Evanston is home to the academic juggernaut that is Northwestern University. And with a Big Ten college comes an attendant array of businesses. The downtown area teems with so many restaurants, boutiques, bars, movie theaters and niche shops that many residents seldom bother heading into the city proper (although Metra and CTA Purple and Yellow Line trains makes it easy to do so). Beyond the college area, Evanston leans toward residential neighborhoods with far more cultural and economic diversity than “Breakfast Club” fans might expect. Plenty of city parks and a string of beaches along Lake Michigan add to the allure of a city that’s more than just another ‘burb.