How safe is Evanston? (Chicago, Skokie: real estate, apartments, for rent)

[sidburn]

I may be accepting a job at Northwestern soon and have been looking at Evanston and some of the surrounding suburbs. I have heard that the crime rate in Evanston is a bit higher than other areas like Niles or Park Ridge, but it's still a really nice town with character from my experience? For anyone who lives in the area, is Evanston pretty safe or would I be better off living in a nearby suburb?

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by sidburn

I may be accepting a job at Northwestern soon and have been looking at Evanston and some of the surrounding suburbs. I have heard that the crime rate in Evanston is a bit higher than other areas like Niles or Park Ridge, but it's still a really nice town with character from my experience? For anyone who lives in the area, is Evanston pretty safe or would I be better off living in a nearby suburb?

Evanston is far more urban than Niles or Skokie. That does mean that is has more of the sorts of folks that might get into trouble, but unless you have some twisted desire to hang out in a dark alley when drunks are stumbling home or choose to iive in a run down part of town that really is not all that more affordable than a decent apartment with a landlord that prefers not to accept Sec 8 tenants you really need not worry. Northwestern has a well patroled campus in a mostly lovely part of town. Living close to it is not crazy cheap but neither is it onerously expensive.

[Larry Siegel]

Simple answer is that 75% of Evanston is very safe and the other 25% is not. Use the search function in city-data to find discussions of which neighborhood is which.

[Lookout Kid]

Evanston has a few rough patches, and is adjacent to the tougher parts of the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. This results in occasional violent crime incidents and a higher rate of property crime than most other North Shore suburbs. The safest areas of town are also the most expensive, particularly the areas adjacent to Wilmette in the better elementary attendance areas to the north.

That said, no part of Evanston is truly dangerous and blighted. Even the core of the most troubled Evanston neighborhood is generally safe most of the time. And Evanston has a LOT to offer in terms of culture, amenities and lifestyle. Some people wouldn't consider living anywhere else. It's a really cool town.

[elanmorin25]

If you are looking to rent, I would definitely suggest renting in Evanston. There's a lot of apartments there in the better parts of town and it's very accessible to the city via the L and metra. Easy to get to work, easy to get to the city, lots of nightlife, etc.

If on the other hand, you are looking to buy a house, settle down with a family, etc, then Evanston might not be your best option. It's got some of the highest levels of income inequality of any Chicago suburb. Because of the huge class divide between the people in the giant mansions along the lake and the poorer areas near Rogers Park, the town isn't very cohesive.

If you want to buy a house in a safe area with good schools where you can raise a family you might consider Wilmette, Skokie, Niles, Glenview, or Northbrook as towns where you can quickly commute to Evanston. Again, really depends what you're looking for.

[2357]

We are one recent NU affiliate family with small kids that is very happy with our decision to buy a house in Evanston, as opposed to Wilmette and several regions in Chicago (Edgewater, esp. Andersonville and a few others) which we have also considered. Taxes are high indeed, but real estate costs are low relative to where we come from and we feel like we get a whole lot for the money in terms of park districts, library and the like. Proximity to NU makes for a nice lifestyle and there are a number of kid-centric and cultural events hosted within NU. We also walk to parks, playgrounds, food shopping, restaurants, beach, etc. Its a nice lifestyle and if one can afford it without breaking the bank, well worth it.

[ChicagoMeO]

I know two people in Evanston that in fact live close to the high school which i've heard have some problem, however each of the two people I know who live that close both say they do not feel unsafe and feel great about living in Evanston. I myself drove thru just about all the streets including the ones that are considered not as safe, and I felt totally safe.

the only part i didn't like much was the area close to Howard as I didn't like the feel of it. You'd have to drive around or walk around to see for yourself. Unfortunately there was a real beautiful apartment building on the 200 Block of Ridge which looked perfectly beautiful, but it was 2 blocks to Howard St so i would not choose that for the location. the best part was anything near Church Street, or close to Main Street, or any blocks close to that. Each area of Evanston is beautiful. i love the amount of business it has, with shoppes near there, close to downtown, and affordable. Actually there were a wide range of rent prices, the BEST most awesome place for rent was the Optima bldg and the Optima Views. Wow if anyone can afford that, wow.. just wow.