Edgewater: commute time and safe areas (Chicago, Evanston: apartments, crime, university)

[southkakkatlantan]

What's the commute time like to the loop (Northwestern) from Edgewater on the express buses?

Also, are there blocks I should look to stay away from when looking for apartments there? I'm going to be checking out a few spots there this week for the first time...

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by southkakkatlantan

What's the commute time like to the loop (Northwestern) from Edgewater on the express buses?

Also, are there blocks I should look to stay away from when looking for apartments there? I'm going to be checking out a few spots there this week for the first time...

Well, first off Northwestern Medical/Law Campus is in Streeterville, not the Loop, but anyway. It would be around maybe 30 minutes, maybe 40 if it was really really slow on the Red Line from an area like Berwyn. There are express buses though (like the 147) which would make it under 30 minutes because they barely have any stops and ride Lake Shore Drive.

Personally, I love Andersonville. It has a really good mix of stuff and it's affordable. Some good restaurants, cool shops and stuff there too. I actually used to go up there for my haircuts when I first moved to town and always loved the area quite a bit. It's near Argyle which is like Little Vietnam. A lot of good, cheap Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants and asian grocery stores in that area. Andersonville isn't right on the Red line, but it's a few blocks from it (maybe a 10 minute walk, or less..depending on where you are). Basically go to Berwyn Red Line stop and walk West. The neighborhood is really quiet and has good people there, good stores on Clark and Ashland Streets, etc. It's kind of like a mix between small city and big city in the middle of Chicago.

Also, there is an express bus closer to the Lake near that stop. 147 bus, basically would pick you up at Sheridan and Berwyn and drops off at Michigan and Pearson. Rides lake shore drive..only a few stops. 20 minute ride. I guess the only problem with Andersonville in your case IMO is that it's a 10-15 minute walk from the express bus in some areas.


Bryn Mawr has some gang stuff going on, but not much. I've never had a problem there, but I know others have every once in awhile. I have friends who live there, and I've never seen it as a weird area, but they claim they heard a gunshot once. My friend is a small town person and she's never lived anywhere with a population over 100,000 until Chicago. I think she's fine with the area now.


I like up near the Granville Red line stop too. it's pretty close to the lake and it's near the 147 express. It's around a 30 minute express bus to Streeterville from there. Not as much going on as Andersonville, but still some good stuff. Areas around like Sheridan and Granville. It's on the southern edge of Loyola University as well.

[Maintainschaos]

My partner and I live on Granville in Edgewater. We like the area a lot. He commutes to the Loop everyday, and it takes him ~ 45-50 min on good days, and >1 hr on bad days on the red line. There are plenty of trains, but there are a lot of slow spots on the track (which they are working on fixing currently, but it's still a slow go). The 147 takes just about the same amount of time.

Granville seems to be pretty tame as far as crime goes. It's a bit worse as you go south along Broadway towards Thorndale. One major perk is the location nearby Dominick's, Aldi, two farmer's markets, a bunch of good restaurants, and nearby Loyola if you want more college-centric food/happenings.

[southkakkatlantan]

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

My partner and I live on Granville in Edgewater. We like the area a lot. He commutes to the Loop everyday, and it takes him ~ 45-50 min on good days, and >1 hr on bad days on the red line. There are plenty of trains, but there are a lot of slow spots on the track (which they are working on fixing currently, but it's still a slow go). The 147 takes just about the same amount of time.

Granville seems to be pretty tame as far as crime goes. It's a bit worse as you go south along Broadway towards Thorndale. One major perk is the location nearby Dominick's, Aldi, two farmer's markets, a bunch of good restaurants, and nearby Loyola if you want more college-centric food/happenings.

So the 147 takes close to an hour on most days?

[Vlajos]

I used to ride the red line from Berwyn to downtown (over 10 years of this commute), it was usually a 30 minute train ride. Then add walking.

[marothisu]

For the 147 it depends. Here's the deal. It's express, meaning that between Foster and Delaware, there are no stops and it goes on Lake Shore Drive. I could see it taking way longer if you're going down into the Loop like Congress, but OP since you are going to Northwestern Campus, there's like 4 total stops between Foster and there. I honestly don't think you should worry about it, since you are only going a few stops deep into that thing.

The further north of Foster you get on too, the longer it's going to take because it doesn't run express until Foster. So the user talking about Granville, of course it's going to take longer because it's not express for a mile or two afterwards.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by southkakkatlantan

So the 147 takes close to an hour on most days?

Sorry for the confusion, I meant it's an hour from Granville to the Loop, and that honestly always depends on traffic.

One very attractive aspect that I completely forgot about is the Northwestern shuttle! I work at Northwestern and travel northbound everyday to the Evanston campus on the shuttle. It picks up just half a block north of the Loyola red line stop in Rogers Park. I walk to it and use it everyday because, if you are a student or a NU employee, it is free. I know that the southbound stop is just across the street from the northbound stop. I walk to the stop from Granville (8-10 min depending on if I stop for coffee or not). You may want to consider the southern edge of Rogers Park or the northern edge of Edgewater to take advantage of this service. Free transportation is a major perk...

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

One very attractive aspect that I completely forgot about is the Northwestern shuttle!

Does that go to the Streeterville campus? I think the OP is referring to that campus, not the Evanston one.

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by marothisu

Does that go to the Streeterville campus? I think the OP is referring to that campus, not the Evanston one.

Yep, it stops right near the corner of Chicago and Fairbanks. Loyola is the second-to-last stop heading southbound.

Map and schedules can be found here:

Intercampus Shuttle: University Services - Northwestern University

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

Yep, it stops right near the corner of Chicago and Fairbanks. Loyola is the second-to-last stop heading southbound.

Map and schedules can be found here:

Intercampus Shuttle: University Services - Northwestern University

That's cool. I had no idea they did that, but it makes sense.