Compare: Berkeley, CA - Cambridge, MA - Evanston, IL (live, best, better)

[Trafalgar Law]

Compare: Berkeley, CA - Cambridge, MA - Evanston, IL

Compare them on anything really but some factors that can help in the comparison are location, job market, housing stock (architecture, quality, location, prices, density), amenities, diversity, culinary scene, cultural scene, nightlife scene, urban fabric, access to public transportation (buses, commuter rail, rapid rail), sports culture, performing arts, public spaces (parks, greenbelts, scenic locations), climate, pedestrian friendliness, office space, prominent firms/institutions/corporations based there, aesthetics of the city (how good does the city look?).

Your favorite of the three?

[gladhands]

I've never been to Berkeley, but Cambridge is better than Evanston, by an order of magnitude.

[MassVt]

Harvard Square in Cambridge has become, with every passing year, more and more of a tourist AND local attraction. Not a huge area, but it has just about everything..

Evanston is pretty nice, too, but I feel the main attractions in town are Northwestern and Lake Michigan, which is right off the campus..

[Buckeye614]

Evanston is kind of a snooze but Lake Michigan is gorgeous and Chicago is one hell of a city.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Buckeye614

Evanston is kind of a snooze but Lake Michigan is gorgeous and Chicago is one hell of a city.

Evanston has changed in recent years; nothing very snoozy about it.

[stanley-88888888]

cambridge actually has a small kanaval every year (seperate from the big one in boston) so i voted for that.

plus it seems easier to get around in than the other two (5 red line subway stops and 1 green line). so its culinary scene, nightlife, office space, ... is practically the same as boston.

there are several genetics labratories owned by mit. i think it has the highest educational attainment in the country. i assume it has the most prominent firms of the three.
...

[PerseusVeil]

Evanston probably isn't as standalone as the other two. It has the lowest population and population density of the three, and it probably gets dwarfed by Chicago far more than Berkeley and Cambridge get dwarfed by their core cities. It's also not the largest or the wealthiest suburb that Chicago has, but it certainly has pluses in its favor. It's served by the CTA with 7 Purple Line L stations and 6 bus routes. It is also served by 3 Metra commuter rail stops, in addition to 4 suburban Pace bus routes. Housing in Evanston can range anywhere from a courtyard style apartment building, to bungalows, to mansions, to apartments/condos in Evanston's walkable downtown, etc. It is also sitting right on Lake Michigan, which makes it quite scenic by the lake. It's home to plenty of festivals, and it's the only Chicago suburb I frankly go out in at this point. Its restaurants and bars can be bested by neighborhoods in the city, but still there's certainly things to do in Evanston. Downtown alone has about 300 businesses and 85 restaurants.

All of that being said though, Evanston's identity doesn't standout. It's a well off North Shore suburb that's home to Northwestern. In Chicagoland it differentiates itself with its urbanity for a suburb, its downtown, and its transit connections to the city. Its culture, sports, arts, etc, are all that of Chicago and or heavily connected to Chicago as it's heavily tied into the city. It's also not really competing with Chicago in terms of jobs. Evanston's 10 largest employers are Northwestern (9,471), NorthShore University HealthSystem (3,727), Evanston-Skokie School District 65 (1,600), Saint Francis Hospital (1,272), Evanston itself (918), Presbyterian Homes, (602), Rotary International (525), Evanston Township High School District 202 (520), Jewel/Osco (480), and C.E. Niehoff & Co. (450).

Here's some general Census info comparing the three.

Evanston
Population: 75,527
Persons under 18: 19.3%
Racial breakdown:
-White alone, not Hispanic: 61.2%
-Hispanic: 9%
-Two or more races: 3.8%
-Asian alone: 8.6%
-Black: 18.1%
Median household income: $69,347
Poverty rate: 13.9%

Berkeley
Population: 120,972
Persons under 18: 12.3%
Racial breakdown:
-White alone: 54.7%
-Hispanic: 10.8%
-Two ore more races: 6.2%
-Asian: 19.3%
-Black: 10%
Median household income: $65,283
Poverty rate: 20%

Cambridge
Population: 110,402
Persons under 18: 11.4%
Racial breakdown:
-White alone: 62.1%
-Hispanic: 7.6%
-Two or more races: 4.3%
-Asian: 15.1%
-Black: 11.7%
Median household income: $75,909
Poverty rate: 15%

[intheclouds1]

Cambridge. It's relatively diverse, and is full of college students and young people...which make for a fun atmosphere. IT'S SAFE(rules out Oakland) and FUN (rules out Evanston). It's the higher income hub of North America and has easy access to Boston.

[projectmaximus]

Based on the criteria I'd say Cambridge, but my top choice for where I'd want to live is Evanston. I just prefer the little bit of separation (bubble perhaps) from the rest of the city. It is also beautiful!

I say this having visited Berkeley just once, Cambridge half a dozen times, and lived in Evanston for a few years.

[homeinatx]

I love all of them, but Berkeley is in a superior league in the looks department. While Cambridge and Evanston are both pretty, there is nothing like the vistas from the Berkeley hills in either place.