Possible Relocation to Chicago, Thinking About Living in Evanston (Oak Park: rent, home)

[Atlanta_BD]

I currently live in Atlanta and there is a possibility that I may move to Chicago for a job. The job would be downtown.

I am from Chicago born and raised but I have lived in Atlanta for nearly 15 years. I'm pretty much over it as far as living in Atlanta but I've been away for so long that I don't know what's changed, or what's good or bad in terms of what it was before I left. What I do know is that it seems that rent has gotten incredibly high in Chicago since I left lol.

If I do end up moving back home for work I am considering Evanston or Oak Park as far as where I'd like to live because they are suburbs on CTA/RTA with great access to downtown. I also have a teenaged daughterwho is very well-behaved and gets good grades. I know that inner-city schools would not be good for her. Ideally I'd like for her to go to Jones College Prep or Whitney Young, but I have to figure out where to live with good schools, relatively easy access to work and fun things to do in the event she doesn't get accepted at either school.

A little background about me, I lived in Evanston as a kid and I remember the schools being great. We lived in three different areas: we lived on Hartrey and also on Seward. I remember those streets being nice and safe (or at least we never had any problems). We did a brief stint on Dodge and anyone who has ever lived in Evanston knows that Dodge is pretty much Skid Row lol--at least it was when we lived there. I don't know if that has changed.

So my question is, what are the better parts of Evanston to live in these days? What are the rents like? Is Evanston Township still a good high school?

I'd appreciate any feedback.

[MannheimMadman]

Here's a map regarding opinions on areas of Evanston.


https://www.city-data.com/forum/3892127-post28.html


Scroll down in the Chicago suburb thread and you'll see a few threads on Evanston.