Originally Posted by bdesmond
A car is entirely unnecessary in the city, really anywhere you stay you can get downtown and to the museum campus for 2 bucks...If you don't mind a bit of commute in the morning you can look at downtown Evanston hotels as well and grab the Purple Line Express or even the Metra (although the Metra is on the west loop).
I would not second this recommendation. While I do think Evanston is lovely, you're in another world. It does not feel like you're in a city *at all*. And the commute these days is awful because of construction on the tracks. On a good day, it takes me at least 45 minutes to an hour to get to downtown from the Belmont station. From Evanston, it will take you at least 80 minutes even with the Express train. Riding the CTA trains is miserable right now.