North Shore Town Quiz

The very unofficial personality quiz for a very serious home search

Which North Shore Town Is Your Real Estate Soulmate?

Five questions. No wrong answers. A short list of towns you may want to know better.

Your commute, yard, downtown habits and renovation tolerance know more about your North Shore match than you think.

Question 1 of 5

How the quiz works

Five questions about the house and the place around it.

Each answer nudges some towns up the list. No single answer rules a town out, so the result reflects the whole picture rather than one preference.

When you finish, you see your closest match and two more towns worth exploring, with the answers that brought each one forward. It is a starting point for comparing towns, not a ranking of them, and every town on the list has a mix of older and newer homes, larger and smaller lots.

Pick the answers that sound most like you, and we’ll point you toward three North Shore towns worth exploring first.

  1. The houseOlder architecture, newer construction, a condominium or townhome, or a detached house where lot size and privacy come first.
  2. A Saturday morningWalking to coffee and the train, more space around the house, the lake nearby, or more housing choices.
  3. Getting to ChicagoWalking to a station, driving to the train, highway access, or a commute that isn’t the deciding factor.
  4. How much townA downtown you use often, a smaller village center, regional shopping, or the house and setting first.
  5. How much workMove-in ready, cosmetic updates, one meaningful project, or a major renovation or new build.

The towns in the quiz

Eight North Shore communities.

The quiz covers Wilmette, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Glencoe, Northfield, Glenview, Evanston and Northbrook. The search doesn’t have to stop there: we also help buyers throughout the north suburbs, into the city and well beyond.

Wilmette

A lakefront village with Metra and the northern end of the CTA Purple Line. In 2025, about a quarter of its sales were condominiums and townhouses.

Parks and open spaceThe Park District maintains 314 acres of parks, including Gillson Park on the lake, with the main swimming beach, a sailing beach and the Wallace Bowl.

Explore Wilmette →

Winnetka

A lakefront village with three Metra stations and three business districts: Elm Street, Hubbard Woods and Indian Hill.

Parks and open spaceThe Park District runs twenty-five parks, five Lake Michigan beaches and a boat launch, plus the Winnetka Golf Club.

Explore Winnetka →

Kenilworth

A small lakefront village between Wilmette and Winnetka, with one Metra station. In 2025, nearly all of its sales were detached houses.

Parks and open spaceThe Village runs Kenilworth Beach, and the Park District’s parks include Mahoney Park, a wildflower and bird sanctuary designed by Jens Jensen.

Explore Kenilworth →

Glencoe

A lakefront village of 3.72 square miles, with a Metra station and a downtown small enough to walk end to end.

Parks and open spaceMore than two dozen parks and Glencoe Beach, with the Chicago Botanic Garden and the Skokie Lagoons also in Glencoe.

Explore Glencoe →

Northfield

A village between Winnetka and Glenview, with the Edens Expressway running through it and no Metra station of its own.

Parks and open spaceThe Park District runs the village’s parks and playing fields, including Clarkson Park near downtown, renovated in 2021 with a splash pad, playground and bandshell.

Explore Northfield →

Glenview

A larger village with two Metra stations and The Glen, its newest neighborhood, on the former naval air station.

Parks and open spaceThe Park District’s parks include The Grove, about 150 acres of oak-hickory savanna and wetland with trails, and Wagner Farm, a working farm.

Explore Glenview →

Evanston

A lakefront city on Chicago’s northern border, with three Metra stations and seven CTA stops. In 2025, most of its sales were condominiums and townhouses.

Parks and open spaceMuch of the Lake Michigan shoreline is public parkland, with six lifeguarded beaches and a lakefront path; Ladd Arboretum is inland.

Explore Evanston →

Northbrook

A village north of Glenview, with a Metra station on Shermer Road, nearby expressway access and a market that runs from condominiums to new construction.

Parks and open spaceVillage Green Park on Shermer Road, plus larger open spaces at Techny Prairie Park and Fields and Wood Oaks Green Park.

Explore Northbrook →

A quiz, not a verdict

Use the result to make your search smarter.

If two or three towns keep surfacing, that is useful. We can compare current inventory, commute, housing stock and your actual trade-offs before narrowing the search.