Relocation Questions for North Chicago/Lake County Area

Hi,
I work at Abbott. 4 mile commute from where I live in SE Gurnee--very quick. Gurnee has 2 school districts. They used to be both very good, but the one for the NE side has declined due to failed referendums/not enough money. Luckily, despite being across the street from that district, we are in the woodland Dist 50. However, the same high school district encompasses both grade school districts. I think the high school is fairly decent.

We like our grade school because they have taken my autistic son and given him all day structured instructions since shortly after he regressed at age 3 yr 3 mo. The program has some students with other disabilities but is mostly focued on the developmental delay ones. Next year, they have enough PPD-NOS autistic kids to make a structured kingergarten class. Otherwise, he would have gone to nearby SEDOL (Special Ed Dist of Lake County)--which services all types of disabilities.

My oldest is ADHD. He did great in Woodland (lots of support-good compasionate teachers), but for middle school we decided to put him in the charter school (PCCS-Prairie Crossing Charter School). There is a huge waitlist for the younger grades. Logan was #2 on the 6th grade wait list and he got in on the 5th day of school this year. There is no bus service so I carpool in AM and have my au pair retrieve him in PM.

Libertyville has good schools-thats why homes are so dang pricey. Grayslake has had a lot of referendum problems/shortened school days. I am glad we are not in that district. Don't know about mundeleins differnt school districts.

Gurnee taxes are pretty good. Houses acost less (far less) than libertyville but more than grayslake. However, the high graylake taxes erase any benefit of lower housing. Gurnee has a lot of business tax base, so there is no village tax (only gurnee park district, grade and high school district, library district, Lake county parks, and warren township). So, on a ~450 k market value house the taxes are ~9k. Probably same house in grayslake would be 400k but taxed 11k--just guessing there though. Of course, market values have dropped like every where else but assessments that taxes are based on havent....

Hope this is helpful and you get some perspective from some of the other areas you were interested in!
B.

Have you considered Lake Bluff/Lake Forest? We live in East Lake Bluff and love it.
Right by the lake, close to schools and town. We have our own schools, then kids
Go to Lake Forest High School. We are building a new K-5 on Greenbay just north
of 176 to open in the fall. Good luck...

Hi K.. I saw your post and would be happy to talk to you about these areas. I grew up around here and now have 2 young children. We were looking at moving closer to my husband's job last year a little further south of here, but we found that for the price, you get a lot more house for your money in this area. Plus the schools are unbeatable. My daugther will start school in 2 years and we have her in an excellent preschool in Vernon Hills. We did not want to move away from that. If you need help finding a place to live, I can recommend an excellent realtor. We actually own a new townhome that is available for rent in Vernon Hills. Vernon Hills is cheaper than Libertyville and the surrounding areas. The taxes shown are for the whole year. Please email me if you want to talk more. T.

Hi K.-

My relatives work at Abbott, and they live in the surrounding towns around the area (Lake Villa, Lindenhurst, Wadsworth). I am not sure I would recommend any school in North Chicago, Waukegan or Round Lake (Beach, Park, Heights, etc). As far as public grade schools go, the state of Illinois Report Card (found online) show Milburn School District (portions of town of Lindenhurst, etc.) and Emmons School District (portions of town of Antioch)as top notch. Both are in the 90+ percentile. As far as high schools go, Stevenson (parts of Buffalo Grove) is one of the best nationwide. That is, if you can afford to live in Buffalo Grove. Carmel High School is an excellent high school, but is private, and tends to be pricey. I hope this helps you.

K.,
This is exactly what one part of my business is. I help families relocate and find appropriate educational services for their children. This service is free to mamasource members. I myself live in Lake County and can give you the pros and cons to the private/public and preschools in the area. Please feel free to contact me by phone or email and we can talk so that you can find the best solution for your family. Good luck

P.
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Being a teacher, a mom and having lived in the area for nearly 7 years, hands down I would settle in the Libertyville/Vernon Hills area. My husband grew up in the area and I'm a transplant. We both have spent our entire teaching careers in the area. If money were no object, we would live in Libertyville and send our kids to the schools. Housing can be a bit pricey, but you get your money's worth in the schools. I taught at Vernon Hills High School for two years and was beyond impressed with the teachers at both Vernon Hills and Libertyville High Schools, as well as the feeder schools.

Hi K.-
Take a look at Vernon Hills. There are some nice and affordable family friendly neighborhoods. Check out Deerpath in particular. You can walk to the park district, swimming pool, several parks and paths. Also, they are building the new library in this neighborhood this summer. Vernon Hills (Hawthorn) school district offers three choice schools for elementary. You can find out more info at www.hawthorn73.org Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. (I also have a great real estate agent if you need help). Warmly, A.

I wouldn't recommend Mundelein. The high school is far from ideal.
Gurnee: Great for young families. Lots of park district offerings, close to anything you'll ever need and lots of family friendly subdivisions. Housing is very affordable. The high school is decent, woodland district in Gurnee is good, too. Very large, though.
Libertyville: Much smaller feel than Gurnee. Great schools. More expensive for housing, but you can find bargains now if you're persistent.
Vernon Hills: Also pretty small, but very business oriented. The neighborhoods are nice, if you can get away from route 60 or other busy roads. Deerpath subdivision is very pretty. Schools are strong. Also pretty close to major highways (in a good way) so good for commuting.
Mundelein: Don't bother. The commute to work will be annoying (heading east in the am.) and the schools aren't great, unless you're in the Fremont side, which still goes to Mundelein High School.
Buffalo Grove: You're getting pretty far south from Abbott, but the commute may not be horrible since you're driving north in the a.m. The schools are fine, but the neighborhoods are definitely older looking, and more expensive. You don't get too much for the money there.
Lake Forest/Lake Bluff: I recommend these towns 100%, because of the schools and the fact that the neighborhoods are beautiful (they respect nature and keep the town beautiful), but it's very expensive. And some areas of Lake Bluff are a bit icky (near the railroad tracks).

Don't do North Chicago, Round Lake, or Waukegan. Their schools are not worth it (I've worked in some of them).

Wadsworth gives you a lot of land, but you don't want the Zion district. If it's Wadsworth with Millburn schools and Warren schools, you'll be okay.

Taxes are for the whole year.
:) Hope that was helpful!