I second that idea. Housing costs seem to be less. I have family in that area and they loved the schools and neighbors. |
Why do you need the suburbs? Plenty of neighborhoods in the city with quiet streets, and wider lots like Roscoe Village. |
Quiet is relative. My last city address was in Ravenswood Manor, which must be one of the quieter neighborhoods in Chicago. I now live in a close-in suburb on a curvy street that sees little traffic. It's so dark and so quiet. It's so peaceful outside of garbage day. My third grader walks to school. I have half an acre, which isn't terribly doable within city limits. I love Chicago. I lived in five different Chicago neighborhoods. I miss the restaurants. But I now enjoy the space, the giant oaks, and the quiet more. |
I think Evanston and Wilmette are your best options. Any farther west, and you don't get the lake. Any farther north, and you lose the diversity. Evanston is far more diverse on its face than Wilmette, but like all Chicago-area suburbs, there are entirely white parts of Evanston and more diverse parts of Wilmette. And even in the whitest bits of either, someone of South Asian heritage would not stand out. |
Which Glenview neighborhood? How do you know? |
Check here: https://www.citybureau.org/newswire/2020/12/22/interactive-2020-illinois-general-election-precinct-maps I wasn't surprised by how pro-Biden Evanston is. But Wilmette surprised me. I wouldn't have expected it to be generally so much more pro-Biden than Winnetka, Glenview, and Northbrook. I'm curious about voting as I casually begin my home search. My oldest is thriving in his current school, despite my not be enamored with our neighbors or with the school, generally. He's made friends and qualified for both the language arts and math gifted programs, so I'm hopeful he will be happy and will get a decent education. So I'm only moving out of the district if we find an amazing home. I look at the voting maps as if I move, I'd like to move somewhere where more people appear to share my family's values - and I think that seeing who voted Trump in 2020 is a blunt, but pretty good indicator. |
Villa Park or any towns in school district 88 |
Darien |
Winnetka/Wilmette/Kenilworth is the golden standard for suburbs here. And you’ll be a 20min bike ride from Evanston. |
Barrington area |
I grew up in Wilmette. If you are South Asian, you’ll fit in fine—there are plenty of South Asian families in Wilmette. In terms of diversity there are few black and Hispanic people in Wilmette. Wilmette is a touch more diverse than Winnetka, Kennilworth, etc. but mostly Asian (both South Asian and East Asian, a few people who are Middle Eastern) |
You might check out Riverside. It's got a cute little downtown area and fairly welcoming to my immigrant friend who lives there. |
Elmhurst |
I don't know what your bar is re: schools, but I looked at Oak Park and Evanston (lived in one of those cities while thinking about where to settle) and the schools are not good enough for me. I wouldn't say that IRL, but I'll say it here. TBH we ended up in an area feeding to the Glenbrooks and it's not really good enough compared to the DMV mindset. |
I'm in a Glenbrook feeder. It's fine. My oldest is in 5th and in gifted math and reading. I think the reading curriculum is pretty spectacular. The school offers supports where my child is struggling - and without parents asking. I opted out of New Trier, where I attended. I mean, I want my kids to like learning and not get caught up in the crazy pressure cooker that I was part of and that I understand has only gotten worse. My kids don't need to go to Ivies. If they succeed at GBS, college will be petty manageable. |