more challenging to turn left onto Lake-Cook Rd from my neighborhood. Either I wait it out or compensate and turn right and use a different route to my destination. That the heart of the Village of Barrington is a two-lane road is a part of the charm, or so I keep telling myself

Again, both are solid family communities.

[chet everett]

Superior academics generally would not be something I equate with either community. It is true that the vast majority of school districts in the region profess "differentiated curriculum" but in practice that generally means that kids that are a bit quicker to pick up on something are allowed a bit more latitude in doing more challenging material and not forced to spend as much time preparing for the mostly trivial state mandated tests.

If you are looking for "Little Man Tate"-type profoundly gifted programs you are moving to the wrong state at the wrong time. Illinois has used bond re-financing and every other trick in the desperate debtors book and now is facing the collapse of its ability to fund anything other than constitutionally mandated defined benefit programs for connected workers.

The statistic I'd be looking for is buried in the state report cards. The relative "property wealth per child" is a measure for how likely a district is to able spend money on gifted programs and other non-mandatory costs that advocates would like...

[TofuEater]

Middle Age Mom --
Thank you so much for your response!

Yes, snootiness is a very subjective thing. I am speaking about finances and the kids gifted needs much more boldly here than I would with family and friends. 99.9% of people don't need or want to know these aspects of our personal lives.

The gifted issue I sort of see as being similar to a parent that needs special education services. At the recommendation of our pediatrician we consulted with an educational psych who tested the kids and found they fell into the profoundly gifted IQ range. It isn't just a matter of being advanced, but really of learning in a different way. Putting them in a standard classroom can lead to a lot of problems. So, again, we see it as just a special education service that our kids need. There is definitely a perception by many that gifted programing is elitist, and we are sensitive about that. We never discuss giftedness with friends or family (other than one set of grandparents). I wish it could just be viewed for what it is - a necessary accommodation for kids that happen to be a little different.

Great advice on making that drive - we will try that! Thanks again for your response!

[TofuEater]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Superior academics generally would not be something I equate with either community. It is true that the vast majority of school districts in the region profess "differentiated curriculum" but in practice that generally means that kids that are a bit quicker to pick up on something are allowed a bit more latitude in doing more challenging material and not forced to spend as much time preparing for the mostly trivial state mandated tests.

If you are looking for "Little Man Tate"-type profoundly gifted programs you are moving to the wrong state at the wrong time. Illinois has used bond re-financing and every other trick in the desperate debtors book and now is facing the collapse of its ability to fund anything other than constitutionally mandated defined benefit programs for connected workers.

The statistic I'd be looking for is buried in the state report cards. The relative "property wealth per child" is a measure for how likely a district is to able spend money on gifted programs and other non-mandatory costs that advocates would like...

Thank you for this. Yes, we are looking for services for profoundly gifted kids - not simply advanced or bright. Most standard gifted programs won't even be sufficient unless they are willing to make accommodations. Flexibility is really a key ingredient we are looking for in a school.

Illinois isn't great for gifted programs in general because they aren't required. Wisconsin is better in that regard. However, we don't want to stray to far from the Chicago Suburbs because we have parents that are aging and have every increasing need for assistance, so we want to be nearby - at least within a couple of hours drive.

Honestly, the more we've been researching our options the more it seems likely that a private school will be necessary. Although, frankly, we aren't even convinced that Quest would have the flexibility needed. They have lots of moderately and highly gifted kids... but once you cross a certain threshold it's just a different set of challenges. It's also likely that a homeschool/tutor situation might have to be what works. I think we will have a huge challenge with educating these children no matter where we live.

So with all of that in mind, we figure we should live in a community that offers the sort of environment we'd want to live in. Good parks, good kid-friendly activities, safe, walkable, etc.

Thanks again for your response!