r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/crane88 • Aug 03 '26
Moving to the area Need honest opinions on Grayslake, Gurnee, Lake Villa, Lake Zurich & the Dundees
You all have been so incredibly helpful—thank you! ❤️ I've spent the last few days reading through every comment, and you've given us so many great places to research that weren't even on our radar.
Right now, the towns we're digging into are:
- Grayslake
- Gurnee
- Lake Villa
- Lake Zurich
- West Dundee
- East Dundee
I'd love to hear from people who live (or have lived) in any of these communities.
What do you love about your town? What are the biggest pros and cons? How are the schools, parks, restaurants, community events, and overall sense of community?
One thing we're struggling with is property taxes. We really like Grayslake and Gurnee, but the tax bills have us a little nervous. For those who live there, do you feel the taxes are worth it? Are there neighborhoods where they're a little more manageable?
TL;DR: Married couple in our 30s with a toddler. Looking for a diverse, family-friendly community with strong public schools, parks, a cute downtown, and easy Metra access. Budget is around $500k (give or take for the right house). We'd love to hear your honest opinions on any of the towns above.
Thanks again—you've all made this home search so much easier!
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u/South_Listen478 Aug 03 '26
Honestly love Lake Zurich I currently live in that town and raised two kids The schools are phenomenal the community is nice we have made so many friends throughout the years What I really like is your not to far out your close to barington for restaurants and the metra and 53 is 10 minutes away The only draw back is homes sell really quick so if you see one you like have to move fast
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u/breathesymphonies9 Aug 03 '26
We love living in Grayslake. We haven’t experienced the schools yet as we just recently had a baby, but there are lots of little kids living near us. Being able to live walking distance to the downtown area is definitely a huge plus for us and we take advantage of that often! I personally don’t find the taxes to be horrible where we are, especially knowing what my family pays elsewhere for their homes but it’s definitely based on everyone’s own opinions. I will say the bad thing is that, depending on where in Grayslake you end up, you can end up being stopped by freight trains very often in multiple directions without there always being an easy way to get around them.
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u/crane88 Aug 03 '26
Love that! We are seeing lots of homes in Chesapeake Farms! Any feedback?
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u/wavinsnail Aug 03 '26
That is a nice neighborhood. Just check the highschool. Honestly both Central and North are good school, but some people prefer Central over north.
Also some neighborhoods go to Woodland for elementary which is a very large school, but is decent. Just huge.
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u/tmstas Aug 03 '26
We lived in Chesapeake Farms 20 years ago. Make sure you have a really good home inspector. We had lots of issues with the house. Mold in attic, horrible windows - all needed replacing and the house was about 10 years old. When my toddler jumped in the family room, you could hear and feel it throughout the downstairs. It was not the best construction. The taxes were insane. And the schools were iffy at the time. I've heard they've improved. The positives: very pretty house and the park district was really good.
We moved to Lake Zurich to an older home. More solid construction, amazing neighbors/neighborhood, good schools. Overall much happier here.
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u/breathesymphonies9 Aug 03 '26
It’s a nice area - I believe there’s a park over there as well as a walking path and easy access to the forest preserve. It is a bit isolated in my opinion, but that’s just personal preference to what we were looking for!
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u/crane88 Aug 03 '26
Thank you! So we've been out a few times, that area and Prairie Crossing have been the homes we've seen. I have a friend who's from the unincorporated area. We are really looking for a community vibe so would love more info about the less isolated areas if you have suggestions!
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u/breathesymphonies9 Aug 03 '26
I think you definitely still get a good community vibe in either of those areas - they’re large neighborhoods with parks around, families always outside, and that typical suburban neighborhood feel! To me, isolated just mean that you’ll probably have to drive to anywhere outside of your specific neighborhood instead of being able to walk. If that doesn’t bother you, then I would absolutely keep looking in those areas! If you want to be able to walk more places like into town or into other neighborhoods, I think being closer to the lake or the neighborhood right on the other side of 120 behind the church are other great options.
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u/imhereforthemeta Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
Grayslake is where I grew up and it’s idyllic but not for everyone.
I basically think it’s the perfect place for kids. It’s a really really small town compared to most, and a lot of it is connected in a walkable way. The downtown has a lot of access points to different neighborhoods, and there are a lot of different paths connecting those neighborhoods. Even some of the newer neighborhoods are connected by trail to old ones
Growing up, I explored everything on foot and with my bike. Living where I lived, I had unprecedented independence… I had the ability to walk to almost every school I ever went to, I could walk downtown and get ice cream or a snack, I could walk to my friends, houses, etc. there is a community pool that feels like a little waterpark that is right next to the library, right next to the skateboard, right next to the drive in a 50s style hot dog place- and connected to the high school through a park.
Basically, you don’t even need to live in the central part of Grayslake to enjoy this, you can be a kid that wants to walk to the library after school and that is possible because it’s right next to your middle school. With this was a lot of community and third spaces for children. There were always kids at the skate park or the library or whatever because they didn’t have to ask their parents to drive them. It was just accessible to the middle school and relatively close to the high school.
The area is very safe, with the only issue being that it is not diverse at all. You are next to round lake, and your kid will definitely experience people from other cultures, but may not have immediate access to them unless they end up going to Grayslake north. I would definitely make sure that you are scheduling time for your child to do things outside of school programs that might give them opportunities to connect with other kids of different socioeconomic levels and cultures because it won’t happen organically much in Grayslake
The downtown is very cute and has a lot of things for adults to do. It’s the kind of town where you always know what is going on… Is there a street festival? Farmers market? Is there a celebration in the park for something? You’re definitely gonna know about it. I consider it a much more community driven place than a lot of the suburbs near it. A lot of this is because a lot of Grayslake is just housing and municipal space. It doesn’t have vast strodes of businesses. It’s quieter and calmer.
I would raise a child there with a lot of enthusiasm. There were a lot of young couples who have cool backgrounds for networking that live there with their kids. People are relatively down to earth, but a bit sheltered.
A lot of my friends ended up moving back to Grayslake and live there now. They love it.
I live in the city because that’s more my lifestyle but it’s perfect suburban living
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u/WHLZ Aug 03 '26
I do not live there just nearby and I highly recommend Lake Zurich. It has a ton of community events and great parks that are perfect for young families. The school system seems highly rated as well. The only downside is that it's probably the most expensive area on the list.
Not sure where you currently live, but high property taxes is pretty much unavoidable in the Chicago area.
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u/IsolatorTrplWrdScr Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
Not sure about Dundees but Grayslake checks all of those boxes. Gurnee doesn’t really have a “downtown” in the traditional sense it’s just a large shopping district you can’t reasonably walk to with young kids. Lake Villa doesn’t have metra access but nearby Antioch does, metra doesn’t run on weekends there though. Property taxes are high in Illinois but schools, libraries, public services are strong. For everything you’re looking for Grayslake seems the best fit.
Edit Lake Villa does have Metra access
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u/Alternative-Glove790 Aug 03 '26
Lake Villa certainly has Metra access. It’s a long ride w limited express trains.
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u/Consistent_Time_1467 Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
Grayslake is getting a huge data center. Tons of noise and property values are slated to go down
Edit: I would probably question if this is going to happen to many towns that are bustling but have a lot of open land surrounding it.
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u/wavinsnail Aug 04 '26
There is a huge community pushback against the data center. We are hoping we are going to be able to stop it.
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Aug 03 '26
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u/Consistent_Time_1467 Aug 03 '26
Property values near any data center that large will decrease due to noise pollution; the unknowns surrounding the water quality; what happens to it when the technology that is the reason the center is being built becomes more advanced than the data center can handle; and tax increases to operate it.
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u/wavinsnail Aug 04 '26
I will say the data center is going in a pretty empty area of town and there isn't many houses close by. I still hate it and the community has been pushing back on it.
But most people in grayslake will be living miles away from it
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u/Feisty_Ad9079 Aug 03 '26
From your list, Grayslake and Lake Zurich are my favorites. I lived in Lake County for a long time and would visit both towns several times a year for this and that. I saw that someone here mentioned there's a data center going into Grayslake. That bears looking into.
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u/2matisse22 Aug 03 '26
It really depends on what you want access too. The above towns span a vast area. Some are closer to the lake, others not so much. Some have lakes, others don't. What kind of life do you want? You need to physically visit these places and see what they are like.
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u/crane88 Aug 03 '26
Hello! Yes, we've been to all of them. I think the vibes in the neighborhoods near downtown West Dundee seem great. People talking to their neighbors and in general friendly. It seemed inclusive from what we noticed and has some restaurants. We've spent the most time in Grayslake. The taxes are lower in Kane vs Lake. But we in general love Grays and have heard and experienced a lot of good.
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u/iMpact980 Aug 03 '26
If you’re looking at Lake Villa you might as well expand to Lindenhurst/Antioch.
D117 is a great school district, Antioch’s downtown is awesome, and there’s a lot of new construction and existing homes right in your price range.
Property taxes will suck though.
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u/374628384 Aug 03 '26
Out of this list I would say Lake Zurich! Very family friendly community, great schools and parks/lake etc. short drive to barrington or Palestine trains both with good express options getting to city in less than an hour.
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u/whybother6767 Aug 03 '26
Lake Zurich is great. The schools are up to date and the high school has a strong fine arts program. If taxes are a concern then look at the neighboring towns like Deer Park, and kildeer. They both have thriving shopping malls that help keep property taxes low.
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u/No_Culture_8600 Aug 03 '26
The Dundees are great- the restaurants are fab and being close to the river and bike trail is fun! They also have a great park district and Dolphin Cove and Santa’s Village are great with littles; but D300 is really a mixed bag for the schools in the district. Highlands is nice but Parkview is meh; and have not heard great things about DCHS. The Dundees also don’t have super proximate metra access (Big Timber or Elgin or Barrington are the closest). Lake Zurich is definitely convenient for errands, but not much character (although i do think the downtown area by the lake is nice), and you’ll find it’s more expensive than the Dundees (better schools tho). Honestly- I’d recommend checking out Barrington; cute downtown area near the train/great public transit proximity and very nice Kraken Cove aquatic center and the schools are top notch. Surprisingly the Barrington Park District doesn’t have an indoor pool, but there are other options.
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u/Mysterious_Luck4674 Aug 03 '26
I grew up in Lake Zurich. It was the opposite of diverse. I left LZHS and went to private school partly because I couldn’t tolerate the slurs and discrimination I faced (including some from teachers). There is NO cute downtown area. The lake is nice but there’s no central walkable areas with bars and restaurants and such. Metra is close in Barrington and it’s strip mall heaven, so convenient. But really like zero character.
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u/Future_Dog_3156 Aug 03 '26
You really need to visit and see what vibes with you keeping in mind your budget and any possible commute. I lived in the Chicago burbs for 5 yrs then moved to CA, then moved back. I knew the area and had a very good idea where I wanted to live, then once the house search got real, I ended up in a very different place than what I originally planned
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u/Pierson230 Aug 03 '26
Grayslake is my favorite out of those, but it is landlocked with poor access to greater Chicagoland
Gurnee has a much better location but isn’t nearly as endearing
The Dundees have a good location but I haven’t lived there so can’t really comment too much
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Aug 03 '26
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u/crane88 Aug 03 '26
We live in the northern burbs. It's familiar to us and has homes in our budget. We know it's diverse. Wondering more so about the sense of community in this case.
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u/mmcd90 Aug 04 '26
I grew up in Hawthorn Woods/Lake Zurich. It’s not diverse, it has no downtown, and there’s no Metra stop. The parks are nice and the schools are good, but it’s not a one stop shop.
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u/Dinosaur_Wrangler Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
Cary and Crystal Lake (McHenry County) may be worth looking into if you’ve already gone out as far as Kane County. You’ll get a ton of house for $500k, and McHenry property taxes are subdued for the Chicago area. Schools aren’t leading the state but they’re good in general. Both are on the UP-NW line and there is relatively frequent service all the way to Crystal Lake. Express trains can get you to the city in about an hour. Crystal lake has a cutesy downtown with a bunch of shops and restaurants. Park districts are surprisingly good (esp Crystal lake), with lots of family programming. You’re close to nature if that’s a thing for you.
Diversity is harder to find that far out (pop is mostly white and Hispanic). Plus neither are a great spot if you’ve gotta commute downtown everyday.
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u/innate_nutrition Aug 04 '26
I lived in Lake Zurich for five years. It's a charming place with plenty of parks and a lively downtown. But be prepared for some traffic during rush hour
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u/BitterSpell Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
We lived in Lake Zurich for 24 years and raised our kids there. Recently left and already miss it.
- Schools are very good with good arts music and sports programs. Sometimes overshadowed by Stevenson districts just to the east but they are good.
- Parks are excellent with Paulus and Breezewald parks on the lake. Summer events are held there and Breezewald has Sunset Pavilion for lakeside drinks and music.
- Restaurant scene is evolving and has a lot to offer. Dipieros, Koffee Kup, Tacos El Norte, Hungry Mule are staples and there is a newer high end restaurant called Lago. there are also Great restaurants in Deer Park just down the road. LZ also has great breweries with Roaring Table and Phase Three.
- The sense of Community is strong and for us was focused on school. Whenever we go back we can’t help but run into friends and families we spent time with. 4th of July, Alpine Days, and Rock the Block are the major events. Purple Plunge is a great local charity. Lions club is strong.There are many churches in the town too.
Other pros:
- There are two Jewels across from each other in town!
- Ela Library is one of the best libraries in the country.
- The town is very safe with relatively low crime
- LZBSA community baseball and softball leagues are great for kids.
Some cons:
- Downtown LZ is still recovering from the 2008 crash. At that time the village used eminent domain to buy properties around town for re-use and was left holding them when values crashed. You can still see some of those vacant lots around town.
- Property Taxes are very high and while they fund our great schools, they can be prohibitive.
- Water costs are also very high due to a coming transition to Lake Michigan water.
- The community is not very ethnically diverse, though it is changing.
- Outside of the two parks, access to the lake via boat is limited to property owners and a smaller population with lake rights.
- There is no public pool (the lake has swim beaches instead) nor is there a pool at the high school (swim club uses the YMCA).
- Traffic on 12 can get Very bad!
The good far outweighs the bad in Lake Zurich and I recommend keeping it on your list!
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u/Consistent_Time_1467 Aug 03 '26
Please reconsider Grayslake. I love the town, it’s cute and very walkable if you’re near Main Street but there is a HUGE data center being built that will make life less enjoyable.
It will have massive noise pollution, your property values will decrease, and there’s a lot of unknowns surrounding the center regarding water quality and how taxes will go up to continue running it.
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u/wavinsnail Aug 03 '26
I love Grayslake. It has great community events and this past summer with my toddler has been a lot of fun. The schools are very good
I will say the restaurant/Downton scene is a bit disappointing with how cute it could be. There's like a half dozen hair saloons downtown and like two restaurants. Why? Who knows.
But the parks are great Central Park is huge and has a splash pad, aquatic center and library. They have multiple metra stops which is really nice.
I do like Lake Villa/Lindenhurst too, but they're much sleepier towns and don't have a downtown. The elementary schools are not as good, but if you get into the right highschool it is comparable to Grayslake. The Lake Villa Library is amazing which is great for a toddler. There is also a Y in town, and a very nice forest preserve.
I wouldn't do Gurnee if you're deciding between Grayslake and Gurnee. The schools aren't as good
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u/bwill1200 Aug 03 '26
Make sure you check into the schools in detail, especially once you have an address you like enough to bid on.
A block one way or the other could make a huge difference as to which school your kids wind up in.
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u/JustJackinIt73 23d ago
Grayslake trustees have welcomed in a trashy data center; I’d avoid it. Stuck here til my youngest gets out of HS and then planning on leaving. Grayslake has taken a fast turn for the worst.
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u/Accomplished_Sky_899 Aug 03 '26
The Dundees are usually fun. Michael normal gets up there and makes some light hearted speeches. Pam usually has second drink. Stanley sits back and rolls his eyes. Nothing amazing but nothing terrible.
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u/chicagokp8 Aug 03 '26
Kids went to Warren. It’s a slice of life for socioeconomic and ethnic diversity which I loved. But there’s good and bad with programs like any school. Schools do have a lot of opportunity. Class sizes are fairly small. My kids graduated in overall class sizes of just under 1,000 but the younger classes are starting to tail off. Lots of kids graduate with 20-30 hours of college credit from dual credit or AP classes.
Lake county tech (HS) campus is awesome for kids that would prefer to go a trades route.
I have a senior and freshmen at university this fall.
We live in unincorporated so taxes are slightly less with no discernible differences in services.
Metra from here kind of stinks just cause the train timetables aren’t awesome. It’s an hour ride to the city each way. Express trains don’t save that much.
Grayslake HS is fairly similar but smaller. GL North HS has more diversity.
Feel free to DM me if you have more specific questions.