<p>I know I might sound ignorant here, but what is the neighborhood like around Mac? Is it really gritty and surrounded by low income housing like USC and (to some extent) UChicago or is it urban yet upscale like UCLA and Northwestern? It's not that big of a deal for me, but I was just wondering.</p>
<p>The immediate area around Macalester is upper-middle class residential and light commercial (restaurants, churches, dry cleaners, CD stores, Kinko's etc). I'ts been a while since I walked around Northwestern, but definitely more like that than UChicago or USC, though maybe not quite that upscale.</p>
<p>The immediate area around Macalester is upper-middle class residential and light commercial (restaurants, churches, small retail businesses). It has been a while since I walked around Northwestern, but definitely more like that than UChicago or USC, though only one adjacent neighborhood is as upscale as Evanston.</p>
<p>One block away on Summit Ave, there are million dollar plus older homes. There is a whole foods grocery story and many coffee shops and ethnic restaurants on Grand Ave which runs right throu the middle of campus. It is very upscale.</p>
<p>its fairly upper middle class. there is some crime, although usually in situations which could have been easily avoided. it is surrounded by million dollar homes, upscale stores (within a few miles), and generally is about as safe as you could hope for.</p>