How's the commute from edgewater to evanston? (Chicago, Davis: apartments, homes)

[bearcity]

I will be working in Evanston near NWU. I am considering living in Edgewater in Chicago. How's the commute by the el? What's the approximate time from door-to-door? The red line is pretty crowded in rush hours, isn't it? Thanks a bunch!

[Drover]

Originally Posted by bearcity

I will be working in Evanston near NWU. I am considering living in Edgewater in Chicago. How's the commute by the el? What's the approximate time from door-to-door?

Depends on where the doors are with respect to the nearest train station. In Edgewater, walking to an L station can take anywhere from 20 seconds to 20 minutes, depending on which part of Edgewater you live in.

Originally Posted by bearcity

The red line is pretty crowded in rush hours, isn't it?

Not from Edgewater northbound. But the Red Line won't get you to Northwestern; you'll need to transfer to the Purple Line at Howard.

[bearcity]

Thanks for the speedy reply. I am looking specifically near the el station, hopefully close to the lake. so walking to the el station shouldn't take more than 10 min -- at least that's my hope.

The question is, including the time that I have to switch subway at Howard, what would be the approximate commute time? 40 min? an hour? Do most people do it?

It seems like I can spend the same amount and get much nicer apartment in Edgewater than Evanston. I am on a university researcher salary, any thoughts on whether I should pick edgewater / evanston?

I skipped roger's park due to what i've done. It may be shallow of me and at the time I much rather go to a place with less complaints.

[Drover]

40 minutes sounds reasonable. I don't know that "most people do it" but the parking situation on and near the campus might leave you little choice but to use public transportation. If you are provided with parking at the university, driving would probably cut your commute time in half -- provided you won't have to hunt for a parking space all evening when you get home. Parking is reasonably easy in most of Edgewater provided you get home before, say, 7pm. But in a few places close to the lake it can be tight 24/7.

[soulful]

OP. You may want to check out the tripplanner at transitchicago.
I use it all the time for going from the northside to Evanston and it is pretty accurate give or take 5 minutes.

Good luck.

[bearcity]

thanks a lot. Are there any good areas to live in Evanston?

[Drover]

The area around campus is nice. The area around the Davis stop is particularly nice -- essentially, downtown Evanston. But you'll be competing with students for housing and you won't find a lot of deals. The rest of Evanston is a mix of high-six and low-7-figure homes you can't afford and borderline-ghetto neighborhoods.

[bearcity]

What about the areas east of chicago ave, north of keeney and south of dempster, around main st (east of the main el station)? I've seen a few apartments available here, how's that neighborhood?

My budget is about 1000, plus/minus 200, what can i get for that price range?

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by bearcity

What about the areas east of chicago ave, north of keeney and south of dempster, around main st (east of the main el station)? I've seen a few apartments available here, how's that neighborhood?

That is basically part of downtown Evanston.

[grapico]

You could live all the way down by North/Clybourn Metra and get to Evanston faster than taking red and purple transfer on Howard to Evanston.