evanston vs. oak park (Irving: live, residential, distance)

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by chitownperson

I've never had to drive through rough neighborhoods to get to the loop from Oak Park. If I want the loop, or west loop, I take 290. If I want to go to places like Lincoln Square, I'll take Fullerton… I've never felt that I've had to take sketchy streets to go anywhere in Chicago I want to go to, and I'm not increasing my journey either. Oak Park is also closer to Lincoln Square, Wicker Park, West Loop… than Evanston is, to I don't feel like I'm missing out on any of the fun stuff. Both communities have their perks, so I don't particularly see the "fun north side neighborhoods of Chicago" as an advantage, but if someone is dying to live by the lake, or in a college town, then Evanston will be the clear choice.

I personally like both towns, and was considering both when we were moving out of the city, but ended up deciding on Oak Park due to a number of factors that suited my family more.

I think LoK was essentially making the same point. Obviously 290 is THE way to get downtown by car, and it's completely safe -- but you do have to "cross" some rough territory. However, as I pointed out in a previous post, hundreds of thousands of people make the trip down 290 everyday and there has simply never been any issues.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by chitownperson

I've never had to drive through rough neighborhoods to get to the loop from Oak Park. If I want the loop, or west loop, I take 290. If I want to go to places like Lincoln Square, I'll take Fullerton… I've never felt that I've had to take sketchy streets to go anywhere in Chicago I want to go to, and I'm not increasing my journey either. Oak Park is also closer to Lincoln Square, Wicker Park, West Loop… than Evanston is, to I don't feel like I'm missing out on any of the fun stuff. Both communities have their perks, so I don't particularly see the "fun north side neighborhoods of Chicago" as an advantage, but if someone is dying to live by the lake, or in a college town, then Evanston will be the clear choice.

I personally like both towns, and was considering both when we were moving out of the city, but ended up deciding on Oak Park due to a number of factors that suited my family more.

The reason to choose a town like Evanston over Oak Park really down to personal choices like access to work / family / inlaws and anybody making the choice out a "fear" probably has a very incorrect view of relative "danger".

The access to nearly any desirable neighborhood inside the city is so negliqble as to be a non-factor. Honestly even the differnce in total trip time to visit friends in Oak Park or River Forest vs Park Ridge or even similar but lengthier trip to Lincoln Square or western Wilmette from eastern DuPage is often a non-issue, once you are rolling on the various tollroads or expressways and past the nasty surface traffic that some towns have internally.

I would argue that even when it comes to the lakefront the true usage for most people living either Oak Park or Evanston is so similar as to be almost a wash. In all honesty I know lots of people that live in North Shore towns (and by any measure Evanston is part of that group) who live inland and spend no more time on Lake Michigan than I do living in eastern DuPage Co. Spending a couple weekends and maybe one extended week in SW Michigan beats heading out to the "public beach" when it covered with folks for 4th of July... Sure there is some mythical "potential" to do daily summertime yoga or whatever that goofy Tai-Chi thing is at sunrise / sunset for folks way over by Skokie that would be theoretically harder for Oak Parkers, but judging by the empty Evanston beaches it just does not happen. Short of being a Lotto winner / retired on a rare guaranteed pension that just is not in the cards for the "99%" that can't step onto to their own slice of sand and then shower and head to the office...

[chitownperson]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

I think LoK was essentially making the same point. Obviously 290 is THE way to get downtown by car, and it's completely safe -- but you do have to "cross" some rough territory. However, as I pointed out in a previous post, hundreds of thousands of people make the trip down 290 everyday and there has simply never been any issues.

If by "cross" you mean that 290 "literally" cuts through some of them, then yes, you have to "cross". But some people might confuse that with the idea that you have to come into "contact" with those areas, which is not the case. I have not problem with what you said (as you say, 290 is "obviously" the way to go), but sometimes wording may paint a different picture for people who don't know much about the geography.

[Lookout Kid]

Yes, I mean "cross" on 290. Yes, it's not a big deal. It's a bigger issue on the "L" where you are in much closer contact with these neighborhoods. Also, there is no urban Chicago experience that most Oak Parkers would be interested in until you get to the Loop. So even though the City of Chicago is literally across the street from Oak Park, it's not a part of the city that most Oak Parkers want anything to do with, except for the few occasions to enjoy the Garfield Park Conservatory or events at the United Center.

You may not see it, but I do see the connections to the North Side as a positive for Evanston, since I lived on the north lakefront for more than a decade and still have many friends and hangouts there. You can even take the "L" and it's a short ride to Uptown, Edgewater, or Lake View. I have places in Rogers Park that I still miss. You can move from the north lakefront Chicago neighborhoods to Evanston and still maintain a lot of the same friendships and social activities without too much trouble. It's not impossible to do this from Oak Park, but let's be honest... It's just a little too far for this, especially once kids are part of the picture.

Now, when we were looking at homes we did look at a lot of places in Oak Park and hardly any in Evanston. I just feel like the west-suburban location is better for commuting to 90% of the employment centers in the metro area. And Oak Park still offers a lot more options for people in the sub-$500,000 housing market (which quite frankly, is MOST people). Culturally the western suburbs are still a bit more "down-to-earth" than the North Shore, and Evanston is still very "North Shore" in spite of it's reputation for being more liberal and open-minded.

[BigLake]

Originally Posted by chitownperson

I've never had to drive through rough neighborhoods to get to the loop from Oak Park. If I want the loop, or west loop, I take 290. If I want to go to places like Lincoln Square, I'll take Fullerton… I've never felt that I've had to take sketchy streets to go anywhere in Chicago I want to go to, and I'm not increasing my journey either. Oak Park is also closer to Lincoln Square, Wicker Park, West Loop… than Evanston is, to I don't feel like I'm missing out on any of the fun stuff. Both communities have their perks, so I don't particularly see the "fun north side neighborhoods of Chicago" as an advantage, but if someone is dying to live by the lake, or in a college town, then Evanston will be the clear choice.

I personally like both towns, and was considering both when we were moving out of the city, but ended up deciding on Oak Park due to a number of factors that suited my family more.

Oak Park is certainly not closer to Lincoln Square than Evanston. Evanston is a 15 minute drive up Western. To get to Lincoln Square from Oak Park, well, it's just not fun. The fastest you will ever make it form OP to LS is 30 minutes. Wicker Park is probably ~ equidistant, West Loop though is closer to OP.

[chet everett]

It is not a terrible drive to get from many parts of Oak Park to Lincoln Square. The distance is just about 10 miles and as long as you plan ahead there are lots of routes that will help you maintain an average speed, with stoplights, very near the posted lmiti. It can be done in 25 minutes, especially when traffic is light. Funny thing too is that when conditions are good it can be just about as quick to travel a much further distance from suburbs like Oak Brook or Elmhurst via 294 & 90, about double the distance but nearly all expressway.

The really odd thing is if you are instead coming from any part of eastern Evanston though it does shave off several miles it is rarely is all that much faster as it is more difficicult to find any combination of streets that have a high enough speed limit / light enough traffic to really get the travel times much under 20 minutes...

[BigLake]

Originally Posted by chet everett

It is not a terrible drive to get from many parts of Oak Park to Lincoln Square. The distance is just about 10 miles and as long as you plan ahead there are lots of routes that will help you maintain an average speed, with stoplights, very near the posted lmiti. It can be done in 25 minutes, especially when traffic is light. Funny thing too is that when conditions are good it can be just about as quick to travel a much further distance from suburbs like Oak Brook or Elmhurst via 294 & 90, about double the distance but nearly all expressway.

The really odd thing is if you are instead coming from any part of eastern Evanston though it does shave off several miles it is rarely is all that much faster as it is more difficicult to find any combination of streets that have a high enough speed limit / light enough traffic to really get the travel times much under 20 minutes...

I don't really disagree with you (although I guess we have different levels of patience), but my point is that it is much easier to get from Evanston to LS than from OP. I used to take Western to/from Evanston all the time and it is at most a 15 minute trip.

On the other hand, the trip from OP to LS is not a fun one. Taking 290 to Western than up to Lincoln Square is not an enjoyable experience. The wraparound way (290 - LSD - Montrose) is prettier, but longer.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The really odd thing is if you are instead coming from any part of eastern Evanston though it does shave off several miles it is rarely is all that much faster as it is more difficicult to find any combination of streets that have a high enough speed limit / light enough traffic to really get the travel times much under 20 minutes...

Asbury becomes Western Ave. Can't get much faster/more direct than that!

When I lived in Buena Park, as far south as Irving Park Road, we would routinely go to movies at the Century Theater in downtown Evanston. It never took more than a half hour to get there.

[BigLake]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Asbury becomes Western Ave. Can't get much faster/more direct than that!

When I lived in Buena Park, as far south as Irving Park Road, we would routinely go to movies at the Century Theater in downtown Evanston. It never took more than a half hour to get there.

Yup, I used to live (briefly) about a block east of Asbury in Evanston and then later about two blocks east of Western in Lincoln Square. Straight shot!

[kindrakindra]

I family in LS and drive OP to LS all the time. Depending on traffic, it's 30-50 minutes.

LK, the Garfield Park Conservatory in Garfield Park is amazing. It's off the green line or expressway and constitutes something terrific in what you describe as urban Chicago.