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Anyone near Round Lake, IL? Need Moving Advice
I posted something similar about a month ago but can't find my old post 
Hopefully you wonderful ladies can help me again!
We might be moving due to job relocation in Round Lake. I understand that Round Lake isn't great to live in but what is and has about a 20 min commute or less?
Grays Lake
Libertyville
Gurnee
Mundelein
Vernon Hills
We will be renting at first -- looking for a classy, middle-upper class town that has a great community (YMCA, kids activities, great schools, etc) If we move I will have to leave my job and will become a SAHM once baby arrives. So, quality of life around where we live is crucial. I don't want to live in a nice house but have to drive 20 min to get to a nice store to go shopping or take my kid to a class. I would love the whole package in one community...
Re: Anyone near Round Lake, IL? Need Moving Advice
I live in Round Lake, but am within the Grayslake school district. I can answer whatever questions you might have, just PM me if you want. Grayslake has better schools than Round Lake. The other places you mentioned also have good school districts. My husband went to the Gurnee schools.
Grayslake - cute old-fashioned downtown area, some older houses, some new townhouses by the Metra train that goes in to Chicago. They also have an aquatic center right next to the library, as well as a skate park and farmers market.
Libertyville - also on the Metra line, more restaurant choices, a little closer to Chicago, very cute area but more expensive than Grayslake. I believe they also have a farmer's market.
Gurnee - my ILs live near there. It has every variety of chain/big box store you might want, also Six Flags, but more traffic and no quaint downtown area. Also has Gurnee Mills, a big outlet mall.
Mundelein - not too far from Wauconda or Round Lake. I go to the Target there all the time! Several large companies are based there.
Vernon Hills - where the non-outlet mall is (Hawthorne). Several large companies are based out of Vernon Hills. My DH's aunt lives there. There's an aquatic center there, too.
I wouldn't necessarily dismiss Round Lake, though, or even Volo. Neither are very far from shopping in the other towns you mentioned or in Fox Lake. McHenry might be another option you may want to look into. There's lots of shopping there but is a bit further west of the other places you mentioned.
Good luck in your search!
J born 4/11/2011
Also will add they have a YMCA and a rec area as well.
This site may be helpful:
http://www.libertyville.com/
Good luck!
I live in Round Lake, teach in Lake Villa, used to live in Grayslake, and grew up in Vernon Hills, so I'm familiar with all of the areas. It all depends on which area of the towns you move to!
1. Vernon Hills- Hawthorn Mall is great for shopping, they have a YMCA, and the park district is excellent. School districting can be a little funky, especially when it comes to high schools. I went to Stevenson, but had I lived directly across the street I would have gone to Libertyville and had I lived right around the corner, I would have gone to Mundelein. Also, many of the subdivisions are older, so if you're looking for new construction, this will be a challenge.
2. Mundelein- I'm kind of meh about Mundelein. A lot of Mundelein has gotten pretty run down in the past 20 years. It's not bad, but you would probably get more bang for your buck elsewhere.
3. Libertyville- Downtown is gorgeous! It has kind of an old-fashioned-y feel and they try to do a lot of community events. They have some great restaurants down there, too. I'm not familiar with the park district, but I know the schools are good. Again, though, the community is on the older side so many of the houses are older.
4. Gurnee- Conveniently located in relation to 94, Great America, and Gurnee Mills. Some of the neighborhoods can be kind of sketchy. I have a friend who teaches at Warren High School and she's mentioned they've been having a lot of gang activity.
5. Grayslake- Like Libertyville, downtown is really cute and they have a great farmer's market. They have a YMCA and the people there are incredibly friendly. There's also a great Lake Forest Hospital Medical Center on the corner of Rts. 45 & 120, which is super-convenient. Not much else is in Grayslake, though, and the property taxes are horrendous. Their elemantary schools have been having financial issues lately, and they keep talking about cutting programs.
6. Lake Villa- Is an up-and-coming community! I can vouch for the quality of the schools (if you can get into Millburn's elemantry district, go for this over Palombi. Trust me!) and there's a lot of new construction going on. Taxes are a little on the high side, though, and there's not much in the way of industry. They do have a YMCA with a pool, which is kind of nifty.
7. Round Lake- Location, location, location! I live in unincorporated Round Lake, which means I'm really in Ingleside with a Round Lake mailing address. Downtown Round Lake can be a little (a lot) sketchy. If you go for Round Lake, I suggest Round Lake Beach and if possible, look for a location outside of RL schools. There are parts of Round Lake that go to Fox Lake schools and parts that go to Grayslake schools- those would be preferable to Round Lake schools.
Good luck!