Buy a Foreclosure and Renovate: 4-Bedroom Victorian in Logan Square: 2337 N. Monticello
This 4-bedroom Victorian single family home at 2337 N. Monticello in Logan Square was bank owned in May 2010.
It sold to a new buyer for just $130,000 in July 2010.
It has come back on the market after a renovation listed at $375,000.
The house now has ebony floors throughout the main level and a completely new kitchen opened up to the dining/living area with dark cabinets, 2 inch granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances.
There is a finished lower level with a 12×11 family room, an office/bedroom and a full bath alongside a laundry room.
The other three bedrooms are on the second level.
There is central air and a 2-car garage on a 30×125 lot.
Is this a steal for a first time homebuyer?
Chadwick Duda at Prudential Rubloff has the listing. See the pictures here.
To see the “before” pictures- if you have a redfin account- you can see them there in the prior listing. It’s quite interesting to see the changes.
2337 N. Monticello: 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 2 car garage, no square footage listed
- Sold in October 1993 for $88,000
- Lis pendens filed in November 2008
- Bank owned in May 2010
- Originally listed in July 2010 for $135,900
- Sold in July 2010 for $130,000
- Originally listed in January 2011 for $375,000
- Currently still listed for $375,000
- Taxes of $2717
- Central Air
- Bedroom #1: 14×13 (second floor)
- Bedroom #2: 10×10 (second floor)
- Bedroom #3: 10×10 (second floor)
- Bedroom #4: 13×10 (lower level)
- Family room: 12×11 (lower level)
Is being that close to a grocery a good thing, a bad thing or some of each?
Bet they could go to about $325 and still make a decent return, if it sells quickly.
Wouldn’t want to live west of Central Park (between Fullerton & Diversey) or west of Kimball (between Fullerton & Armitage). And I don’t know anyone else that could afford this place and would want to live that far west either.
that realtor may give the ‘hot property’ dude a run for his money….
So, this took just 6 months to complete and list? were drawings & permits required????
That is pretty far west, but glad to see investors out there are improving the housing stock.
“So, this took just 6 months to complete and list? were drawings & permits required????”
No permits. Checked the website.
Looks mainly cosmetic and completion of the kitchen/baths.
hard to see anything selling for this much this far west, but this is an interesting test case.
disagree slightly with chris m, tho, think they’d have been better off rehabbing one within stumbling distance of weegee’s.
what website? thanks…
“No permits. Checked the website.”
Roma–just my personal obervation of unofficial neighborhood boundaries from living in Logan Square for about 5 years. Actually, never went to Weegee’s but have heard great things about it. I would go over to that area for lunches at Brown Sack, although it moved several months ago to Central Park and Belden. I couldn’t justify going out that far west after dark and getting intoxicated.
http://webapps.cityofchicago.org/buildingpermit/search/resetsearch.htm
“Looks mainly cosmetic and completion of the kitchen/baths.”
Can it really be this easy to get rich? Buy a place for 130k, sink maybe 75k into it, and sell for 375k? Are there still people out there stupid enough to pay 375k for this place?
I think Logan Square is gonna bubble over. A bunch of poor white artists moving in does not a gentrified neighborhood make.
“A bunch of poor white artists moving in does not a gentrified neighborhood make.”
Except when it does.
In any case, although I’m on record as bearish on Chicago real estate, if you’re utterly convinced to try to speculate on neighborhood home values, I think this general area (inc south of here, around the Y) is about as good a bet as any.
“Buy a place for 130k, sink maybe 75k into it, and sell for 375k?”
I was giving them the benefit of doubt and assuming that they spent some time/money on electric/plumbing/hvac, too and put about what they paid for the frame into the place. If not, you’re completely right. Even if so, $325k is still a tidy profit for them and it makes the place much more reasonable.
There are surprisingly few listings in that immediate area. With a bit wider circle this:
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/Undisclosed-address-60647/home/13419947
reno gone bad is quite interesting, at $899, in a completely uninhabitable state.
What no arguments that this is really South Avondale instead of Logan Square 🙂
That picture of Chadwick Luda sure makes him look swarmy
I think it has new walls & drywall, new floors, windows, base trim too. Add in the kitchen, tile in basement and bathrooms, new bathroom fixtures, the outside siding looks new too….this was more than $75K.
I’m not an expert on rehabs, but it looks like they didn’t alter the HVAC, electrical or plumbing systems (otherwise they’d have added can lights, right?) and therefore is it correct to assume that’s why permits weren’t required??
On second look, the kitchen does in fact have some can lights, so what’s the deal, why weren’t permits required for that alteration? Can any rehabbers explain?
LOL on the realtor photo. Maybe he moonlights as an actor. Nice looking reno, without knowing if the work is solid or not. area is suspect, but perhaps a good deal at 300?
I have a 2-flat near Palmer Square and the quality of the tenants has improved every year. Obviously prices have come down but I’ve seen a noticeable change in the population and the recent restaurant openings seem to mirror the changes in the neighborhood. Again…I’m talking east of Kimball. West of Kimball (or Central Park north of Fullerton) is quite different.
I’d be floored if permits were not required. Having done a few different projects, as well as my primary home you get permits for nearly everything, but if it was all interior work they could have slid under the radar perhaps.
“therefore is it correct to assume that’s why permits weren’t required??”
Required? Or “required”? They would have needed at least a repair/replace permit, which wouldn’t need drawings.
I’m of the opinion that the entire northwest side will eventually gentrify into the green zone, but it’s going to take at least another generation to work up milwaukee to the outer edge of Niles. (and then the gap in the middle ie west ridge, albany park etc will take another generation or so to convert to the GZ after that).
People talk about living near public trans, on smaller lots, closer to shopping that isn’t so car dependent (and not entirely unsafe either). That’s the northwest side. Demographics will fail the suburbs as gen Y lives in Gladstone park instead of Highland Park. The only caveat is high schools. It’s much easier to turn around an elementary school with a couple hundreds kids from a neighborhood than it is to turn around a high school with a couple of thousand from a wider area. Fix the high school issues and the NW all the way from Riverwest to Gladstone Park will be hot hot hot.
This of course will be to the detriment of the exurbs, the collar counties, some of the inner ring suburbs, and to some extent, the north shore. I’m talking long term here.
Sold:
2311 Lawndale
2335 Monticello
3419 W Dickens
2318 Central Park
Active:
1917 Hamlin
1935 Drake
anon(tfo): similar to this permit? What’s needed here in the below case, just fill out some forms?
Description: REPAIR/REPLACE DRYWALL, FLOORING. CABINETS, PLUMBING FIXTURES. ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS. LIGHTING & RECEPTACLES. ROOF REPAIR (NO STRUCTURAL WORK) ALL WORK SAME AS EXISTING; SUBJECT TO FIELD INSPECTI
Total Records: One item found.
Name Completed Date Status
FINAL DATA REVIEW 2010-02-04 APPROVED
The owners of this address received a permit on Thursday, February 4, 2010
There is no similar type repair/replace permit listed on the website for the subject property on Monitcello. Any idea why not???
I think you would have more success in this area focusing on a lower cost property and thus larger demographic. An excellent example of that is 1651 N Whipple…50k purchase…198k list
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1651-N-Whipple-St-60647/home/13415603
Are people really surprised that repair/reno work goes on in Chicago without a permit?
Granted I don’t know what this looked like before the rehab, but it looks like they did a nice job. I would question the price for the neighborhood somewhat, but I would assume this house would be one of the best on the block or close to it.
As for the permits, are people surprised that they might try to avoid this step. In all likely-hood someone was probably paid a few bucks to look the other way while renovations were completed. Come on people, we live in Chicago. I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.
Well, we know the builder/seller here at least THINK that theirs, rather than this, is the nicest one on the block (or 2):
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2243-N-Monticello-Ave-60647/home/13420515
(no interior pics, not done yet?)
Good luck with that…
“anon(tfo): similar to this permit? What’s needed here in the below case, just fill out some forms?”
Yep. Don’t know the full process (ie, don’t rely on this discussion to expect to just fill out a form and get a permit), but do know that no drawings are required.
Re: Whipple
Yes and no Chibuilder – the price point is better at $198,000 but the location is terrible for a green zone purchaser. that block has lots of rentals, vacant lots and a couple of boarded up homes. Moreover the larger demographic at that price point probably doesnt have the credit score to get a mortgage.
Move that home and that lower cost concept about 20 or 25 blocks north into albany park and now you’re talking.
no permit listed for 1651 Whipple
unless I’m not getting it because I’s surfing with Safari and not: (Requires Microsoft I.E. 5.0+ version browser to view Permit Status pages.)
“Are people really surprised that repair/reno work goes on in Chicago without a permit?”
I’m shocked! Shocked! to find that gambling is going on in here!
“In all likely-hood someone was probably paid a few bucks to look the other way while renovations were completed. ”
Actually not that likely to be necessary, unless they did sewer/water work, and, really, just water, as sewer work gets done on the weekend.
“I’m of the opinion that the entire northwest side will eventually gentrify into the green zone”
I completely agree, however I think it will take on a sawtooth sort of integration area. This place will probably fall outside of the most desirable because of proximity to Logan Square Blue line stop and longer bus rides. Logan Square is riding out the bubble in an interesting way, new restaurants and bars have opened up, and low cost SF rehabs are bringing in young couples.
The other issue for these homes is schools. Few if any of us here would send their children to the local public elementary school and I couldn’t even tell you what the private school options are that don’t cost an arm and a leg. The suburbs will unfortunately win hands down over city living on the NW side as long as the elementary schools are subpar compared to the suburbs:
mozart is the elementary for this area and here’s a description from CPS
As of 2008, there are 767 students enrolled at MOZART. 45.4% are Limited English Proficient. 97.8% are Low Income. The Daily Attendance rate is 96.2%, the Mobility rate is 24.2%, and the Truancy rate is 0.1%.
As of 2008, the largest demographic at MOZART is Hispanic. This demographic currently makes up 84.9% of the student population. The second greatest demographic is African-American at 5.7% , followed by White at 1.0% .
You better be cool with Latin King summertime warring if you want to live around that place on Whipple. Things are generally calmer further north up here.
“Are there still people out there stupid enough to pay 375k for this place?”
Are you crazy? Look at the finishes – that is a steal at 375k. Where the hell do most of you live – Buckingham Palace? Most 750k houses in Oak Brook/Kenilworth/Hinsdale don’t even have finishes that are that nice.
For some ridiculous reason I expected an onslaught of properties to be listed today, the day after the superbowl, but I’m just not seeing it. I’ve seen a handful of relistings but not too many new ones.
Somebody called me today and said “I haven’t paid my mortgage in a year I’m worried” I said “Dn’t be worried, you have another year before they kick you out!”
It’s no wonder there are so few new listings. Nobody wants to sell, not even current owners, long time owners or the banks.
clio – does Oak Brook have the Latin Kings? Or are they insane cobras?
Is there a decent elementary school in Oak Brook? Where is Oak Brook exacctly. Do people actually live there? Ithought it was just like schuamburg – all highways and malls.
“Most 750k houses in Oak Brook/Kenilworth/Hinsdale don’t even have finishes that are that nice.”
Nor do the backyards in those towns offer such wonderful views of Tony’s Finer Foods.
clio–note how far west of Western this is, and what folks who live/have lived somewhat nearby say about the location. There is some reasonable concern if the place is out of step with the ‘hood.
1651 Whipple is in the “Humboldt Park” neighborhood boundaries. If accurately listed on the MLS, that property isn’t going to get much attention. Move it east of Humboldt Boulevard and it’s in “West Town” or move it north of Bloomingdale tracks and it’s in “Logan Square”. Didn’t look it up on the MLS but wouldn’t be it surprised if it was improperly classified though.
“Where is Oak Brook exacctly. Do people actually live there? Ithought it was just like schuamburg – all highways and malls.”
Yeah – and this is the guy making all sorts of predictions about housing…. readers – be careful who you trust.
“For some ridiculous reason I expected an onslaught of properties to be listed today, the day after the superbowl, but I’m just not seeing it.”
ARe you kidding me? Do you really think that people wait for the minute the super bowl is over and list their houses? What kind of nut are you? Seriously, realtors have always used the super bowl as a rough date after which they PERCEIVE listing activity increases. The truth is that most people don’t start listing until March and most people don’t start getting serious until April – May.
Clio,
I’m curious why you always group Hinsdale in with places such as Kenilworth. Admittedly, I don’t know the suburbs well at all, but my impression was that Hinsdale was not even close to Kenilworth in terms of average incomes, land values, etc. Am I way off? I’m legitimately curious, what I know of Hinsdale doesn’t extend much beyond high school basketball!
Whipple is listed properly in the MLS as neighborhood 8023 – Humboldt Park. Makes sense since Matt Garrison has the listing
Hinsdale is probably more similar to Winnetka and Oak Brook is more similar to Kenilworth (in terms of pricing and housing). Once again, you can’t go by averages because, in order to get increased state/federal funding, both Hinsdale and Oak Brook had to show that they had affordable housing. Both towns annexed areas on the outskirts that had small condos and small houses on them so that they could say they have affordable housing but the main “real” sections of Hinsdale and Oak Brook are just as expensive as Winnetka/Kenilworth. Just look at the MLS.
for the record, Tony’s is awesome…(or at least the one on Elston is, don’t know if I’ve ever been to this one)
@roma, i’d agree with you except the time I wanted to rent a steam cleaner, they wanted a credit card and a cash deposit. They would not let me put the deposit on my credit card…apparently this is a huge risk for them. I have refused to shop there ever since!
Which is why, though I don’t disagree with the general thesis that much of the NW side may eventually become GZ, I think it is going to take much longer than one generation to happen. I see no sign that most CPS are going to get significantly better anytime soon, and there aren’t enough “pioneers” willing to gamble on their kids’ futures by forgoing good suburban school districts to live in the city AHEAD of dramatic CPS improvement. Parents will continue to sacrifice time and money (longer commute, more expensive gas) to secure good schools.
“The other issue for these homes is schools. Few if any of us here would send their children to the local public elementary school and I couldn’t even tell you what the private school options are that don’t cost an arm and a leg. The suburbs will unfortunately win hands down over city living on the NW side as long as the elementary schools are subpar compared to the suburbs”
“I’m of the opinion that the entire northwest side will eventually gentrify into the green zone, but it’s going to take at least another generation to work up milwaukee to the outer edge of Niles.”
WTF?!! Who are you HD? 99% of your posts are trying to convince people that the end is near and all of Chicago’s housing stock is plummeting in value. Highland Park is going to be the new Englewood, etc. and now, all of a sudden you are saying that the northwest side will eventually gentrify into the green zone?!! What are you smoking? Please try to be a little more consistent – you are quickly losing credibility.
Having worked with a number of guys from both Hinsdale and Winnetka, I’d venture that proto-typical Hinsdale homebuyers aren’t that similar to Winnetka/Kenilworth homebuyers, even though Hinsdale is the most “white bread” of western suburbs. And Oak Brook is a different social class construct of “self-made man” altogether. The noted guys living in Hinsdale all grew up “blue-collar/1st generation college” outside of Illinois and now hold upper-middle management corporate jobs. They follow the example of their bosses, not their family tradition. They purchased homes “closer to downtown than Naperville, but great schools” with excellent highway access, pragmatic but otherwise aren’t social-status conscious. Hinsdale is an island of upper-middle class households, surrounded by now gentrified Western Springs, but otherwise solidly middle-class post-war suburbia.
On the other hand, I haven’t met a Winnetka/Kenilworth resident who wasn’t keenly aware of social stature markers. Here homeowners’ parents and grandparents went to college, enjoyed white-collar careers, and pressed family social stature is important. There may be a period of Chicago residency, but most of these households scampered northward to North Shore when preschool decision-time arrived. Interlopers may own a house here, but they aren’t integrated into the social network.
Oak Brook? Aside from Michael Butler’s oft-noted polo ponies, Oak Brook is/was domain of the shiny-shoed newly-monied of dubious origin, including the mob-related folks moving westward from Oak Park/River Forest in the 70s. Read Gus Russo’s “The Outfit” and “Supermob”, both outstanding well-researched Chicago history books, for further explanation. Oak Brook’s history explains the interior decor of those ranch houses previously referenced in others’ posts. Though Oak Brook may appear as expensive and exclusive as Kenilworth, these two communities and their housing stock are so unlike that little comparison can be made beyond price-point similarities.
The march of green zoners up milwaukee avenue has been constant and steady for 20 years now, starting with Wicker, then bucktown, the logan, next is avondale, old irving has already changed, the jefferson park, etc. The march up the red line has been steady too. Does anyone remember teh nasty sporting good store that used to be under the el at Sheridan in 1994? what’s there now? New condos or something? All the while gentrification is happening west too, in places like irving park, albany park, we visited a rehab on st. louis / irving a few weeks ago, right? the steady march of gentrification of the northside.
“clio on February 7th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
“I’m of the opinion that the entire northwest side will eventually gentrify into the green zone, but it’s going to take at least another generation to work up milwaukee to the outer edge of Niles.”
WTF?!! Who are you HD? 99% of your posts are trying to convince people that the end is near and all of Chicago’s housing stock is plummeting in value. Highland Park is going to be the new Englewood, etc. and now, all of a sudden you are saying that the northwest side will eventually gentrify into the green zone?!! What are you smoking? Please try to be a little more consistent – you are quickly losing credibility”
@HD, so are you saving that if you can find something decent off Milwaukee, one should grab it?
Architect, I have to disagree with you about the difference between Hinsdale and Winnetka. I LIVE and OWN in this area and I know very well that a HUGE emphasis is put on social stature and societal placement is EXTREMELY important.
In terms of the differences between Oak Brook and Kenilworth – I have to agree with you (although I would definitely venture to say that Oak Brook residents likely have much more money and worth more than Kenilworth residents, they are also EXTREMELY private and the source of their money is not always the most prestigious (ie, several CEOs and owners of businesses – think Ty Warner, GNC, Blistex, Junk Mail, Waste Management, Portillos, Brown’s Chicken, and many many car dealership owners)).
OK – HD – so basically you think condos in the Gold Coast, Old Town, ELP are all going to keep falling until someone can buy a 3 bed for 100k but the Northwest side is going to keep going up in price?!!! Are you kidding? Again, your credibility is quickly disappearing
Architect, re-reading your post, I really have to laugh. Seriously, so you knew a few people from Hinsdale and Winnetka and had a few interactions with those people. Now you think you know the social structure of both communities?! Come on, give me a break. You really should be a little less authoritative in your posts – especially if you don’t live in the area and don’t know WTF you are talking about.
Given recent census information on Chicago population trends, further gentrification of Chicago’s NW side seems unlikely. Population trends show only continued strong working-class hispanic household growth, while white middle-class continues to move to suburbs. Upper-middle class households stabilized in the noted “Green Zone”, but that group isn’t likely to grow so long as school choices are limited. Black households at all income levels are also leaving Chicago.
Aside from top 5% wage-earners, wages have stagnated for over a decade in US. Chicago’s job growth has been insignificant, while traditionally well-paying union jobs are disappearing. New college graduates face a difficult job market and notable loan debt. Ready housing available in Chicago faces weak demand and lowered pricing. “Gentrification”, defined as housing at a significantly higher purchase price than median neighborhood home price, seems an unlikely prospect.
Money doesn’t equal class.
Clio,
I see your point about their being some very successful business owners in oakbrook, and there are definitely some awesome properties there, IE, the portillos mansion off 31st street, Bear Mansion, Velu Chand’s Ranch style layout on 31st, and a plethora of nice subdivisions, however, it’s a long known fact within the chicago suburban ‘elite’, and as a physician you should know this – oakbrook is decidedly much ‘newer’ money than the northshore suburbs..Burr Ridge is newer money than oakbrook, and naperville is the ‘newest’ money. Yes, there are owners of browns, luxury motors, and lexus of westmont living in oakbrook – but the walgreens family, the CEO of takeda pharmaceuticals, and people with billion dollar net worths living in Lake Forest – these are the types of people that own planes and helicopters. The wealth comparison is vasty different there, i think.
Hd, I agree that the westside has seen a lot of gentrification – but a lot of it was during and before the 06′ boom and collapse. Places like gold coast, river north, streeterville, lincoln park, etc – they were well established already. Areas that are already gentrified are likely to stay static as such – places on the brink ( such as the west side ) are going to gentrify at a much slower pace, in my opinion. Most 20-somethings i know have minimal interest in living on the westside unless they have a handlebar mustache and fixie bicycle in the garage.
“Money doesn’t equal class.”
Well said Architect.. and your ‘burbs demographic comparison was spot on.
bettieshoe – do you live or have you lived in Winnetka, Kenilworth, Hinsdale, or Oak Brook? I have (kenilworth, Hinsdale and Oak Brook). So if you haven’t, shut the f up!
Riz,
Appearance and image is very important to many north shore families – however, I think you would be surprised at how little money many of them have. Maintaining that type of lifestyle is very expensive and , through the generations, that money gets divided, wasted and not replenished. Many of the “newer money” people are self-made and much more careful with their money. I would bet that their net worths are higher than many people you “think” have money. Wasn’t that Walgreens lady who lived in Lake Forest with her pigs get foreclosed upon? If not, I know for a fact that she had to move to a less expensive place because she couldn’t afford to keep her house (and it was only like 3 million dollars). I also know this from living on ELSD – and being privy to some of those people’s lives. Sure, there are some that are wealthy – but when I moved there I thought EVERYONE had at least 20 million. I was shocked to learn that many didn’t even have that much!! Some weren’t even worth 10 million yet they were living in 4 million dollar coops (just to keep up appearances). The lives of the rich and seemingly rich are very interesting.
clio, re-reading your post, I really have to laugh. Seriously, so you knew a few people from Hinsdale and Winnetka and had a few interactions with those people. Now you think you know the social structure of both communities?! Come on, give me a break. You really should be a little less authoritative in your posts – especially if you live in the area and you still don’t know WTF you are talking about.
Wicker – I am confused as to what you are saying – you basically just copied what I said to Architect. The point is that I live, work and own property in these areas. I socialize with these people and know them well – so I think I know what I am talking about. WTF is so hard to understand about this?!! Would you ask someone from Hawaii about Alaska? You guys are crazy.
I don’t know much about the neighborhood but the finishes are very nice. I actually think they are way nicer than many 500K+ properties I have seen.
Yes, money indeed does not equal class, but neither does lack of it : )
Two points:
1. I grew up very near Hinsdale. My parents still live there. I agree with Architect’s original assessment of the differences between the western and the Northern suburbs (sorry, Clio.)
2. HD: why do you assume that the entire NW side will gentrify sooner than areas closer to the lake–like the often bashed South Loop. If schools are an issue, South Loop elementary is a great (and steadily improving) option for many parents. And there is a new Catholic grade school, in a brand new 12 million dollar building, where parents can send their kids for about 8,000 per year. What I am saying is: I agree with the pattern of analysis that underpins your assessment (shorter commutes, good public trans) but disagree with your limitation of its applicability to just the Northwest side. Thoughts?
Limited SFH options in SLOOP. The south loop is already nearly gentrified with new condo buildings, it’s just that there are a lot of vacancies. If I had a family with 2 children and I was looking to move somewhere, a 2/2 in some random building in SLOOP is not a choice. A $300k SFH somewhere on the NW side is more spacious. I say this because the NW side has a decent housing stock, el lines, safe, residents take care of the properties, and the SFH is way more affordable. I don’t have any desire to commute 50 minutes each way from Palatine/Inverness/Barrington/kildeer/Deer Park etc on the MEtra (with great schools and all) PLUS the drive to the train station when I can live in Edgebrook, Wildwood, Sag and be less than 30 minutes from downtown. I see that trend happening, I know plenty of people who have made those moves in the last few years. I also know people who recently moved to naperville from the west town area so it’s not for everybody but moreso today than in years past.
“What I am saying is: I agree with the pattern of analysis that underpins your assessment (shorter commutes, good public trans) but disagree with your limitation of its applicability to just the Northwest side. Thoughts?”
DOn’t forget that outside of crazy bubble valuations and ponzi schemes ‘move up equity’ to prop up the higher end, $300,000 is a lot of money for a house that requires a healthy $100,000 a year income to save, pay daycare, car note, bills, TAXES! etc. I do budgets everyday of my life for homedebtors many with $100,000 a year or more incomes and it’s the large mortgages, the $250k and above mortgages, that sends people living paycheck to paycheck on $100,000 a year, over the edge. Which is crazy because in most neighborhoods in the GZ $300,000 won’t even buy you a 2/2 in a newer building, which doesn’t bode well for future buyers.
” I grew up very near Hinsdale. My parents still live there. I agree with Architect’s original assessment of the differences between the western and the Northern suburbs (sorry, Clio.)”
Again – you guys are ridiculous. Unless you live IN Hinsdale, you should not be so authoritative in your posts. It is as stupid as me talking authoritatively about (insert different race) people because I have lived “near” them and have talked with a few of them or talking about Depaul because I have walked by the campus. There is so much misinformation spewed by people on this site who have no idea WTF they are talking about (ie, I knew some people at work from Winnetka and Hinsdale so I know everything about the societal rules in those places or “I grew up NEAR Hinsdale” so my opinion counts).
“Which is crazy because in most neighborhoods in the GZ $300,000 won’t even buy you a 2/2 in a newer building, which doesn’t bode well for future buyers.”
HD – nobody is forcing people who make 100k/year to buy in the GZ. There are many other areas in which they can live.
“. There is so much misinformation spewed by people on this site who have no idea WTF they are talking about”
Yeah one of them’s name is clio. A dude who bought a farm as a novelty and has no idea how to run it and is now trying to sell it.
““Are there still people out there stupid enough to pay 375k for this place?”
Are you crazy? Look at the finishes – that is a steal at 375k. Where the hell do most of you live – Buckingham Palace? Most 750k houses in Oak Brook/Kenilworth/Hinsdale don’t even have finishes that are that nice.”
If it’s suck a steal go buy it. Oh wait you can’t buy it because you’re already too long on real estate and don’t have the resources too. You would need to sell your farm first, LOL.
The location sucks and this rehabber choose poorly. We’ll see what happens to this one.
“Yeah one of them’s name is clio. A dude who bought a farm as a novelty and has no idea how to run it and is now trying to sell it.”
This statement would only make sense if I was trying to advise someone on how to run a farm. I never have done so – and never will. Again, it is ok if you don’t know something – but don’t pretend you are an authority on something you know nothing about.
“If it’s suck a steal go buy it. Oh wait you can’t buy it because you’re already too long on real estate and don’t have the resources too. You would need to sell your farm first, LOL”
Again – someone who doesn’t know what he is talking about spewing false information.
HD: Fair enough: I hadn’t limited my analysis to SFH, in large part because I really don’t understand everyone’s obsession with them. But I agree: if one wants a SFH, one can’t live in the SL (or many other G Zone places).
Clio: I respectfully disagree. I grew up with people from Hinsdale, went to school with them for 12 years (Catholic school), went to parties at their house and met their parents. I think I *know* them (and the demographic that they represent) at least as well as you do. And I agree with Architect’s assessment of the class differences between the western and the northern suburbs.
Endora: I’d live in a nice place in the South Loop over Hinsdale in a nanosecond. And that’s coming from someone who would be rather reluctant to live in the South Loop.
What distinguishes Hinsdale (or Oak Brook, where ever that is) vs: the north shore: it’s the same thing that sets the city neighborhoods apart – proximity to Lake Michigan, along with all the parks, paths, etc. which tend to border it.
It all comes down to a simple question…which would you prefer (feel free to adjust dollars and sq ft as you wish):
1) A brand new 5,000+ sq ft place in Hinsdale (or the like), with a three or a three-and-a-half car garage (and sure, a putting green),
or
2) A partially updated (i.e., new kitchen and newer baths) 3,500 sq/ft place in, say, Wilmette (east of Green Bay), with a tight two car garage
? ? ?
With one, you can be a couple of block stroll from the lake front/beach (and a pleasant walk/quick bike/one minute drive to both the metra and a fairly charming “village”; same goes for all of the north shore burbs).
With the other, well, I don’t know, honestly (unless one’s from there, why on Earth would one go to such places?). It’s my understanding, though, that one can’t stroll to the lakefront/beach from even the nicest street in Hinsdale, or any of the lavishly built, newer enclaves of midwestern affluence.
Proximity to a particular region’s most significant and beautiful environmental ammenities is either the paramount factor to a buyer or it’s not. It is to us, which is why we purchased a place east of Clark in LP that, for the same price, is smaller and not as nice as several great places on the market right now in LP west of Halsted (not to mention central Lakeview/RV). In the exceedingly unlikely event we were to move to the burbs, we’d opt for a house in Evanston or Wilmette as close to the beach/park as our budget would permit, even if it meant living in the “worst house in the neighborhood,” which is often the object scorn here on CC.
Boy, now there’s an understatement. It sure applies to Highland Park, Deerfield and Northbrook. Personally, I think Hinsdale blows away the aforementioned when it comes to class and society. Winnetka/Lake Forest/Kenilworth are in the same class as Hinsdale as Chicago’s prestigious suburbs.
“Money doesn’t equal class.”
@ homedelete – confused….
“I do budgets everyday of my life for homedebtors many with $100,000 a year or more incomes and it’s the large mortgages, the $250k and above mortgages, that sends people living paycheck to paycheck on $100,000 a year, over the edge.”.
A mortgage over 250K is a struggle for someone making over $100k a year? They are bringing home at least 5k a month and can’t afford a $1600 mortgage payment? Seems like they have bigger issues than their mortgage!
endora,
how well do you know the north shore? people have misconceptions about it. Even Riz today – on this thread- mentioned how the North Shore people had more money/prestige than Hinsdale/Oak Brook and he actually mentioned the Walgreens. Well, did you know that the Walgreen’s Lake Forest home went into foreclosure? How many people would have guessed that? Perception and reality are two very different things. I think people would be VERY VERY VERY shocked to learn exactly how much people are worth.
anonny – not everybody likes the lake and not everybody thinks that it is Chicago’s biggest asset…..
So you MUST have a lake, huh? We in the “newest money” suburb (as someone posted above) have the riverwalk, which is a picturesque walk along the DuPage river. It has covered bridges and places to picnic and fish, paddleboats, a carillon bell tower and Centennial beach, an old quarry turned into a public swimming pool. You might catch the Fine Art Fair if you visit in the fall. When you finish your stroll you can visit the downtown branch of the Naperville library, which is rated #1 in the country for its population category, or shop at the vibrant downtown and pick up spices from Pennzeys and browse Restoration Hardware and Williams Sonoma. Have lunch at Heaven on Seven on Main Street.
The lake is fine and all, but I find the river to be very family friendly in Naperville. If you need to be around only those whose parents had money for some reason, I guess the north shore is for you (again, this is based on previous posters opinion). But there are plenty in Naperville that match that description too.
“With the other, well, I don’t know, honestly (unless one’s from there, why on Earth would one go to such places?). It’s my understanding, though, that one can’t stroll to the lakefront/beach from even the nicest street in Hinsdale, or any of the lavishly built, newer enclaves of midwestern affluence.”
Clio: You are right, I have no personal connection to the North Shore. So, I’ll retract and say that architect’s assessment of the hinsdale/oakbrook area is entirely congruent with my understanding of it. Extrapolating outward, I would suppose that s/he is right about the North Shore as well, but that is an assumption.
So, Annony. How have those lakefront walks been this winter?
lakefront walks? its more like lakefront runs! running on the lakefront in the winter is the best – no crowds or amateurs from winnetka, barrington or hinsdale!! =)
“a carillon bell tower and Centennial beach”
I forgot about that great beach right in downtown Naperville Juliana. A hidden gem. Great for kids.
Naperville is actually 2 years older than Chicago- so apparently someone wanted to live there first. 🙂
Man you guys are so bitter; so now you are claiming lake is not a great asset?! Give me a break. I believe most beautiful cities in the world stand by great natural assets, mountains, lovely hills, lakes, ocean, rivers and so on. In fact, you can always build a house you like assuming you have enough money, but you cannot always make the surrounding perfecy especially the nature-made ones.
I never thought someone will dispute the beauty of the lake, but I guess if one stays long enough on cribchatter will read it all…hehe
If denial makes you feel better, do as Jack Sparrow said it “Keep telling yourself that, darling”
Also in terms of the family friendliness and all, for heaven’s sake not all of us are devoid of sophistication and stop existing as soon as we have kids. Some women still take pleasure in their work, adult conversations, culture, and grown-up activities. I sometimes read the monotonous posting of some of these women constantly talking about every insignificant thing their kids do and think dear mother nature if that is going to happen to me, let me die with some dignity and never become a constant shallow bore.
No you’ll be happy to die a stuck up snob who looks down on those who value things she does not.
“I sometimes read the monotonous posting of some of these women constantly talking about every insignificant thing their kids do and think dear mother nature if that is going to happen to me, let me die with some dignity and never become a constant shallow bore.”
I live in this are and I LOVE it. There are a bunch of people on here knocking the area who I think have never been here!
PS: that street is a beautiful street with nice homes. $375 for a nice house with an oversized lot is awesome, as long as it was done well. That kitchen is really nice in photos.
No you’ll be happy to die a stuck up snob who looks down on those who value things she does not.”
Even the best of things when exaggerated becomes a nuisance, obsession with one’s kids every insignificant act and broadcasting it to the world is one of them.
Often times these women are the ones that have the least sympathy for suffering of humankind in any other shape or form or don’t give a tosser about what goes on in the world as long as their baby manages to utter some meaningless nonsense.
miumeow, she only said the river was family friendly.
You know nothing about being a mother. Its quite easy to become bewitched by the little monsters, and life changes forever. The focus on humankind becomes more important than ever, in that you worry about their future and the world they will live in.
“Even the best of things when exaggerated becomes a nuisance, obsession with one’s kids every insignificant act and broadcasting it to the world is one of them.
Often times these women are the ones that have the least sympathy for suffering of humankind in any other shape or form or don’t give a tosser about what goes on in the world as long as their baby manages to utter some meaningless nonsense.”
I didn’t mean her, I made a comment in general about all the family friendliness comments of people. I don’t know her and for all know she might be the most amazing person out there.
“So, Annony. How have those lakefront walks been this winter?”
To echo Onlooker, the RUNS have been wonderfully unpopulated. And the walks have been fantastic as well. I use the term “lakefront,” rather than “lake,” because the former encompasses the lake/beach, lakefront trail and all of Lincoln Park (the park, not the neighborhood), which park itself contains the Zoo, the North Pond, the South Pond/conservation area, the Conservatory, the Nature Museum, etc., all of which I have taken complete advantage of during the majority of my non-working, daylight minutes this winter. Again, we opted for a place that’s smaller, and in need of more extensive updating, than several comparably priced places currently on the market well west of Halsted (or in central Lakeview, etc.), because we feel that Chicago’s lakefront is more than “fine and all,” as juliana puts it. And I’m sure we’d get quite a bit larger and nicer place for the same price in Naperville or the like (and wouldn’t have to worry about high school options).
It’s all about priorities, and unless we had three kids, our priorities will keep us living in the city and along the lakefront. And even if we had three kids, as already explained, we’d be willing to live in the dumpiest house in the eastern part of a north shore burb…not to be around “those whose parents had money” (mine sure didn’t), as juliana puts it, but to be around the lakefront and the attendant lifestyle and environmental aesthetic.
Onlooker: its usually over 250k, includes a first mortgage and second mortgage both from times when rates were higher. A 250k mortgage does not necrssarily equal 1
Onlooker: its usually over 250k, includes a first mortgage and second mortgage both from times when rates were higher. A 250k mortgage does not necrssarily equal 1600 a month and quite often doesn’t. Its more like 2000 or more plus car payments, student loans, credit cards and utilities and possibly day care, and gas for 2 cars. Its not as easy it seems. Not everybody gets 4.5% mortgages.
after reading over all the posts above….
….i have lost all hope for the human race
….and also can miumiu and clio be more, uggggh play nice groove play nice.
homedelete – I see what you are saying – but this brings us back to the issue with a lot of people in the first place. They spend more than they can afford. Why not buy a car and pay it off and keep it for 12 years. That’s what I have done so far and it has been great not having a car payment for 8 years!! Sure I don’t impress my neighbors with my car, but does that really matter?? One of my co-workers said something to me once that I think is worth repeating…with a career it isn’t how much you make, it is how much you spend!!!
hey groove, i think i’m gonna buy a hyundai 😉
For those of you who think the lakefront is teh bestest, you’ve only experienced it in a limited location. I lived a block away from it in RP for 7 years. Never do I ever want to live that close to the lake again. It is miserable nasty in the winter, and obnoxiously crowded in the summer. Not to mention the trash that goes flying around the park after the crowds have gone home.
Now that’s what real Chicago living is about. Not the fakery that’s known as Lincoln Park. All y’all going on about how you have awesome access to all of these amenities? It’s also accessible by public transportation for the rest of the unwashed masses. So meh. No major advantage to living in LP when it comes down to it.
“hey groove, i think i’m gonna buy a hyundai”
told you the bang for the buck is insane, you just have to look past all the plasticy parts and see all everything else you get for half the price of others.
i am on my second hyundai and wifey is on her first Kia.
yeah we’re prolly gonna get one, since the warranty is so good… reliability is good though right?
Anonemoose – I too lived a block away from the beach in RP for a number of years. There were a handful of times during the spring when the air was warm and classes got out early, we’d grab a six pack and head to the beach to play a game of frisbee, sort of like we were california-dreamin’. the rest of the year you would hardly notice the lake was even there except for the hollowing wind in your face from Oct-march. I did my lake thing and I’m done. Id take a lake house somewhere in wi or mi before i lived on lake michigan again.
hyundais have been scoring very well over the years when consumer reports polls the owners. at least the last several. i think they were kind of junk when the first hit the shores and beck was putting them in his lyrics. but that genesis is nice looking and the new one that’s even bigger is cool too.
anonny, they let you run in the conservatory?
Had my sonata little over 3 years and only changed the oil and air filters, no probs did get a squeak in the center console around year three that the were going to fix but i traded it in.
had the genesis for about a year and nothing wrong at all. and shoot 5 year bumper to bumper and 10 year powertrain reliability is not that much of a factor 🙂
wife’s kia soul is a bit plastic and when its real cold and thaw she gets some interior squeaks but she says its drowned out by our son yapping away or the radio.
sorry but i’m not gonna pay 60k+ for a damn hyundai Equus even if its as nice a bentley… i’m buying a hyundai for under 17k
damn groove, you’re a pimp with that genesis. I like the way there’s no hyundai hood ornament making easy to mistake for a benz
Groove…why does what miumiu said make you lose hope for the human race? She sounds very reasonable. Juliana is the one who got all defensive and about being a mother and called miumiu a stuck up snob.
“i’m buying a hyundai for under 17k”
used Santa Fe huh? i thought you where going to check out the tuscon?
yeah one down fall of the plastic beasts are the depreciation on the damn things are rough, i mean real rough.
“damn groove, you’re a pimp with that genesis. I like the way there’s no hyundai hood ornament making easy to mistake for a benz”
the kids at work say it looks like the 5series from the side view.
“the kids at work say it looks like the 5series from the side view.”
i read that’s what they were going for. and the equus is targeting the 7. looking at the 5 and genesis side views, they are very close. put some bmw rims on there and for Halloween and watch the trixies drool
@ anon (tfo)– You mention it having a view of Tony’s from the backyard. So interesting that you would “know” that, as one can’t even see Tony’s from any of the photos, nor see this from Google Maps. I can’t believe I even know people who would do what you are doing, and I don’t understand why you would do it. -Bryan
“Does anyone remember teh nasty sporting good store that used to be under the el at Sheridan in 1994?”
It was there a lot longer than 1994. And that whole block is still very scuzzy.
I equate the North shore with old money and snobbery, Hinsdale and Okabrook with flashy new money. Right or wrong that is what I have taken away from my interactions with the residents of these areas. They wouldn’t be stereotypes if they were 100% correct.
If I had to pick a bubrb I would look at Evanston, Highwood, Elmhurst or Oak Park. A bit less of the look at meee I’m rich attitude but still very upper-mid class.
yeah groovester, either a used santa fe, sonata or a new elantra. not sure if I can fit in an elantra, but we’ll see! I just decided that spending 400 a month on a car is pretty stupid so ze german car is out of the question. But who knows I may change my mind again but still have a month to pay off one of our credit cards before we start really looking in a few months
“Does anyone remember teh nasty sporting good store that used to be under the el at Sheridan in 1994?”
Tony’s! I think there was one on milwaukee too, maybe more.
“I equate the North shore with old money and snobbery, Hinsdale and Okabrook with flashy new money”
I can see how this misconception may arise – but I assure you that there are more “old money” people in Oak Brook and Hinsdale than you think. Also, there are less “old money” people on the North Shore than you think. This is all perception perpetuated by the media and myth. I also think you would be surprised at how much money people in Oak Brook/Hinsdale have and how little these “monied” people on the North Shore have. Again, private schools, membership to clubs, divided inheritances, rehab, etc. cost a LOT of money. It is very hard for generation after generation to keep up high earnings. I know a LOT of “old money” people – they put up a good show – but there is very little money left behind the curtains……
“Tony’s! I think there was one on milwaukee too, maybe more.”
Can still find them on Sheridan (3941) on the intertubez.
Their successor business (The Wearhouse) is apparently in the strip mall next to the Target on Addison.
“yeah groovester, either a used santa fe, sonata or a new elantra.”
i cant vouch for the sante fe, the new elantra look sweet but you tall ass, wife and dog that might be a tight fit. the sonata is one great car one thing did suck i had the limited with the low profile tires and they are $210 a pop.
one thing the santa fe is due for a refresh so you might be able to pick a 2010 for dirt cheap when that happens.
“i read that’s what they were going for. and the equus is targeting the 7. looking at the 5 and genesis side views, they are very close. put some bmw rims on there and for Halloween and watch the trixies drool”
ch, doode i got even got a ghetto version of the iDrive in it too. and with the hyundai i will even have enough money left over to pay for dinner with a few trixies 🙂
“Tony’s! I think there was one on milwaukee too, maybe more”
“Can still find them on Sheridan (3941) on the intertubez.
Their successor business (The Wearhouse) is apparently in the strip mall next to the Target on Addison”
Back in 98 or 97 i dated a chick who worked at the tony’s on Fullerton she also helped out at the one on Belmont when they were short handed. there was another on the west side i think
By the way, this site should be changed so that people are more accountable for their statements, and so that the same person can’t just reply with different names. There are a lot of “experts” here. some comments are really interesting and helpful, and some are just rantings.
All you Hyundai fans haven’t seen Glengarry Glen Ross lately have you? There’s that line in the movie delivered by what’s his name… Alec Baldwin, his character Blake says:
Blake: “The leads are weak.” The f’ing leads are weak? You’re weak. I’ve been in this business fifteen years…
Dave Moss: What’s your name?
Blake: Fuck you. That’s my name.
[Moss laughs]
Blake: You know why, mister? ‘Cause you drove a Hyundai to get here tonight, I drove an eighty thousand dollar BMW. *That’s* my name.
Blake: What’s the problem, pal?
Dave Moss: You –
[correcting him]
Dave Moss: You’re such a hero, you’re so rich, how come you’re coming down here wasting your time with such a bunch of bums?
Blake: You see this watch? You see this watch?
Dave Moss: Yeah.
Blake: That watch costs more than you car. I made $970,000 last year. How much you make? You see pal, that’s who I am, and you’re nothing. Nice guy? I don’t give a shit. Good father? Fuck you! Go home and play with your kids. You wanna work here – close!
“I can see how this misconception may arise – but I assure you that there are more “old money” people in Oak Brook and Hinsdale than you think. Also, there are less “old money” people on the North Shore than you think. ”
Clio i’m going to disagree with you here. I’m very familiar with oakbrook/hinsdale/burr ridge as my family has owned property in subdivisions ranging from midwest club to fieldstone to the downtown hinsdale hospital area. I also have a lot of family in lake forest and other northshore burbs – and again, while there is a lot of money in Oakbrook, it is often nothing in comparison to what’s on the north shore. Yes, there are EXCEPTIONS – but these are precisely that – exceptions. For the most part, there is a lot more money in the lake forest area than oakbrook – And from what i’ve seen and observed in various social circles, lake forest and the northshore burbs are still the ‘elite’ burbs, oakbrook/hinsdale/burr ridge take second seat to this, given that hinsdale is the ‘old money’ burb of these three.
There are no facts you or I can present about this, it’s just a chicago societal conception. The beach access and exclusivity of the north shore burbs is unmatched…and i’m not a big fan of oakbrook. Aside from access to downtown and nasty ogden avenue, give or take a few gold courses, it doesn’t offer much – even the mall has turned into a dump. As far as the walgreen pig lady goes – that’s one member, not the family. The walgreens family is butt loaded.
yes dan I am aware of GGGR and I really don’t give a shit if someone thinks i’m cheap by driving a hyundai instead of a bmw. It still gets me from point A to point B the same… at a much lower cost… but hey if you make 970k a year selling mortgages good for you, you probably are an asshole like “blake” from GGGR and a BMW or perhaps Porsche would fit you perfectly
Yeah, one on Milwaukee in WP and one on 47th St, iirc; maybe even one at the Brickyard?
Funny how two Chicago Tony’s came up in this thread.
Also disagree with Sheridan redline stop being scuzzy these days — It has one of the area’s best restaurants, a passable taqueria, a mediocre (but ok in a pinch) mexican bakery, a pretty good pizza place, a terrible bodega but has some fresh fruit, etc.
“Tony’s! I think there was one on milwaukee too, maybe more”
“Can still find them on Sheridan (3941) on the intertubez.
Their successor business (The Wearhouse) is apparently in the strip mall next to the Target on Addison”
Back in 98 or 97 i dated a chick who worked at the tony’s on Fullerton she also helped out at the one on Belmont when they were short handed. there was another on the west side i think
Sonies, just having a little laugh. Hyundai’s are greatly improved in the years since that play was written (1992 or before), everyone knows that….but still!! LOL!
Yeah I know 🙂
What ever happened to Yugo’s?
Ha! there are more differences between the north shore and the dupage county suburbs than just old money vs. new money. I’m surprised ‘Dan’ hasn’t chimed in yet.
LOL so true HD
The western burbs are extremely waspy
Clio, wether the money exists or not isn’t the thing to me it is the atticude and I find both insufferable.
“Also disagree with Sheridan redline stop being scuzzy these days — It has one of the area’s best restaurants, a passable taqueria, a mediocre (but ok in a pinch) mexican bakery, a pretty good pizza place, a terrible bodega but has some fresh fruit, etc. ”
Great places can be on scuzzy blocks. That block is *not* pretty, tho the Thorek parking lot on the NE corner was an improvement.
“Hyundai’s are greatly improved in the years since that play was written (1992 or before)”
Baldwin’s character didn’t exist in the play. The role was created for the movie.
More Jews, and increasingly Asians on the North Shore, go visit Northbrook Court for confirmation.
Actually, ‘Dan’ already has!
“Ha! there are more differences between the north shore and the dupage county suburbs than just old money vs. new money. I’m surprised ‘Dan’ hasn’t chimed in yet.”
#
Dan on February 7th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Boy, now there’s an understatement. It sure applies to Highland Park, Deerfield and Northbrook. Personally, I think Hinsdale blows away the aforementioned when it comes to class and society. Winnetka/Lake Forest/Kenilworth are in the same class as Hinsdale as Chicago’s prestigious suburbs.
“Money doesn’t equal class.”
and once again!
It is soooooo hard to explain. Maybe it begins with density and the lake? When my wife and I have discussions on burbs I dig my heels in and refuse to have anything to do with “going north” I will follow the UP-West line or nothing. No concrete reason why but maybe it’s the gravitational pull of Wheaton’s uh “Perfection”
“Ha! there are more differences between the north shore and the dupage county suburbs than just old money vs. new money.”
Wheaton is known for having Christians, some North Shore towns (while originally having been founded by WASPs) are now known for having lots Jews.
Chinatown is known for having alot of Chinese. Pilsen is known for Mexicans, etc. etc. etc. Ukranian Village has Ukranians. Deerfield has alot of Jews. This shouldn’t be controversial, but for some reason it gets people’s blood pressure rising. Enjoy discussing Chicago’s wonderful diversity!
“Pilsen is known for Mexicans, etc. etc. etc. Ukranian Village has Ukranians.”
If you’re taking that apporach, doesn’t Pilsen have Bohemians?
No, not anymore, Pilsen is home to a Mexican community that is fighting and organizing to retain its ethnic and racial identity against newcomers!! Imagine that! Should we applaud that mentality?
“No, not anymore”
But Ukie Village is still full of Ukies?
No Pilsen has hipsters!
hd, where is that pilsen youtube video you used to post. that guy was no hipster
Community organizers (some of whom are obvious racists) in Pilsen want to retain the community’s Mexican ethnic identity and they are working and lobbying to keep the white hipsters out!! Where are the leftists to oppose this conduct? ha ha…
Imagine that, racism in America of all places….and some of those hipsters might actually be the indigenous/native descendants of the Chicago neighborhood’s original Bohemian settlers, those who built all of the neighborhood’s structures from scratch and they are being discriminated against.
Dan, everybody hates hipsters so it’s OK.
West side is where the Bohunks used to live. Part of dad’s family settled there and are buried in Bohemian Nat’l Cemetery.
“Dan, everybody hates hipsters so it’s OK.”
HD gets my vote for the funniest comment in the moth of February
“… some of those hipsters might actually be the indigenous …”
If that wasn’t intentional, I’d consider refining my use of “indigenous”, not that I expect you will, but still …
anon(tfo) Indigenous people of Pilsen were European settlers, they built the entire neighborhood from scratch with zero help from Indians.
Besides, Indians came across the Bering Strait. They’re not indigenous either. I’m talking about modern Pilsen which was created entirely by European immigrants and nobody else, certainly not indians. It’d be a shame if a white hipster was made to feel unwelcome by ethnic chauvinism in a neighborhood that his ancestors built, gee where’s the social justice in that?!!
What Dan is saying is actually true…
I was eating in Pilsen a few months ago with my girlfriend, and when walking out to my car a guy my age came up to me and told me to ‘go back to the west loop and stop b*stardizing my neighborhood with your yuppie crap’ – the restaurant was a non-hispanic owned wings place, and the owner mentioned that she was doing fine with catering but had 0 local business bc the community chose not to support an outsiders business. ( She was Asian )
– I was surprised but didn’t think much of it. In hindsight, if someone on Dearborn came up to me and told me to ‘go back to devon’ it probably would have been a much bigger deal. There is an unfair amount of reverse racism out there, and i’ll be the first, as a minority, to admit that.
We’re all immigrants from Africa allegedly although more recently many of us have decended from the Indus River Valley in India… Hence the indo-european family language name which covers most of the western world and a good part of the eastern too….
interesting story, riz. and that devon taunt will be fun to use when I play hoops with my Indian buds
HD said, “I do budgets everyday of my life for homedebtors many with $100,000 a year or more incomes and it’s the large mortgages, the $250k and above mortgages, that sends people living paycheck to paycheck on $100,000 a year, over the edge.”
Tell me, how many are willing to give up cable/dish TV, their fancy cellphones, and their Range Rovers (leased or otherwise)?
It is comical to see what some friends, who don’t have a pot to pee in, will NOT give up and consider to be a necessity, not a luxury.
“interesting story, riz. and that devon taunt will be fun to use when I play hoops with my Indian buds”
I’ve been witness to a similar thing in a business setting–“do you live near Devon?” asked–earnestly–of a mid-career professional.
ps: iirc, the response was “no, I live in Hinsdale”.
if I could pull it off with a straight face, and deliver it earnestly that would be even better.
ps: iirc, the response was “no, I live in Hinsdale”.
some snob billionaire no doubt
Of course not! why would you expect them to live austere? They make in excess of $100,000 a year, they’re big shots!
No more than 2 hours ago a colleague walked into my office to tell me about a couple w/ 3 kids in the suburbs that earned $150,000 last year; but after a $3,700 a month mortgage payment, 2 car payments and ‘living expenses’ they’re behind 7 months on the mortgage and stopped paying the credit cards. $150,000 a year HH income! I don’t work for a BK mill so a lot of the cases that come through here are people that know people who know people type of stuff…we don’t advertise, never have, never will….
With BK one of the biggest loopholes is secured debt, secured debt, secured debt. Two cars, an expensive mortgage (in arrears of course) and three kids means there a better than 50/50 chance they can file bankruptcy and walk away from the credit card debt, get a loan mod on the house to come current (and maybe an interest rate reduction too) and return to living the way they were. As my colleague said, ‘it’s always the house’, and at $3,700 a month, cut that payment in half and you wouldn’t need nearly as much credit cards to live the middle class ‘lifestyle’.
logansquarean on February 8th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
HD said, “I do budgets everyday of my life for homedebtors many with $100,000 a year or more incomes and it’s the large mortgages, the $250k and above mortgages, that sends people living paycheck to paycheck on $100,000 a year, over the edge.”
Tell me, how many are willing to give up cable/dish TV, their fancy cellphones, and their Range Rovers (leased or otherwise)?
It is comical to see what some friends, who don’t have a pot to pee in, will NOT give up and consider to be a necessity, not a luxury.
#
logansquarean on February 8th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
HD said, “I do budgets everyday of my life for homedebtors many with $100,000 a year or more incomes and it’s the large mortgages, the $250k and above mortgages, that sends people living paycheck to paycheck on $100,000 a year, over the edge.”
Tell me, how many are willing to give up cable/dish TV, their fancy cellphones, and their Range Rovers (leased or otherwise)?
It is comical to see what some friends, who don’t have a pot to pee in, will NOT give up and consider to be a necessity, not a luxury.”
HD, they wouldn’t be able to go back to living the same lifestyle if not for a stupid credit card company giving them new cards.
Why you can’t pick up Johnny from Soccer practice in a late model vehicle?
You can’t have Sally’s birthday party in a small back yard! You can’t entertain 20 for a superbowl party with the kitchen looking like ‘that’; You can’t go without starbucks every morning – who has time to make coffee and 8 O’Clock bean tastes terrible anyways!
And cars in the suburbs – of course the gas tank costs $50 to fill and of course I have to fill it once a week – I work 30 miles away; and driving the three children around to all the various events all the time – that’s not cheap either. You can’t let any of the other soccer moms know that you’re a profligate spender because your husband is a big shot middle manager making $155,000 a year!
etc etc etc.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hn5EP9StlVA
“I’m Stanley Johnson. I’ve got a great family; I’ve got a four-bedroom house in a great community. Like my car? It’s new. I even belong to the local golf club. How do I do it?…I’m in debt up to my eyeballs. I can barely pay my finance charges. Somebody help me.”
Oh HD, than you for that. I miss 2008
HD – I totally agree with you (believe it or not). It is very hard (impossible) to maintain the types of lifestyles I see people in some of these suburbs on 155k/year. In fact, it would be hard to support their lifestyles on 250-300k (without some other sources of money). To live in a million dollar house and live “that” lifestyle, you really should be making 400k+. Sure, even at a lower income you may be able to afford the payments – but you sure as hell can’t afford the lifestyle!!!
“I’ve been witness to a similar thing in a business setting–”do you live near Devon?” asked–earnestly–of a mid-career professional.
anon (tfo) on February 8th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
ps: iirc, the response was “no, I live in Hinsdale”.
LOL!!!!!!!!
” To live in a million dollar house and live “that” lifestyle, you really should be making 400k+. Sure, even at a lower income you may be able to afford the payments – but you sure as hell can’t afford the lifestyle!!!”
i agree 200%
something my father always taught me – don’t buy something just because you can afford the loans to mortgage it – don’t buy the house on which you can just barely put the 20% down, don’t buy the car that is a stretch on your insurance..There are far too many people out there borrowing and purchasing properties that are out of their paygrade. it’s all part of the ‘american dream’ phenomenon they’ve been sold on. I have a friend who is a pharmacist – he makes ~ 130k a year but lives in a 400k home, has 2 lexuses, a ducati, jet skis, a rolex, and is in the process of trying to buy a used aston martin. He is also in debt past his eyeballs, and 29 years old. Sad, really.
“interesting story, riz. and that devon taunt will be fun to use when I play hoops with my Indian buds”
No doubt. Playing ball with a bunch of sweaty indian guys? my condolences. =)
“Riz: that’s not far off from harassment I received a long time ago outside Le Bouchon when Bucktown was gentrifying (i.e. returning to formerly white European neighborhood to its original state). You should’ve looked that Pilsen guy right in the face and told him to F off.”
I would have, but ~ 9 pm in an unfamiliar neighborhood, girlfriend with me, figured it wasn’t worth the trouble. Plus, I was plain confused as I wasn’t used to that kind of minority – on – minority animosity. The problem with Pilsen is as what Russ said above, a lot of current residents are feeling forced out, the gentrification and wave of hipsters is inevitably leading to some rent increases and changes in the local economics, not everyone likes that.
“It’d be a shame if a white hipster was made to feel unwelcome by ethnic chauvinism in a neighborhood that his ancestors built, gee where’s the social justice in that?!!”
All about white rights but I have to differ here Dan. These hipsters are actually mostly leftist leaning types. They are also the equivalent of human pigeons and have nothing in common with their ancestors who built these places.
If they can’t connect the dots that the Democraps support the natives over them, so be it. I’m all for any difficulties they may encounter settling and gentrifying a place (other than violent crime). I hope they have dozens of their bicycles stolen.
I’m not seeing any asians or indians on the hub51 fb page. maybe he should reconsider his target.
You folks are amazing. Attack Clio for his benign comments, feel offended when I make a remark about some women having no identity but boring everyone with their kids every insignificant story, but find racist remarks ok an even funny at times. So Groove77 where is your sensitive nature now?
“Dan has been taking notes so he knows what establishments to vandalize in case there’s a pogrom in the near future.”
Ah, i see. I’m not used to such open race talk, was too sheltered growing up I guess. I hope Dan is really really old, because then I wouldn’t mind it as much. not sure why. I don’t mind the old politically – incorrect peeps for some reason.
“I don’t mind the old politically – incorrect peeps for some reason.”
I’m young and I’d bet Dan is, too. Sorry all of your societal programming to make us feel guilty for being white and to accept unequal and less treatment under the eyes of the law does not imprint on all of us and we aren’t going anywhere. Haha too bad. If you’d like to jump in the Chicago River I’m okay with that.
“So Groove77 where is your sensitive nature now?”
miumiu see;
#
Groove77 on February 8th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
“Only white people can be white, sorry. WTF???!!!”
dang it Dan you owe me an new desk, or at least a ice pack for my forehead.
Illinois south of I-80 is a scary place, and it gets even scarier when you reach the foothills of the Ozarks aka Shawnee national forest.
I was eating in Pilsen a few months ago with my girlfriend”
Let me guess the place: Nightwood?
Don’t expect River North treatment in Pilsen. It’s a charming neighborhood with some interesting architecture, and the artists living there. You have to keep that in mind wheny ou go there.
Racism makes me sad.
Bob, i expected better from you than the loop Asian comments. Come on man.
Spinoza – I was at ”little hotties”, it’s a korean-fried chicken place. I love nightwood though.
“The funniest Asians are the loop asians. Specifically the female loop asians. They look funny in that they go WAAYY overboard with the whole western trendy/label/materialism thing and it looks so terribly gauche its funny. Comical like a cartoon character hello kitty.”
Bob, apparently you have recently learned or heard from someone the word gauche, and wanted to use it, but hate to break this to you that instead you have displayed your ignorance a bit too obviously here. it is clear that you have absolutely no understanding of the word, and your comment has a pretty disgusting tone to it.
Once again PC or Political incorrectness does not mean you can throw around racial slurs.
You want to know what is really bad – made to feel that you don’t belong ANYWHERE!!!! Mixed race people often have this problem – in fact, I think I will write a book on the subject.
Again, Illinois south of I-80.
they like you at home depot clio
“Affirmative action and hate-crimes based legislation. Both programs exclude straight, non-jewish white males while introducing criteria that aren’t merit based in the first, and aren’t outcome based in the latter. Yeah its reality.”
Bob, get a life. Seriously and tell me where and when at what instance you have been personally undermined, your rights and I tell you what type of a loser you are.
“they like you at home depot clio”
Huh? I don’t get it? Does this have to do with my arbovitaes?
Does this have to do with my arbovitaes?
yes. and i dont know why i remember this stuff
http://cribchatter.com/?p=9643#comment-108891
Don’t lump in Uptown studios with parents’ basements, that’s just confusing the matter.
Clio, “You want to know what is really bad – made to feel that you don’t belong ANYWHERE!!!! Mixed race people often have this problem”
Agreed 100%! and geez has this chatter taken a strange direction
“Don’t lump in Uptown studios with parents’ basements, that’s just confusing the matter.”
A very good point, my friend.
Wow people, what happened on this thread? Close the thread. Hug it out.
Spinoza: I have never made a racist or off-color comment on this board and I actively stay away from it. I’ll joke about IL south of I-80 but that’s more like making fun of downstate. But seriously, don’t lump me in the off-color and/or anti-Semitic comments made by other commenters.
My shtick is that housing prices are crashing and will continue to crash (they are). Stupid comments about what clothes Asians wear or what bars jews hang out at would seriously undermine my credibility and given my track record of predicting low home prices, I wouldn’t want anything to get in the way of that.
P.s. I am a bitter renting living in a studio in uptown and I will forever be this way because I went to a bottom tiered law school and I don’t make any money.
“P.s. I am a bitter renting living in a studio in uptown and I will forever be this way because I went to a bottom tiered law school and I don’t make any money.”
Don’t forget: You work(ed) as a valet at one of Heitman’s favorite restaurants.
“I went to a bottom tiered law school and I don’t make any money.”
That’s such a b.s. And as long as you believe in this b.s. yes, it will continue to be this way for you.
And judging from the time you are spending here, it seems to me the reason is more related to which school you went to rather than how hard working you are.
Er, aren’t we forgetting about Chicago’s strong and violent labor movement past? The churches were built by immigrants, yes, but not all the factories.
Unfortunately, no disrespect to our HD (in whose defense on this subject we should rise), when I worked in the NW burbs there was a lot of racism by my middle-class/professional co-workers, though by no means universal.
“I am a bitter renting living in a studio in uptown and I will forever be this way because I went to a bottom tiered law school and I don’t make any money.”
HD – is that really the reason you are so negative? I can’t pretend to understand exactly what hardships that type of situation causes, but try and find at least a few things every day to be happy about. We are all in this together – and remember, none of us can take our homes/money/material goods with us when we die.
I’m not really a fan of Logan Square but I feel like it may gentrify before Rogers Park.
“HD – is that really the reason you are so negative? I can’t pretend to understand exactly what hardships that type of situation causes, but try and find at least a few things every day to be happy about. We are all in this together – and remember, none of us can take our homes/money/material goods with us when we die.”
jeez, I spoke to soon. It’s an actual competition.
And HD’s comment once again shows the dangers of sarcasm on the intertubes.
lot of momentum on this one. even sans clio posting at his usual clip.
spinoza, an asian hipster stole bob’s woman and draped her in louis vitton. he is sensitive.
Hahahaha, I was about to tell you, anon, not to give out that award prematurely. But then the point was made for me.
anon- you should try to be a little more sensitive to HD’s plight. He is surrounded by sad people all day going through bankruptcty and then has to take the train to uptown in a basement studio day after day. I can see how this could get tiring and depressing.
“anon- you should try to be a little more sensitive to HD’s plight. He is surrounded by sad people all day going through bankruptcty and then has to take the train to uptown in a basement studio day after day. I can see how this could get tiring and depressing.”
Don’t forget having to go back out for his night job where dudes in Lambos give him weird looks and barely adequate tips.
It’s one way to avoid foreclosure!
“I can’t possibly explain to you what the remifications of not being able to own property for couple of centuries may be in terms of its socio-economic impact in today’s society.”
Ok, sorry I realize how awfully that can be taken and that’s not where this is going. Please continue to entertain me with your bickering.
Also, I am loiving the HD storyline.
Bob… please define merit. The last time I checked, school admissions were based on a variety of factors and merely scoring high on a standardized test and having an inflated GPA from X high school or college were just two on the list.
Some of the most fervent anti-affirmative action folks I have met have all started out life on third base and love to throw out merit, etc.
The reason many people are so against affirmative action is because the spots at top schools are so precious and the opportunities afforded can be dramatic over lower tier schools. No one would are about affirmative action if we were talking about DeVry admissions. Some people make the fallacy that if they had only gotten into (insert Top 5 school), their life would have turned out different. No one ever stops to think that even if a handful of minorities weren’t accepted, the average white guy still probably wouldn’t have gotten in statistically.
If you apply to five of the Top 5 and you are reasonably qualified, you will get into at least one or more of them. Maybe not your first choice, but it isn’t like you are doomed to a life of poverty because you had to accept admissions to U of C instead of Stanford. If you apply to the Top 5 and don’t get in any of them, it had nothing to do with affirmative action… you just weren’t qualified, no matter what you think.
I would be against affirmative action if all admissions were entirely blind. No special scholarships or admission criteria for sports (would love to see how that would affect the D1 schools). No legacy admissions. No essays. I don’t think anyone really wants a system where admissions is based on nothing but a test score.
Bob,
Yes, I’m anti-American for defending hate crime legislation. If you think there isn’t a difference between seeking out and attacking someone for the color of their skin vs an isolated incident, I don’t know what to say to you. And I agree on affirm action, I don’t mind it being equal across the board.
It’s one way to avoid foreclosure!
It’s funny!
Bottom tier law schools accept everybody, including me. Woe is me in my studio apartment in Uptown. And did I mention I”m lazy too? I have two things open on my screen: discovery request and cribchatter. Guess where I”m spending all my time!
Sabrina, I think you need to add the word Surreal into the title somewhere, like Surreal Crib Chatter, Crib Surreal or Surreal Chatter – these threads are going to new places and streams of conscious!
“Woe is me in my studio apartment in Uptown. And did I mention I”m lazy too?”
HD – I don’t think you should feel sorry for yourself – that is not going to get you anywhere. And laziness – that will definitely not get you anywhere!! You know what – we should start you on a 10 step program to happiness and fulfilment. Give me 1 month and you will be singing from rooftops and skipping down the street!
I knew that sooner or later, Jeffrey Lebowski would show up on this thread to comment!
“Which one of them is for cutting Medicare? Wasn’t one of the regular TP complaints about “keeping the gov’t’s hands off of medicare”? Until one of them comes out strongly about that, the whole thing is BS.”
Doesn’t matter: so long as their policies can disproportionately impact people like Spinoza or those living on the public dole I am for them. Like I said its time to spread the pain around.
“Sounds like you want some Utopian society where everything is totally fair and no one has any advantage whatsoever. ”
No Russ nothing is fair. It isn’t fair that I came from a two parent household to parents that were married, is it? Certain groups can’t seem to grasp that proper family formation definitely impacts opportunities for their offspring, or rather, perhaps they don’t care.
In any case you cannot arrange for a same “starting point” for two different people. That should certainly be beyond the government’s purview.
“No Russ nothing is fair. It isn’t fair that I came from a two parent household to parents that were married, is it? Certain groups can’t seem to grasp that proper family formation definitely impacts opportunities for their offspring, or rather, perhaps they don’t care.”
Yeah, children of divorced parents end up at 1600 Penn, what is the world coming to!
“I’m not really a fan of Logan Square but I feel like it may gentrify before Rogers Park.”
I dont think so, although long term Rogers park gentrification really requires
1. CTA to follow through on its massive renovation of red line north
2. Loyola’s continued buying up and beautification of areas around the university
Gesco, it just feels like people have been saying it would improve for YEARS and nothing. I don’t see the family type shift nor do I see it really becoming the hot singles neighborhood.
Dark and lonely on a summer’s night.
Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.
Watchdog barking. Do he bite?
Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.
Slip in his window. Break his neck.
Then his house I start to wreck.
Got no reason. What the heck?
Kill my landlord. Kill my landlord.
C-I-L-L my land lord!
Roscoevillager, i dont know if you agree with you. I grew up in west rogers park and i never thought E Rogers park would improve that much for years.
The problem for young professionals is its an awfully long commute to work currently. BUT when the CTA follows through on its plan. Commute would shorten by about 20 minutes meaning from morse loop, you could get to the loop in 30.
Once that happens young professionals will start looking more at the area.
Dang. Clio finally caught on for once.
Gesco – it would take Loyola buying all of RP to clean it up. A la Northwestern.
Anonemoose, count disagree more.
First off north/south of Touhy is a pretty big boundary in the Rogers Park. South of Touhy or even better clark is really nice area. You have alot of beatiful vintage complexes and tenants that pay. North of touhy though you have alot of those boxy buildings built in the 60-70s… very ugly
“When you get miumiu and Spinoza calling someone “ignorant” as their debate technique it just shows who has the minimal amount of education about American and Western history, sorry. Spinoza doesn’t like the analysis of Pilsen but he can’t refute any of it.”
Not sure about miumiue but Spinoza is easy enough to spot as an automaton: anybody can pick a handle of a philosopher featured in any intro to philosophy class. Oh my, how astute! You went to class, Spinoza. You’re rational abilities likely have your namesake rolling over in his grave, however.
Also are you suggesting that evanston (the birthplace of the womens temperance league) wasnt nice before northwestern started expanding, have you gone up sheridan
Gesco, I lived at Lunt/Sheridan. I’m kind of familiar with the area.
When I was there, the professionals you mentioned were moving in. They did not stick around. I mean, I loved hearing gunshots coming off of Touhy in the night time, and I’m not what you would consider a professional type.
As long as RP is a haven for Section 8 landlords, it’s not going to change. Keep an eye on the Morse Hell Hole blog for what’s really going on in the nabe.
End Women’s Suffrage! Oh the humanity!
I think the really rough areas of RP are north of Howard and then get increasingly better south of there. I’ve got a place on Lakewood just south of pratt and its fine. Really nice area in fact, and no section 8 housing that I know of. I dont know why a landlord would do section 8 in this area since market rate is so much higher.
there’s eddie again. this thread has everything except HD’s pilsen video
“anybody can pick a handle of a philosopher”
So, you finally googled it Bob! Good for you! I am glad, I am able to contribute to expand your horizon and knowledge, even just for a little bit. Try to go beyond wikipedia though…
How many more posts needed to break the record? — I want to be a part of CC history.
fwiw clio, when I worked at Butler National in the late 70s the senior staff always claimed that Chicago’s real money lived on the North Shore, that Oak Brook wasn’t “old” money but just the beneficiary of interstate extensions/intersections and Paul Butler’s iron-fisted RE dealings. This nice old article about PB lends some credence to those claims:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1074225/index.htm
I’ve got fond memories of those polo fields, even though I often had to expend hours picking them clean of golf balls.
wojo – Oak Brook has changed since the 70s – wow – back then hardly any houses existed in Oak Brook!!! I actually don’t really care whether or not people think residents of Oak Brook have more or less money than people on the North Shore. I just want everyone to keep an open mind and analyze for themselves. For me, the people in Oak Brook DO have a ridiculous amount of money compared to the many people I know on the North Shore. Many of my friends on the North Shore are actually “new money” wanting to “fit in”. Several of my sons classmates are from the north shore and I have been to their houses and gotten to know several of them. From what I can tell, these are people who try to maintain the lifestyle they grew up in – but it is very hard unless everyone in the family continues to make as much money as the preceding generation. This is rarely the case. Many of these people are going bankrupt. True, a few very wealthy families will continue to be the “face” of the North Shore – but many many many more are struggling more than you know. In Oak Brook – I just don’t see that AT ALL.
Editor’s Note:
Many comments on this thread have been deleted.
Please try and discuss real estate. I know sometimes we all get off topic- but I’m tired of the discussions about race and class.
I hope more people provide interesting details such as what the schools are like in this neighborhood (private and public) as these are real concerns of buyers.
Not that any of these schools are super close, but I’d say Drummond , LaSalle II and I know people who live in Logan Square ( although East of here and got their kids into Burley.
Wow- they’re driving that far everyday for Burley?
I agree with you clio: much about Hinsdale & Oak Brook has changed dramatically since the 70s.
I’d like to think that if the “old man” (Paul Butler) had lived longer he wouldn’t have permitted so much of the increased density of residential & commercial development that later took place in Oak Brook, which would have probably only driven up land values even further. But we’ll never know. My view is essentially nostalgic, more wishful thinking than anything else.
Clio,
i would like to know how old money vs new money and western burb vs north shore is relevant to a HOME IN LOGAN SQUARE?
and money is money if its dusty or just made by Captian Ben B.
that said i personally would take a 1/3 size home in the north shore than some over sized just built castle in oak brook. and other the “downtown” hinsdale, the new housing stock there is just horrible eye sores. all that faux stone work hurts my feeling on many levels.
“i would like to know how old money vs new money and western burb vs north shore is relevant to a HOME IN LOGAN SQUARE?”
OK – Groove, so now I am solely responsible for the off-topic posts on this thread?!!!! Give me a break!!! Also, if you are not familiar with the areas (re: Oak Brook/Hinsdale, St. Charles) then please try to refrain from stating an opinion
“so now I am solely responsible for the off-topic posts on this thread?”
YES
“Also, if you are not familiar with the areas (re: Oak Brook/Hinsdale, St. Charles) then please try to refrain from stating an opinion”
i am familiar with it and with all the time you spend down on walton now maybe more familiar than you.
“I hope more people provide interesting details such as what the schools are like in this neighborhood (private and public) as these are real concerns of buyers.”
As we discussed on the other post, there are some catholic schools that are decent in this general vicinity.
“Not that any of these schools are super close, but I’d say Drummond , LaSalle II and I know people who live in Logan Square ( although East of here and got their kids into Burley.”
“Wow- they’re driving that far everyday for Burley?”
If they’re on the eastern end of Logan, it’s not that far to Burley. I know someone with a kid at Blaine too. But those north side options are gone or probably going away as those schools fill up with neighborhood kids. If Pulaski improves, there might be a window when it’s decent but still has room for non-neighborhood.
“i am familiar with it and with all the time you spend down on walton now maybe more familiar than you.”
ha ha – actually I only spend about 4 -5 nights/days a month in my in-town. I am probably going to sell when the market improves (? 2-3 years).
For me its schools that are a problem. I’m not really keen on paying $400k for a home, $6-8,000 in taxes, and then another $5-8,000 for school (including aftercare). Daycare while children are young is anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 ($300 to $400 a week) and nannies (with the nanny tax) are substantially more expensive. Add in student loan payments (with a little extra tacked on for principal) and the numbers just don’t work out for an average or even above average households to buy a SFH (or townhome) outside of the GZ and do the private school option. Its either every family I know makes substantially more money than my household, or, they’re living much much closer to the ‘edge’ than I am willing to venture. I saw a house in independence park listed just today that went up for sale. $750k today renovated and it was $5xx in 2004 when originally purchased. In an area without a decent elementary school too. And the pictures showed an elementary school aged furnished bedroom. Why in the world would anyone pay that much money to live there? More importantly, why aren’t they staying? WOUld I have the same issues as them in 5 or 6 years if and when I had elementary school aged children? who would I sell too? I crunch budgets for a living and I’m telling you its not easy. i was out last night for dinner with 7 other friends. All college educated from state schools or big 10. All in our 30’s. of the 8, 2 were unemployed, 1 was underemployed, 2 worked for the government, one was self-employed, me, and then one worked in the FIRE economy and was doing quite well financially, and even that person rented a one bedroom and didn’t own. It sort of bummed me out.
well HD that isn’t the norm as the unemployment rate for college educated people is under 5%
HD – I agree but I don’t know what is the solution. I think that the “powers that be” DO understand this problem and know that there is no good solution. However, a temporary fix would be to ease lending requirements and open up credit availability. I am afraid that is the road they are going to go down….
I recently moved out of Logan Square but still have a 2-flat in the area. A neighbor bought 20+ years ago and sends her daughter to Blaine. She works in Lakeview so it’s not an issue driving her back and forth. I don’t think Burley is all that far…maybe a 15 minute drive? But I do agree that these schools will only become more difficult to gain admission to with competition increasing every year.
The elementary for the area I lived in is Darwin, which I believe ranks very low among elementary schools in the city. Of public schools in Logan Square, I’ve only heard good things about Goethe, but the housing stock isn’t that great over in that section.
I have to agree with HD on the insanity of prices in areas that are neither family-friendly (e.g., good public schools) nor “hip”, such as the Independence Park area. I don’t see that area becoming a hipster enclave nor do families stick around when it comes time for school.
“For me its schools that are a problem.”
I share a lot of these concerns. I will say that a lot of families have managed to get a non-neighborhood CPS option that’s acceptable. They’ve managed to get into a improving CPS school before non-neighborhood enrollment is cut off, or they’ve gotten into the testing and good magnet schools through lottery (I’m assuming that’s what they’ve done, although I understand this much less well). Still, I would certainly share the concern that none of that is guaranteed and seems risky to buy a house hoping it works out (although again, it seems to have worked out for most people I know).
And then there’s high school. But that’s a problem for future HD.
“Of public schools in Logan Square, I’ve only heard good things about Goethe, but the housing stock isn’t that great over in that section.”
Don’t know exact boundaries (in part b/c I don’t think it’s of real interest to us), but there’s at least a good chunk between Altgeld/Fullerton/Calif/Kennedy that’s in Goethe. And I’d consider that one of the nicest sections of Logan. I think scores for Goethe are improving but not enough yet for my tastes, among other things.
This will probably open me up to a lot of abuse but I honestly don’t know: are public schools in the city that bad? Does going to a private school really make that much more of a difference?
High Schools, for instance, seem to be cyclic. The one I went to was terrible in the 70s, great in the 80s, so-so in the 90s and then back near the top in the 00s.
“but there’s at least a good chunk between Altgeld/Fullerton/Calif/Kennedy that’s in Goethe.”
Agree, that’s a nice area. I’m just not a fan of the housing immediately surrounding the school.
Disney II has 40 open slots per year for the kindergarten glass, 20 of which are reseved for siblings of current students and there are 800 applicants for those 20 slots.
“This will probably open me up to a lot of abuse but I honestly don’t know: are public schools in the city that bad? Does going to a private school really make that much more of a difference?”
I don’t mean to sound too critical, but do you have or expect to have kids that you’d think about sending to public school, and if so, how do you think seriously about buying a house w/o thinking about schools?
“High Schools, for instance, seem to be cyclic. The one I went to was terrible in the 70s, great in the 80s, so-so in the 90s and then back near the top in the 00s.”
Near the top of what? There is NO CPS attendance area HS that is “near the top” of statewide rankings. LPHS is non-terrible, but that’s really 3 schools–IB, honors, everyone else–so I don’t know how to consider the aggregated stats. Every other one ranges from plausibly okay if you don’t have any other options (and that’s *maybe* 5 or 6) to one of the worst in the state (and that’s about half of them).
“ha ha – actually I only spend about 4 -5 nights/days a month in my in-town. I am probably going to sell when the market improves (? 2-3 years).”
so what your saying clio about the walton area is that you dont spend time there and in turn dont know about it so you should have an opinion about it?
‘Disney II has 40 open slots per year for the kindergarten glass, 20 of which are reseved for siblings of current students and there are 800 applicants for those 20 slots.”
That’s not the only testing/lottery school though. Question is what is odds of getting into some school that’s acceptable to you.
What can the city really do to change the schools? Seems to me that most schools that are under performing are doing so because of the high concentration of below average parents in some communities. There is only so much an individual teacher can do if little Johnny has to go home to shoddy parenting.
There are some schools I would think are benefiting from more involved parents moving into gentrifying areas but at the same time, who wants to risk their child’s education being the first to send their kids to an unproven public school?
I don’t think schools are much worse than the 80’s but people seem to think it’s more important than back then. In fact, there’s a paranoia about them even, like “I have to get my kids in the right school or they won’t make it” aka “I have to one up my friends by where my kids go to school”…
As long as your school isn’t AWFUL (like 20%+ dropout rates), whats the big deal… working with your child at home on learning is 10x more important than how some other kids did on some stupid standardized test that doesn’t really show actual “learning”.
Some of you depend way too much on how “good” teachers are, when the most important fact of a kids education is a strong family structure and interaction and education when your child is struggling with a particular subject.
OR is it (what school your child attends) just another way to brag to your peers about how much better you are than them? Yeah, thats the ticket…
Sonies, I was about to add a lot of what you said. As long as your kids do well in HS they will get into a decent college. Not many people hire based on where you went to HS. Interestingly, I know people who pulled their daughters out of a catholic school because it wasn’t challenging enough (was geared for future wives, not college students) and put them back into CPS.
Yes Sabrina. One of the parents works near Burley so it is a great solution for that family.
“Interestingly, I know people who pulled their daughters out of a catholic school because it wasn’t challenging enough (was geared for future wives, not college students) and put them back into CPS.”
At the HS level? Back into which CPS HS?
But seriously, as someone who thinks about this and talks to others who think about it, I’m of the view–at present–that Lane Tech is a reasonable alternative to *any* suburban HS, LPHS is probably fine, and there are a few other adequate options, so it ain’t about any image thing. The rest of them *do* have 20%+ dropout rates, so your whole (completely uninformed) holier-than-thou attitude is BS.
“so it ain’t about any image thing.”
really? Do you not talk to any of the pretentious d-bags in this city? its like half the population… Its all about the image
DZ on February 9th, 2011 at 9:54 am
“I don’t mean to sound too critical, but do you have or expect to have kids that you’d think about sending to public school, and if so, how do you think seriously about buying a house w/o thinking about schools?”
do not have kids yet. getting married this fall and kids may or may not be part of our future.
And since we’ve learned that one cannot simply sell a house and move as easily as they could a few years ago it might make sense to add “in a good school district” on our wishlist.
However, I agree with Sonies on this one, as long as the school isn’t terrible, and you put time in as a parent, I see no need to dish out large amounts of money for private school.
“really? Do you not talk to any of the pretentious d-bags in this city? its like half the population… Its all about the image”
Do you actually know *any*thing about the HS options in CPS? Other than “Waters sux”? Waters is *ABOVE* average!!
“I agree with Sonies on this one, as long as the school isn’t terrible, and you put time in as a parent, I see no need to dish out large amounts of money for private school.”
I think it would benefit you to do some looking into whether the neighborhood schools in areas you’re looking at are terrible or not by your standards. (Plus odds of getting into a non-neighborhood school that is not terrible.)
Its Wells HS…
and Wells does suck
Icarus….
I agree with your post. The hardest part with trying to buy in a good school district is a good school/ bad school today might not be a good school/ bad school when your kids are ready to go to school. If you get married and buy a house in next year, wait a couple years to have kids, have them…..you are talking about 8 years before you have a kid in school. Were the B schools (Blaine, Burley, etc.) desireable 8 years ago like they are now? I have no idea….
“Its Wells HS…
and Wells does suck”
Yeah, misfire.
If you’re talking about Elems, I can’t disagree, but then I live in an attendance area where few worry about it, b/c the neighborhood school is one of the good ones, so it just isn’t a topic of discussion.
But at the HS level, are you *seriously* contending that that CPS HS options are fine, and it’s just an image thing?
anon, what percentage of CPS HS’s in the green zone have greater than 20% dropout rates… i’d wager its less than 10%
“Were the B schools (Blaine, Burley, etc.) desireable 8 years ago like they are now?”
Blaine, yes (ish, at least), Burley, not really, Bell, yes.
@ Onlooker
I think it’s safe to say the good schools will remain good. But there’s no guarantee that a mediocre school will improve over time, so that’s more of a gamble.
“anon, what percentage of CPS HS’s in the green zone have greater than 20% dropout rates… i’d wager its less than 10%”
Define which HS’s you’re talking about and I will find and post the stats. LPHS and … what? Lake View? Wells is in the GZ; does that count? Payton, Jones, etc don’t count as they are selective enrollment–which you think is all about image.
Lake View HS has a (reported) grad rate of 82.4%, including 100% of boys, so the real dropout rate is almost certainly over 20%.
Tho there aren’t 10 attendance area HS’s in the GZ, so including Wells wins the bet for me off the bat.
Is Wicker Park in the GZ? If so, don’t forget Clemente…
“This will probably open me up to a lot of abuse but I honestly don’t know: are public schools in the city that bad? Does going to a private school really make that much more of a difference?”
I have kids aged 8, 6 and 21 months. Moved to a SFR in Andersonville 7 years ago never thinking about sending my kids to CPS (I worked in biglaw at the time and my perception was that sending your kids to CPS was unacceptable unless you were lucky enough to get into one of a few sought after magnets).
Last year I pulled my kids from an independent private that was costing us around 30K a year (for kindergarten and early elementary) and moved them to our neighborhood CPS, and we’ve been pleased so far. But, we also do a lot of extra-curricular academic work with the kids. For us, the prospect of spending around 60K per year for all three kids for independent private just seems to be a waste of $. Also checked into Catholic programs, but in most cases, I preferred our neighborhood CPS curriculum, at least at the elementary level.
I think there is a lot of paranoia about sending your kids to the “right” school in the city. I’ve been liberated. I just don’t care about the private school bragging rights anymore.
@ AOB
Are your kids attending Peirce?
good for you AOB, we need more people like you in this town!
It’s so weird to see kindergarten and elementary school tuitions exceeding what I paid in 4 years at U of I (tuition and R&B).
Sonies – Couldn’t agree more. Only way CPS will get better is for parents in a ‘hood to band together and all decide to send their kids to the public schools….well and decide to be good parents, etc.
That is of course, unless the public elementary school has a limited english proficiency of 35% or higher, the low income is 50% or higher and the mobility rate is 25%+.
“#Onlooker on February 9th, 2011 at 11:43 am
Sonies – Couldn’t agree more. Only way CPS will get better is for parents in a ‘hood to band together and all decide to send their kids to the public schools….well and decide to be good parents, etc.”
“good for you AOB, we need more people like you in this town!”
How ’bout those of us who never considered private school? HMM?
Also, is your silence about what HS’s are in the GZ an admission that you don’t know what you’re talking about, or just taking that long to gerrymander a list?
Here’s the site, if you need help:
http://schoollocator.cps.k12.il.us/
Also, a partial list:
Loop/SLoop: Phillips
WLoop: Crane
River North/Ukie/parts of WP: Wells
B’town/WP: Clemente
LP: LPHS
LV: Lake View
Lincoln Sq/A’ville: Amundsen
A’ville: Senn
Feel free to add/subtract.
“That is of course, unless the public elementary school has a limited english proficiency of 35% or higher, the low income is 50% or higher and the mobility rate is 25%+. ”
Low income of under 50% is the most accurate easily determined sign of a tipping point to “good”. Check it out if you’re interested.
“@ AOB
Are your kids attending Peirce?”
Yep.
“Low income of under 50% is the most accurate easily determined sign of a tipping point to “good”. Check it out if you’re interested.”
I don’t know that that is necessarily true. The low income rate at Peirce is higher, but so far, I haven’t noticed it really making a difference in our experience. Granted, we’ve only been at the school for a year, so we’ll see how it plays out in the future. Plus I think that the higher the low income rate is the more funding the school gets.
Thought so…my wife student taught at Peirce a couple years ago with the social studies teacher. She had mostly good things to say about it and it seemed to be on the upswing.
anon (tfo) on February 9th, 2011 at 11:55 am
“good for you AOB, we need more people like you in this town!”
How ’bout those of us who never considered private school? HMM?
Also, is your silence about what HS’s are in the GZ an admission that you don’t know what you’re talking about, or just taking that long to gerrymander a list?
So what if you never considered private school?
As to high school, I haven’t really thought about it yet, since it’s still a ways away for us. If we’re not happy with the CPS options we have we’ll either do private or go to the burbs. My post concerned elementary options.
“I don’t know that that is necessarily true. The low income rate at Peirce is higher, but so far, I haven’t noticed it really making a difference in our experience. Granted, we’ve only been at the school for a year, so we’ll see how it plays out in the future. Plus I think that the higher the low income rate is the more funding the school gets.”
There’s a reason I put good in quotes. The schools with the for being “good” are sub 50% low-income. And I bet Pierce is (or is close) in the lower grades, too, if you could get that split.
The extra $$ the high-poverty schools get go (mainly) into before/after school programs, full-day K and also pre-k classes. Which are all good things, too, but have less effect on the “typical” student.
“So what if you never considered private school?”
It wasn’t directed at you, rather the peanut gallery of non-parents lauding you for “doing the right thing” taking your kids out of private school. While saying that CPS is all just fine and any perceived failing of the system is about (a) status-chasing douchebags and (b) parents who aren’t doing enough home schooling.
“As to high school, I haven’t really thought about it yet,”
Depending upon which side of the line you’re on, my impression of Amundsen is that it’s in the possibly acceptable category, but I have a less positive impression about Senn.
@anon (tfo)
Agree completely. Certainly there are scores of CPS schools that are still not there yet, and it’s very difficult to “turn” a school. I just happened to luck into being in a neighborhood with a school on the upswing and with a group of parents and locally owned businesses dedicated to its success. I can’t take credit for it — they’re why we enrolled.
My impressions re: Amundsen and Senn are the same.
Always a police presence around Amundsen when they let out, so I’m assuming they’re there to keep gang fights from starting. Latin King graffiti in our alleyway kind of suggests there’s a gang presence in the HS.
“Always a police presence around Amundsen when they let out, so I’m assuming they’re there to keep gang fights from starting. Latin King graffiti in our alleyway kind of suggests there’s a gang presence in the HS.”
My experience is that every CPS HS has a police presence at dismissal. It’s been a while since i was around LPHS at 2:30, but when I was, there was always a cop or two there. There are cops outside Lane Tech before and after school, every day.
And there is a gang presence at *every* HS in CPS and in most of the burbs, too. Just a matter of whether it affects school or not, and if there is critical mass of opposing members or not.
Yeah i went to CPS k-12, so enough said about that subject 😉
“graffiti in our alleyway kind of suggests there’s a gang presence in the HS”
there is a gang presence IN ALL CPS HS. dont be fooled that a smart gangbanger wont get into northside prep or lane.
one of the high schools i went to was top 5 in my day, would you like to know how many gangbangers were in my division class(homeroom for you burb folk)?
“Just a matter of whether it affects school or not, and if there is critical mass of opposing members or not.”
dang you, you posted as i typed. 100% true its all about the presence of the bangers in the school. at say walter payton prep you may have every gang represented there but most wont “show thier colors” until the make it back to the hood.
Not only does Wells HS suck at academics, they suck at basketball too… they lost to Simeon 93-17
my cousin was a guidance counselor at senn. nice girl from omaha. she reprimanded a student one day in the halls. that afternoon her car was set on fire. I think they transferred her soon after.
I have no kids, went to Wonder White Bread HS in the burbs, and am only aware of what the CPS is like from my husband’s experiences at Senn. He didn’t survive Senn, but we’re talking early 80’s. So I’m making observations based on what I see when I drive by Amundsen.
Somewhat relevant, this is a neat blog run by a Sullivan high schooler: http://avondalelogansquarecrime.blogspot.com/2008/11/welcome-to-avondalelogan-square-crime.html
Did everyone see the logan blurb in the NYT last week? It’s got to be trending up now:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/01/30/travel/0130-surfacing-chicago.html
Hadn’t seen that NY Times piece…thanks for sharing the link.
“Did everyone see the logan blurb in the NYT last week? It’s got to be trending up now:”
Do you think of Owen & Engine as being in Logan Square, regardless of its technical location? It’s much more transitional North Bucktown/West Costco/LP Target to me, but then those are all magical-reality places.
“Do you think of Owen & Engine as being in Logan Square, regardless of its technical location? It’s much more transitional North Bucktown/West Costco/LP Target to me, but then those are all magical-reality places.”
I think people in my area view it as in the neighborhood, which doesn’t strictly answer your question, but that’s the only informed answer I have. The expressway is obviously a dividing line of sorts but many people walk to target from our area. There’s a newish skate park on the north side of the underpass that makes it somewhat less unpleasant.
“There’s a newish skate park on the north side of the underpass that makes it somewhat less unpleasant.”
I dunno. Homeless campers v sk8r teens. Seems like a wash*.
Thinking a bit more, it’s crossing Western on foot that’s the bigger barrier there. I’m buying your neighbors’ views.
*I’m not sure if that’s a set up, or a joke on its own.
#Chris M on February 9th, 2011 at 9:53 am
“but there’s at least a good chunk between Altgeld/Fullerton/Calif/Kennedy that’s in Goethe.”
Agree, that’s a nice area. I’m just not a fan of the housing immediately surrounding the school.
HA!
What’s wrong with this beautiful housing??
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2311-N-Rockwell-St-60647/home/22832001
$1.15 mil “mansion” right across from Goethe. Built with 2 others at the same time, the one next door sold for $750k (2309 Rockwell)
The housing over there is a mish-mosh, actually, with crappy frame cottages, brick apt. buildings, new construction and factory-to-loft conversions. The parents group at Goethe is very strong, but there’s still some crappy element in the hood that needs to be eradicated.
“I dunno. Homeless campers v sk8r teens.”
Wash, indeed, although I did say “somewhat.” There’s also a non-trivial demographic in the area who look back fondly on all things skater. And owen and engine is quite good.
“it’s crossing Western on foot that’s the bigger barrier there”
Well, they go to Target too. I don’t know if there’s a good place to cross western anywhere but it’s definitely not there. You’re right at the underpass, light is not good, feeder roads off and on the expressway, logan is bendy, it feels like there are cars coming every which way. But many people (with cars) do it more or less happily, with kids and strollers.
“with cars”
Meant they have cars but choose to walk.
“Meant they have cars but choose to walk.”
Yeah, got that.
It’s one of the worst walking intersections in the city. And I think it’s as much of neighborhood barrier as the Kennedy + RR.
Groove, refresh my memory, when did you graduate? I laffed at the division thing, that’s what we had too, I thought it was just my HS. I went to one of the big three High Schools in my day and loved it, unlike most of my suburban friends.
One of my classmates send his kids to our HS but they hot-tailed it back to the country, but that could’ve been just them. High Schools seem to come and go and the city keeps wasting effort on new schools rather than existing, but oh well…
Mary Anne Smith had no idea what to do with Senn (nor probably any authority to do so) – she claimed within 20 minutes that it would be a neighborhood school and then later that it couldn’t be. She was definitely called on that statement.
“Groove, refresh my memory, when did you graduate? I laffed at the division thing, that’s what we had too, I thought it was just my HS. I went to one of the big three High Schools in my day and loved it, unlike most of my suburban friends.”
ND,
i am in my late 30’s, funny cause i always that only CPS had “division” and all other schools had “home room”. i wonder what its called now?
Groove, I’m just a little older than you (though you are much wiser than I) and I recall that our CPS teachers made an effort to call it division instead of homeroom. I had got the impression that home room was what they called it back in the day. I also recall hearing stories of gym class where boys swam naked…I always wondered if that was true or a made up story.
“I also recall hearing stories of gym class where boys swam naked…I always wondered if that was true or a made up story”
lane tech when it was all boys did that. its true
My dad went to Sullivan in Rogers Park in the 60s and told me the same story about naked swimming classes.
“My dad went to Sullivan in Rogers Park in the 60s and told me the same story about naked swimming classes.”
could imagine if they tried that now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think I’d take the naked swimming over St. Ignatius, where they forced to you shower – but the “shower” was a single column spraying in all directions. That’s just wrong.
on the schools, let’s just say I’m eagerly awaiting the March xx deadline CPS has for informing parents on magnet/gifted applications.
I am still leaning towards private as we have one kid, and as I think CPS misses the boat in a HUGE way by pretending the separation of church & state means they don’t need to pound home some basic morals/ethics and common sense.
Look at this Dibs “tradition,” for example – a basic civics class addressing a need to both pitch in where you live as well as to consider helping those who are physically unable to shovel would go a long way towards a more neighborly society here.
In fact, I would love to see a study/hear from sellers how trying to move a house on a street full of trash goes over to potential buyers. I’m guessing not too well.
“a basic civics class addressing a need to both pitch in where you live as well as to consider helping those who are physically unable to shovel would go a long way towards a more neighborly society here.”
Heh. I have a good/bad story on that one, involving a surly, entitled, physically-unable neighbor who lied and swore in lieu of any neighborly-society behavior. Probably a CPS grad.
The amount of hippy-dippy shi … stuff at our CPS school is probably enough to keep you happy, skeptic, and I say that as someone who generally approves of hippy-dippy socialization.
Hey, tone it down a bit, I’m o-o-offended!!!!!
“The parents group at Goethe is very strong, but there’s still some crappy element in the hood that needs to be eradicated.”
“Hey, tone it down a bit, I’m o-o-offended!!!!! ”
Is this (evil) Dan or ‘evil’ Dan?
“Is this (evil) Dan or ‘evil’ Dan?”
how about we just assume both dan’s are the same guy and its just the meds kicking in and out throughout the posts.
ah oh, looks like Skeptic had a disgruntled snow day also.
“The amount of hippy-dippy shi … stuff at our CPS school is probably enough to keep you happy, skeptic, and I say that as someone who generally approves of hippy-dippy socialization.”
OK, did they make Waldorf a public school? LOL!
“OK, did they make Waldorf a public school? LOL!”
If that’s your standard, then, no, not enough for you.
My father called St. Viators high school “St. Violators” because the gym teacher would make all the boys swim and shower naked.
I went to a public high school in the 90’s and they didn’t swim naked but they did have showers. Everyone obviously just wore their swim trunks and changed out the wet gear as quickly as possible.
I specifically remember one time our male teacher showed up in the shower area completely nude to take a shower and like every student (still fully clothed) got the f___ out of that shower area as quickly as possible and never looked back. at the time I didn’t really think too much about it like ‘dude is a weirdo’ but in retrospect, that’s some creepy stuff to be doing and he only did it once.
or at least only once in my gym period…..
“the gym teacher would make all the boys … shower naked.”
That is/was unusual? Really?
I remember ours making us parade in a line nude to get a towel from an older guy, who was very obviously gay, after swim class was over. He was in pure bliss.
Looking back on it I do wonder what kind of deal “coach” had with this guy.
It was common to swim naked in those days. I believe after pools and gyms started admitting women it became customary to wear swim suits. BTW, how the heck is one to shower? I always assume one is to be naked.
Under contract as of 2/11.
the head of my friend’s hs got in trouble for kissing students
I was reading an article somewhere about how today’s kids are so concerned about someone else seeing them naked that they don’t even shower after gym or sports practices at school, they just spend the whole day stinking up the place. Most school’s don’t even use their locker rooms and showers anymore. Kinda messed up, really.
Regarding the subject property, I was surprised it went under contract this quickly. My guess is that it’s at $340k+. Still a big profit for the rehabber but that doesn’t other most people as long as they think they’re getting a good deal.
I was starting to read this article and comments on Hinsdale and thought, how can this Architect guy writing on this thing pidgeon hole a whole town based on his interaction with two people? Hinsdale is beautiful; ride around the town and see it is better looking than either Winnetka or Kenilworth. For this guy to saw that there is no social structure in a town like that where doctors, lawyers and indian chiefs live is ridiculous, and to have others who have never been there back is up is ludidicrous. The only ones to drag the IQ of that town down might be the Rancics who just moved in.
This house just sold in April 2011 for $357,500.
SOLD! at $357,500.
http://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2337-N-Monticello-Ave-60647/home/13421196
Yikes!
Sabrina, you must be right on my tail with the followups!
🙂