Are there unsafe parts of Evanston? (Chicago, Skokie: sale, credit, houses)

[Natasha129]

My husband, 2 year old and soon to be born new baby are considering moving to the Chicago area. I was surprised to see 3 bedroom homes there in the 250-325k range. I think the schools near the homes were good. Could this be right? I'm a stay at home mom and my husband makes about 80k a year. Can we afford to live there? We actually want to be near the city center, but from what I've read on here the schools seem iffy.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[Costa Rica Chica]

Yes, there are some bad parts of Evanston. Which school districts are you looking at?

[chet everett]

Evanston definitely has some areas that are not particularly desirable, some of these are rundown/ noisy/too close to commercial concerns, others would be accurately called unsafe.

Depending on your situation with credit, savings, previous property sale you may be in a position where $80K does make it possible to live comfortably in Evanston. Our hosts here have this info about median house hold income:
Estimated median household income in 2005: $58,940 (it was $56,335 in 2000)
Evanston $58,940
//pics2.city-data.com/hin2005/5399.png (broken link)

As you can see many household make far less than $80K.

[Natasha129]

Thanks! I wasn't looking at specific school districts, just at houses. If I knew which school districts were the best, I would look at the houses there to see if we can afford it there. Any ideas about which are the best?

[Nysee53]

You want to stick to Willard, Dewey, Lincoln, Orrington, Kingsley Elementary School Districts. Those all feed into either Nichols or Haven Middle Schools as well as Evanston High School. You might also look at New Trier High School District. It is Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Northfield, Glencoe, as well as part of Glenview and Northbrook. You may find it difficult in Evanston as most of Evanston is very well-to-do. The median income is brought down for a variety of reasons of no concern. Don't pay attention to the map of Evanston outlining OK, Nice, etc. It is not correct, the user says an area where the most expensive homes are is just OK instead of Nice, so yeah. Skokie is a good option also, you get pretty decent schools, perhaps Evanston schools also.

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by Nysee53

You want to stick to Willard, Dewey, Lincoln, Orrington, Kingsley Elementary School Districts. Those all feed into either Nichols or Haven Middle Schools as well as Evanston High School. You might also look at New Trier High School District. It is Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Northfield, Glencoe, as well as part of Glenview and Northbrook. You may find it difficult in Evanston as most of Evanston is very well-to-do. The median income is brought down for a variety of reasons of no concern. Don't pay attention to the map of Evanston outlining OK, Nice, etc. It is not correct, the user says an area where the most expensive homes are is just OK instead of Nice, so yeah. Skokie is a good option also, you get pretty decent schools, perhaps Evanston schools also.

The OP is looking for a home in the $250- 325 range and you are suggesting that Evanston may be too expensive and also that she should look at Winnetka and Kenilworth?

[Natasha129]

Originally Posted by Anthera

The OP is looking for a home in the $250- 325 range and you are suggesting that Evanston may be too expensive and also that she should look at Winnetka and Kenilworth?

Are you saying you don't think Evanston is too expensive? Or that Winnetka and Kenilworth are also too expensive?

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by Natasha129

Are you saying you don't think Evanston is too expensive? Or that Winnetka and Kenilworth are also too expensive?

I think Evanston is doable, at that price point, Winnetka and Kenilworth are waaaay more expensive. Accourding to City-Data, the median home in Evanston sells for $370k, the median house in K/W sells for 1,490k , Winnetka's median house cost is $1,159k. So, yes I think its absurd to point you towards communities which have no homes in your price range.

[GreXican]

Evanston is huge so there will be some unsafe areas.
The only parts of Evanston I would not recommend would be either:

a.) Near Howard + Ridge
b.) Anything west of Dodge - starting North of Dempster and ending inside the McCormick/Green Bay/Emerson triangle.

[Nysee53]

You'll have difficulty finding a home in Evanston for $370K, the new information from the Tribune says Evanston's median home value is around $660K. It is possible to find something though. Wilmette has housing for around $300K. There are some nice areas around Dodge and west of Dodge. Try to do your own homework on Evanston, do some driving.