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Nbarbar

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Fwiw, I would never want to live that far from the city and have the kind of job in the city that makes you enough money to afford those places.

Like...I know a couple who moved to the north end of Highland Park across from the lake... But one of them is a biglaw partner downtown. Maybe not a big deal when working from home but damn that commute.

But yeah, Chicago is cheap compared to the other major metros. Suburban property taxes can be huge in some of those areas,

The lake can be limiting... Compared to DC where you have suburbs all around, you're left with North, West, or... ****** Indiana. Commutes get long fast when you've only got 2 directions to go in that don't suck.
I remember reading once about a private train car that a group of Lake Forest guys bolted to the back of the Metro North. It would run them down and back each day in comfort and the company they chose. Perhaps it was a pre 2000 story but it always stayed with me.

And I agree, driving from Lake Forest to the city would be a nightmare.
 

brokencycle

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Ferris Bueller's friend's house (the one with the Ferrari garage) is near Chicago, right off the lake in Highland Park. Even with the movie cache, it sold for $1.2 million, which would be insane around DC.


Chicago real estate is one of those where I think it simultaneously too high and too low. Like this is a house not far from the one you posted at $500/sq ft, and it looks like a generic builder new construction:


Or here they don't have photos but appears to be a tear down at $2m for half an acre:

But then you'll get houses not far away for <$200/sq ft.

I remember reading once about a private train car that a group of Lake Forest guys bolted to the back of the Metro North. It would run them down and back each day in comfort and the company they chose. Perhaps it was a pre 2000 story but it always stayed with me.

And I agree, driving from Lake Forest to the city would be a nightmare.

You could take the train though. It isn't a bad ride. Probably not something a big law partner wants to do, but only an hour.
 

brokencycle

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Fwiw, I would never want to live that far from the city and have the kind of job in the city that makes you enough money to afford those places.

Like...I know a couple who moved to the north end of Highland Park across from the lake... But one of them is a biglaw partner downtown. Maybe not a big deal when working from home but damn that commute.

But yeah, Chicago is cheap compared to the other major metros. Suburban property taxes can be huge in some of those areas,

The lake can be limiting... Compared to DC where you have suburbs all around, you're left with North, West, or... ****** Indiana. Commutes get long fast when you've only got 2 directions to go in that don't suck.

But there are a good number of large employers with HQs or major presences outside of the city. Several are moving back back into the city.
 

GeneralEmployer

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Ferris Bueller's friend's house (the one with the Ferrari garage) is near Chicago, right off the lake in Highland Park. Even with the movie cache, it sold for $1.2 million, which would be insane around DC.

Love that house.

 

otc

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Yeah, the private car still exists, but it only runs once a day which isn't great in the evening if your schedule isn't fixed.

Also the train may be an hour (1:04 if on time), but you still have to get to the train and get to the office. Train station is 15 min from my office by public transit on average, taxi not much faster at rush hour... Add some wait time and suddenly you are spending 3 hours a day commuting...

The people in my office who live that far away mostly just drive. Seems miserable. The train takers are mostly in closer suburbs that bring the total commute closer to 1 hour each way.

As for the bueller house...I forget why, but I think there's a reason it is cheap. I don't think it is a very usable layout and a lot of people want to avoid famous houses. IIRC the home alone house is under valued as well.
 

Nbarbar

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Yeah, the private car still exists, but it only runs once a day which isn't great in the evening if your schedule isn't fixed.

Also the train may be an hour (1:04 if on time), but you still have to get to the train and get to the office. Train station is 15 min from my office by public transit on average, taxi not much faster at rush hour... Add some wait time and suddenly you are spending 3 hours a day commuting...

The people in my office who live that far away mostly just drive. Seems miserable. The train takers are mostly in closer suburbs that bring the total commute closer to 1 hour each way.

As for the bueller house...I forget why, but I think there's a reason it is cheap. I don't think it is a very usable layout and a lot of people want to avoid famous houses. IIRC the home alone house is under valued as well.
The Home Alone house looked like it was being seriously renovated last time I was there.
Education drives Chicago property prices pretty significantly doesn’t it? Ie a house in the New Trier sic catchment is worth far more than one for an Evanston school?
There are some interesting modern houses around that part of Chicago too. These two Gluck projects are both interesting. https://gluckplus.com/project/cascade-house

re the commute. It’s brutal either way. An hour in the car on the L90 or an hour on the train both seem pretty rough.
 

Piobaire

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jcman311

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Hmm, nice touch altering the lakeshore to protect your sandy beach. Pretty sure thats illegal these days but they were probably grandfathered in.
84690507-8D6B-4A6E-9923-B0672778EECC.jpeg
 

venividivicibj

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Judging by the McMansion expansion going on in nearby hoods, blight of 60's colonials is going down.

Scooted on by this monster the other day, looks kind of fun. I could get down with the 2 story outdoor fireplaces. View attachment 1569332 View attachment 1569334
Are there architects/designers used in building these things or is it designed by the homeowner? I don't understand how they can be so bad.
 

jbarwick

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Are there architects/designers used in building these things or is it designed by the homeowner? I don't understand how they can be so bad.

There was an architect used by most of the remodels in my old neighborhood and all of the designs ending up looking terrible. The worst home had a double garage facing the street on one side then a single garage facing the street after the remodel. There was room next to the double garage for an additional space but I guess that made too much sense.

Also looking at some of the vacant lots over there, while I thought $550K for an acre lot was frothy, the most recent says were $850K and $865K and that $550K sale was early last year...
 

brokencycle

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Are there architects/designers used in building these things or is it designed by the homeowner? I don't understand how they can be so bad.
There was an architect used by most of the remodels in my old neighborhood and all of the designs ending up looking terrible. The worst home had a double garage facing the street on one side then a single garage facing the street after the remodel. There was room next to the double garage for an additional space but I guess that made too much sense.

Also looking at some of the vacant lots over there, while I thought $550K for an acre lot was frothy, the most recent says were $850K and $865K and that $550K sale was early last year...

Based on what people like in new construction tract homes and all the remodel shows and the like, I think most people just have no imagination/any desire to be remotely different, and they are probably using some construction company's 'architect' that is basically just using some bog standard mcmansion layout. Then again, I'm sure there are plenty of terrible architects.
 

sugarbutch

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Hmm, nice touch altering the lakeshore to protect your sandy beach. Pretty sure thats illegal these days but they were probably grandfathered in.
View attachment 1569848
Are the garage doors for boats? And, if so, how do you get the boat across the sand?
 

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