Potential move to Chicago: all advice needed and welcome!

[shaktar]

My husband has been offered a 3 year secondment to the states, all v exciting and the children are 6 and 7 so would be ok, hopefully.

My issue is that I'm finding it impossible to work out if it's financially viable - I've spent hours looking at areas and can work out rent but I have no idea on taxes, living costs etc. If anyone has any idea of resources I can use or lives in Illinois and can advise me I would hugely appreciate it. Also taxes on renting out a UK house when living in the states etc

Not Chicago related but we moved to Canada for a year 4 years ago (totally regret coming back so am hoping we will be back out to us or Canada in the next two years!)

My bits of random advice -
Get a set of decent ski kit and snow boots for each person before you leave uk and then you will need a second set so buy that when you are here. Kids wear snow pants and boots to school and then hang them up in lockers and use at recess so def need 2 pairs for when they come home wet.
We colour coordinated each person so one kid had everything blue (hat, gloves, coats etc), one green - made finding kit in the boxes easy and each kid knew who's was who.

Electronics - I didn't get this fully till it was too late. Go round your house now and check every plug/transformer. If it says 110/220 then it can be used over there with an adaptor. If it just says 220 then you need a step down transformer for each one which is bulky and a pita, we needed it for random items I should have just left here (nutri ninja, dyson, one tv etc) but also bought stuff over there we could have shipped over as I didn't work it out till too late.
Tvs all plug into hdmi so no issue anymore with not working over there.
DVDs are region 1 over there so take a DVD player!

If you use apple iOS then you need to change to us store to access American apps and then struggle to update uk ones.

Banks - hsbc let you open one over there in advance if you have uk account.

Transferring money - don't do it bank to bank, rubbish rates. Look at TransferWise or an professional exchange company - much better exchange rate (we took £20000 and the difference between bank rates and TransferWise was £2-3k.

Get all medical records printed by gp (you have to pay but it's not a lot)

Have all immigration docs scanned and save on computer - all birth certs and passports etc scanned and saved. Makes it easier to provide info quickly as you know where it is

Ensure mobile phone is unlocked - then choose your provider over there for pay as you go. Use WhatsApp/face time to speak with uk.

Most schools kids get on bus outside your house and go to school so you don't get the school run as such over there - makes it harder to make friends with other parents. I found it quite isolating from that aspect.

Even though they speak English, it is still like learning to be bilingual as they do use different words and spellings- my kids would be Canadian outside and English inside and I'd be totally confused. I would have to consciously think what I was saying before I opened my mouth, particularly on the phone!

Costco is a major shop over there - get a card here and it works over there. Minimal if any online grocery shopping in Canada, it very nearly tipped me over the edge having to do grocery shops every week!

You won't have a credit rating so may struggle with finance for cars etc - make sure you look into it. Keep wits about you - one main dealer tried to sell us a 1980's shed for more than they were advertising 12 month old ford focuses!
Insurance is done mostly though agents.

Look up car seats if you still need them - that's a whole new issue as U.K. ones aren't approved over there.

When you ship things - have wine!
Make sure a box is full of comfort foods (Heinz soup and beans, spaghetti hoops, Cadbury's chocolate, Jaffa cakes.....for those bad days when you just need a bit of home. Also cordial juices are not easily available over there - koolaid is rank and pure sugar!!)

Also, get some quote from removal companies now - even though work will pay for it it's useful for you to get an idea of how it will work.
Our container came into Montréal and then went on the train to the west coast. I'm not sure what plan would be for Chicago but if coming into Montréal and then down through the lakes you will have a problem in jan/Feb as it's all frozen so can't get though (we got through just in time in Dec but were warned it might be a delay for a few months if that was the case).

Pets - don't need to use transport companies, you can take them on the plane with you for only £150 or so extra. But get vet checks and vaccinations in now to give enough time to be tested for anything extra.

Read up on local bylaws for chosen area - lots of pedantic little rules to fine you by. Can't park on the road for more than 2 days, must clear side walk of snow within certain time period, no hanging washing on balcony etc.

$250k would be about $100k over the median income for Wilmette.
$150k over the median for River Forest.
It's over twice the median income for Evanston.

It would give you an excellent standard of living.

Great post spinn!

Wrt ski kit - ordinary snow bibs or even fleecy pajama bottoms will be fine for wearing over school wear. Most of the time Chicago gets very cold but not frigid in winter, and it's a dry cold, not the freezing damp of the UK and Ireland. My DCs went to a RC elementary where the girls wore a pinafore or skirt for uniform and wore fleece pajama bottoms under that walking to school. Anything warmer would have been overkill. They refused to wear tights because the school was heated and they preferred not to boil to death. DS managed fine with his navy school uniform trousers.

I bought polyester-filled snow bibs in Walmart for $15ish for them to play outdoors in the snow for extended periods, sledding, etc. If you like skiing, get the full on ski kit, but otherwise don't worry. Most kids wear a down-filled jacket or coat in winter.

"Wrt ski kit - ordinary snow bibs or even fleecy pajama bottoms will be fine for wearing over school wear. Most of the time Chicago gets very cold but not frigid in winter"

This sounds better! We had 4ft of snow most of the time to trek through so wet feet constantly - would def recommend bringing a decent warm coat and boots with you to cover you until you can go shopping properly mid winter!

The first week is a weird kind of blur - need to sort social number and driving licence/test plus jet lag so having a basic that will get you through the first month is a must.

THANK YOU!
All this is so so useful and makes me feel slightly less insane about the whole thing. We will over there end of next week and lining up Sirva to take us on a tour - thanks to this thread (mathanxiety!) we've now asked to look at a a typical North Shore area, Evanston and Oak Park. Ultimately it will come down to where there is a rental available in the area to get into a good elementary school but we need to know what we are choosing between.

Had a minor panic last night on a call to a relocation contact where they said our 6 year old (about to start y2 so her 3rd year of school here) would go into kindergarten but am sure it will sort itself out. If not then you'll find me face down in a bucket of this famous popcorn..

Ultimately it will come down to where there is a rental available in the area to get into a good elementary school but we need to know what we are choosing between

Yep - that's how we ended up living where we are now. We've been here happily for 12 years now.

Had a minor panic last night on a call to a relocation contact where they said our 6 year old (about to start y2 so her 3rd year of school here) would go into kindergarten but am sure it will sort itself out. If not then you'll find me face down in a bucket of this famous popcorn.

Our 6 year old went from UK year 1 to US first grade, so it sounds totally wrong that a student would go from UK year 1 to Kindergarten. But do ask more about that on here when you have to make the decision about which grade your child should go into, because several of us here have been through it. I made the decision to keep DD with her age group rather than her academic group, mainly because she's right at the youngest end of her age group, and it sort of worked out but I don't think I'd make the same decision again.

Enjoy your trip and make sure you get some popcorn. Also make sure you get to have some fun too - Chicago is fabulous. Go to the Museum of Science and Industry - it's a trek but it's worth it! And the Shedd Aquarium is amazing.

Four feet of snow - Yikes!

You won't be able to find a decent coat mid winter, thanks to weird retail cycles. One week into September you can't find any spiral notebooks, and packets of pencils and markers triple in price. Autumn is the time to buy winter wear. Good brands are possibly cheaper in the US - and there are places like Fashion Outlets near O'Hare, and discounters like Burlington Coat Factory. Decent European snow wear would be fine.

shaktar
If your child will turn 7 during the school year then First Grade might be a better fit socially and in many other ways. If just turned 6 then maybe ask the school district to administer a placement test.

You can contact the elementary district in the municipality you choose with questions about curriculum, testing, placement testing, what records they will need from your children's current school/s and anything else that strikes you. Oak Park is District 97 and Evanston /Skokie is District 65.

Be aware that within each wider School District there are internal individual school catchments. Your realtor may be able to help you figure out what the street boundaries are. Evanston-Skokie (it's a combined district) has a few magnet k-8 schools too which have entry criteria not based on address. All other elementary schools are k-5 in both Districts and catchments are enforced except in cases where certain special ed requirements necessitate placement in a certain school (often, families with a special ed students can go to the school the special ed student attends regardless of address).

"You won't be able to find a decent coat mid winter..."

Let me rephrase that - it can be harder than you might imagine to find a decent coat mid winter.

I live in the DC suburbs now which is milder but in Chicago I knew a lot of people with Lands End and they still (usually) have things on sale online in winter. In store forget it. I do recommend buying a decent pair of boots though--even here my kids prefer to have them.

Yes you do miss the school gate experience but school buses are brilliant. I don't have to run out in traffic twice a day! If you live very close to school you won't get a bus though.

An IEP (American equivalent of what used to be called an SEN statement--EHCP now?) does override catchment boundaries but otherwise in the suburbs it tends to be ironclad. The difference here is that the catchment doesn't shrink if the school is oversubscribed; they add a new class. If the area is growing then the school board eventually shifts pupils around and builds new schools.

Most states here have a 1st September cut off (a few are later, New York is). In some areas holding back summer kids is very popular so keep in mind social skills/maturity when deciding which grade as well as academics, although if the district is on half day kinder I'd push to keep them in 1st.

Three elementary schools where I live have been massively extended over the summer. The construction companies have been working nights and all weekend to get them finished before school starts this coming week. Hopefully they will be able to open the windows and/or all the glue will have dried before the first day.

Three high rise apartment buildings have added extra families to the suburb and the District anticipates a greater need for school places.

We only have school buses here for special ed students. (It's a compact suburb with very high population density).

Enjoy Chicago OP, you will have avoided the huge thunderstorms this weekend.
Lands end is where I get most winter clothes, there are snazzier brands available.
We looked at houses in Evanston, Willmette and another W ending suburb so renting is possible there.
My dc need a full snow suit to play out during school break quite often during winter but the playground is on the roof so gets cold.

DD is going to college in Chicago next month so I've been chatting a bit to other parents of kids coming from all over the US. It's funny - the people from California/Florida are talking about buying Canada Goose jackets and Columbia snow boots; the people from Maine/Minnesota are thinking of throwing in a light down jacket and maybe some duck boots, and the parents of kids who've been there for a year or more already are saying that actually their kids mostly just wear Vans and a heavy sweatshirt, and a rain jacket for wet days

I was there in April - on day one we got 6 inches of snow, on day three it was in the 70s and I was sweating like a pig.

It has to be said I bought a lot of school jumpers that have never been worn and dc like wearing the same kind of winter coat they did in UK.
But there are some days that I wear a balaclava, the wind off the lake can be brutal.

It's funny - the people from California/Florida are talking about buying Canada Goose jackets and Columbia snow boots; the people from Maine/Minnesota are thinking of throwing in a light down jacket and maybe some duck boots, and the parents of kids who've been there for a year or more already are saying that actually their kids mostly just wear Vans and a heavy sweatshirt, and a rain jacket for wet days grin

This is so absolutely accurate for older kids/teens etc. My kids rarely wear proper jackets unless we are forcing them to dig snow (in MA) My dd is heading to college in Maine and she has proper boots and a good jacket etc from skiing but I wonder how often she will wear them day to day. I consider a canada goose coat an utter indulgence for anyone - absolutely a luxury not a necessity. When they were little we did send them to school in snow pants/jackets etc. But more from Target than LL Bean.