Moving to Lake Forest: Pros, Cons & What to Know
Moving to Lake Forest means moving to a genuinely distinct North Shore lakefront-estate community -- not a discount or premium version of neighboring Highland Park -- anchored by a real, historic downtown and a large-lot estate tradition dating to the 1860s.
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Learn moreA genuinely distinct lakefront-estate character
Lake Forest's identity traces to Chicago's elite building genuine summer and lakefront estates here beginning in the 1860s -- a real, large-lot character genuinely distinct from Highland Park's more urban, arts-district identity documented alongside it in this same buildout.
Market Square: a real, historic downtown anchor
Market Square opened in 1916 and is commonly cited as the first planned shopping center in the United States -- developer Arthur Aldis and architect Howard Van Doren Shaw's real, historic 1912-1916 project, with an ornate clock tower and a Flemish/English/Bavarian-influenced U-shaped design.
A genuinely expensive, fast-appreciating housing market
Zillow's typical home value ran $1,014,876 (up 4.9% year-over-year), while Redfin's own median sale price ran notably higher, around $1.4 million (June 2025, up 30.1% year-over-year) -- a real cost to budget for before moving.
A genuine concentration of top-ranked schools
Lake Forest hosts Lake Forest Academy (Niche's #1 Best Private High School in Illinois), public high schools ranked approximately #17 in the state, and Lake Forest College itself (Niche B+, #2 Best Liberal Arts College in Illinois).
Key takeaways
- Lake Forest's large-lot, lakefront-estate character is genuinely distinct from Highland Park's more urban identity.
- Market Square (1916) is commonly cited as America's first planned shopping center -- a real, historic downtown anchor.
- Typical home value runs $1,014,876 (Zillow), with Redfin's median sale price running notably higher around $1.4 million.
- Lake Forest hosts a genuine concentration of top-ranked schools, from Lake Forest Academy to Lake Forest College.
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