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We are an English family moving to Chicago suburbs in January.
I've Fallen in love with the North Shore. At the moment Kenilworth has the house we want and a school we can walk to.
We are Going back again this weekend to explore other areas which will be lovely. And cheaper.
Barrington is an area of interest but am worried I'll be living in my car. Barrington has good schools but the houses are huge and I'm worried about feeling isolated once the kids are in school. What's the downtown area like? Are there ex-pats there? Is it very religious? (I am not) What about crime rates?
Any nuggets of information much appreciated,
There is a very lovely core of walkable shops, resturants, and even some opportunities for arts / entertainment. Most of the homes near the core are considerably less ostentatious than the McMansions of South Barrington. Barrington itself is no more or less religous than other suburbs, the presence of the rather large Willow Creek non-denominational congregation draws folks from a very wide geographic area. Like pretty much ALL desirable suburbs in the region crime is very low.
The friends I have that worked for firms in the region that had a global presence (including European based firms like Continental Tire or Zurich Insurance) of course had employees from Germany or Switzerland so you need not worry about being an anomalous foreigner... The various IT/ tool and automation firms between Barrington and Schaumburg further attract a wide range of firms from Asia and other regions. While traditional measurses of "racial diversity" that one finds in urban cities are not comparable the fact is there are many successful people from every part of the globe that are happy to raise their families in the desirable suburbs of the region.
Commute to Itasca might be a bit better headed to / from Barrington vs Kenilworth but neither town would afford the relative short travel of Elmhurst or Hinsdale...
Thanks Chet. I am thinking you love Hinsdale! We've actually been put off it by a few Chicagoans Who say its lovely but it's just not the North Shore! As I know I love the north shore I'm looking for alternatives that give me something the north shore doesn't - like a bigger house with a decent plot size.
I'm also considering Lake Forest as again the Itasca route is quite fast and the village sounds nice. Any views on there?
Lake Forest is even further from Itasca than Kenilworth. The "upsides" are that there are wider range of newer homes in Lake Forest, though many of them are rather distant from Lake Michigan itself so that largely diminishes the reason to choose a North Shore town... The biggest downside is that despite rather high prices throughout town there is a greater disparity of "traditional monied families" in eastern Lake Forest than in the newer areas on the western side of town. In tiny town like Kenilworth that happens a bit too, but even the most affordable spot in Kenilworth is likely decades older / more established than the western reaches of Lake Forest and the various kinds of stratification / social one-upsmanship is less overt. Of course for folks that do have too much time on their hands the skuttlebut about who played tennis / golf / bridge with whom and whatever sorts of "did not get an invite" drama will easily fill the lulls between organizing "charity balls" and waiting to find out who got cut from grandmama's will for hanging out with folks from the wrong side of the tracks...
On a more practival level -- not sure that I would really choose a longer commute unless I was going to be walking distance from Lake Michigan, and unless the salary fairies have bestowed some gigantic windfall on you for this move the price of water front homes is likely to precious.
Honestly the various biases that folks (myself included...) express have to be tempered with reality -- if you have school aged children the amount time that one can honestly spend directly enjoying Lake Michigan is very limited during the school year. During the summer it is probably likely for parents with any sense to prohibit all but the most safely conscious responsible older minors to do anything on the lake without direct supervision -- I know people that are avid competitive sailors that lived closer to smaller inland lakes than any who grew up on the North Shore...
When you remove the water front factor the differences between a desirable western suburb and a town on the North Shore are extremely narrow -- price of housing is extremely close, school quality is very similar, access to a broad range of regional amenities is quite balanced, commuting times / routes to a representative employment centers and airports largely favors west suburbs due to more central location and superior train service on BNSF -- even that edge is less important than the personal trade-off though and so long as you / your spouse are aware of the cumulative effects of spending more time in traffic to get to office / airports / central core of Chicago then you really don't need to worry about "justification".
If work location was in Lake Co or even someplace like Evanston it would be easy to say North Shore makes more sense but OTOH Itasca is still central enough that the daily commute is still under an hour, though roughly double the jaunt to / from Hinsdale -- http://goo.gl/maps/3n1CY
The drive to Barrington is a tiny bit closer than Hinsdale but due to the rather more congested nature of the roads that pass through more crowded employment areas (like Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg) actual travel times are likely longer -- http://goo.gl/maps/9nhIZ
The other downside to Barrington is, due largely to traffic issues, folks tend to venture into Chicago or other regional attractions less frequently than from more conveniently located places. This probably explains why more homes are more massive and have more features like elaborate "home theaters" -- folks don't have the time / fortitude to deal with additional hours of driving to get into Chicago.
Conversely it is relatively common among folks that live in the west suburbs to see live theater /sports after work and meet a spouse /pals that took speedy train in for dinner before the event.
The choices you face are not easy -- trying to deal with inflated "executive rentals" can be maddening when you know a place could be bought for a far more reasonable price. Of course should you buy before you understand the "trade-offs" that come with any purchase you'd be setting yourself up for some terrible "buyers's remorse" and more than a few transferred executives have had to ask to assignment cut short because such remorse makes things too stressful on their family...
Hinsdale to Itasca is 30 minutes or less in the AM-- very fast traffic flow as you remain south of Schaumburg. Glen Ellyn is a good option too, and generally fast too as straight shot on 355 is pretty speedy...
I have lived in both the North Shore (Lake Forest, Evanston) and now Barrington... They are all great areas to raise a family IMO. I love the North Shore towns for the access to the lake, the ravines I used to play in as a child, the ease of getting downtown, the more urban feel... When I moved to Barrington I missed the Lake Michigan access more than anything (these ponds they call lakes around here just don't compare!). Since I take the train, I feel access to downtown is relatively easy. I can even walk/bike to the Metra station from where I live.
I like the country/small town feel of areas of Barrington. I like that our kids have access to a great deal of open space... to run, hike, bike, cross country ski, fish, fly a kite, horseback ride, explore nature... There is an abundance of parks, prairies, forests, ponds in the area - more so than where I grew up in the North Shore (but I still do miss that lake).
Barrington downtown has some interesting shops/boutiques, small restaurants, ice cream/candy/cupcake shops, even a wine bar/Irish Pub that features live music. The area near the train station features plenty of community tent events - car shows, cruise nights, art fests, santa/holiday tree lighting, beer/wine fest, farmers market, Irish fest, 4th of July fest, etc.
Barrington is very, very family-oriented - more so than any place I have ever lived. I probably would not recommend this town to singles, couples without kids, but for my kids it is as good as it gets. Drive through town on a Friday evening and you will see lots of kids walking to the football game, sandwich/ice cream/candy shops, parks, sports fields, art class, etc... There are kids/families everywhere and much of the town activities are family/kid dominated.
Not all the houses are huge. I specifically chose to live in town, in a historic, moderately sized house so that my kids could walk to parks, shops, library, train, and school (and that is all their schools - elementary, middle, and HS). They will never need to take a school bus.
Many of their school friends do live in multi-million dollar palatial estates (in Barrington Hills, North Barrington, South Barrington). It is not uncommon for them to be invited to catered affairs in these huge homes, given by kids with access to a great deal of money. My kids have received $100 gift cards as birthday presents, from kids they barely knew. They have seen some spoiled kids. However, they have also seen the good that this kind of money can do for people in need. They also get to meet many interesting, cosmopolitan, highly educated families/parents and there are benefits to that. The North Shore and other wealthy areas have similar issues.
It is up to us parents to teach our children the value of hardwork and money. If you are uncomfortable with your children being exposed to this kind of "moneyed" lifestyle, than Barrington may not be a good fit. However, there are kids from many socioeconomic groups in this town, and my kids and I are friends with people from all walks of life, from many ethnic backgrounds.
The schools have been very good at meeting our needs for highly accelerated coursework - but like everything else, you need to understand how the system works. The overall test #'s may not be as good as some of the elite north shore districts, but IMO the opportunities are there to highly excel in many areas - academics, sports, music, art, drama, etc... The schools and community have many outstanding programs for this. This community has produced many top leaders in their fields. And many of our kids are going on to the best colleges in the nation.
The schools have a Spanish or Mandarin immersion language program (starts in 1st grade I think). Foreign language is required (daily class) starting in 6th grade - the choice is Spanish, Mandarin, Latin, German, French. There is much educational support (funding) for multiculturism/foreign language instruction in this district.
There are also plenty of ex-pats here. I am friends with 5 families from England - their kids are on the soccer teams - as well as from many other countries. There are also plenty of "corporate exec" families that stay in Barrington a few years, then move abroad to Europe, Asia, etc. then move back to Barrington. And quite a few families have second homes in other states, as well as other countries.
There is so much to do for families in this town that I never feel isolated. If anything, I feel socially overwhelmed sometimes.
Glen Ellyn is a good option too, and generally fast too as straight shot on 355 is pretty speedy...
There are at least two British expats within a block of my house in GE (both British women married to American men), so you wouldn't be alone here.
If you like the North Shore and can afford a home that works for you there, go for it. There are a lot of people who wouldn't consider anything else. But if it's too much of a stretch financially, consider other towns that have a bit of North Shore feel, but are further from the lake (like Hinsdale, La Grange, Glen Ellyn, Oak Park, River Forest, etc.)
Thanks Chet. I am thinking you love Hinsdale! We've actually been put off it by a few Chicagoans Who say its lovely but it's just not the North Shore! As I know I love the north shore I'm looking for alternatives that give me something the north shore doesn't - like a bigger house with a decent plot size.
I'm also considering Lake Forest as again the Itasca route is quite fast and the village sounds nice. Any views on there?
The North Shore to Itasca commute is not easy. It is very hard getting southwest in the morning and back again for kids' school, sport events, etc. This is the only reason I'm not living in the North Shore, on the lake.. I tried several times to find an acceptable rush hour commute from North Shore towns to Itasca area (near my office), and it was just brutal. Hence, I chose to live in the NW burbs with easy access to 53/290 S. I am not as familiar with the more southern burbs, but I have friends that do love some of the towns mentioned (Glen Elyn, La Grange, Hinsdale)... some beautiful historic houses and quaint downtowns in those areas.
OP, you may also want to look at Arlington Heights as it is off 53/290 which will help with the commute and not at the price level of some of the North Shore towns... City access, community, schools, town are also pretty nice IMO.
Last edited by GoCUBS1; 10-23-2013 at 11:41 AM..
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