I also wanted to mention that a while ago, someone else was looking for housing in the Chicago area, and was seriously considering DesPlaines. It would probably be a half hour commute to Skokie, but it's a pretty nice and reasonable area plus on the train line to Chicago. My dad worked in Skokie for many years while we lived in Arlington Heights which is even farther out on that train line, after Mt. Prospect.

I agree with Healthy11. I live next door to Skokie, in Evanston. Skokie is much more reasonably priced than Evanston and the schools are considered to be very good there. So you do save on private school tuition.

Skokie has a long history of attracting recent immigrant groups who value education. You will find many Asians, Russians, Jews, and Middle Easterners there. The student body is a virtual United Nations.

Also great park district facilities too. If Skokie is still too pricey, try Morton Grove or Lincolnwood which border Skokie. They are probably comparable, however. The main problem with Skokie is that it lacks charm. There are some areas that are quite attractive, but much of the housing stock is kind of 60's boxy blah.

If you really have your heart set on private schools, Baker Demonstration School on the Wilmette/Evanston border is a quite popular K-8 school. Roycemore, in Evanston is a k-12 school that has a small, personal touch.

But very few people opt for private high school around here because most of the public high schools are stellar, though very large and competitive.

I looked up our city page for Skokie, IL. It's a good place to start your research:
www.greatschools.net/city/Skokie/IL

Hope this helps!!

Hi. Greatschools is a nationwide community, and the chance of finding someone from the same town, with children the same age, is unfortunately not very likely. I happen to live in the Chicagoland area, and I believe that virtually all of the surrounding suburbs to Skokie have good academic reputations. Have you tried using the "Research and Compare" tab on the green menu bar near the top of this page? In addition to Skokie, you could enter towns like Wilmette (even more $$, I think) and Glenview and Morton Grove and Niles and Park Ridge. Many people who want a parochial high school love Loyola Academy, but I'm not sure about private elementary schools. Hope this helps...