North suburbs of Chicago

[Anonymous]

If you’re familiar with the area on the north shot of Chicago - DH will be working in North Chicago ( the city of North Chicago) and I will probably be downtown. What’s Lake Forest or Lake Bluff like? What about Winnetka?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Lake Bluff and it’s lovely! Great schools and an easy train ride to the city.

[Anonymous]

Libertyville has great schools and a nice atmosphere. You can get a house that's walking distance to all three schools and to the train station (bit of a walk to the train, but the parking is good - and maybe free?).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Lake Bluff and it’s lovely! Great schools and an easy train ride to the city.

There’s another Bluffer on this board?! Hey!

Great town. Would move back in a minute if we were moving back to Chicago. My parents took the train to the Loop for 25 years. Very doable. Great schools and community as well.

[Anonymous]

Winnetka is very nice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Lake Bluff and it’s lovely! Great schools and an easy train ride to the city.

There’s another Bluffer on this board?! Hey!

Great town. Would move back in a minute if we were moving back to Chicago. My parents took the train to the Loop for 25 years. Very doable. Great schools and community as well.

And a Lake Forester! I loved growing up in Lake Forest - it’s such a safe, beautiful town with a gorgeous beach and autumn colors that take your breath away. The schools are fantastic (Lake Forest And Lake Bluff share a high school that looks like a private school or mansion).

I would go back in a second if we could. My father worked at Abbott in North Chicago and had a fifteen minute commute. I worked downtown and lived at home my first year out of college and the express train is 40 minutes. It’s a very cool train, too.

[Anonymous]

Grew up in Wilmette (next to Winnetka but less expensive). They have different elementary and middle schools but both suburbs go to the same high school (New Trier) among with Glencoe and Northfield and a very small section of Glenview. You do not get a lot of house for your money in those suburbs but they are very nice with corresponding high taxes (same situation in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff). A lot of my college friends live in the Stevenson HS district as it is very highly rated. It is also a large high school like New Trier and a lot of suburbs feed into it - part of Buffalo Grove, Lincolnshire, Long Grove and maybe others. Not sure what the commute to North Chicago would be. You would have Lake County taxes rather than Cook County which are higher (but you’ll have that in LF and LB anyway). There are a lot of nice suburbs to look at. I also like Deerfield and Northbrook. Both also have good schools.

[Anonymous]

We recently moved from Lake Forest and we loved it! The schools are outstanding, the town is beautiful and the lake front is gorgeous. The town lacks diversity but that is true for many north shore towns. There are two rail lines into the city and the trains takes about an hour. Housing prices have come way down since the recession and have not recovered as more HQ’s have moved into the city. The down town area is really pretty and is to die for at Christmas. The people are very nice, typical Midwest vibe despite there being a good mount of wealth in town.

[Anonymous]

The north suburbs of Chicago are very nice. Also, very white and very rich. Verrrrrrrrrrrrry white. If you like that kind of thing, you'll love it. If you don't, you will not. I would hate living in Winnetka or Wilmette. Evanston would be okay with me. Currently I live in a western burb for my spouse's job and miss living in the city of Chicago terribly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We recently moved from Lake Forest and we loved it! The schools are outstanding, the town is beautiful and the lake front is gorgeous. The town lacks diversity but that is true for many north shore towns. There are two rail lines into the city and the trains takes about an hour. Housing prices have come way down since the recession and have not recovered as more HQ’s have moved into the city. The down town area is really pretty and is to die for at Christmas. The people are very nice, typical Midwest vibe despite there being a good mount of wealth in town.

Many homes for sale in Lake Bluff and Lake Forest remain on the market for months. We have several friends that have had to take several price reductions in order to entice buyers even for homes in very good condition. The towns are safe and attractive but are far from the cultural offerings of the city. That lifestyle (big homes and yards that require a lot of maintenance), long commutes and lack of diversity are not attractive to many families now.

[Anonymous]

If you are wealthy and white go for it. If your non-white and wealthy its a risk. I'm one of them and count on your family being pulled over by police regularly and residents assuming you're the help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We recently moved from Lake Forest and we loved it! The schools are outstanding, the town is beautiful and the lake front is gorgeous. The town lacks diversity but that is true for many north shore towns. There are two rail lines into the city and the trains takes about an hour. Housing prices have come way down since the recession and have not recovered as more HQ’s have moved into the city. The down town area is really pretty and is to die for at Christmas. The people are very nice, typical Midwest vibe despite there being a good mount of wealth in town.

Many homes for sale in Lake Bluff and Lake Forest remain on the market for months. We have several friends that have had to take several price reductions in order to entice buyers even for homes in very good condition. The towns are safe and attractive but are far from the cultural offerings of the city. That lifestyle (big homes and yards that require a lot of maintenance), long commutes and lack of diversity are not attractive to many families now.

Sales velocity and buyer interest have really increased in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff. I’m not sure about prices. Realtors believe it is related to COVID and WFH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are wealthy and white go for it. If your non-white and wealthy its a risk. I'm one of them and count on your family being pulled over by police regularly and residents assuming you're the help.

This. It is a beautiful hamlet as others have mentioned. I will never forget, however, taking my son to a swim meet at Lake Forest High School in October 2016. There were Trump yard signs everywhere. Quite the shocker, as I live(d) in progressive Evanston where Bernie, and to a lesser extent, HRC signs were all the rage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are wealthy and white go for it. If your non-white and wealthy its a risk. I'm one of them and count on your family being pulled over by police regularly and residents assuming you're the help.

This. It is a beautiful hamlet as others have mentioned. I will never forget, however, taking my son to a swim meet at Lake Forest High School in October 2016. There were Trump yard signs everywhere. Quite the shocker, as I live(d) in progressive Evanston where Bernie, and to a lesser extent, HRC signs were all the rage.

I guess it’s still early but I haven’t seen a Trump sign in LF this year. Nor a Biden sign.

[Anonymous]

My Colombian friend lives up there. People literally think he's the landscaper all the time. He''s actually a hedge fund guy