Is Skokie (and other Chicago Suburbs) as Boring as they Look? (Evanston: neighborhoods, public schools)

[nana053]

I much prefer Evanston, of course, but in defense of Skokie, it is one of the most diverse suburbs in terms of the living spaces. They also have a fantastic number of cultural events though you may not know about them. When we lived there we had people of all cultures living on our street. Block parties meant we got to know our neighbors there.

Skokie Festival of Cultures

Events and Entertainment in downtown Skokie, IL

Special Events | Skokie Park District

The Skokie Public Library is one of the best as well.
Skokie Public Library
Schedule of Library Events

[sipes23]

I'm in Skokie all the time. While it's not bad, I'd say it's everything that's wrong with non-poor Chicago suburbs. The traffic is horrible for sprawl reasons (as much sprawl as you can get with post WWII 'burbs, which is admittedly nothing compared to what can be accomplished now). The cultural stuff pales with what can be had in the Loop. It's not genuinely expensive, but it's not cheap either.

My wife would probably also prefer to live there, but I'm not keen on it at all.

[4122]

Originally Posted by sipes23

I'm in Skokie all the time. While it's not bad, I'd say it's everything that's wrong with non-poor Chicago suburbs. The traffic is horrible for sprawl reasons (as much sprawl as you can get with post WWII 'burbs, which is admittedly nothing compared to what can be accomplished now). The cultural stuff pales with what can be had in the Loop. It's not genuinely expensive, but it's not cheap either.

My wife would probably also prefer to live there, but I'm not keen on it at all.

I agree that Skokie's traffic is horrible. It's not the case for every non-poor Chicago suburb, but Skokie and neighboring towns Morton Grove and Niles also have lots of traffic. Part of the reason for this is because it's a congested area with houses close together in an area where many people live. Skokie isn't a huge town nor is it a small town and it has around 65,000 people living there. That's only about 10,000 people less than Evanston which is twice it's size.

Skokie is a cheaper alternative to Evanston. Sure it doesn't have all of the amenities that Evanston has, but it's within a short drive of Evanston. Skokie also has Old Orchard which is something its got going for it. It's also a safe area which is something Evanston doesn't have in some areas.

[Runuova]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

Wow, so many better options than Skokie if you want to avoid sprawly shopping mall laden suburbia. Schools aren't anything to write home about either. All it really offers is proximity.

I'd have to agree with you about the schools. My Wife have nephews that grew up in Skokie because their mom feared the south side and CPS. Flash forward to them shipping off to college and she's wondering why she chose Skokie. Their grades aren't that great and they found a lot of the same troublesome behavior she was trying to avoid, only this version involved kids from different ethnic groups.

[linicx]

Skokie is a Jewish community. Evanston is a large college, town.

[Nafster]

Originally Posted by linicx

Skokie is a Jewish community. Evanston is a large college, town.

Not so much anymore. Skokie is actually very, very Asian now and has a huge Pakistani and Arab population. It also has a large Black and Mexican population.

I'm perplexed by the sprawl comments on Skokie. Besides Old Orchard Mall, Skokie is actually a fairly dense and compact suburb that even is serviced by the Skokie Swift. It's older and has less sprawl than places in DuPage County or Will County.

I agree though that feature wise Skokie is not very interesting. Evanston, Aurora, Naperville, Highland Park, and many others are much more happening places to live.

It almost looks like a neighborhood of Chicago on the Northwest side.

[pvande55]

Skokie, being so very close in, has some advantages many suburbs don't. Rapid transit, more bus routes, shopping districts. Better night life than most, but nothing like the hopping city neighborhoods. The northwest side of Chicago has a lot of that, plus it allows the possibility of city employment, should you pursue that later.

[reppin_the_847]

Originally Posted by pvande55

Skokie, being so very close in, has some advantages many suburbs don't. Rapid transit, more bus routes, shopping districts. Better night life than most, but nothing like the hopping city neighborhoods. The northwest side of Chicago has a lot of that, plus it allows the possibility of city employment, should you pursue that later.

Skokie actually has little to no nightlife save for maybe a hookah bar. It does have good proximity to parts of Chicago's north side & to Evanston though. On a clear night with no traffic you can make it from the Touhy ramp & maybe even the Dempster ramp to downtown Chicago in 15-20 minutes.

With heavier congestion more like 40 minutes to an hour.

You have the Skokie Swift to Red Line connection via CTA. Folks on the west side of Skokie can use the Golf, Morton Grove & Edgebrook stops (METRA). Folks on the east side can use Wilmette, Evanston Central Street, Evanston Davis Street & Evanston Main Street potentially.

[holl1ngsworth]

Originally Posted by reppin_the_847

Skokie actually has little to no nightlife save for maybe a hookah bar. It does have good proximity to parts of Chicago's north side & to Evanston though. On a clear night with no traffic you can make it from the Touhy ramp & maybe even the Dempster ramp to downtown Chicago in 15-20 minutes.

With heavier congestion more like... an hour.

Seriously? That's my time in heavy congestion from Wheaton. Which is twice as far from the Loop. 24 miles versus 12. An hour seems like too much.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Nafster

I'm perplexed by the sprawl comments on Skokie. Besides Old Orchard Mall, Skokie is actually a fairly dense and compact suburb that even is serviced by the Skokie Swift. It's older and has less sprawl than places in DuPage County or Will County.

Compact by today's standards, suburban sprawl by 1950's standards. Even though the lots and homes are small compared to a cul-de-sac subdivision in, say, Sugar Grove, Skokie is still an automobile-oriented landscape of tract homes and strip malls--in contrast to a more traditional pre-WWII neighborhood pattern. Streets are wide. Setbacks are deeper.