Lincolnshire vs other Northwest suburbs? (Chicago, Arlington Heights: cul-de-sac, homes, school district)

[DancinMomof3]

My family is planning a move this summer to the Chicago area for my husband's job, in Deerfield, but he will also be traveling a lot out of O'Hare. We are coming from a very nice, safe Boston suburb with a small downtown, great schools, and a good community, and I'm hoping to find a similar town there. We have 3 children, 9, 6, and 6, and so good quality schools are the priority. Based on my research up 'til now, Lincolnshire seems to be a good fit, but it's such a huge decision without ever having been there.

So far, some of my questions are:
1) Does Lincolnshire have any downtown area?

2) Do many people "redshirt" their children in Lincolnshire or similar towns? (i.e. Do they hold their children back a year before kindergarten, to give them an advantage academically and/or in sports, etc.)

3) Does Lincolnshire have a good special education program (speech services, in particular)?

4) How does Lincolnshire compare to Lake Forest?

5) Where is the closest commuter rail into Chicago from Lincolnshire or Lake Forest? Or how long does it typically take to drive from Lincolnshire or Lake Forest into the city?

Obviously, we will need to visit and see it in person, and I plan to call, or hopefully visit, some schools as well to find out more information.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations or feedback you may have!

[mr roboto]

No Lincolnshire doesn't have a downtown. It's a beautiful area with gorgeous subdivisions but relies on other areas for most shopping.

To find a more 'Bostonian' suburb with downtown Lake Forest, Highland Park, Deerfield would fit the bill.

I don't know anything about speech programs. Stevenson is a massive school, highly regarded nationally but with the corresponding hyper-competitive environment. But it's tops in the area. In fact you pay a premium in both home price and prop tax for it.

[Lookout Kid]

What Boston suburb are you coming from? I might be able to find something that matches it very closely in Chicagoland.

Lincolnshire is a post-war cul-de-sac sort of suburb. No downtown or walk-ability of any kind

It seems a bit odd to limit your search to Lincolnshire and Lake Forest... They aren't very similar, and there are many other suburbs that might be a better fit.

[mr roboto]

To lookout kids point - if you can afford Lincolnshire the north shore is just as attainable unless you are absolutely set on D125.

My personal favorite in that area in Libertyville. More affordable than the old money North Shore, great downtown, family focused. Schools still very good.

[DancinMomof3]

Thank you both, mr. roboto and lookout kid, for your quick responses. I started with those 2 towns based on some research, but I'm definitely not tied to only those. We're coming from Winchester, MA, which definitely has walk ability in the town center, and we have sidewalks, and lots aren't huge. I don't want to feel too isolated from my neighbors, especially being new to the area.

I will look at Libertyville. Being able to afford Lincolnshire doesn't mean we need to be with "old money" at all, but I definitely am most concerned with having very good schools with services and activities for the kids, and involved parents.

Any other suggestions are welcome!

[pvande55]

Originally Posted by DancinMomof3

My family is planning a move this summer to the Chicago area for my husband's job, in Deerfield, but he will also be traveling a lot out of O'Hare. We are coming from a very nice, safe Boston suburb with a small downtown, great schools, and a good community, and I'm hoping to find a similar town there. We have 3 children, 9, 6, and 6, and so good quality schools are the priority. Based on my research up 'til now, Lincolnshire seems to be a good fit, but it's such a huge decision without ever having been there.

So far, some of my questions are:
1) Does Lincolnshire have any downtown area? No.

2) Do many people "redshirt" their children in Lincolnshire or similar towns? (i.e. Do they hold their children back a year before kindergarten, to give them an advantage academically and/or in sports, etc.)

3) Does Lincolnshire have a good special education program (speech services, in particular)?

4) How does Lincolnshire compare to Lake Forest?Lake Forest is more old money. Lincolnshire is new. Lake Forest is a City, Lincolnshire is a Village, for what that I worth. Lincolnshire is more corporate.

5) Where is the closest commuter rail into Chicago from Lincolnshire or Lake Forest? Or how long does it typically take to drive from Lincolnshire or Lake Forest into the city? Lake Forest has Metra stations on two lines, both Zone F. Lincolnshire's station is called "Prairie View," and is on a third line, the North Central. Not as many trains per day, but it serves OHare airport, which could be a plus for frequent flyers. Travel time 50 minutes to an hour. Driving, take your chances.

Obviously, we will need to visit and see it in person, and I plan to call, or hopefully visit, some schools as well to find out more information.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations or feedback you may have!

My answers above in bold.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by DancinMomof3

My family is planning a move this summer to the Chicago area for my husband's job, in Deerfield, but he will also be traveling a lot out of O'Hare. We are coming from a very nice, safe Boston suburb with a small downtown, great schools, and a good community, and I'm hoping to find a similar town there. We have 3 children, 9, 6, and 6, and so good quality schools are the priority. Based on my research up 'til now, Lincolnshire seems to be a good fit, but it's such a huge decision without ever having been there.

So far, some of my questions are:
1) Does Lincolnshire have any downtown area? NOPE. Very much developed in "car centric era" of suburbia...

2) Do many people "redshirt" their children in Lincolnshire or similar towns? (i.e. Do they hold their children back a year before kindergarten, to give them an advantage academically and/or in sports, etc.) Dubious that there any reliable stats on this. Even if schools did track it there would be huge variations year-to-year as many families with multiple kids decide it makes sense for some kids or even to just make it easier for things as mundane as car pooling...

3) Does Lincolnshire have a good special education program (speech services, in particular)? Illinois makes it hard to do other than fully comply with legislative required for special Ed. The relative ease of getting services in affluent areas is generally quite good; for things that are obvious speech related problems I have never encountered any affluent town that was other than compliant

4) How does Lincolnshire compare to Lake Forest? There have decades of building booms on the former estates / farms of 'old money' types that once were prominent in Lake Forest so there are now certainly MORE McMansions in Lake Forest than Lincolnshire. Further there has been an explosion of corporate office campuses in Lake Forest and only someone foolishly clinging to old stereotypes would mistake Lincolnshire as any more corporate than Lake Forest
5) Where is the closest commuter rail into Chicago from Lincolnshire or Lake Forest? Or how long does it typically take to drive from Lincolnshire or Lake Forest into the city? Sadly non-express service from either area is painfully slow.
Expresses only run during rush hour. Even then the North Central line, being a recent add-on that has stations not in the heart of towns but in parking lots on the fringes, is a sad example of how not to make commuter rail. Even the tie to O'Hare is a pathetic excuse, ending in a remote parking lot, far from the terminals, with very limited utility. Living in either one would be far better off driving into Chicago for entertainment / relying on cabs for airport needs ...
Obviously, we will need to visit and see it in person, and I plan to call, or hopefully visit, some schools as well to find out more information.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations or feedback you may have!

Expand your search to include more towns!

[mr roboto]

Chet knows more about the area than just about anyone but...

Lincolnshire is still more corporate/newer. It doesn't have any historic housing stock. LF still has an older part and anywhere on the lake will have some truly custom estates there. And a real downtown. Maybe LF now has as much 'corporate' office space but the feel of the town isn't one of McMansions IMO.

But west of old LF - sprawlsville to Chet's point.

[DancinMomof3]

Chet- thanks for your response. You do seem to be very well-versed in the "Chicagoland" area. May I ask you to recommend a few other towns to include in our search?

I really appreciate having this forum and the time people spend helping others!

[4122]

Lincolnshire doesn't have a downtown. I wouldn't say that the homes are super new but none of them are super old. The oldest homes in Lincolnshire are from the 50's or 60's which is not too uncommon to find. Stevenson HS offers a lot of resources for it's students even for students with learning disabilities. However, the school is so big and hyper competitive, it can be very easy for your kid to get lost in the cracks. People sometimes like bigger schools better for more resources so it depends what you're looking for.

As a parent of kid with an IEP, affluent areas or top ranked schools don't always have good special education programs. Stevenson's is pretty good though. For example, I live in nearby Highland Park (Deerfield school district) and HS District 113 does not have good special education services. However, Highland Park HS is a great school in other aspects, but their special education program; Deerfield, not so much.

Lake Forest has a nice downtown and it's very charming. East Lake Forest (where downtown is) is old money, West Lake Forest is new money. Lake Forest HS isn't a gigantic school like Stevenson, but they do have a lot of resources and is a solid school academically.

Arlington Heights would be a great option for you. Great downtown and the schools are very good and are known for having an excellent special education program. It's not as close to Deerfield as Lincolnshire and Lake Forest, but it's about 25 to 30 minutes away on average. It could be closer or further depending on where in AH, since it's a large suburb. It's only 15 to 20 minutes from O'hare though.

Look at Northbrook and Glenview also. Very close to Deerfield and closer to O'hare than Lake Forest and Lincolnshire. Schools are very good and the Glenbrook district does have a pretty good special education program.