Planing on moving to Woodstock need some advice....... (Chicago, Des Plaines: for sale, foreclosures)

[handy_mike4u]

I currently live in Northlake IL and am looking at a property in Woodstock but i have never been there and wanted to know how is the place. The house is located on RT120/Washington St more to the west of the city. Is that street a busy street loaded with constant traffic or just a regular not to fast street? also i have 2 kids a 1yr old and a 3yr old wanted to know how are the schools. Please help me in any way you can Thanks

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by handy_mike4u

I currently live in Northlake IL and am looking at a property in Woodstock but i have never been there and wanted to know how is the place. The house is located on RT120/Washington St more to the west of the city. Is that street a busy street loaded with constant traffic or just a regular not to fast street? also i have 2 kids a 1yr old and a 3yr old wanted to know how are the schools. Please help me in any way you can Thanks

There is a lot of property for sale in Woodstock at this time including a number of REOs and foreclosures.

Washington St. is a major thoroughfare with a lot of small business and is a major arterial into the downtown area. It is not a street that I would be excited about living on with small children.

Woodstock schools are acceptable and they have a number of newer schools that they are building. There are better school districts in McHenry Co. but I believe that the difference in the performance schools is that Woodstock has a higher proportion of recent Mexican immigrants.

Personally, I think that you are crazy for looking at specific houses until you have taken the time to really look over the city PRIOR to making a move. If you are looking for a job in this area, the market is very tight and many of the larger employers are still laying off employees.

[Brandito711]

I live in Chicago, but I grew up in, and still go back to, Woodstock one weekeend a month. Yes Woodstock's population is about 16% hispanic, but it's not "I am going to have my gang shoot you" Hispanic, more like working class. The house I was born in was on Washington, it's pretty close to the metra station and a short walk to the square. WHile many of the houses along Washington are dated, its not like it's a dangerous area. Perhaps the greatest drawback of that area would be the traffic (I would recommend getting a fence if you have small children or pets) I was looking at buying in Woodstock myself as I can't afford the property taxes in Chicago.

I keep seeing Woodstock High School has mediocre ratings but I went there and I thought it was a decent high school. The validictorian of my high school class graduated from Vanderbilt medical school, my sister graduated from Purdue with honors, and I have a masters degree. The school has one of the best chorus and band programs in the state as well as an excellent athletic program.

If you do move to Woodstock you have to eat at El Niagara, it's the best Mexican food ever (and I have lived in Mexico).

[fish0321]

Hi, I have a few questions about Woodstock Il. I have worked out of the Chicago area for about 7 Years and I think it is time to move the Family up from STL. We have a large family, 5 little ones and we are use to wide open spaces. Woodstock seems to be a place where at a decent price ( 300k or under ) you can get a fairly good house on 3-5 acres. I work close to the ORD so I hour or so drive is acceptable. Just wanted to get you thoughts on Woodstock or surrounding areas that might fit the bill.

Thanks,
Scott

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by fish0321

Hi, I have a few questions about Woodstock Il. I have worked out of the Chicago area for about 7 Years and I think it is time to move the Family up from STL. We have a large family, 5 little ones and we are use to wide open spaces. Woodstock seems to be a place where at a decent price ( 300k or under ) you can get a fairly good house on 3-5 acres. I work close to the ORD so I hour or so drive is acceptable. Just wanted to get you thoughts on Woodstock or surrounding areas that might fit the bill.

Thanks,
Scott

It would be difficult to get from Woodstock to ORD in under an hour during normal commute hours as the traffic through Huntley is miserable. I would look south of Crystal Lake which would get you to I-90 a lot quicker.

[pvande55]

Hi, I have a few questions about Woodstock Il. I have worked out of the Chicago area for about 7 Years and I think it is time to move the Family up from STL. We have a large family, 5 little ones and we are use to wide open spaces. Woodstock seems to be a place where at a decent price ( 300k or under ) you can get a fairly good house on 3-5 acres. I work close to the ORD so I hour or so drive is acceptable. Just wanted to get you thoughts on Woodstock or surrounding areas that might fit the bill.

There is a UP-NW train that will get you from Woodstock to Des Plaines in about 50 minutes. As long as you can arrange connecting transportation, assuming your destination is reasonably close to Dempster and River, you should be able to do it in an hour.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by pvande55

There is a UP-NW train that will get you from Woodstock to Des Plaines in about 50 minutes. As long as you can arrange connecting transportation, assuming your destination is reasonably close to Dempster and River, you should be able to do it in an hour.

The OP needs to realize that there are less that HALF the number of trains to Woodstock than Crystal Lake (according to the Woodstock Independent, 9 trains vs 22 trains).