Is Evanston really a college town? I was in grad school there and its so close to Chicago it just feels like a suburb. I've never lived in a true small college

Is Evanston really a college town? I was in grad school there and its so close to Chicago it just feels like a suburb. I've never lived in a true small college town. In Toronto my university experience was even less of a college town feel with the campus right downtown in a city of millions.