evanston

Evanston isn’t just a neighborhood.  It’s a city – and a deceptively big city at that.  Still big even if you take the sprawling, picturesque Northwestern University campus out of the equation.  Located immediately north of Chicago and east of Lake Michigan, Evanston has several commercial centers, beautiful single-family homes, new and vintage apartment buildings, and outstanding commuting options.  Only ten miles from downtown Chicago, it’s a highly-popular, notoriously far left-leaning community (politically speaking) -- a mash-up of university students, radical high-schoolers, young professionals, families, and empty-nesters.  Plus, there’s a generous helping of Norman Rockwell charm.  Evanston offers you an imposing multiplex theater with 18 screens, hundreds of national and local shops and restaurants, seven el stops on the purple line (which runs express to the Loop during rush hour), three stops on the Metra Union Pacific / North Line between Chicago and Waukegan, and ample bus service all over town, both CTA and Pace.  As an added bonus, Old Orchard Shopping Mall is just a short drive away. 

In dowtown Evanston, around and about Davis Street, there’s just a ton of stuff going on everywhere.  Other hubs of commerce sprout from remaining el lines and Metra stops.  Perhaps the most eclectic district hugs Central Street, in the northwest quarter of the city, not far from Ryan Field (home of the Northwestern Wildcats football team).  Central Street features a diverse collection of locally-owned specialty shops, antique stores, art galleries, and restaurants.  It’s also the scene of a bustling parade every Fourth Of July.  Residents literally reserve their spaces by setting up chairs along Central Street several days before the festivities.  Along Dempster Street and Main Street there are hundreds more exciting and even offbeat businesses to provide for your every need.  Chicago Avenue (the continuation of Clark Street from the City of Chicago) cuts right through the heart of the city and connects it all together.