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Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by penguinsix
(Post 5139613)
Most rental websites list apartments because the apartment buildings are much more flush with advertising money than a single family, but that said, it is ENTIRELY possible to rent a whole house. There are many rentals on the market. I would suggest craigslist.com as a good place to start (Chicago version). Also look at the online, local newspaper for that town (i.e. don't look at the Chicago Tribune, but the smaller papers in the suburbs--the classified sections).
WASPS are white anglo-saxon protestants, but it is more a cultural reference than an exacting ethnic label. Your basic white folks are often called wasps. |
Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by penguinsix
(Post 5139613)
WASPS are white anglo-saxon protestants, but it is more a cultural reference than an exacting ethnic label. Your basic white folks are often called wasps.
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Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
So "W.A.S.P." doesn't stand for "We Are Sexual Perverts" after all then? :( :blink:
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Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by Maz
(Post 5140128)
So "W.A.S.P." doesn't stand for "We Are Sexual Perverts" after all then? :( :blink:
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Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by keira-2007
(Post 5140155)
Nor "Wobbly Arsed Scottish People" either???:lol:
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Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by Maz
(Post 5140128)
So "W.A.S.P." doesn't stand for "We Are Sexual Perverts" after all then? :( :blink:
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Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by Jerseygirl
(Post 5140178)
It does in your case. :D
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Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by keira-2007
(Post 5126300)
Thankyou to BigDavyG - i will investigate Arlington Heights. To be honest we hadn't considered Chicago itself - for some reason the idea of moving into a big city scares me a bit - I feel like there would be a bit more of a community feeling in a smaller town than in a big city where I would feel like a little fish in a big sea! I notice that alot of the areas I research on the internet call themselves villages - whereas in actual fact they are more like large towns if compared to something similar in England! I think it's going to take alot of getting used to!
Find out if your husband's employer runs a shuttle service to the office from the metra line then investigate downtown. When I moved here the first year was tough and I put most of that down to living in the 'burbs - still live there but now work downtown and get down there on a regular basis - much more enjoyable now. |
Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by keira-2007
(Post 5130475)
Dave2702's post mentioned Buffalo Grove being a desirable area - the price of the area is not really a problem to be honest, its the schooling that concerns me... Now I'm not really sure how to say this, without somehow sounding racist or religionist (if you know what i mean) and can I just say that I am in no way, shape of form racist or religionist! But my husband has been led to believe that Buffalo Grove is a very concentrated close-knit Jewish community, very difficult for a non-Jewish (foreigner) to penetrate and feel a part of. Some of the other earlier posts mentioned how religion is very important to Americans and hard to ignore - does anyone think that this factor could be a major issue for an English family to settle into??
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Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by ironporer
(Post 5131239)
There is nothing like a Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field when the wind is blowing out, a beer in your hand (Strohs of course, maybe Old Style) a hot dog in the other...waiting for the inevitable Cub's loss.
The pee-water of choice has been old style for years (makes bud taste like liquid gold) |
Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by BigDavyG
(Post 5151234)
Actually as a few others have indicated you are more likely to get that community feeling in some of the downtown neighbourhoods, rather than in the burbs. The suburban areas are certainly not villages, and many don't have a defined centre, whereas the downtown areas do. Walking through Old Town on a summers evening is a great experience, though unfortunately its quite a pricey neighbourhood. Wicker Park is also a nice spot imo.
Find out if your husband's employer runs a shuttle service to the office from the metra line then investigate downtown. When I moved here the first year was tough and I put most of that down to living in the 'burbs - still live there but now work downtown and get down there on a regular basis - much more enjoyable now. There may be a shuttle service, I'll look into it... although I think he would prefer to drive rather than cram into a tube everyday, (he's had enough of that getting into London over here!!) Do you think it is easier to feel part of a community if I try and get involved in my daughters school? I hope to meet people thru her. Well here's hoping!
Originally Posted by BigDavyG
(Post 5151244)
There is a large Jewish community in Buffalo Grove. I have some Israeli friends who live there and (in their own words) they are "treated like animals" by the american Jews who live near them - so don't take it personally if the neighbours don't roll out the welcome mat for you :)
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Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by keira-2007
(Post 5151828)
[COLOR="Red"]
There may be a shuttle service, I'll look into it... although I think he would prefer to drive rather than cram into a tube everyday, (he's had enough of that getting into London over here!!) Do you think it is easier to feel part of a community if I try and get involved in my daughters school? I hope to meet people thru her. Well here's hoping! As for meeting people through your daughter - good idea - its just that the school mum's over here may be somewhat different to the one's you hang about with back home. :ohmy: |
Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by keira-2007
(Post 5151828)
Do you think it is easier to feel part of a community if I try and get involved in my daughters school? I hope to meet people thru her. Well here's hoping! I live in a suburb which is made up of different neighbourhoods. It is almost impossible to walk between neighbourhoods because there are no pavements. I can walk around my neighbourhood and lots of people do...so you get to know people. Where I live each neighbourhood does stuff....block party, golf competition, bbq, garage sale. Some neigbourhoods have their own pools. You do get to know people and I became a street rep for our HOA and so I got to know even more people. I have a dog and I explored the area and found other dog walkers. I went to the library a lot. I did join the PTA and ours are formidable compared to the UK. You almost have to be vetted and selected! I think the PTA forms in Kindergarten and the parents move through the school years with their children. It was very hard to break in to our PTA at 5th grade because they had all been a "PTA" group for so long. But I persevered, went on school trips, did the PTA jobs no-one else wanted, said yes to everything. Even if you don't get onto the PTA, there is still a lot more parental involvement in school than in the UK, so you will get asked to do stuff. We went to all the High school football games(home ones at first) even though we knew nothing and are not sporty. Our realtor had told us to go as the whole community goes and supports the senior team. All ages go and we really enjoy it now. When people realised we were English and knew nothing about the sport, they all took it upon themselves to teach us. My daughters joined things...art clubs, skating clubs, horse riding and I met people there. I went to everything I was invited to. I talk to anyone...my daughter told me the other day that I am the only person she knows who can hold a 20min conversation with the man in Subway:rofl: I joined our townships Newcomers group and after the first year joined the committee. I agreed to run the book club and I have met loads of people.I also joined their Good samaritan scheme and if someone has a family crisis I do the cooking for them, other people do other things, just for a few days. I joined a local art group. I was a professional calligrapher before we moved and ran my own business. I really miss that part of my old life and sadly this art group is crappy but I still go because the people are nice. The more you join, you eventually start to bump into people you met at another event and you begin to feel you belong. Everyone plays tennis here and I don't and I haven't started. I don't like it and it's too expensive but it would have been another way of meeting people. It is harder in the winter because no-one is outdoors, and I don't think Pittsburgh winters are as bad as Chicago's. They are horrible though and I am dreading this one. The snow is lovely and the sky is usually blue... but they are just sooo cold and long. It wasn't easy because sometimes if you feel a bit homesick the last thing you want to do is get out there and smile. |
Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
A performance in the local titty bar ..is a good ice breaker
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Re: Illinois - where to go/where to avoid?
Originally Posted by Ray
(Post 5151930)
A performance in the local titty bar ..is a good ice breaker
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