Evanston vs. Champaign: IL's best college town? (Chicago, Bloomington: 2015, home)

[edsg25]

(note: I could have placed this thread on the Chicago, suburban Chicago, or Illinois subforums; I chose Chicago as I felt it was the best place for discussion).

Which is the best college town in state of Illinois? Champaign is home to the largest university (most of the university is in Urbana, but Champaign is seen as more "collegiate" than Urbana) in the state and the state's flagship public university, but downtown Champaign, like downtown Urbana, are somewhat removed from U of I collegiate life, College Town a few blocks away from the Illinois campus being more the retail/entertainment core for the campus. Northwestern is private and a lot smaller than Illinois (although very prominent and major and also very Big Ten), but NU begins right on the edge of downtown Evanston, a place highly dependent on the university. So if you were to give the honors to "best college town in Illinois", who gets the honors, Evanston or Champaign?

[Maintainschaos]

I love Evanston, but I don't think I'd rank it tops in terms of college towns. I think Champaign and even Bloomington-Normal (maybe even Carbondale?) are better traditional college towns than Evanston, which has a unique and different feel about it.

[Nothere1]

I haven't been to Evanston. I went to Parkland in Champaign and Bloomington/Normal is my home town. Using your word "collegiate", I think there are much better examples of this in Illinois.

-Charleston is a small town so it survives on its college. Without it, that pretty little town would be just like Mattoon.
-Carbondale, IMO, is very spread out, like southern towns. So it is not so much a college town. But I'm positive, it not being on a major road, it wouldn't be anything with out SIU.
-Bloomington/Normal is a top contender because it has two colleges and a community college. The problem is it has good enough business it could go on without them. Plus our culture is not nearly as good as U of I. I think we have more Illini fans than Redbird fans.

If the word "collegiate" was used I would have vote Carbondale. I think Evanston is in a good enough spot it could go on without their college.
If your looking for college towns, I would have to vote for Normal, as they have two colleges and a community college. They have one of the most hipster feels to it.
If you want just to go between just Evanston and Champaign. I would vote Champaign, mostly for the culture their school turns out.
Just my Opinion.

[xsboost]

Originally Posted by Nothere1

I think Evanston is in a good enough spot it could go on without their college.

Yup. I don't consider Evanston a college town.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

I love Evanston, but I don't think I'd rank it tops in terms of college towns. I think Champaign and even Bloomington-Normal (maybe even Carbondale?) are better traditional college towns than Evanston, which has a unique and different feel about it.

Originally Posted by Nothere1

I haven't been to Evanston. I went to Parkland in Champaign and Bloomington/Normal is my home town. Using your word "collegiate", I think there are much better examples of this in Illinois.

-Charleston is a small town so it survives on its college. Without it, that pretty little town would be just like Mattoon.
-Carbondale, IMO, is very spread out, like southern towns. So it is not so much a college town. But I'm positive, it not being on a major road, it wouldn't be anything with out SIU.
-Bloomington/Normal is a top contender because it has two colleges and a community college. The problem is it has good enough business it could go on without them. Plus our culture is not nearly as good as U of I. I think we have more Illini fans than Redbird fans.

If the word "collegiate" was used I would have vote Carbondale. I think Evanston is in a good enough spot it could go on without their college.
If your looking for college towns, I would have to vote for Normal, as they have two colleges and a community college. They have one of the most hipster feels to it.
If you want just to go between just Evanston and Champaign. I would vote Champaign, mostly for the culture their school turns out.
Just my Opinion.

The notion that Evanston is any kind of "college town" at all is easily disproved by walking around downtown Evanston where even the successful Northwestern football or basketball teams have a home game against a highly ranked opponent -- zero "fan vibe". There are no real "college bars" nor are there even any hang outs like bookstores / coffee places.

The relative liveliness of UIUC college hang outs do not compare all that well to those of other towns in Illinois that, while perhaps not as well regarded in demanding engineering / computer science fields attract lots of not as diligent students that have more of a "hard partying" mindset...

[deeman7]

I also do not classify Evanston as a 'college town'


DeKalb to me always seemed very 'college town' to me, but I think it is becoming more and more 'surburban.'

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The notion that Evanston is any kind of "college town" at all is easily disproved by walking around downtown Evanston where even the successful Northwestern football or basketball teams have a home game against a highly ranked opponent -- zero "fan vibe". There are no real "college bars" nor are there even any hang outs like bookstores / coffee places.

The relative liveliness of UIUC college hang outs do not compare all that well to those of other towns in Illinois that, while perhaps not as well regarded in demanding engineering / computer science fields attract lots of not as diligent students that have more of a "hard partying" mindset...

Northwestern has never had a successful basketball team, lol. Even last year when they went 10-2 (football) attendance was dismal.

I'm giving my vote to Champaign. I agree Bloomington-Normal is second best. I never have and never will consider Evanston a college town.

[edsg25]

Polls, polls, polls...I realize there are a million out there and they all say different things. This one (West Lafayette ranked worst Big Ten college town) polled Big Ten Network and ESPN analysts to rank the B10 college towns and produced the following results...

The rankings

See how the rest of the Big Ten college towns stack up:

1. Madison, Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin)
2. Ann Arbor, Michigan (University of Michigan)
3. State College, Pennsylvania (Penn State University)
4. Columbus, Ohio (Ohio State University)
5. Bloomington, Indiana (Indiana University)
6. Iowa City, Iowa (University of Iowa)
7. Evanston, Illinois (Northwestern University)
8. East Lansing, Michigan (Michigan State University)
9. Minneapolis, Minnesota (University of Minnesota)
10. Lincoln, Nebraska (University of Nebraska)
11. College Park, Maryland (University of Maryland)
12. Champaign, Illinois (University of Illinois)
13. Piscataway, New Jersey (Rutgers University)
14. West Lafayette, Indiana (Purdue University)

[Maintainschaos]

Originally Posted by edsg25

Polls, polls, polls...I realize there are a million out there and they all say different things. This one (West Lafayette ranked worst Big Ten college town) polled Big Ten Network and ESPN analysts to rank the B10 college towns and produced the following results...

I guess it depends on what you consider for your polls and rankings.

If the question polled were "Is there more to do in Evanston than Champaign or B/N or Carbondale?" the answer would probably be "yes, because Evanston is an extension of Chicago and basically at Chicago's doorstep."

Does that make it a better quintessential college town, though? I'd answer "no," because Evanston isn't a quintessential college town the way Champaign or Normal or even a place like DeKalb may be. Northwestern is also not anywhere near what I would call your average B10 university, being smaller, private, and catering more to the upper echelon of students than a wide distribution of them. UIUC, however, is much more like UW-Madison, Michigan, or Iowa and will always be considered a more traditional B10 school. It's hard to articulate, but you can just feel the difference when you are on the campus in Champaign compared to NU's Evanston campus. That difference, in my opinion, makes C-U a better college town than Evanston.

[Tex?Il?]

I would give this one to Evanston.

I think college towns that are part of metro areas, have a unique synergy with the rest of the metro area. Having a vibrant smaller urban center with a strong intellectual vibe for those that still want an intellectual and a small urban center, while being down the road from a huge city that really is the best of both worlds.

I like stand along college towns that are not part of an urban area/metro matrix, but I feel like Champaign-Urbana is a little too isolated, having ONLY cornfields surrounding it is a strike against.

If you were comparing Evanston with Madison or Ann Arbor, I would say that Madison and Ann Arbor would come on top. (U of M and U of W are a slight notch above U of I, Madison is clearly larger and is closer to better nature and scenery for weekend outdoor pursuits, and Ann Arbor is considered Americas best college town, and is right on the outskirts of a major metro area, and only 20 minutes from its airport). But thats not what this thread is about.