Where do tree hugging, vegetarian liberals belong in north Chicago? (Evanston: sales, home sales)

[jaynetarzana]

Back to the original topic, I spent more time in Evanston today and I really love the diversity and energy. We ate a Blind Faith Cafe today on Dempsey. Yum! We ate at Foodstuffs the other day and it was incredible as well. We went to a park across the street from Foodstuffs and it was so great to see so many bi-racial families, adoptive parents and seemingly progressive parents. When you are a parent, it is amazing how quickly you can spot other people who are "doing it like you" so to speak. Our realtor is really speaking poorly about Evanston still. She found us an incredible house in our price range in Lake Bluff. My main concerns are whether or not we are going to be surrounded by like minded people and the apparent lack of diversity. We went to a free concert in the downtown area and every single person was white. There isn't any diversity to speak of, but our agent isn't hearing that as a problem. I feel pretty strongly about wanting our kids to grow up in an ethnically diverse area. Our agent keeps telling us that there is a lot of crime in Evanston and that I should call the police department to get local crime stats. Anyone care to chime in?

I also don't want to be an isolated stay at home mom anymore which is why I wanted to live in a more urban area. Once again, our agent keeps telling me that I won't be isolated in Lake Bluff and that I will love, love, love it there. Her credibility isn't great in this arena though since she doesn't have any children.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Anthera

Emily Post Institute—Forms of Address

Thats fair that you posted a link. I thank you. But why is this website the authority?

[Anthera]

Move to Evanston. Lake Bluff is a charming and pretty whitebread little sister to Lake Forest. Walk around downtown Lake Bluff. It takes 12 seconds.


If you pm me I'll give you my realtor's contact info.

[Anthera]

The original Emily Post and her sucessors have been writing etiquette books for almost 100 years.


From Wikipedia:

Emily Post's name has become synonymous, at least in North America, with proper etiquette and manners. Nearly half a century after her death, her name is still used in titles of etiquette books.[1]

[jaynetarzana]

Thanks Anthera,

We did walk around downtown Lake Bluff and you are right, it is tiny. It has a lot of great things going for it though; mid-century ranch, a park a block away, a pedestrian walk to the small downtown area, beach access nearby, very close commute for my husband and good schools. My husband really likes how close it is to work for him. We're not going to part ways with our realtor. She has invested too much time in us and we've gotten quite familiar with one another. It just doesn't seem right. We can't help it, we are loyal to a fault.

Does anyone know anything about the crime in Evanston? I can look up stats, which I will, but I'd love to hear what the locals think. Are you ever worried about crime in Evanston? Does anyone fear going out at night? Are there areas you stay away from? Feel free to pm me if you don't feel comfortable posting your responses here. Thanks in advance.

[Anthera]

You'll get different opinions about crime in Evanston. It varies widely by area.


Lake Bluff is a great community. There will definately be less crime there and your home might increase in value more than if you lived in Evanston(or maybe not). Some people are terrified of Evanston Township HS, some prefer it to New Trier. But it doesn't sound like you want a whitebread town. If diversity and an urban environment are important, move to Evanston.

Just make your choice and tell her to write up the offer.

[Anthera]

As to areas to avoid, you would never catch me anywhere near SW Evanston at night.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Anthera

The original Emily Post and her sucessors have been writing etiquette books for almost 100 years.


From Wikipedia:

Emily Post's name has become synonymous, at least in North America, with proper etiquette and manners. Nearly half a century after her death, her name is still used in titles of etiquette books.[1]

Emily Post is one thing but I have doubts about her "sucessors." I got the info I wanted.

[Anthera]

I prefer "Miss Manners" but she doesn't have a website.

[Lookout Kid]

I'm sorry, but your realtor sounds absolutely terrible. I hate realtors that keep trying to push stuff on me that's clearly not what I'm looking for...

The topic of Evanston crime has been covered extensively in this forum... Evanston has a few pockets of poor African-American residents, and crime is higher in those areas. Most of this is concentrated in southwestern and central-western Evanston. After you get north of McCormick Blvd., western Evanston is very suburban-feeling and safe (with many of those Atomic ranches). This is the part of Evanston many call "Skevanston" because it blends in with Skokie and is has a lot of Jewish residents (and Skevanston apparently sounds Jidish or something).

Even the "bad" parts of Evanston are starting to gentrify a bit, but I wouldn't bet the farm on them improving in the next ten years. These areas have some bona fide gang activity and occasional shootings, but they are not horrible ghetto areas like you might find in certain parts of Chicago proper. They are definitely beyond my comfort threshold in terms of my family's safety, however!

So, in the broadest possible terms, eastern Evanston is nice from north to south, but is the priciest real estate. Northwestern Evanston is quite nice and more post-war suburban feeling. Downtown Evanston has become a destination for the entire North Shore, and offers many newr condos which probably aren't great for family life.