Need input on Highland Park, Lake Forest, Glencoe, Northbrook... and Long Grove (Chicago: short sales, foreclosures)

[freeper]

Originally Posted by JenGD

Please let me know about the kinds of people in each......are some easier to integrate into than others?

Someone deleted a prior post that suggested that you consider the demographics in the suburbs (as you would any suburb), more specifically Jewish vs. White Christian cultural divide. I have no idea why "demographics" cannot be discussed with North Shore suburbs, like it is with Humboldt Park, Lansing, or any of the other threads here. You should most definitely study the demographics of the school district your child will enter, as you would with any school district.

[chitownnburbs4eva]

Quote:
Originally Posted by JenGD
Hi, my family is looking to move to northern suburbs... We need to know more about them... I'd like to find a community w/ the following (in order of importance):

- good schools
- a real community feel (cute downtown, lots of trees, walkability, HS football on friday nights, maybe even a 4th of july parade)
- family friendly (preK kids)
- easy commute to Lake Forest
- well educated, down-to-earth people

Any info would be most welcome -- thanks in advance for your time[/quote]

May I ask why you discarded Libertyville from your list?

Good Schools- Libertyville has some of the best schools in the state and it's as good if not better than the Naperville schools.

Real Community Feel- Libertyville is probably the most unified community in Lake County with incredible school spirit and numerous events downtown (Libertyville has been awarded the Mainstreet USA award). Plus football is huge in this town with a stadium with artificial turf (I think they had a jumbotron too) and every game being a sellout.

Easy Commute to Lake Forest- Probably around a 5-15 minute commute depending where you live.

Also St. Joseph's Church in Libertyville is one of the biggest Catholic Churches in Lake County.

So, to conclude, Libertyville is basically a smaller version of Naperville fitting all the criteria you request.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Paige65

The one thing that is unsettling to me about HP is the bar/bat mitzvah scene, which appears to be one party more lavish than the next.

IMHO, HP tends to be as insular a suburb as it gets. More so than other suburbs with heavily Jewish populations. I've lived in HP two times as a kid and as an adult and like it very much. But it comes across as a very closed off world of its own.

North Shore towns south of it like Glencoe, Winnetka, and Wilmette, are far less set apart due to their sharing of New Trier and their proximity to Chicago (Wilmette itself opens up more due to being next door to Evanston).

The North Shore is a funny place. Due to the lakefront and the fact that the Edens Expy basically parallels the lakeshore on the opposite side, North Shore towns see little through traffic. They are not part of the "general landscape". Their two major north/south connections, Sheridan and Green Bay roads are not subject to the heavy traffic volumes of towns to the west and even the commercial one of the two, GBR, is mainly a local conduit. The downtown areas along Green Bay still have a local feel to them. Contrast that with places like Deerfield and Glenview to the west where streets like Waukegan, Deerfield Rd and Glenview Rd are through routes.

And, to me, HP comes across as the most set apart. I could say something similiar about Lake Forest but it comes across as a different type of suburb than the others in its larger estates behind walls atmosphere in many of the neighborhoods east of the Metra tracks.

[edsg25]

I do not want to overplay the following, but it may be a factor to some:

Topographically, the North Shore and the money belt in the n.w. suburbs (Long Grove, the Barringtons, Inverness, etc.) are quite different.

The North Shore is heavily wooded. Lot sizes, while often impressive, are somewhat constrained by the huge cost of real estate. Street grids do exist (interspersed with winding streets in areas that have ravines) and walkable and the downtowns are real downtowns.

Long Grove and its neighbors are heavy into native grasses and letting landscaping go more natural. Lot sizes are less restrictive by land that is still exceedingly expensive but not as high as the over-the-top lakefront oriented North Shore. These areas tend to have hills more than ravines like the North Shore and those hills (really just pleasant rolls to the land) tend to divide each town, aided by the more subdivision than neighborhood quality of their residential areas; a very sharp contrast from the North Shore. These towns lack the North Shore type of downtown except for Barrington due to its being on the UP/NW Metra line.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by freeper

Someone deleted a prior post that suggested that you consider the demographics in the suburbs (as you would any suburb), more specifically Jewish vs. White Christian cultural divide. I have no idea why "demographics" cannot be discussed with North Shore suburbs, like it is with Humboldt Park, Lansing, or any of the other threads here. You should most definitely study the demographics of the school district your child will enter, as you would with any school district.

I agree. For the record, I'm Jewish. Those considerations may be important. We're all equal. And the idea of sterotyping is offensive. And the North Shore and n.w. suburbs are places with a cross section of people whose differences are far outweighed by their similiarites.

That said, it would be hard not to note a heavily Jewish atmosphere to much of Highland Park and that that plays out culturally (more so, IMHO, than in similiar areas of Glencoe, Northbrook, Deerfield, Buffalo Grove). That is neither a positive or negative opinion, just an observation.

These things influence places where people wish to live. IMHO, one of the true gems among North Shore towns...Evanston....finds as one of its biggest attractions its diversity and its appeal to liberal folks because of it. To ignore that diversity would be to ignore the very nature of Evanston (which I realize is no utopia by any means and has had its own form of racial tension for eternity).

[JenGD]

Libertyville is great, just too far north for us. We'd like to be somewhere b/w LF and the city.

[cubssoxfan]

If I had the $$ to live in the communities on your list, without bankrupting my retirement, I would choose Winnetka or Wilmette. I would investigate Northfield, Deerfield & Lake Forest. I worked retail for 4 years in Winnetka and the people were really nice, you could say quite grounded. They did not let their wealth affect their ability to treat others politely and with kindness. Winnetka is quite walkable with a decent library, good beaches and 2 non-homogenized shopping districts. If you enjoy cycling, you're not to far from the Forest Preserve path or Green Bay trail.
Can't really help you with close knit aspect of community. I think it really depends on the street you live on. It is really dependent on your neighbors. Sometimes if you are part of a neigborhood association, it can promote more close-knit ties. Really, besides church/synagogue/mosque, school & park district-how do you meet other families? Maybe at the country club or raquet club. But I think it still comes down to your immediate neighbors. DW & I have many conversations about kids going out and playing without "dates" and how people spend less time outside than they used too-even in nice weather.

Jen, if you moved to Lake Arlington, you would have some of the attributes you're looking for. I don't know if it would be more than in Naperville or as much as you need. Many people are looking for that tight knit community but have difficulties finding it.

[GoCUBS1]

Not sure if it is demographically desireable for you but I feel Barrington meets your criteria. It is not too far from Long Grove which you are considering yet, IMO, it has more of a community feel. I have lived/worked in both Long Grove and Barrington as well as in some of the other NS towns you're considering. They're all wonderful towns.

BTW, these are probably the most popular things in Barrington - "HS football on friday nights, maybe even a 4th of july parade."

[chet everett]

I believe it bears restating that the OP's criteria include easy work commute to Lake Forest, decent access to Chicago. Barrrington is stretching things on both accounts, especially in comparison to the North Shore...

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I believe it bears restating that the OP's criteria include easy work commute to Lake Forest, decent access to Chicago. Barrrington is stretching things on both accounts, especially in comparison to the North Shore...

Where I live in Barrington is w/in 10 minutes of Long Grove which she is also considering. In my post, I acknowledged "it may not be geographically desireable" however I want to point out that the NE side of Barrington (near Cuba/Ela) is very close to Long Grove. And many of the residents of Long Grove use the Barrington Park District facilities. So, if she is willing to commute to Long Grove, she may also want to consider Barrington (or even Kildeer or Deer Park) as they are all next to Long Grove. I think it is ok to give additional town suggestions (especially when you qualify it) as that is the purpose of this forum.

BTW, in your post, you suggested the OP expand their search southward to Wilmette/Winnetka. That also adds at least 10 minutes to the commute time to Lake Forest. So you set the precedent for expanding the search. I just followed your lead and suggested another NW suburb to consider.