A year long adventure in Evanton, IL

In 2021 Drew got accepted to the one year (1Y) Kellogg Business school MBA program at Northwestern. This came at a point where I had been living in San Francisco for 8 years, and on the heels of COVID I, we, were ready for a change. I was itching for a new adventure and place that felt unfamiliar. However when I thought of a change, I never anticipated moving to Evanston, Illinois, a town I’d never heard of. 

We drove from San Francisco to Evanston (signed our apartment lease sight unseen!) and as we got closer we were both nervously looking around out the window. Passing through some good scenery, some not so much. And then we pulled into the very charming town of Evanston. I could stop holding my breath. It exceeded our expectations over the year we were there. 

Some of the unexpected – 

We lived in the heart of downtown Evanston. Coming from SF where I walked or took a bus everywhere, I was initially worried it would be so suburban that we’d always have to drive everywhere. This ended up not being the case and most weeks I never used the car. Target, Peet’s Coffee, Whole Foods, restaurants were all within walking distance of our apartment building (the Albion). We did use the car to go grocery shopping and explore other areas, but you could get by without one. 

The neighborhood is historic and is filled with beautiful, unique homes. I loved going for a bike ride or a walk in the warmer months. Just admiring all the houses. Which brings me to the next huge positive, is the waterfront and designated walking/biking paths along it. We did not expect Lake Michigan to be so stunning, and to have access to beaches along it within walking distance of our home. I’m not sure I had previously visualized Lake Michigan, but it feels like you’re in front of the ocean with how expansive it is, and its hues of blues are varying.  

Most apartment buildings (and ours) had rooftop pools. I never realized how much I missed the seasons living in San Francisco. Being able to have outdoor space to lay out and read on our roof made such a huge difference on our quality of life. Since moving to NYC, this is something I really miss. As we talk about our vision for a future home, outdoor space and a yard is now on the top of my list. 

We chose to live in Evanston vs getting the downtown Chicago experience because Drew had class everyday, and I could work remotely. So it just didn’t make sense to have him commuting. The close access to Chicago is another great feature of Evanston, the area’s public transportation made it easy for us to go into the city frequently, as we tried to explore as often as we could. 

Something I kind of knew I missed but didn’t realize how much until getting to Evanston: seasons. We moved in June, and the heat felt so.damn.good. I constantly felt chilly in San Francisco. Living in the Marina it felt like it was mostly windy, foggy and never truly got to a temperature where I felt comfortable. I never got to wear shorts or “summer” clothes. It really does have an impact on your mental health. As we head into warmer months here in NYC, I’m so excited to go for my morning run and step outside and be blasted by the heat. 

The winter we lived in Evanston was considered “mild”, and I didn’t find that the cold bothered me that much. Likely because I grew up in MD and went to school in PA, and we had winter’s with significantly more snow than we got while in Evanston. 

The Kellogg community however was the key to us enjoying living in Evanston, and where the majority of students in Drew’s program lived (vs in downtown Chicago). The 1Y MBA class was very close knit, and we made some dear friends over the year we were there. Without the Kellogg community, Evanston is still a charming town to live in, but probably a bit too slow for us long term.