[bigbootch]

You're going to have trouble finding a 2-bedroom home in Northbrook in that price range. Northbrook is generally considered to be a "nice" (read: rich) town, like Wilmette, Winnetka, Northfield, etc.

You may or may not be able to find a home in that price range in Glenview (the same metra line that runs through Northbrook runs through Glenview). If you are able to find one, then I would recommend it - the two high schools for Glenview (Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South) are both great.

Naperville / Lisle / Libertyville / Mundelein, those areas are cheaper and you should not have too much trouble finding something in your price range. However, they are terribly "out of the way," which you may or may not mind. If all you're going to be doing is taking the train to work and back, and otherwise staying within a 10-mile radius of your home for grocery shopping / eating out / whatever, then these places would be fine. But going anywhere else (like driving downtown for a nice meal) is going to be a pain.

A tier below Glenview, I would look into Morton Grove or Skokie. These have good location (more central), should fit in your budget nicely, and have good school districts (not quite as strong as the Glenbrooks, but still good).

Let me know if you have any more questions.

-bigbootch