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If looking in the city, include Ravenswood *Manor* as well as Ravenswood when searching. The manor is a pretty little triangle along & west of the river. It's seems like a great community, lots of kids, festivals. Seem to be many lovely SFHs & 2 flats. The local public, Waters, is very good, & neighborhood associations are very active. It'd still be a bubble, but there's more economic diversity. So even if you use an expensive private school, it might not feel so segregated.
The commute to ORD is similar distance-wise, but traffic-wise it getting into the city could be worse. Especially on Fridays.
Yes, this is another great example of target area in the city! To the east you can walk to downtown Lincoln Squares restaurants, shops, etc but with Albany Park just to the west it is also more economically and socially diverse. Literally, if you drive a minute or so west of there, you will not feel in any sort of "bubble". (I have driven it so many times, I cannot count.) Yes, traffic is not the best anywhere in the city but you can walk, bike, etc when staying local.
Avoiding affluence? In Lincoln Square and Ravenswood ?!?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jvr789
OP - I think a move to the Northside area of Chicago and sending the kids to British School or the new Lycee French school may be worth checking out given your comments. Maybe these international schools will do a better job meeting your international expectations on education (can't hurt to at least check them out). As for living, based on your comments regarding Winnetka, don't look to live in an area like Lincoln Park or Lakeview. Choose something which is still on the safe side but has more of a mix in terms of economics in neighboring areas (I'm thinking of an area like Ravenswood or Lincoln Square). You are close enough to drive down and check out some of these areas to get a feel for the vibe.
If anything that "vibe" of folks who at least are sending their kids to the local public schools in nice suburb is probably more civic minded that those utilizing costly private schools, as is increasingly common among the well off in areas with inferior local schools...
The OP's complaints about Winnetka not being her ideal place to raise kids, as she saw her hometown in England some 42 years ago, might very be echoed by a current resident of that hamlet if it was the sort of place once favored by Sloan Rangers, who are seeing themselves priced out by those with Russian "petrodollars" -- Sloane Rangers are 'heading for extinction' - Telegraph
I just got back from an overseas holiday and it was interesting to see how much challenges in the Eurozone are similar to the issues that we face in terms of income stratification and such...
Others have said the biggest influence on kids is the values of their parents; if the OP wants organic foods they can choose to either patronize a store inside "the bubble" http://www.artisanalwilmette.com/pro...e-cured-meats/ or, at least every once in a while, strap the kids into their car seats and see what things are like for the 98% up the road Waukegan Aldi Weekly Ad Categories
The OP seems to be a thoughtful mom. I applaud her honesty There is a lot of value to living in a nice town but making a conscious effort to have kids do things like wash their own dishes, do their own laundry, when they're old enough cut the lawn, get a part-time job and generally not take their pleasant surrounding for granted. It is easy to idealize things like potential friendship between a kid whose dad has client that cause him to accumulate global frequent flier miles and some other child whose parents have never been to an airport, but the reality is the various decisions about what we do end up having consequences.
Relocation will have a different set of challenges and is unlikely to solve more problems than it creates...
If anything that "vibe" of folks who at least are sending their kids to the local public schools in nice suburb is probably more civic minded that those utilizing costly private schools, as is increasingly common among the well off in areas with inferior local schools...
The OP's complaints about Winnetka not being her ideal place to raise kids, as she saw her hometown in England some 42 years ago, might very be echoed by a current resident of that hamlet if it was the sort of place once favored by Sloan Rangers, who are seeing themselves priced out by those with Russian "petrodollars" -- Sloane Rangers are 'heading for extinction' - Telegraph
I just got back from an overseas holiday and it was interesting to see how much challenges in the Eurozone are similar to the issues that we face in terms of income stratification and such...
Others have said the biggest influence on kids is the values of their parents; if the OP wants organic foods they can choose to either patronize a store inside "the bubble" http://www.artisanalwilmette.com/pro...e-cured-meats/ or, at least every once in a while, strap the kids into their car seats and see what things are like for the 98% up the road Waukegan Aldi Weekly Ad Categories
The OP seems to be a thoughtful mom. I applaud her honesty There is a lot of value to living in a nice town but making a conscious effort to have kids do things like wash their own dishes, do their own laundry, when they're old enough cut the lawn, get a part-time job and generally not take their pleasant surrounding for granted. It is easy to idealize things like potential friendship between a kid whose dad has client that cause him to accumulate global frequent flier miles and some other child whose parents have never been to an airport, but the reality is the various decisions about what we do end up having consequences.
Relocation will have a different set of challenges and is unlikely to solve more problems than it creates...
I didn't think I had anything to add to this thread, but your post struck a chord with me. I grew up in Oak Park and River Forest, and at least at the time when I was growing up (late 60's, 70's and 80's), there was tremendous diversity there. And not just ethnic diversity, but tremendous socioeconomic diversity. Kids from families from ALL walks of life all the way from famous people, brilliant doctors, down to welfare recipients and everything in between. We kids did actually integrate at school, and while your core group of friends tended to be the ones who lived closest to your home (which most likely meant they were similar to you in general), depending upon the classes you took or the activities you chose to participate in, you really did become friends with people from across an extremely broad spectrum. My family was firmly lower middle class, white, European descent. We didn't have much at all, but we weren't on any kind of assistance. I think when my folks got a divorce when I was 9, my Mom qualified for food stamps, but she never took them. But the point is we were very far from being rich or even "comfortable".
That said, we ate all kinds of ethnic foods (my best friend was half black and half Greek, so I ate Greek food and traditional southern black food at my friend's house - things like collards and black eyed peas, Moussaka, etc.), I ate Korean food, Eastern European food (Czech, Polish, etc.), Mexican (my Mom had never eaten an avocado or guacamole before until I brought some home after we ate some at school from some hispanic kid who brought it in) and a whole host of other stuff at a time when ethnic food in most places just wasn't typical - of course now we take ethnic food for granted - it's everywhere. But back then, America ate meat loaf, spaghetti and hamburgers, etc. and hardly anyone went out to eat so there weren't many restaurants in general. So it was really, really cool that we were exposed to all that culture.
We played with kids in houses that ranged from totally opulent (one had 32 telephones and an indoor bowling alley) to the biggest dumps you would ever see. And we kids didn't bat an eyelash. We noticed the differences, but we didn't treat each other any differently for the most part (I admit there were some snobby kids, but most were "normal").
Being exposed to SO many different kinds of people did me a HUGE service that I didn't fully realize until I was much, much older. So I can totally see the OP's desire for something "more" than what seems to her like a totally homogeneous community.
I have no idea if OP and RF are still the same now - I haven't lived there in over 30 years, so I'm not necessarily recommending that area for the OP. But I can see why this is an issue for her.
Last edited by Bellamouse; 06-04-2016 at 12:42 PM..
If anything that "vibe" of folks who at least are sending their kids to the local public schools in nice suburb is probably more civic minded that those utilizing costly private schools, as is increasingly common among the well off in areas with inferior local schools...
That's what I don't understand. There are plenty of middle class kids going to New Trier. There are lots of "regular" families who choose to sacrifice to live in the district, and there are plenty of semi-affordable areas within the district, especially in Northfield and West Wilmette. Maybe not poor folks, but plenty of regular people (teachers, govt. workers, accountants, nurses and the like).
In contrast, probably 90% of wealthy people in Chicago proper have their kids attending expensive, elitist private schools that are both far more exclusionary than NT and generally lower performing.
If it has not been suggested already, why not consider the British School and living in the city? If London-type diversity is what you are after, the closest thing would be to live in the city in a neighborhood like Uptown. Also, I agree with you; U.S. public education is fairly different from the standard UK curriculum. If you are planning to return to the UK, I think that the British School is your best and most reasonable option.
If it has not been suggested already, why not consider the British School and living in the city? If London-type diversity is what you are after, the closest thing would be to live in the city in a neighborhood like Uptown.
Uptown is a low income, high crime neighborhood. That would be quite the change from Winnetka.
As an upper class family living in Evanston, we are very happy. Kids are in private schools but we might also try our public system soon as well. They have friends of every race and class. Walking around town, they see and recognize poverty and privilege (they are preK). Plenty of enrichment opportunities are available within blocks -- music, gifted classes, etc, but nothing feels quite so ...exclusive, if you will.
I grew up poor and dislike Winnetka feel. Even Wilmette is too much for me, but Evanston really hits the spot. The lake is wonderful to have so near, and the public beaches here welcome all people and host wonderful art festivals and concerts in summer. If you do not want to move far, do consider it!
Hi, I like Evanston great schools and near the city and you might like the diversity. To top it off you can go to the beach and lots of restaurants. Not sure why would you ever go to the north shore. Do your home work and you will see why you will like Evanston. Good luck!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Finp06
So don't hate me but I think we need to get out of Winnetka. We've been here 2 1/2 years.
We are considering a move next Summer either to another suburb locally or out of State.
We have made many friends and my kids are happy so this is a big decision because I'm just not getting 'enough'. Plus the D36 school district isn't great for a Brit family which will probably end up back in England eventually where there is a more rigorous system in Grade school. (Not saying better btw - but it is further ahead and I need to be mindful of that)
As a Brit, used to more people in less space I really struggle with the segregation here both of color and wealth. I find it bizarre to be surrounded by hundreds of wealthy families with the only 'poor' ones being shop, restaurant workers and trades.
My expensive home town in England had streets of incredible wealth down to streets of social housing. Of course there was separation but the town was buzzing with many bars, restaurants, coffee shops and retail shops where all 'classes' of people frequented.
I know that I can't compare my old life to my new life and I don't expect to get the same way of living and I'm excited to try new areas so I just need to know - are there other areas I should look at? And where are they? My husband has a national job so needs to be commutable to O'hare.
I'm already aware of Wilmette, Glencoe, Northfield, Kenilworth, Highland Park, Glenview and am not interested in them - so where else?
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Avoiding affluence? In Lincoln Square and Ravenswood ?!?
