Chicago or Evanston? (crime, live, safe) - Illinois (IL) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

chet everett · 07-31-2013, 05:10 PM

I like nana's convenient list of places with nightlife in Evanston, it is clear she has the experience of a local.

Safety in Evanston is generally a non-issue and it is going be much easier than trying to find the safe blocks in Rogers Park or Edgewater /Uptown from the scary ones.

Realistically some of the posters above have a disdain for things the OP has asked for, calling deep dish pizza a "tourist food" -- not sure how valid their advice is about places to live.

Evanston is probably smart choice for the OP. There are options to meet people in town after work and the ease of heading into Lakeview or other parts of Chicago where there even more bars is very easy.

phil122 · 07-31-2013, 05:13 PM

I guess Evanston seems like the best place then since I can always take a train into Chicago to experience its nightlife.

marothisu · 07-31-2013, 05:34 PM

Blah blah Chet. I don't have a disdain for deep dish pizza. I thought it was funny one of the requirements would be to be around the corner from deep dish pizza. It was more like "you can always take a train/bus/whatever to a deep dish place." To me it's as silly as saying you need a Macy's within two blocks of you. Thanks for putting words in my mouth though.

These areas don't have much of a safety problem, although since there's a ton of nightlife in Wrigleyville, sometimes there's a few people who pray on really drunk people but if you're smart and practice caution like you should almost anywhere in any big city around the world, then it won't be a problem.

marothisu · 07-31-2013, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phil122

I guess Evanston seems like the best place then since I can always take a train into Chicago to experience its nightlife.

Not necessarily. The Purple Line which goes to Evanston stops running at at 1:45am most days and 2:15am on Saturdays going up north. The normal closing time of bars don't close until 3am on Saturdays in Chicago, but there is such a thing as late night bars which are open until 4am everyday of the week and 5am on Saturdays in Chicago. I'm going to guess there's around 100 of these in town and a handful in Lakeview alone.

Here's my advice. I like Evanston a lot, great town/suburb. If you are a big partier though, I'd probably recommend living in Chicago instead. If you party but not a ton or you're finished by 1am when you do, then Evanston is completely fine. Just think about if you go out til 3am-5am on weekends, you're pretty much SOL if you have to catch a train to Evanston at these times. The Red Line runs 24 hours/day for the record.

If you pick Evanston, you won't be making a bad decision or anything. Most of Evanston is great, but I wanted to make you aware of the above.

phil122 · 07-31-2013, 05:43 PM

Do bars get the most action around 3AM or does most of the action happen between 10-12AM?

marothisu · 07-31-2013, 05:45 PM

Most action, especially on weekends doesn't even start until 11pm or 12am. There's been times where I didn't even go out until 1am.

phil122 · 07-31-2013, 05:46 PM

I'm sure that some of these bars do exist in Evanston though. I'll have to check.

marothisu · 07-31-2013, 05:51 PM

Maybe a few, but pretty sure last call in Evanston is 2am? At least the last they can serve alcohol. The normal clubs in Chicago don't even fill up until 1am or 2am really.

It all depends on what you want, but Evanston is nowhere near the level of Chicago with nightlife ..but Evanston is a solid city with some good food, and some decent nightlife.

Maintainschaos · 07-31-2013, 06:06 PM

I work in Evanston and live in Edgewater. My impression is that, after a while, that purple express commute will wear on you. There's a Metro and El stop within two blocks of the Orrington as well as a host of bus lines, so you'll be well served with public transit. While I will admit that it's WAY nicer doing the reverse commute during the day (i.e. from Chicago to Evanston), I think you'll eventually find it sucks more than it is great to be living in an area with constant nightlife. There's some nightlife in Evanston, being the host of a Big10 university and all, but in general it gets sleepy kind of early. There are bars and pubs in downtown, but it isn't the party-late atmosphere. Don't get me wrong, Evanston is a great town, but it's no social butterfly, as it were.

If it were me, I'd live in Evanston and go into Chicago to party on the weekends. If you are there past purple line close, I'd just take a cab home.

marothisu · 07-31-2013, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maintainschaos

If it were me, I'd live in Evanston and go into Chicago to party on the weekends. If you are there past purple line close, I'd just take a cab home.

If you can afford it yes, although don't the rates increase as you cross the border and go outside the city?