Ragdale

I'm a writer who did an 18 day residency here in the summer

I'm a writer who did an 18 day residency here in the summer. Bikes available to ride to the nearby lake. Attentive staff who leave you at peace. Quiet atmosphere. I had one of the best bedroom/studios so I have no complaints. Some of the other bedrooms were much smaller. Two houses, one renovated, one not. Some had screened in porches they wrote in. Food supplies for breakfast/lunch are somewhat lackluster and sparse. Dinner is communal and the food was decent. You can buy your own groceries, though, it's not a big deal. Appreciated that there weren't any social events to attend because that's been a distraction in the past at other residencies. An hour or so north of Chicago in affluent suburbs. Quiet town. Not too diverse, according to what I saw. But people leave you alone. Highly recommend this residency. It's very relaxed in a good way. Nothing much to do in town either, except for go to the lake—which was also a plus for minimal distractions. Direct train from the city into Lake Forest. Ubers are cheap and available here. A great place to hunker down. — Anonymous, 2024. Imported from the original ratemyartistresidency.com archive.