Job in Deerfield, where to live? (Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook: apartment complexes, foreclosed, townhouse) - Chicago Suburbs - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

LilBlossom · 03-08-2014, 11:09 AM

I've been perusing the forums, and most of the questions that relate to this, seem to be older threads, so I want to ask again.

Hubby is being offered a job in Deerfield. He's been working there for many years, so we know the commute all to well, and want to move closer to his work. We currently live in Bolingbrook, and are quite happy here, but the commute is a killer. We have 2 kids, whom are starting school soon, so the school districts are very important. How far out can we go, from Deerfield, without getting another insane commute? Lake Zurich seems the safest bet, but prices are a bit on the high side. How is Cary and Lake Crystal? Seeing how the property taxes have been going up-up-up in Grayslake, we want to avoid it, as much as I like the houses there. Any other towns that you can suggest that we might have overlooked?

pvande55 · 03-08-2014, 05:40 PM

Hard to say without price range. The best districts usually have the highest prices and taxes. Libertyville and Grayslake have good schools and train service to Deerfield but the taxes are high. Gurnee?

cpm314 · 03-08-2014, 10:16 PM

I wouldn't put grayslake and libertyville schools on the same page. Libertyville is a much more high performing district. Community wise you can't beat Libertyville, we moved from Gurnee to libertyville many years ago and have never regretted it.

BrianHunter · 03-10-2014, 10:19 AM

what about Wheeling. That would be somewhat similar to bolingbrook I would say.

cubssoxfan · 03-10-2014, 01:41 PM

Pass on Wheeling! Wheeling D21 schools that serve Wheeling students are mediocre. Prospect D23 which serves parts of Wheeling is much better. Wheeling HS is good for disciplined kids who are not easily swayed by peer pressure. Otherwise your results may vary. Crystal Lake and Cary are a HIKE to Deerfield. Going east bound in the AM and westbound in the afternoon is not easy due to insufficiently planned roads and lack of E/W expressways. Go modest on the house and invest in an area with GREAT schools. Deerfield, Northbrook, Buffalo Grove, Libertyville, Arlington Heights (D25, Hersey/Prospect HS) or Mt. Prospect (D57/prospect) are my recommendations. Lake Zurich and the Barrington area are also good.

BrianHunter · 03-10-2014, 04:14 PM

Wheeling high school is ranked higher than Bolingbrook. The OP said she was happy with Bolingbrook

cubssoxfan · 03-11-2014, 08:34 AM

And I live in the area; am telling you Wheeling D21 schools located in Wheeling are mediocre. Illinois Report Card
And high school is 8 years away since she said her kids are just starting school!!
D21 schools located in Arlington Heights that feed to Buffalo Grove HS are much better. Wheeling HS compared with Hersey and Prospect is mediocre. There are WAY more non-college bound kids at Wheeling than at Hersey, Prospect and even Buffalo Grove. If your child is resilient against peer pressure, then yes, Wheeling offers excellent academic opportunities. But if your kid is the personality type that is brought up or brought down by their peers and peer pressure, then stay clear of Wheeling!!!
The poster's kids have not even started school yet, so they have not experienced Bolingbrook schools, have no benchmark! IMO, when choosing a place to live it's ALL ABOUT THE SCHOOLS!!!!!!
We are considering a move away from Wheeling HS attendance boundary, may petition the district to have youngest attend Hersey or may send her to St. Viator. Her 8th grade splits with 1/2 going to Wheeling and 1/2 going to Hersey. Happens that the majority of bad influence kids will go to Wheeling and not Hersey. Why is this? Much larger pool of apartment complexes in WHeeling district and very few in Hersey. This affects household income and demographics which, like it or not, are definite indicators of academic success.

LilBlossom · 03-13-2014, 06:55 AM

Thanks for the feedback.

And I should have been clear, when I said I was happy with Bolingbrook, I mean the town and it's amenities, especially the park district. The schools, at least on paper, not so much. Our eldest starts kindergarten in the fall, so until then, I can't comment. The reason I asked about Cary and Crystal Lake was because of their high scoring schools. But yes, using google map, I see that at the time of posting this, travel time is 54 minutes, which leaves us with the same commute as from Bolingbrook (on a good day).

Our budget isn't the biggest out there, we don't want to be house poor. We've set the upper limit to $225 000, though it's somewhat flexible.

cubssoxfan · 03-14-2014, 09:07 AM

If it's me, I'm getting a nice townhouse in a GREAT school district, instead of a house in a meh school district.

chet everett · 03-14-2014, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

If it's me, I'm getting a nice townhouse in a GREAT school district, instead of a house in a meh school district.

...."somewhat flexible". I mean $225K is not going to get even a really nice townhouse in most decent areas that are within a reasonable distance of Deerfield. Don't get me wrong, I know all about budgets and you if really do not have the means for a $300K house that is one thing but to be "somewhat flexible" is not really going to help.

When comes to schools I like cubsoxfan suggest to go for a GREAT schools district. The problem is that even if you go shopping for some ultra bargain gut job foreclosed townhouse at $225K you will have no luck in truly great schools district. Upping the budget another $25K or more would open up some actual possibilities...

Personally if you really can stretch it makes a ton more sense to go for a single family detached house. My gut says if you really shop hard and get lucky and don't mind a bit of "fixer upper" that can happen under $300k, but it won't happen at $225K...