Great writing and research Forbes.

Having lived in Springfield prior to living here, I'd say that it is a MUCH more miserable place to live. Yes, traffic may suck at times, and the weather isn't perfect but Lake County (which isn't a city the last time I checked) is in no way a miserable place to live!

Lake county is great. Sounds like Forbes has no travel budget. An area must be seen to be felt and judged. People need to be interviewed and experiences count.

Boycott. They don't like our home, let's not send our money.

Forbes is easily one of the 9 most miserable magazines in the U.S.

How exactly does a county qualify as a city in the first place? Could they find no other "miserable" city to round out their numbers? And if weather is a deciding factor, then the entire northern hafl of the country is miserably cold, and the entire southern half miserably hot. What an incredibly stupid article. However, our taxes are obscenely high, I'll give em that.

I blame Knollwood

I think Forbes must have noticed that a portion of Lake County actually voted for Joe Walsh, so the figured all of Lake County must be miserable.

Lake Forest is one of the few Chicago suburbs that I could stand to live in.

Like I've always said. Illinois is a great place to be from!

In my opinion Forbes got this one right. High taxes, property value drop, teachers striking, broke towns, foreclosures and short sale all see like miserable things to me.

Typo...... Lake Zurich

Great food, Lake Michigan, changing seasons,and plenty of work. You guys can do what you want, I'm stayin! Btw, anyone who says their from Lake Bluff, but really are from Knollwood, are really from Knollwood. Sorry big Earn!

Carl- you are correct there are 8 other places that it is worse.

Its those damn knollwood gang bangers that ride around in their junk mobiles shooting people up and doing drugs. Dang Kwood trash making our great area look bad.

I think Lake County is a wonderful place to live. Even the terrible Chicago winters are not nearly as bad for as long as they used to be when I was a child. I think our Forest Preserve District has done a fabulous job in buying land to maintain open spaces for all to enjoy. On a side note, Rockford is also a wonderful place for children's programs. I used to take my Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, and Boy Scouts to museums, overnight adventures, camping, outdoor events, etc. Both Lake County and Rockford are valuable assets for youth development and outdoor experience.

any magazine, even a financial one, has a right to its opinion. And the lonly people it has to please are itls subscribers. Like the political views of the Chicago Tribune or of the New York Times, Forbes--a financial and investment vehicle--looks at investment value. Lake County real estate is down after a period of population growth based on jobs (Motorola, etc.) and the great recession has been hard on these jobs. And real estate values in the southeastern, lake bluff ommunities had ballooned, and now are back down. Yes, Lake County has four seasons, well three (W-i-n-t-e-r, spring in one day, summer, and a long and beautiful F-a-l-l). But each is appreciated by many, and only work commutes are affected by the first, Winter. forty years ago I decided to live five minutes from work, in a smaller and older house, and have saved years of my life in commuting time. Duh. But the summer and fall are magnificent, with sunlight and a couple months even of swimming in Lake Michigan and more in smaller lakes and pools. We have great access to Chicago culture and sports, a not-bad cluster of such right here. I would call our real estate investment market volatile and speculative in the short and intermediate term, and in the long term you get your money's worth in your home if you like where you live, etc. Vilent crime is low to non-existent in much of the county, too.

I have lived in Lake Zurich, Illlinois for the past 30 years. It has grown from a sleepy town with just 1 small grocery store, the IGA to now housing a Jewel, Dominick's, Trader Joes, Aldi, Walmart, Target, Costco, Fresh Market, and this week Whole Foods is opening up. We have plenty of great restaurants. Housing is affordable. The Schools are rated very high. The Chamber of Commerce is very active. Crime is low. Transportation to the city is convenient with the Metra or you can drive. I am not sure where Forbes got their information but I would say Lake County Illinois is a wonderful place to live.

Maybe we should consider not bragging about how wonderful our county is. This may help Keep the yahoo's away. Lake county, Illinois. The armpit of the Midwest, and proud of it. Hell, if it were so great, then why would Abbott, Baxter, Uline, CDW, Granger, Walgreens,Motorola,and countless other major corporations be here? Those companies and all of its employees LOVE miserable places. BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG,BANG. Sorry, I'm driving through the ghetto of Knollwood, and gang members in penny loafers and polo shirts were shooting at each other in front of Scooters.Ha,Ha!

So the traffic and weather in COOK County is better?

At least the Lake County politicians pretend to be hard working public servants.

Slogan:Lake Zurich, We may not have good food, but we're close to Mchenry county???or, Lake Zurich, the poor man's Barrington???

Gee Mitchel tell us how you really feel. You live in a different BG than I do. I don't know what your issues are because you did not tell us. All you did is do a lot of name calling. I have lived in BG since 1971 & found it a great place to raise my family. We have excellent services provided by the village, excellent schools & park services. BG is a well run village with excellent staff & has AAA bond ratings from Moody's & Standard & Poors. I don't know who you are referring to when you call us a "bunch of psychopathic compulsive lying freaks". If you are so miserable here, then maybe BG isn't the place for you.

BTW this post will read "reject" but that happens when I post using my Android

Lake Zurich isn't perfect but it's much nicer now than when I moved here 30 years ago. We have a Lou Malnatis pizza, Walker Brothers, Kobe for Sushi, hackneys, D&J Bistros, Beelows is good for steak, DiPieros, Bella Lukes., When I moved here we just had a couple of Restaurants. I am much happier with the restaurant choices now than I was many years ago. Walmart is actually a great store to shop at if you want to save money. Their prices are much less expensive for the same stuff you would buy at Jewel and Dominick's. There is nothing wrong with Lake Zurich especially since I live on the Lake 

Lake Zurich is a great place, but according to Forbes, unfortunately, It's still in miserable Lake county. Are we sure they didn't mean Lake county Indiana? BTW, Kobe is a awsome Japanese steak house. It's no Ron of Japan, but even Ron knew cook county is less miserable than Lake county. Extra egg sauce and fresh horses for my friends, tonight we ride!

Umm, yes Lynette, I am out of my mind. Anywho, are you really serious or just kidding? What town are you from? How come I've never heard this before? Wow, Lynette, your scaring me.

I tried for you Stevie. Your right, I don't have any connections, but I still tried. Anyway, my new pizza spot is Bobbys place"Moccio's" in HP. He's got a great personality and a great deep dish. I know, you probably want to say something bad about him, but we all love him in HP. I still want to try your homeboys pizza in LF.

I believe no one from Forbes has been to any of these places. So everyone chill! If you like where you live, that's what matters!

Lynette, when I was young, my mother told me the two places I wasn't allowed to go. The drainage ditch behind our house, and highwood. We couldn't run fast enough to the drainage ditch to see what it was all about. Later, we went to Highwood, cause if your mom told you not to go, something fun is happening. I'm sure your a good mom, but this pedestal you put yourself on will fall. When it does, no one will be there to help you up. Forbes should do a article about you called"The miserable rich people of Lake Bluff". Don't worry, when your kids come to Highwood, and they will come to Highwood, we'll be real gentle with them, and we'll treat them real Nizzze.

Lynette my guess is that big thing you live in is actually an institution.

Charles, totally off subject. But that's totally cool. I would love to see all the awsome pictures one day. All is good,busy at the buck tonight.

I grew up in Highland Park kelly, bad education. I ga ga ga sure am sorry Kelly.

In addition to Joe Walsh, maybe Forbes read the Patch and realized we have anti-semitic trash like "Tony Soprano" and came to that conclusion.

Lake County, Highland Park. Miserable and painful city to live in: police and fire departments respond in about 2 minutes, top quality yes, PUBLIC schools produce leaders of medicine, science, business and theater (Yukky), strong and visible parental involvement in each and every public school, every conceivable type of restaurant with free parking, maybe the greatest grocery store in the world SUNSET Foods, a 24 hour pharmacy Walgreens, 25 minute train ride to Chicago, 25 minute car ride to O'Hare, ZERO murder rate, How many killed in Forbes hometown of New York, low income families intertwined with richer folks sharing resources, free health clinic for low income folks, I CAN'T STAND LIVING IN MISERY ANY LONGER, LAKE COUNTY, HIGHLAND PARK, TAKE ME TO Times Square, NEW YORK CITY: $24.00 per 12 hour parking fee and just $ 38,000 per student per year for private school, higher tuition than Harvard University. Yes, Lake County, Highland Park, is a miserable place to live. By the way, where is New York's finest, Bernie Madoff; what happened to New Yorker Eliot Sptizer's career? Don't forget the safe, clean and artistic subway system in New York. Hey Forbes, what's with all these nut cases in New York pushing men and women onto subway tracks? Forbes, are you out of your mind?

As a Gurnee-raised Round Lake resident, currently living abroad in Zurich, Switzerland, I can honestly say that I miss the amazing community of neighbors in Round Lake (and Gurnee) every day. There is no way Forbes could immerse themselves in every city (or county?!?), but if they had, they would have experienced an international culture of overwhelmingly well-educated, community-minded individuals. I know Lake COUNTY is not perfect, but my goodness, I consider myself privileged to call it my home. I look forward to moving back when we are done with our adventure in Zurich!

For the record, I love Lake county, I love Knollwood, I love Lake Zurich, I love many types of deep dish pizza, I've grown to Like Coyotes, I love Freedom of speech, I love the Patch, and I love America!
Kelly,I'm sorry you took my sarcasm too heart. I understand why you hate the North Shore so much, it can get overwhelming, but I can assure you I didn't receive a Lake Forest education, so I'm sorry for my education level.
Lynette, no words can describe how heartless you are. Your big house must be very lonely at times. Karma works in funny ways at times, some good, and some bad. One day your children will grow up and make decisions on their own. When they do, I hope they don't carry on your hatred. Good luck too you, and your family.

I'm a Grayslake resident who has been serving in the Military for the past 12 years. I have lived all around in the country and couldn't be any prouder than to call myself a Lake County resident. Property taxes are on the high side, traffic is slightly congested, and weather could be discouraging at times. The people of within the communites around Lake County is what makes the place such a great place to live. Look around while your commuting around the county and anyone could almost agree that it's just beautiful. Forbes is ranking probably from a bad experience during a business trip, because I could easily rank other cities well ahead of Lake County (ex: Yuma, AZ....).

Mitchell Becker, Yes Friday morning was challenging, but it was in most communities. Some streets were better than others when I drove at 6am.

The sprinkler park is great for young children. They have a blast there and there are nice tables and cheap concessions. For older kids there is the new water park at Willow Stream and close by is the Wheeling water park, which offered a family membership last year to anyone for $179. you can't beat that.

If you live in BG and don't like it move. But I'll bet you won't be happy with any place you live.

Some people just like to gripe!

Lynette Paulson...Too bad you won't set foot in Highwood. There are some wonderful (expensive) restaurants there. I hope your kids don't have any friend at Ft Sheridan, they will have to drive through Highwood to get there...OMG, they might get car jacked. Exactly what goes on in Highwood, show me the statistics. Most of the bars of past years are now gone or upgrades. OK Wooden Nichol looks the same, but last time I stopped in there mayby 5 or 6 years ago they had Jazz...better watch out for that crowd.

Oh and by the way my Highland Park High school reunion prarty was held at a very nice club in Highwood.

The only problem with Lake County is that it's in Illinois. We are easily one of the 3 worst states in the Union, which is natural when we have a mentally retarded governor, corruption dating back to the early 1900's and congressmen who spend election night in a mental institution and still win by about 80%. If the democrats lost their grip on the state maybe we'd have a chance, but thats not gonna happen. Looks like its off to Tennessee for me.

Lynette when will you be unveiling your Jetson type flying vehicle?

Kelly, again I apologize about the dis on Knollwood and my poor grammar. I have friends who would buy houses in Knollwood because it was less expensive and loved telling people they were from Lake Bluff. That's where that came from. Just a little ball busting, that's all. Hope you won't hold it against me:)

No problem, Moe! When I lived in Knollwood, it was the 70's. Knollwood was unincorporated and considered part of Lake Bluff. Also, when someone asked you where you lived, if you said Knollwood, the had no idea where you were talking about. I loved Knollwood, never had a problem there, and as for that nasty Tony Soprano (too afraid to use your real name?), I don't know what has gone down in Knollwood since I moved out in 1979, but I recognize a hater when I see one...and you are a hater. Or jealous, not sure which...

*they*

@tony soprano your comment just hit a home run. People live here because of their local community despite the state of Illinois. The state just makes you think twice everyday why we live where we do. The state is beyond a nuance and has everyone looking over their shoulder at every chance we get.

Miserable? Miserable is living in California. I moved to Highland Park from CA a year and a half a go, COULD NOT BE HAPPIER. I have a great house in a great neighborhood, my kids go to great schools for free and I found a very good job within 3 months of moving. I LOVE LIVING HERE.

I have lived in Lake Co for 15 years - Forbes is right about the taxes, paying 8K a year to live in a ranch house is far too much, house has dropped in value by 30% over the last several years yet property taxes up 8%. Also Lake Co is in the state of IL which is soon to go bankrupt due to idiot politicians that could not run a soup kitchen. Businesses are leaving and taking jobs with them - this stupid county is more concerned about buying land for parks than keeping businesses and jobs. As a business owner it gets more difficult every year to keep the business afloat, as taxes, rent, insurance, health care costs, other insurance costs all increase but the customers I depend on leave the area and the state due to politicians thinking they are cash cows for increased government spending, increased union pensions and benefits, and waste.

Spot on, Thomas. I wonder, too, how many Lake Forest "old money" comes straight from Chicago white collar crime...even back waaaaaay before the Daley Machine. Probably a lot. I've lived 25 years total in IL and 26 in CA, and I wouldn't say I "love" either state. The community I lived in in CA was much nicer than IL, though, because of the diversity. However, their governor Moonbeam and the Boxers and Pelosis make CA a no go as a place to ever live again. Frankly, Texas is looking really good about now, but it's hard to start over in your 50's...otherwise, we'd be GONE from this Godforsaken state and all of its corruption.

Down with Obama.

Lynette, I want to make babies with you, just so that when they're old, they can ignore you, despise you, and dispose of you at a nursing home in Waukegan.

Lynette,Don't you have anything better to do with your time than insult people, ethnicities,communities? Shouldn't you be at at highfalutin socialite luncheon with girlfriends? Oh, no that would be the respectable, classy, north shore woman. You definitely do not fall into that category. Each and every comment you post shows your ugly personality.

Lynette, you really do have your head in the sand. I couldn't stop laughing!!! l Ft Sheridan is no longer a military base (other than a very small portion of it). The Median listing price for a home there is $947,000. Here is the link: http://www.redfin.com/neighborhood/39889/IL/Highwood/Fort-Sheridan
History:
http://www.fortsheridan.com/
YOU REALLY NEED TO GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT before slinging insults.
Up until the 80s it was a military base, last I checked that wasn't all "Mexican" as you put it. As a HPHS student in the 70s we refereed to the kids there as Army brats..I had friends there. It was their parents serving our country.

BTW HPHS is Highland Park High School.

Lynette, if I'm the most ignorant on the Patch,you just took over the title. You were the one talking about your family. You make me laugh. Have a great life in your giant glass house. See ya next Tuesday.

Wasn't a Highwood business owner ruthlessly murdered in his home pretty recently? I'll tell you what I wouldn't want to open a business there, I don't need them to make me any offers I can't refuse

If you people only knew how truely pathetic racist and ignorant you sound maybe we could attempt to just agree to disagree and try to see what we all have in common and laugh a little at the sillyness of Southpark and how sooo yesterday racism and antisemetism was...

but...with all due respect to Jessie, I did get a big kick out of Tony's comment.... "corruption dating back to the early 1900's and congressmen who spend election night in a mental institution and still win by about 80%." ....gotta admit the truth is pretty bad

LOLLL I got smart and Im 50 left moved to austin texas gas 3.00 a gallon and they dont play give me a gas price of the day lol I could not take it anymore people are mean and miserable because the goverment is opressing them and know money real money there any more oh used to have very succesfull busness in hp no nt j does it even matter if your purple with a horn growing out of your head it sucks ther I left once and returned and my life was hell like I said get smart run for your life taxes give me a break like that will ever happen oh and mob related the police are all in it for the money because the state is broke my wonderful stuck up niegbors called police and reported me as being a squatter lollll 4 policee at my door for that after they ran plate on car and see its registerd to the address I laughed all the way to the bank instead of crying anymore it will never change because they dont want it to change the machine and yes im sad because I have family there still lots of luck but you better pray because you will need it. and know one in there right mind lives there for the weather except summer in the city love that and my family