12,000 Square Foot Historic West Ridge Mansion Reduces $560,000: 2100 W. Pratt Boulevard
We last chattered about this 5-bedroom vintage colonial at 2100 W. Pratt Boulevard in West Ridge in March 2011.
See our prior chatter here.
At that time, the house was listed for $2.45 million.
Most of you were skeptical that it would sell anywhere near that. The more common “guess” was around $1.7 million.
The house is still on the market and has been reduced $560,000 to $1.89 million.
If you recall, the listing says it is the first time the home has been listed in 111 years.
Built in 1900, the listing says it was a summer home and took 4 years to complete.
The 12,000 square foot home has hardwood floors throughout and 5 fireplaces.
Built on an oversize 187×150 lot, there is a 3-car garage which the listing says was also the original chauffeur’s quarters.
20 years ago an indoor pool was also added to the house (you can check it out in the pictures.)
The kitchen has white cabinets and some white appliances with black counter tops.
There is central air.
The house sits across from Warren Park’s golf course (you can also see the view in the pictures.)
It’s also apparently a “home with a lot of history.”
Are they getting closer to an actual listing price which will move this property?
Lydia Memeti at Re/Max City still has the listing. See the pictures here.
2100 W. Pratt Boulevard: 5 bedrooms, 4 baths, 3 half baths, 12,000 square feet, 3 car garage
- Last sold in 1900
- Lis pendens foreclosure filed in October 2010
- Originally listed in January 2011 for $2.45 million
- Was still listed in March 2011 for $2.45 million
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $1.89 million
- Taxes of $14,225
- Central Air
- Indoor Pool
- 5 fireplaces
- Bedroom #1: 20×26 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 15×15 (main floor)
- Bedroom #3: 14×12 (main floor)
- Bedroom #4: 20×19 (second floor)
- Bedroom #5: 17×10 (second floor)
man I would pimp this place out big time
I’d totally live here for free!
“I’d totally live here for free!”
Are you kidding me, you could not pay me to $20,000.00 a month to live here.
That lame picture of the pool still bugs the crap out of me.
Nothing like a listing written by an illiterate.
200 amp electrical… yeah that’s just the ticket for a 12,000 sf place.
Jeez…you think you’d work on the pictures for a house in this price range. Not only that pool picture, but you think they’d clean up the kitchen. #fail
“basement was used mass by bishop shean elct 200 amp”
can someone please translate this to English?
I love this house. If I had tons of money and didn’t have to commute downtown, I would love to buy it.
I’m pretty sure I’ve hit this place with a terrible tee shot on 9 at Bob Black.
My guess: The basement served as a speakeasy during Prohibition and Bishop Shean blessed the distillery equipment. The home is wired for 200 ampules of electricity.
No more than $900,000, to an ambitious “pick-up truck” ethnic contractor. Can’t imagine that a dot.com entrepreneur would be interested in overpaying and then renovating this house, no matter how large the lot or square foot building area.
Because I have been transfixed by this listing here is an interesting tidbit: http://www.archbishopsheencause.org/
Perhaps this is the Bishop in question?
why do you say that architect? i have seen many folks here salivate over crown molding and anything vintage? what is so bad about this one? is the hood really bad?
From this house to Union Station is a 45 minute commute, which is not bad at all.
Now, it’s clear that the agent for this property is a disaster. The house needs to be staged and better pictures taken. This is a property that should be on “Sell This House” or one of those other shows.
Properly cleaned up and staged and this house should have sold already. That is assuming there are no structural issues or big differed maintenance jobs. If there is one thing that’s keeping this house from selling (aside from the agent and the poor pictures) I would say it’s the indoor pool. It’s a real turnoff for a homeowner with young kids and anyone who just doesn’t want to deal with its upkeep… and the smell of chlorine emanating through the house.
I’ll say it sells for $1.75 in the next 3 months.
when looking at this place from the street what is on the right side, first floor, a window with something grey in it? almost looks like the size of a grage door…
I imagine the maintenance of this home is astronomical. If money was no object, I would love to have an indoor pool.
Again i will say at 1.85mil this place is a gosh darn STEAL. If had the money and ties to the hood i would be living here.
yes beauty-eye-beholder thing, but my standards are better than youz guyz so take it as you will 😉
please see link for history tidbits;
http://forgottenchicago.com/features/edgewater-golf-club/
Sad that the owner of 111 years succumbed to foreclosure. He only had a $500,000 mortgage on it too.
no i lied. there’s also a $1,014,000 mortgage on it.
so THAT’S why he foreclosed….
The price per square foot is only $158, lolz.
“gas forst air”??? bwahahaha!
Does anyone know what the 1900 price was? I’d be willing to pay slightly higher.
Next time they can hire my second grader to write the ad. It would be far more clear.
“Groove77 on June 27th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
please see link for history tidbits;”
The title of your link says it all: FORGOTTEN CHICAGO. This is a “has been” house in a “has been” hood. I don’t know where you get your $1.85MM prediction from – maybe you were being facetious? I’d predict something like $900k.
I would take this over a similarly priced house in the suburbs any day.
Sometimes I think short-sellers deliberately choose an inept RE agent as a guarantee that the house will not sell and so they can stay for free longer.
Probably too far from the Morse el stop to be a desirable property for this forum.
“I don’t know where you get your $1.85MM prediction from ”
the listing price and typed a 5 instead of a 9, oopsie daisie
“I’d predict something like $900k.”
but all it takes is a buyer that see’s its true value. al-la groove with cash. but in the end who the heck know what it will go for, maybe a fire sale for 600k while its actually on fire?
“This is a “has been” house in a “has been” hood”
yes but you can say that about many hoods that are now hot, just takes a small group and a few trendy shops to make a place popular again. al-la logan2
we can debate more but your name (SoPoCo Lurker) says way to much of your mindset and can see we view and value things differently. as i would pay 1.8mil to live in this home here than pay 900k to live in the same house in southport. (taking the flipping equation out of the analogy)
Jenny,
Why the reflexive hatred of suburbia? It probably isn’t a huge issue for someone spending $2 mln on a house, but wouldn’t it bother you that on top of the $2 mln you’d have to pay $60,000 annually for your kids (assuming you have two and aren’t Catholic) to go to a private school when you’d have a decent school district for free a few blocks farther north in Evanston?
I realize there are free schools in the city too, and you could get lucky and get your kid into a good one, but the fallback in this neighborhood is Sullivan, and I doubt you’d want your kid going there.
Stately, sprawling, a bit of history, and across from a golf course (at least from the map image, it looks nicely located).
That said, I just don’t see why some folks are so smitten with this place. Do you have the need for 12,000 ft? For that matter, do you need 6,000? The fact that this place could possible sell for $1 million is a clear sympton of midwestern-SFH-itis.
“The price per square foot is only $158, lolz.”
Better flush out your headgear new guy, the PPSF for most all of Chicago, excepting a few small enclaves of a few neighborhoods, is heading south of $200.
Who is going to buy this when they can just wait for the bank to take possession then get it for several hundred k less?
“It probably isn’t a huge issue for someone spending $2 mln on a house, but wouldn’t it bother you that on top of the $2 mln you’d have to pay $60,000 annually for your kids (assuming you have two and aren’t Catholic) to go to a private school when you’d have a decent school district for free a few blocks farther north in Evanston/”
Anyone – WITH 2 KIDS, NOT 6 – who buys this place for close to $2 million as opposed to a nice 3,000 sq ft place in east Evanston or Wilmette is crazy.
Another point re. the reflexive hatred of suburbia by some on this board:
In this case, the address is practically in the suburbs anyway, and the basic feel of this street is suburban. There are few interesting places to easily walk to (the heart of the Devon Avenue district is at least a mile away), and you’re not that close to the lake either. As Anonny points out, you’re much better off in East Wilmette or East Evanston. And East Evanston is far more interesting and city-like than this area. It just doesn’t have the city address that some find so alluring.
I’m a former city-phile, so I understand where people like Jenny are coming from. Having that city sticker on your car and telling people, “I live in Chicago – the actual city of Chicago” are both intoxicating. It took me a few years to get over that once I moved out.
“why the reflexive hatred of suburbia? It probably isn’t a huge issue for someone spending $2 mln on a house, but wouldn’t it bother you that on top of the $2 mln you’d have to pay $60,000 annually for your kids (assuming you have two and aren’t Catholic) to go to a private school when you’d have a decent school district for free a few blocks farther north in Evanston?”
I don’t know about Jenny, but if I had money to buy a 2mil house, I would rather pay the tuition for a private school or move to a neighborhood with decent public school rather than getting depressed in a suburb. Now I understand folks on lower budget that make the sacrifice, but someone who buys multi million dollar properties hopefully can afford to pay for his kids schooling.
“I’m a former city-phile, so I understand where people like Jenny are coming from. Having that city sticker on your car and telling people, “I live in Chicago – the actual city of Chicago” are both intoxicating. It took me a few years to get over that once I moved out.”
If your reason for living in the city was sporting a sticker, then no wonder the move to the burbs worked out for you. I honestly would rather have one kid and live in a 2BR than in a mansion in Oak Brook, Schaumburg, etc… But of course, everyone has his/her own preferences. What amazes me is that the suburbanites are always trying to convince everyone that there is nothing really worth staying for in Chicago. I call that denial.
“In this case, the address is practically in the suburbs anyway, and the basic feel of this street is suburban. There are few interesting places to easily walk to (the heart of the Devon Avenue district is at least a mile away), and you’re not that close to the lake either.”
Don’t know this immediate neighborhood v well (I do like indian boundary park), but this is a similar debate I have with groove from time to time. Why live in the far NW hoods with limited walkability (norwood/oriole) versus someplace like park ridge if you’re going to be that far out (I know, it’s not the best example, but PR does actually have a downtown and stuff) *if* you do not require a city address? I think groove’s only answer is that taxes may be cheaper in the city.
What, exactly, is a city-phile? And what is a suburb-a-phile? And really, is either worth defending?
I think this house is pretty ugly, by the way. Glad it’s not mine to sell!
Miumiu – there’s a lot more to recommend the city than posting a sticker on your car. I lived in Chicago for over 30 years, and I very much appreciated a great deal about the city and it pained me in many ways to leave.
I just think some people, (and you’re obviously one of them), are willing to make incredible sacrifices for a city address, and I’m not sure if it’s all worthwhile. Sometimes I do think it’s about saying, “Nah nah – I walk the walk. I really live in the city. I don’t just sneak in like a parasite every now and then to take advantage of its culture.” And the city sticker is proof of that.
Along with that goes the willingness to put up with the constant panhandling, bums sleeping under culverts, loud sirens at all hours, drunk frat guys yelling on your street at night, smell of garbage, dog doo on sidewalks, nowhere to park, slow CTA buses and packed CTA trains, etc. Believe me, I put up with all of that for many years, and miss none of it.
Also, miumiu, to pretend that the choice is either the city or Schaumburg/Oakbrook is really misleading, and you must know it. The North Shore or Oak Park or Park Ridge are not equivalent to Schaumburg. I live in the burbs, but would not live in Schaumburg or Oak Brook either.
“city sticker”
I hate the peeling and cleaning every year (maybe I should use one of those stick on things), and trying to verify whether there’s still an official grace period. Isn’t there some better way to tax us?
“Along with that goes the willingness to put up with the constant panhandling, bums sleeping under culverts, loud sirens at all hours, drunk frat guys yelling on your street at night, smell of garbage, dog doo on sidewalks, nowhere to park, slow CTA buses and packed CTA trains, etc. Believe me, I put up with all of that for many years, and miss none of it.”
Maybe the problem is where you chose to live in the city?
“Along with that goes the willingness to put up with the constant panhandling, bums sleeping under culverts, loud sirens at all hours, drunk frat guys yelling on your street at night, smell of garbage, dog doo on sidewalks, nowhere to park, slow CTA buses and packed CTA trains, etc. Believe me, I put up with all of that for many years, and miss none of it.”
but I like all these. I love the hustle and bustle of city and cannot stand the quiet and car driven culture of suburbs. I love that I can go down and walk along the lake or to state street shops of Michigan Ave., etc… any time I feel like it. Even an hour long walk with my baby makes my day.
“but I like all these. I love the hustle and bustle of city and cannot stand the quiet and car driven culture of suburbs.”
Really? Even drunk frat guys yelling (and peeing)? I’m not sure you’ve lived next to a frat bar, as Dan (not that Dan) apparently has.
Miumiu,
That’s one thing I really miss about living in East Lakeview/Lincoln Park; walking down Broadway or Diversey or Clark and looking in all the shop windows and seeing all the different types of people. I love the hustle and bustle as well.
We live in a walkable suburban area with shops, restaurants, the train and Lake Michigan in walking distance. But there’s certainly no comparison to the shopping/restaurant choices in the city or to the wonderful amenities of the city’s lakefront (we have a park and small beach near us, but most of the lake shore is privately owned).
It’s the other things that I listed that I don’t miss, so when I do find myself missing the hustle and bustle I remind myself of all those other things.
sure, there is no perfect place. One always have to trade things off. As long as you are happy that is great : )
I didn’t live next to a frat bar, but I grew up in East Lakeview just one house in from Broadway. There were many other types of bars right there, if you catch my drift, and we heard the noise every night.
Believe me DZ when I sleep nothing can wake me up so I am not exactly sensitive to drunken rampages : )
“Along with that goes the willingness to put up with the constant panhandling, bums sleeping under culverts, loud sirens at all hours, drunk frat guys yelling on your street at night, smell of garbage, dog doo on sidewalks, nowhere to park, slow CTA buses and packed CTA trains, etc. Believe me, I put up with all of that for many years, and miss none of it.”
meh it still beats living in the burbs with the soulless automatons
Miumiu,
I know you recently had a baby. Congrats on that and I’m glad you’re enjoying those walks. Summer in the city is great when you have a little one. (It’s winter when things get tough).
We have two boys, 11 and almost 8. The school system where we are is excellent, and that was another determining factor in our choice to go suburban. We just didn’t feel like going through the various hoops it looked like we might have to in the city. Granted, we moved in 2002 and city grammar schools, especially in Lakeview and Lincoln Park, seem to have improved a great deal since then. We know people very happy with Nettlehorst. The high school situation seems a lot more complicated.
I hope it works out for you and you can stay in Chicago when your child reaches school age. But we did make the move and are pretty happy now nine years out.
hey groove,
lets each buy a wing of this house, film a reality show there and make our mortgage payment from being wacky d-bags on TV… its a no fail plan!
Thanks, Sonies. I’ll let all my soulless automaton friends in the suburbs know what you think of them. Of course they won’t care because they’re soulless anyway.
I know this hood and I’ve played the golf course many times. The hood isn’t terrible, but it is rough. For some reason there is quite a lot of scary looking foot traffic on this block. There are always taxis parked in the parking lot. And a lot of section 8 types hanging out at the picnic tables. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. The course can hardly be considered an amenity. It plays so slow – I’m talking 4 hour rounds! That probably doesn’t sound bad until you realize it’s just 9 holes. Since it is so cheap it attracts the very slow playing element. It does have a functional short game practice area though. This part of Pratt feels like a main thoroughfare, and the set back here is miniscule. So it is like having a run down mansion right on a main street. Location is not close to anything. To drive to the loop from here on a weekday morning you would be looking at an hour to an hour and half. It could take 30 minutes just to get to lsd from here. The place looks decrepit/haunted. Maybe it would be good for 5-10 S&C Electric laborers to pool together and divy-up into a multifamily situation. Or it would make a great frat house, if only it were next to a big university. The inside is already half way between normal and frat house. I’d think even $1m will be a stretch when it goes to foreclosure. Could this be turned into a thriving haunted house business every October?
Two things about this house:
Most people seek out neighborhoods which validate their home-purchase price: a $1,500,000 single-family house in a $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 neighborhood, not a $250,000 to $450,000 neighborhood. There’s a certain psychic as well as financial risk comfort in market homogenity. This area of West Rogers Park/West Ridge is ok, but it’s not a magnet for college-educated white-collar dual-income couples or dot.com/trader entrepreneurs. It’s long been very Devon Avenue transitional ethnic immigrant, many large households, with a light dusting of “Certified Bungalow” architect-types, with not particularly strong (but crowded) public schools.
Anyone here toured this mansion? It has an indoor pool, which if neglected can have a disasterous impact on the air-quality and environmental condition of house itself. Mold, big time. Toured a contemporary high-end North Shore house w/neglected indoor pool; pool had algae, walls had mold, musty odor, house had mold growing in the expensive wall-to-wall wool carpeting. Owners were ill, per realtor – NO KIDDING.
As an aside, there’s a restored Arts& Crafts stucco bungalow near here slightly northeast for around $350,000 on a corner lot, which is far more charming and in ready move-in condition, that would easily appeal to an empty-nester couple (or use your savings to pay for private school).
I don’t think anything of them, I could care less
and do you have any idea of what taxes on a 2mm house in the burbs would be? probably twice as much as this place
I figured as much, Sonies. No offense taken. But then, I’m soulless.
“and do you have any idea of what taxes on a 2mm house in the burbs would be? probably twice as much as this place”
But this isn’t a $2mm house.
This one:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Oak-Brook/3706-Frederick-Dr-60523/home/18082339
is listed at $2, assessed for taxes at $2.35, and had taxes last year of $20k. I strongly dislike OB (and, esp., that house, which comes close to making this one look good), but would chose that house+location over this one any time.
“and do you have any idea of what taxes on a 2mm house in the burbs would be? probably twice as much as this place”
Not in Oak Brook:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Oak-Brook/Undisclosed-address-60523/home/18084181
(with much much much better schools and virtually no random crime)
Also, don’t fool yourself into thinking that 14k is the REAL tax amount for this place – guarantee that if this sells anywhere about 1.5 million, taxes are going to increase to over 20k
anon, why do you dislike Oak Brook? Have you ever been to one of the neighborhoods here?
People who like this house probably don’t live in a SFH. The maintenance would be so awful, I can’t even imagine. People don’t even think of the yard/garden when they think of maint. costs – for example, the storm last week caused over 10k worth of tree damage that is not covered under insurance. Everyone with tree damage around me is paying thousands in cash to clean up their yards. Condo owners are EXTREMELY lucky. Ask any homeowner, over the period of 30 years, how much they have paid in maint. costs, then divide by 360 and I think you will be surprised that the amount is SO much more than the assm that condo owners pay.
yeah nobody gives a shit about shitty oakbrook on here i’m referring to the 99% of the rest of the burbs
god you fucking people finding your 1% wrong answers are annoying!
“i’m referring to the 99% of the rest of the burbs”
What are the “99% of the rest” that have $2mm houses? Winnetka, Glencoe, Lake Forest, Hinsdale, Barrington and ??? Don’t bring up town with 8 really big houses; needs to be a place with options at $2m+
“anon, why do you dislike Oak Brook? Have you ever been to one of the neighborhoods here?”
All of my interactions with people in the OB area have been unpleasant, and I find driving out there terrifying (ok, not really, but dislike the general environment). Many, many nice houses, etc, etc, but were I to live there, why not move to Scottsdale or wherever? Just not my thing.
Kenilworth. Maybe Burr Ridge.
Pools and indoor pools are a PITA. I can’t imagine what the maintenance on this place would be like. I get anxious just thinking about it and it’s not even my house!
“Kenilworth. Maybe Burr Ridge.”
Yeah, Kenilworth roughly = W’ka + Glencoe; Burr Ridge is Hinsdale, but mostly in Cook County, so why bother?
I was tracking far the other way of there being 99 other suburbs with lots of $2mm home options. There might be 15-20, and OB is a reasonable trade off for at least two of them (Hinsdale and Burr Ridge). All the Barrigntons count as one when you’re looking from teh city, too.
Oak Brook is awesome. I’ve lived in Peoria, Champaign, Oak Park, Willowbrook, Ukrainian Village, Ann Arbor, Lincoln Park, Edgewater, and now West Ridge (in that order). I also spend about a month per year in Tahiti. Let me say that I think Oak Brook is super nice. The streets all look great, the highway access is great, which means it’s relatively convenient to visit friends in all directions, there are parks and restaurants to go to, and places to shop. It’s been a few years since I was last there, but their public rec facility looks gorgeous. If you want the urban experience you can just hop in the benz or on the train and go get it, then head back to safety and comfort. There’s something to be said, a great something, about not having the constant threat of random violence and police activity. Sure there are some a-holes in OB, maybe some who post regularly on this board, but you shouldn’t let that ruin you’re impression of a whole neighborhood/suburb. Most people are job/family oriented strivers like everyone else, perhaps they are better at it or try harder than average, so what. If they hold themselves above others for this reason, that’s their problem not yours. My experience has been negative with people from Park Ridge. Most talk about how great Park Ridge is because they have an inferiority complex being that it is NOT the north shore no matter what they say, they are surrounded by sh*t, and they are too stuck up to move to Naperville or St Charles. So because of those personal interactions I feel about PR they way you feel about OB but both are broad over generalizations. Except most people in OB really could afford the northshore, so they don’t have that inferiority impetus the way middle of the road Park Ridgers might.
Anway, even though Clio lives there, I think Oak Brook is awesome and I want to live there in the future. At my current life stage a newish condo in West Ridge or Rogers makes much more sense, and I’m happy with this for now.
—
“All of my interactions with people in the OB area have been unpleasant, and I find driving out there terrifying (ok, not really, but dislike the general environment). Many, many nice houses, etc, etc, but were I to live there, why not move to Scottsdale or wherever? Just not my thing.”
@ Dan, thank you. I understand the importance of kid’s school quality for the parents and after hearing that argument on CC, I understand why folks move to burbs. I can respect that but to be honest, it is more a sacrifice from parents side in my view. If I could not afford a good school for my kid, I would perhaps do the same too. It is an admirable thing to do, but I am willing first to sacrifice the size of my home, cut back on paying for say gas by having a smaller car or sharing one with my husband (if possible) before moving to burbs. I have family and friends living in burbs maintaining huge homes (with huge upkeep costs as clio points out) who pay a ton for gas for 1 hour commute each way to chicago who feel they are saving on school costs living in the burbs. It works for them of course which is great, but personally I would have made a different choice.
Miumiu:
I totally sympathize with your viewpoint. I just want to note that you reinforce a couple of stereotypes about the burbs that aren’t always true. First, not everyone out here lives in huge houses that cost a fortune to upkeep. In my neighborhood and many others, the houses and lot sizes are quite modest. Lots around here are only slightly bigger than city lots. And most people I know take the Metra to work, and avoid the drive. I used to take the train when I worked in the city. That has its own annoyances, but sure beats sitting in traffic on the Kennedy and Edens.
And not to aim at anyone in particular, but I just feel this house brings out a sentiment on this site that I can’t understand. People say they’d rather live in this place, which is in a dull and somewhat crummy neighborhood, with lousy schools, far from the lake and nowhere to walk to, than in an equivalent home in a neighborhood two miles farther north with lake access, very good schools, lots of nearby shops and restaurants (in other words, everything they say they like about the city). They would refuse to live in that neighborhood (Evanston) simply because it’s on the other side of some line drawn on a map. I just don’t understand that.
“They would refuse to live in that neighborhood (Evanston) simply because it’s on the other side of some line drawn on a map. I just don’t understand that.”
But, Dan #2, then they can’t be cool in say they live in the city!
“They would refuse to live in that neighborhood (Evanston) simply because it’s on the other side of some line drawn on a map. I just don’t understand that.”
They’re generally younger transplants from bumblefvck Iowa/Michigan/etc who couldn’t bear to admit to their friends back home they didn’t make it in the big citaaayyyy and now live in the ‘burbs. They are transplants. And being one, I know transplants (but my ego isn’t caught up in a return address on mail so I’m willing to jump to the right burb when needs dictate).
“But, Dan #2, then they can’t be cool in say they live in the city!”
Ding! Ding! Ding! Who wants cornfield village back home to know you didn’t make it in the city when you still get validation from those you went to HS with or your small town gossips?
Chicago is a great place to be when young but unless you’re wealthy trying to stay after your kiddos come along makes you like those salmon desperately trying to swim upstream who get eaten by bears.
Chicago city living is for the ethnics that have been here their whole lives so don’t know anything better, the poor who don’t give a shyt about their kids (and leech off the city/welfare), the wealthy who can afford the best for their kids, and the permanently childless.
Forgot about one other city-set: those that are forced to live here (city workers). Being keenly aware of the city’s problems due to their occupations and being a cog in the machine, they generally congregate in certain neighborhoods near the outskirts of the city boundaries which they try to keep as suburban as possible.
Evanston is gorgeous btw, so if I were to live in a suburb, that and oak park would be pretty high on the list. I personally am a down town and vicinity fan but mostly because I really don’t know the other hood that well.
“and the permanently childless”
oh those lucky people who sleep through the night!
I like living in a big city and never want to leave Chicago. The suburbs make me feel sad. I grew up in Chicago and I liked the fact that I knew people from all walks of life. I don’t care for public schools in general, so I would go with private, but I don’t think I will ever have kids. At my high school in the city, we had kids from all over the city and suburbs. I don’t really like neighborhood schools, where everyone is from the same area.
Miumiu,
Don’t despair! You’ll get to sleep again eventually. The first few months are by far the hardest.
Thanks for the encouragement Dan. I hope you are right for poor miserable Miu’s sake : )
“At my high school in the city, we had kids from all over the city and suburbs. I don’t really like neighborhood schools, where everyone is from the same area.”
I agree. I went to a private elite high school and it sucked. It was so not representative of the society at all and I felt I was so ignorant for so long. It was not until undergrad that I had a chance to see people from all walks of life and it was refreshing. You just realize how much more colorful life is and it is a good thing.
“Chicago city living is for the ethnics that have been here their whole lives so don’t know anything better, the poor who don’t give a shyt about their kids (and leech off the city/welfare), the wealthy who can afford the best for their kids, and the permanently childless.”
I have a bunch of neighbors in logan, most of whom are not I think what you would call wealthy (they’re definitely upper middle class by any reasonable definition, living in $350K-$500K houses) and doing fine for their kids.
“I went to a private elite high school and it sucked.”
She went to a private elite high school that apparently did not such for her.
but her’s had kids from all over the place which is the point not private or public. Most my classmayes were ubber competitive rich spoiled brats all feeling like prima donnas.
classmates : )
“but her’s had kids from all over the place which is the point not private or public. Most my classmayes were ubber competitive rich spoiled brats all feeling like prima donnas.”
I don’t know the school that well but I suspect it had diversity in the way (and prob not nearly as much as) an ivy league school does.
PS, miumiu, one of our neighbor’s has a one month old. Sure seems like all that kid does is sleep (and eat and you know). Doesn’t seem like there’s that much to taking care of her…
Not like having a crazy demanding 3 year old.
lucky her. Mine wakes up every 2-3 hours to feed, I have to feed him for 40-50 minutes then, burb and change him, so an hour and a half goes by before he sleeps again. then he waked up in half an hour or an hour as he is hungry again. Once in a while I get some 2 or 3 stretches of sleep between feedings. I bet your neighbor is bottle feeding. Formula takes longer to digest so babies sleep longer. I am back to working (not full time of course) so I often have to work for a chunk of those times instead of sleeping : (
I am sure 3 year olds are though too, but I hope they at least sleep through the night and one can get help to deal with them. I don’t even have a nanny for the summer as no one except yours truly can function as the cow : )
Parents, why use bunk beds? I’m not a parent, so maybe I am missing something here. But what is the benefit of using a bunk bed? Particularly when you have 12,000 sqft?
“Chicago city living is for the ethnics that have been here their whole lives so don’t know anything better, the poor who don’t give a shyt about their kids (and leech off the city/welfare), the wealthy who can afford the best for their kids, and the permanently childless”
Or the people (like myself) whose kids tested into a gifted program.
(I live in a bungalow in North Park and am not wealthy, if anyone cares.)
Mine wakes up every 2-3 hours to feed, I have to feed him for 40-50 minutes then, burb and change him, so an hour and a half goes by before he sleeps again. then he waked up in half an hour or an hour as he is hungry again. Once in a while I get some 2 or 3 stretches of sleep between feedings.”
I was just kidding, she’s in pretty much the same boat. Just seems like the kid is sleeping all the time when we see them
“But what is the benefit of using a bunk bed?”
Makes a cool fort.
“but her’s had kids from all over the place which is the point not private or public. Most my classmayes were ubber competitive rich spoiled brats all feeling like prima donnas.”
You went to clio’s HS? Which, btw, is, I believe jenny’s, too.
“I think groove’s only answer is that taxes may be cheaper in the city”
taxes are crazy cheaper and the same house is usually 100-200k less.
“Why live in the far NW hoods with limited walkability (norwood/oriole) versus someplace like park ridge if you’re going to be that far out”
this is hard to make this physically or numerically tangible, but if you get it than you get it.
its about your neighbors the people you interact with at the park, store, on the street, at the restaurant. the thing about the NW side and people that choose to live there is a huge reason many becaome lifers and generation overs. you dont get lifers and third gens as common place in lakeview or wicker park, ect. same with the burbs you get a kid born in the burbs he splits and does his darnedest to stay in the city as long as he can but eventually goes back to the burbs.
on the NW side you will find kids buying on the same block as their parents and their grand parents are a few blocks over.
you get way more down to earth and real people on the NW side, and thats something you cant but a price on.
a great man once sang “who are the people in your neighborhood, in your neighborhood, in your neeeeeeighbooooorhoooooood”
i am with anon(ufo) if you gonna do burbs dear gosh get out of crook county. dupage aint that great either but sure the heck beat cook any day of the week. and there is nothing wrong if you want to grow a mullet and drive an iroc just please keep it in mchenry county.
We have a bunk bed in our younger boy’s room and the cat likes the top bunk a lot. Otherwise, no one ever uses it.
“We have a bunk bed in our younger boy’s room and the cat likes the top bunk a lot. Otherwise, no one ever uses it.”
lol…cute.
groove… You jest about the IROC, and where it’s acceptable to have, but are you not seeing how priceless would it be to pull up into your new SFH in ELP in a black, late 70’s Trans Am with a giant gold thunderbird on the hood. Throw on a satiny red jacket, with black stripes down the shoulders and sleeves that have the word Carerra emblazoned on it… Chomping on too much gum as you tell your new neighbor ‘how you’re movin on in cause it met your unicorn crieria’
I agree with groove that it’s all about the neighbors. Having said that, I knew plenty of dull, vapid people when I lived in Lincoln Park, and have met some intelligent, interesting people living in the burbs.
i dont think the problem of the burbs is the people. it is the car dependent, strip mall galore, chain restaurant abundant structure that is unappealing to me. I also miss the gay vibe in the suburbs that contributes to fab. factor of the city : )
“you get way more down to earth and real people on the NW side, and thats something you cant but a price on.”
Fair enough point.
I’m against the car-dependent, chain restaurant, strip mall galore aspects of the suburbs. You can live in the burbs and avoid most of that, assuming you pick the right burb. Also, there are plenty of ugly strip malls and chain restaurants in the city. If you want ugly strip malls, look what they did to Clark Street between Diversey and Belmont. Ugh.
“groove… You jest about the IROC, and where it’s acceptable to have, but are you not seeing how priceless would it be to pull up into your new SFH in ELP in a black, late 70’s Trans Am with a giant gold thunderbird on the hood. Throw on a satiny red jacket, with black stripes down the shoulders and sleeves that have the word Carerra emblazoned on it… Chomping on too much gum as you tell your new neighbor ‘how you’re movin on in cause it met your unicorn crieria’”
FU Ze, you fricken owe me new underwear, that is absolutely the best post on CC.
“I agree with groove that it’s all about the neighbors. Having said that, I knew plenty of dull, vapid people when I lived in Lincoln Park, and have met some intelligent, interesting people living in the burbs”
Dan numero deuce, the people out your way compared to the 90% pricks in LP is not a fair comparison.
groove, still wanna take me up on my reality show idea?
I remember begging my parents for a bunk bed even though I am an only child. I just liked the idea of sleeping up so high. My parents (understandably) didn’t like the idea of buying two mattresses though, so I never had one.
I started out my schooling at a terrible Catholic school, so I was extremely happy when my parents let me transfer to a private school (we aren’t Catholic). Maybe coming from such a closed minded Catholic school, I saw the private school as very diverse.
“groove, still wanna take me up on my reality show idea?”
did i miss your post somewhere?
Groove,
Agree that a lot of pricks live in LP. However, I’m not someone who grew up in the burbs, went down to live in LP for a few years and then moved back. I grew up in East Lakeview and lived there until I was in my 20s. Then I moved to LP and lived there another 8 years. Lots of interesting people in Lakeview.
yeah groove…
“lets each buy a wing of this house, film a reality show there and make our mortgage payment from being wacky d-bags on TV… its a no fail plan!”
“hey groove,
lets each buy a wing of this house, film a reality show there and make our mortgage payment from being wacky d-bags on TV… its a no fail plan!”
i am in!!!!! we can make extra on the side doing webisodes and blogging about it.
fist thing on the agenda is to make a zipline from the bedroom to the corner paleta vendor.
“Parents, why use bunk beds? I’m not a parent, so maybe I am missing something here. But what is the benefit of using a bunk bed? Particularly when you have 12,000 sqft?”
We had a loft bed for my daughter from age 5-11 and she loved it because she felt like she was in a nest up high. We did it to add play space since her room is small. However, if space is not a consideration, I recommend against it since changing the sheets on an elevated mattress is such a pain.
Wasn’t the Trans Am a Pontiac, and the Iroc a Chevy (Z 28)?
“Agree that a lot of pricks live in LP. However, I’m not someone who grew up in the burbs, went down to live in LP for a few years and then moved back. I grew up in East Lakeview and lived there until I was in my 20s. Then I moved to LP and lived there another 8 years. Lots of interesting people in Lakeview.”
That’s sort of my story…Grew up in West Lake View, lived in LP and West Loop and Old Town, and now going back to Lake View.
Funny how one of you grew up in Lakeview, and the other in Lake View, no?
“fist thing on the agenda is to make a zipline from the bedroom to the corner paleta vendor.”
I thought it was going to be a roof mounted water balloon launcher pointed towards the golf course
?
By the way, here is the listing agent. Hilarious typos and misssplingss:
Presented by
Lydia Memeti
Mobile: (708) 267-0971
Lakeview or Lake View? I think it’s two words. Looking at these two together, I think I messed up and Red is correct. Problem is, I lived on Lakeview Avenue for many years so got used to one word.
We just bought a bunk bed for our two, makes their sharing a room a little easier.
This place makes me really sad – I cannot believe that the people living here like this are the ones who were able to qualify for the $1m mortgage on it, so what is going on? I get really bad vibes about it. There’s no way anyone is going to pay that kind of price with it listed the way it is right now. Perhaps it will be bought by a charity or some kind of organization eventually.
As for city/suburbs – I’m a city girl through and through but when the schools don’t work out in your favor and paying for private isn’t an option you have to do what you have to do. I couldn’t have bought somewhere in the city with an equivalent school option for what the place I just bought out in the burbs is costing me, even with taxes and commute costs considered.
Hey I was born on Lakeview Avenue, in the old Columbus Hospital!
I think officially its two words, but its so common to see both spellings either is probably OK. I’m just a stickler for the official spelling from my days as a reporter.
“I thought it was going to be a roof mounted water balloon launcher pointed towards the golf course”
thats #4, number 2 is we need to get some ridiculous tans at that tanning salon. number 3 is to get barbwire tattoo’s on the diesel biceps. then #5 will be prepare the stairs for laundry basket races.
wait come to think step one should be to buy ludicrous amounts of liquor and neosporin
I’m perfectly willing to sell my sould for a decent special ed program in the burbs. I’ll spend all that extra time that would have been spent supplementing cps crap with hauling my ass to the lake.
“thats #4, number 2 is we need to get some ridiculous tans at that tanning salon. number 3 is to get barbwire tattoo’s on the diesel biceps. then #5 will be prepare the stairs for laundry basket races.
wait come to think step one should be to buy ludicrous amounts of liquor and neosporin”
lol! Imagine the kind of peeps we could pick up in E. rogers park to hang out at our indoor pool with us!
but hey we could have some damn fun BBQ’s!
“lol! Imagine the kind of peeps we could pick up in E. rogers park to hang out at our indoor pool with us!
but hey we could have some damn fun BBQ’s!”
the only song we will play 24/7 is sir mix-a-lot’s my posse is on broadway!
but every friday we will mix it up and play mtv’s jock jam volume #3
“I started out my schooling at a terrible Catholic school, so I was extremely happy when my parents let me transfer to a private school (we aren’t Catholic). Maybe coming from such a closed minded Catholic school, I saw the private school as very diverse.”
now we see where Jenny gets her creepy cross/cruifix syndrome from
dude we could just get the real sir mix a lot… i’m sure he’s pretty cheap these days
“dude we could just get the real sir mix a lot… i’m sure he’s pretty cheap these days”
now thats going to make great tv, each week we hire a out of work “musician” to play live an live with us for a week.
during sweeps week we can double up and have rupal and garth brooks share a bunkbed.
i can see it now rupal in full drag ziplining down to the paleta vendor while garth and sonies water-balloning the guy putting for double boggie
you guys remind me of the herd in ice age : )
I can picture Groove saying “I dont know about you guys but we are the weirdest herd I have ever seen.’”
“you guys remind me of the herd in ice age”
have not seen that movie yet. but thanks for a compliment?
“dude we could just get the real sir mix a lot… i’m sure he’s pretty cheap these days”
Howabout the Teach Me How to Dougie guy who got hit by the ice-cream truck? (he’s local to Chicagoland)
“but thanks for a compliment?”
Might depend on how you feel about John Leguizamo
it is a complement. love ice age.
“Might depend on how you feel about John Leguizamo”
young john, or older now john?
“Might depend on how you feel about John Leguizamo”
Used to see him around my neighborhood; he seemed like a nice guy. Did they ever make a Spawn II?
“young john, or older now john?”
Both, because they’ve been releasing those movies for a decade.
I will not accept john post one man show (the first run) everything after that is an insult!
oh we could also get ben stein to visit occasionally