Ravenwood vs. Evanston (Chicago, Oak Park, Lincoln: condo, crime, houses)

[Chicagobound100]

Im looking to move to the chicago area and am looking at a number of neighborhoods. Does anyone have any thoughts on the Ravenwood aread vs Evanston? Is one isolated (realtively)? Are they both relatively convenient to access the different aspects of chicago nightlife?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

Ravenswood is a neighborhood of Chicago and is just east of Lincoln Square, just west of Uptown, and just Northwest of Wrigleyville. From, say, the Montrose Brown Line stop, you're only about ten minutes from the Belmont stop. There's plenty to do around there. You also have Brown Line access to Lincoln Park. The Red Line can take you from Belmont to Clark/Division in about 15 minutes, if that scene's your cup of tea.
The Ravenswood Metra can get you downtown for work in 15 minutes.

Evanston is a suburb of Chicago, technically. There's stuff to do in Evanston. I don't know that much about it, actually. It's a little tougher to get from Evanston to popular Chicago nightlife areas, though, because the express train that runs to Evanston (the purple line) only runs into Chicago during rush hours. You'd have to take the Purple Line to the Red Line all the way to where you're headed. Some Evanston folks out there can correct me if i'm wrong, but it seems like it'd be a lot tougher to get to the rest of Chicago than it would be from Ravenswood.

[Lookout Kid]

Evanston has both the Metra (commuter rail) and the Purple Line "L". It's a suburb that has everything from large stately mansions to packed urban condo towers. It's actually a really cool town--and not at all like a typical suburb. And it's isolated only from the freeway. It's really well connected to the city and downtown.

Ravenswood is a great North Side Chicago neighborhood, and is also served by the Metra and "L"--though this time it's the Brown Line. It's a bit lower in density than the neighborhoods on the lakefront, but has lots of houses and nice three-story walk-ups. The crime is low, and the businesses are thriving--especially in Lincoln Square, which is in the heart of Ravenswood. It's confusing because the "Official Community Area" recognized by the city is called Lincoln Square, but the neighborhood "Lincoln Square" is actually a small part of the greater Ravenswood Neighborhood. You'll probably hear more people use the name Lincoln Square these days, even though the square itself is a small area. Lincoln Square has a certain cache attached to it now, and the houses near Lincoln or the Brown Line stops are now all in the $800,000 to over a million dollar range. Evanston has expensive housing, but you can still find a house for around $500,000.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

Yeah, I guess I made Evanston seem less than cool in my post. It's a great place. Not suburban in its feel, really, at all. Evanston, Oak Park, and a few other suburbs are regularly considered by many on this board sort of special cases. Suburban, sure, but more urban in feel than most burbs.

[misspetite]

I recommend Evanston. It's really came up in the past 20 years.

[Castro Viejo]

How's the commute to Evanston from the Gold Coast area on the Red Line connecting to the Purple Line? How quick is it generally? The few times I've been to Chicago the Red Line seemed to be the premier line that went "everywhere you'd ever want to be" so it seemed safe, but I don't know anything about the Purple Line.

[Chiguy1957]

I'd go with Ravenswood. In addition to being rediscovered in the past few years, Ravenswood offers unique stores, restaurants, good transportation to the Loop and a hipper, more urban vibe.

Evanston is nice, but vastly overrated IMO. I say that as someone who has worked in this town for a total of 8 out of the past 20 years.

The downtown is admittedly cute, but nothing really special except for it's layout and the fact that the Metra and L bisect the area. The stores are mostly mall stores, but it does have a few good restaurants, and the lakefront is beautiful.

Northwestern gives Evanston a shot of energy, but overall, I find a whole lot of the people to be somewhat full of themselves. They're also what I call "country club liberals", that is, they like to think of Evanston as the North Shore suburb with a social conscience as long as all the icky people stay on the town's west side, or can be shunted into Chicago.

That said, it's the beginning of the North Shore. Homes along the lakefront are spectacular, and Northwestern looks more Ivy than the Ivy League.

I'd still choose Ravenswood. My two cents.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Castro Viejo

How's the commute to Evanston from the Gold Coast area on the Red Line connecting to the Purple Line? How quick is it generally? The few times I've been to Chicago the Red Line seemed to be the premier line that went "everywhere you'd ever want to be" so it seemed safe, but I don't know anything about the Purple Line.

It's too slow for me. The Purple Line runs the same route as the Red from Fullerton to Howard, but doesn't make any stops from Sheridan to Howard (i.e. it runs express). It then goes past Howard into Evanston and spots north. South of Fullerton, the Purple Line runs the same route as the Brown, except it goes the other direction around the Loop. It's faster than just taking the Red Line IF you can get a train. They don't run that often, so that's the catch with the Purple Line. The Metra is the fastest way to get to Evanston from downtown, but they also don't run as often as the "L".

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Chiguy1957

I'd go with Ravenswood. In addition to being rediscovered in the past few years, Ravenswood offers unique stores, restaurants, good transportation to the Loop and a hipper, more urban vibe.

Evanston is nice, but vastly overrated IMO. I say that as someone who has worked in this town for a total of 8 out of the past 20 years.

The downtown is admittedly cute, but nothing really special except for it's layout and the fact that the Metra and L bisect the area. The stores are mostly mall stores, but it does have a few good restaurants, and the lakefront is beautiful.

Northwestern gives Evanston a shot of energy, but overall, I find a whole lot of the people to be somewhat full of themselves. They're also what I call "country club liberals", that is, they like to think of Evanston as the North Shore suburb with a social conscience as long as all the icky people stay on the town's west side, or can be shunted into Chicago.

That said, it's the beginning of the North Shore. Homes along the lakefront are spectacular, and Northwestern looks more Ivy than the Ivy League.

I'd still choose Ravenswood. My two cents.

I personally would prefer to live in Ravenswood, but there are other factors as well:

1. Cost. You can get more house for the money in Evanston.

2. Public Schools. If you've got kids, Evanston has decent public schools.

Both of these are a big deal for anyone with kids. Once you've lived in a two-bedroom condo with kids, you'll see the appeal of getting more space. I love the city, but would sure love it a lot more if I had $1,000,000 to spend on a house.

[UnderTheLiveOaks]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I personally would prefer to live in Ravenswood, but there are other factors as well:

1. Cost. You can get more house for the money in Evanston.

2. Public Schools. If you've got kids, Evanston has decent public schools.

Both of these are a big deal for anyone with kids. Once you've lived in a two-bedroom condo with kids, you'll see the appeal of getting more space. I love the city, but would sure love it a lot more if I had $1,000,000 to spend on a house.

Comes down to that, then. Kids? Looking to buy? Evanston. Otherwise? Ravenswood.