Barrington is a place unlike any other. A beautiful, historic suburb just 40 miles northwest of Chicago, Barrington’s 10,168 residents pride themselves on the Village’s hometown charm and small-town heritage. So if you are looking for more space than larger densely packed cities for the money and a good area to raise children, this could be your new home.
But the million-dollar question comes: What does it really mean to live in Barrington? We will go over the pros and cons of living in Barrington.
Residents, business owners, village government, and civic leaders work hard to make Barrington a great place to live, work, and play!
Barrington is also one of the safest places to live in with lower crime rates than other suburban areas, statewide and nationwide. Our schools are consistently among the top in state and national rankings. Located just 40 miles from Chicago, you can access all metropolitan amenities while enjoying the amazing variety of outdoor recreation in parks, forest preserves, and horse and hiking trails.
On the other hand, there are a few flaws of Barrington you need to know.
Now let’s get down to business. Let’s start with the benefits of being a Barrington resident.
Pros
Barrington has ranked high in many lists of places to live in Illinois. Why? It’s simply beautiful and great to live, work and raise your family. Even if it’s an affluent neighborhood, it’s worth it to enjoy safety, nature, and educational opportunities.
Here are the many different advantages to living in Barrington:
1. Safe community
Even if it’s just 40 miles away from Chicago, safety is a high point for people who visit and live in Barrington. It’s super safe that I can walk at night or run at 5 am without worry.
Unlike the national average of 282.7, violent crime in Barrington only refers to assault with a rate of 19.5 which is 93% lower than the national average. With regards to property crime, burglaries, thefts, and vehicle thefts are 72%, 68%, and 76% lower than the national average.
2. closely-knit community
After you see how safe it is to live in Barrington, you’ll love the close-knit community of this quaint suburb. It offers a lot of diverse resources for people of all ages.
There are small, family-run shops and restaurants, calm coffee shops, various parks, supportive schools, and a resourceful library
Five towns fall under the Barrington city boundaries. Downtown is where everyone congregates daily.
This community has all sorts of homes. There are a lot of McMansions and old money estates that welcome new owners daily. From its bustling farmer's market in the fall or the lights that line the town during the wintery months leading up to Christmas, Barrington is a wonderful place to live, work, and raise families.
3. Nature
Barrington is renowned for its greenery. Nature lovers would love visiting the many nature preserves and parks throughout the village.
Since 1986, Barrington has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as being Tree City USA.
Biking or driving amid the horse farms and vast estates is a treat in itself. The Riding Club of Barrington Hills maintains a vast network of trails that criss-cross our area through both public and private land, providing many opportunities to view scenic beauty on horseback. Golfers, in particular, enjoy the public Makray Memorial Golf Club along with many other public clubs.
Other outdoorsy people enjoy the many preserves surrounding our community in both Lake and Cook Counties, including Crabtree Nature Preserve, Deer Grove Preserve, Spring Creek Preserve, Cuba Marsh, and Grassy Lake Preserve. Barrington is also just a few miles from the Fox River, a boating and water recreation mecca leading all the way to the Chain O’Lakes near the Wisconsin border.
Our conservation organizations, Citizens for Conservation and Barrington Area Conservation Trust, offer numerous hikes and work days in their preserves.
4.) Park District
Take advantage of the Barrington Park District. Its major facilities include:
LANGENDORF PARK
Langendorf Park and its Recreation Center offer an outdoor pool, splash pad, playgrounds & ball-fields, a par-3 golf course, indoor gym & basketball courts, pavilions, community rooms, and programming.
CITIZENS PARK & PEPPER FAMILY TREEHOUSE
Citizens Park features a walking/biking/jogging path that connects to Cuba Marsh, a vast open field for passive recreation, a playground, a handicapped-accessible treehouse and numerous indoor & outdoor pavilions for parties and gatherings, as well as ice skating & some of the Chicago area’s best cross-country skiing.
BEESE PARK
Beese Park is a large park featuring a playground and numerous ballfields used by sports teams.
4. A stellar educational system with award-winning schools
If you are looking for a place to raise children and foster scholastic excellence, you really should consider Barrington. Barrington is known for its multi-awarded public school system. It is very challenging and successful in producing top-notch graduates that move on to college and high-paying careers.
The Barrington School District 220 is the gem of the community. It covers 11 schools that provide education for students in grades kindergarten to 12, as well as two learning centers for early education. The single high school, Barrington High School, educates children in grades 9 – 12, while two middle schools – Prairie Campus and Station Campus – do so for those in the sixth through the eighth grades. Eight elementary schools serve students in kindergarten through the fifth grade – Grove Avenue, Sunny Hill, North Barrington, Arnett C. Lines, Roslyn Road, Hough Street, Countryside, and Barbara Rose. St. Anne School is a Catholic school that provides education for children from kindergarten through the eighth grade.
Barrington achieved all these things while operating with a balanced budget for 22 consecutive years. So the State of Illinois conferred the highest financial rating upon the community.
CONS
But as much as I love Barrington, it is my fiduciary duty to inform you of the things you should be wary of here. As with anything, the community is not perfect. It has some flaws that any new homebuyer should be aware of. So here we go with the con number one:
1. High cost of living
Living in Barrington can overwhelm your finances if you don’t budget well. Barrington is considered an affluent neighborhood due to high home prices and high property taxes.
According to Redfin, in November 2021, Barrington home prices were up 12.0% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $605K.
The average rent for a 3-bedroom apartment in Barrington, IL is $3250.”
Another thing that makes living in Barrington very expensive is high property taxes. For instance, a homeowner pays property taxes of over $6k for a newer home with approx 2200 sq ft and on a 1/3 acre lot.
2. You must have a car to get around
While downtown Barrington is very walkable - A car is a must due to the wide range and shopping on the outskirts of the town.
The only public Metra train will take you outside of the village.
3. traffic in the downtown area (train tracks
While the Barrington Metra station provides a critical transportation option for commuters, it also brings significant traffic to the Village Center during morning and evening rush hours. The recent acquisition of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway by Canadian National presents new transportation obstacles for Barrington.
Conclusion
All things considered, the pros of living in Barrington outweigh the cons by a large margin. The community provides a nice suburban environment with metropolitan conveniences. It’s very safe and welcoming. And its crowning jewel is the Barrington School District 220 which has earned several awards on a balanced budget.
Even as people may go out of town when they grow up, many return to Barrington to raise their families in this stunning neighborhood.
Interested In moving to Barrington? Check our latest listing for Barrington here.
