Moving to the City of Chicago

I currently live at Irving Park Rd/California.
It's kind of between Lincoln Square and Avondale.

I can tell you that housing in our neighborhood has become quite affordable in recent years...we've been here about 5 now. You can get a nice house/townhome for between $450-650K...depending on what you're looking for. We live in a 4 floor, 3000 sq ft town home community. Initially we paid $610...but that was before the "crash". These same units are now going for $450-5K. So....bad for me...good for you! There are TONS of families with little kids around here...over 30 small kids in my little townhome community alone!

My kids (4.5 and 2.5) go to St. Ben's Prep...so private.
The CPS school options, depending on zoning are Bell and Coonley....both of which are AWESOME schools with a wait list to get in.
We're a little further west, so we're zoned into a different school that we weren't excited about.

We really love it here, and everyone in the area that I know feels the same. Lots of playgrounds, parks, access to city stuff, and it's a relatively safe area.

PM me if you have questions!

**same suggestions if you're renting...

In fact, if you're interested in a 3br/3ba in West Bucktown, we're renting our old place as of May. $2100/mo, 2500 sq ft.

R.,

We live in Lakeview, which is pretty expensive. But Roscoe Village and Lincoln Square are a bit more affordable, with good access to transit (and easier access to the expressway). There are lots of families in both areas, and you can definitely rent.

Good luck!
R.

Lincoln Square is really family-friendly and not too bad on the budget (and it feels like a small town). North Center is also nice, Lakeview around the Southport corridor is nice as well but a bit more pricey - you have to weigh that against the schooling though. DEFINITELY look at what school zone you're in, there is such a huge range. Schooling in the city is ridiculous and you can save yourself a lot of trouble by renting a place in the zone of a good school, otherwise you have to deal with lotteries and wait lists. You might also consider Oak Park, it's a suburb but the Green Line train will take your husband right into the loop.

Just a suggestion-if you're in the West Loop and your husband is in Riverwoods, why not try Riverwoods? It's close to the city, and easy commute, and has great schools and great neighborhoods. Your husband would be able to be near your kids, and you wouldn't be far at all. Just a thought. Wherever you end up, best of luck! You are so smart to rent first so you can do some exploring and researching before you make a final decision!

There is a website npnparents.com that has a huge amount of resources regarding Chicago public schools, living in the city, etc.

We moved to Chicago from Omaha in 2005 and up until last spring lived in Roscoe Village. Great neighborhood, plenty of rentals as well as homeowners, good schools, lots of families. We had to move last May and ended up in Edgewater - which we like a lot, too. Much more square footage for your dollar. But if you're looking for a family-friendly neighborhood, I don't think you can do better than the St Bens/Roscoe Village area.

My friend just moved from Chicago to Deerfield specifically for the schools and she loves it (though hates the commute back to the city for work). With that said, if you are planning to move to Chicago my recommendation would be to check out the blog CPS Obsessed, Chicago Magazine's list of top Chicago schools and the Great Schools website to become familiar with the various neighborhood schools you might be interested in (look at the neighborhood's elementary, middle & high school choices as crazy as that sounds)- and then start looking for housing. Of course you can always opt out of your "neighborhood school" and test into selective enrollment schools or try your hand at magnet school lotteries if you have nerves of steel. If you are interested in north side family friendly neighborhoods, check out Andersonville, Lakeview, Lincoln Square, areas of Lincoln Park and Bucktown. Good luck with the move & your new jobs!

We live in Lincoln Square and love the neighborhood. Near an L for commuting, but north enough to be less expensive. This area is near and similar to Ravenswood and North Center. Some friends I know are more west and closer to the highway in a neighborhood called Old Irving. Less walkable, but more for your money. Schools are the tough and annoying topic. You can find rankings of schools online and see if you could live in a good area/school you'd want, but housing prices can be high accordingly. If you buy a house for that reason, call the school to make sure that house is definitely in that school's district. Sometimes online info isn't right, and something as little as what side of the street you're on makes the difference of in or out. I definitely agree with figuring out the school thing before you buy though! Good luck.

I know nothing about the city of Chicago but we just relocated from California to Deerfield - next to Riverwoods - and are really impressed with the schools. Deerfield HS and New Trier HS are the best in the state. So, why would you move to the city? Your husband works near some of the best schools in the state. Can't you commute to your job? City life doesn't scare me but urban public schools, as a rule, are usually terrible. Unless you absolutely must live in the city or can afford private school, a better choice is the suburbs.