Chicago Area DUers. Can you tell me anything about Lake County?

[Midlodemocrat]

Is it a nice area? How are the schools?

Some good friends of mine are moving there and they currently reside in a really nice subdivision with pool, tennis, etc., and want to replicate that.

Can they do that for $400,000?

Can they live in Lake County for $130,000 which is what he will make?

They have a child with Down Syndrome which also complicates the school system.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[eyesroll]

1. Try the Stevenson High School district, with any of its feeder elementary districts.

My parents live in Buffalo Grove (the Lake County part; the city's split by a county line) -- their neigbhorhood is full of the $300-$400K houses (usually 3-4 bedrooms, 2-2.5 bathrooms, some ranches, some 2-story/splits). There's a pool nearby (not sure if it's in the subdivision or just close), and a park with tennis, playground and stocked pond.

$130,000 is plenty -- my parents never made that much (they're retired now).

School system is excellent. Each of the elementary districts will have its strengths and weaknesses, so your friends may want to do their research, but there are good special education services in Lake County.

From what I hear, Gurnee is booming, too, but I don't have any firsthand info.

Some of the older areas -- Zion, Waukegan -- are not great. It's been awhile since I've lived in Lake County, so areas may be in decline or on the mend...

I prefer urban to suburban these days, but it was a good place to grow up.

[Midlodemocrat]

2. Thanks, S!

They currently don't have a mortgage and were worried that they would have to take on one that they can't afford.

Do you think Stevenson High School feeder schools have decent special education resources?

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. I am sure they do, Midlo.

Stevenson HS has one of the top reputations around here. I know people who choose that district because of the schools.

Like eyesroll said, your friends should avoid towns like Waukegan or Zion, which are pretty run down.

But Mundelein, Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Buffalo Grove, Long Grove (that's the high-rent neighborhood up there), Wauconda, etc., are great towns to live in.

A couple of months ago, I could have recommended a great house on the market up there. My nephew and his wife sold the three-bedroom house on a beautiful acre of land in a town called Indian Creek (population about 180) to achieve the financial settlement from her divorce. They now live in Mundelein, but are in the Vernon Hills High School district. My new niece-in-law is happy that her kids will attend that school, so I guess it's a good one as well.

[Midlodemocrat]

4. I was hoping that you would weigh in! Thanks so much!

My friend is a lot concerned about the special education system because she's got the IEP thing down pat where she lives and is concerned about mirroring the same sort of success path for her daughter.

Funny isn't it, how we choose the houses based on schools for our kids? I only know one family who didn't do that when they moved to CA and they were flat out miserable.

Thanks, again!

[greatauntoftriplets]

10. I am going to be up there tomorrow and will ask my n-i-l.

Her kids don't need those resources, but she might have some knowledge.

[eyesroll]

5. When I was in school there, much of Lake County's special ed was consolidated.

All of the school districts pooled their resources into the Special Education District of Lake County (which I believe still exists), which then in turn sent kids either to their neighborhood schools or to separate schools, depending on their needs.

So I'm not sure about the individual district programs, but the resources are definitely there. I can't speak as to the efficacy of the programs (it's been awhile, and neither my sister nor I needed the resources). But it's a pretty well-off area, with a strong tax base, which tends to translate into good programs.

[Midlodemocrat]

6. The taxes are HUGH!

At least compared to me. I only pay about $2400 for my house, but the same house in Lake County would require me to pay about $10,000. :yowza:

Reminds me of New Jersey.

[greatauntoftriplets]

12. Property taxes are horrendous in the Chicago area.

I don't pay THAT much less than you for a two-bedroom condo, and the public schools in my district aren't very good (since I don't have any kids, that was a moot subject for me).

The taxes on my mother's house in a good neighborhood in the city (close to the lake) were about $6,000 a year -- and that was with all manner of exemptions due to long residency and her age.

I imagine that the new owners are paying in the neighborhood of $8,000 annually. Joke among the old-timers in my neighborhood is that no one could afford to buy their house anymore. The people who bought the house from us(it was on the market less than one week) got transferred and sold it in two days.

[Blue-Jay]

7. I'd never move to an area without pools and tennis courts.

Biff, Buffy, Chaz & Skip would never let me hear the end of it.

[Midlodemocrat]

8. Four kids? Wow, you work quickly.

:P

Obviously, it's for their little ones. And for the disabled one, swimming is great for her muscle tone.

Where they live, because of the climate, everyone either HAS a pool, or has a neighborhood pool. I don't blame them for wanting to buy in a neighborhood with them. Our neighborhood pool saved my sanity the summer my dad was dying because I could send the kids there without worrying about them.

BabyMidlo goes every day. She's certainly getting my money's worth.

[Blue-Jay]

14. To be serious...

Chicago is a big place (duh), and there is housing everywhere for many different levels of income. I'd suggest that your friend contact a local Realtor® to help him find the right house in the right location. Does he want to live in the 'burbs or in the city? Does he require a yard and a garage? Would he prefer to have easy access to public transportation, or would he prefer to drive? There are a lot of variables, as you're well aware. Your friend is going to need to do some homework (with the help of a Realtor®), if he's looking for a "perfect fit". There's something for everyone here.

[Midlodemocrat]

15. I know you were just kidding.

In all honesty, my friend is overwhelmed by this. Her husband got the job out of the blue and she is faced with getting the kids in school, getting the house ready to sell and purchasing another one on the other end.

She is really worried about her daughter's special education needs, so I offered to do some leg work for her. And, frankly, I KNEW there were a lot of folks on DU from that area, I figured I could get some great advice to pass along to her.

In addition, my company has an office in Chicago and so does my husband's, so we've been asking folks there what they think.

The kink seems to be the special education needs. Currently, the little one is bused maybe 3 minutes away from her house, but for them to get something that they can afford, she might have to be on a bus for much longer and that is worrisome to her.

I feel for her. I can't imagine being told that we've got to be halfway across the country and ready to start a new job/schools in three weeks. I think I'd pass out.

[borlis]

9. I live in Libertyville.

Great schools, however not sure how their special ed is or works. A 3-4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath home ranges from $375k and up. Taxes are really high here. My home is about 2500 square feet on a 1/4 acre lot. It is probably worth about $450k. My taxes are just under $9000.

I just called my niece who is a teacher and she said Lake Forest which is just east of where I live. It is probably the most affluent community around here. I'm not sure they can afford it. Lots of old money there.

I really wouldn't recommend Gurnee. We lived there for 4 years before we moved to our current house. It's a decent community, but they have become way over populated. It used to be farmland and then they let it get way over developed. The schools are really crowded and now they are looking for more money for another new high school. The Woodland School dist. 50 is just huge. I'll estimate 8000 kids k-8. My other niece will be a sophomore next year at Warren Township High School in Gurnee and there are over 1000 kids in her grade. I have always personally felt that kids tend to get lost in the shuffle in districts that big. If we had stayed there, the year my oldest son would have started kindergarten, there were 25 kindergarten classes that year. In Libertyville where we moved to, there were 3. We have neighborhood schools, which I like.

I personally wouldn't recommend the Stevenson district either. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome academically. But there is big money there. I can't stand the people in that area. Buffalo Grove, Lincolnshire,Long Grove, Hawthorn Woods are some of the communities that feed in there. Expensive housing and high taxes. Most people in those communities have a sense of, I'll say, entitlement. They basically think they are better than everyone else. A 400k home there is probably decent, but way lower than the median home for that area.

Lake county is beautiful and has a lot to offer. Warn your friend of high taxes no matter where they decide on. I would have your friend check out Lake Zurich as well. It's a nice community also.

Hope this helps, sorry for rambling. If I can help further, let me know. :hi:

[Midlodemocrat]

11. Thank you! I appreciate your thoughts.

Her biggest concern right now is the school system because of her daughter's disability. Her son is also reading below grade level, but he's in summer school, so hopefully, he'll be okay when he goes to first grade in September.

[borlis]

13. My niece said she would check around to see who else has

a good sepcial ed program.

[never cry wolf]

18. I agree with you on the Stevenson District

It is great academically but it seems just so damn huge, the last graduating class had something like 1,100 kids, it's almost like a junior college. Part of Lake Zurich feeds into Stevenson and a couple of kids on my son's travel baseball team went there, very talented ballplayers but 150 tried out for the freshman team and their "career" was over.

I have lived in Lake Zurich for 20 years now and it is a nice community. No public pool but there is a YMCA and the lake itself has public beaches. Plenty of homes in the right price range. It does not have Stevenson rep academically but the school system is excellent. We actually pass referendums to raise property tax for the schools and library.

Will you and/or you husband be working in the city or a suburban office?
Traffic in Lake County can be a pain but that is true for most newer suburban areas. If you are going to commute burb to burb try to locate closer as there are not enough roads to get anywhere. There are only a few metra lines and inter suburban mass transit is nonexistent.

I also know a good realtor if you need one.

[Nickster]

21. Wauconda is pretty nice too. Maybe McHenry? I'm on the western border of Lake County. Not much

as far as jobs out here, but still a little bit of space. Not much, but some.

[borlis]

16. Are they working with a realtor yet?

I do know a couple if they need a few names I could pm you with the info.

[Midlodemocrat]

22. Would you mind? That would be great.

She's pretty overwhelmed because it is happening pretty quickly, so if you could recommend a couple of names to me to pass along, I'd appreciate it.

[coffeenap]

17. I live in Lake County and in the Stevenson HS district. There are

tons of houses for sale and most have been on the market much longer than usual so it is a good time to be shopping. If you would like to discuss it further, feel free to PM. I have lots of neighbors who have used the primary and middle schools so I could certainly find out the inside info. Best wishes.

Edited to say I know a realtor too!

[greatauntoftriplets]

19. Another point about Lake County that ittends to be red vs. blue...

Though a lot of Democratic voters do live up there. The eastern part has Rep. Mark Kirk, a fairly liberal Republican, while the western part of the county has Rep. Melissa Bean, who is a conservative Democrat. At least she replaced the vile Phil Crane, who was an extreme right-wing Republican and a jerk, to boot.

[Silver Swan]

20. I live in Lake county, so

I hope you can live in Lake County for $130,000 because my spouse and I (both retired) live here comfortably for about half that.

If you have children, I wouldn't recommend the town I live in because the schools are reported to be bad.

However, there are currently twelve houses for sale in our small six-year-old subdivision, priced from $259,000 to $329,000. You can walk to the train station, library, and swimming pool from here.

[greatauntoftriplets]

23. So my niece-in-law wasn't much help in getting info....

She said that the schools in Vernon Hills, Libertyville and Mundelein are all real good. I thought she might have heard scuttlebut about what districts are good for special ed, but apparently hasn't.

A good realtor who knows the area should be well versed in school districts. Best of luck to your friends.

Oh, my niece-in-law and nephew are also expecting. The baby is due in February.

:D