Is Chicago really as "wonderful" as the locals portray it?

The same question can be asked of any city. Especially NYC.

Chicago is a great city.

Its "London, Paris, ROME, New York" OP

Well, a THIRD of Chicago is magnificent.

I've lived extensively in both NYC and LA. Visited Chicago many times. I absolutely love it. Much more than NYC and on par with LA. It's just a very cool big city with a small town appeal.

What exactly is Chicago known for? Like, what do they do?

The only news I've heard about Chicago are that thousands of people are shot there, and also Jussie made up a story about being gay bashed.

Other than that, I have no clue what goes on in Chicago.

Chicago is beautiful. R5 the shootings are in a specific part of Chicago.

1/3 of Chicago is white people shanty town.

1/3 of Chicago is Cabrini Green refugees.

1/3 of Chicago is an international, architectural wonder and museum destination.

[quote] 1/3 of Chicago is Cabrini Green refugees.

What does this mean?

r8, in code, it means URBAN.

[quote] 1/3 of Chicago is Cabrini Green refugees.--What does this mean?

A lot of Black people live there. That's why Trump hates it so much.

People who used to live in the projects before they were shut down.

[quote]1/3 of Chicago is Cabrini Green refugees.

Like former Mayor Jane Byrne?

Cabrini Green was a notorious, sprawling housing development that has been torn down.

Refugees of Cabrini Green.

Well aside from one of the world’s greatest art museums and orchestras, there is a vibrant (pre covid) theater, music. comedy and visual arts scene. Some of the country’s best restaurants. Some of the world’s best hotels. An airport where you are 1 connection away from virtually anywhere on the planet .

Two world-class universities.

R14 is confusing Cabrini Green with Television City in Hollywood.

Damn, damn, damn R14!!!!

Great city with some major problems.

I keep hearing about how "great" Chicago is, R19.

But so far, nothing I've read here, or seen on television, or experienced in person, has led me to believe that Chicago is so "great."

R20 then fuck off. It’s not for everyone. Move on.

Then you are truly an idiot, R20.

It is a finance and trade center, transportation hub (its the largest rail and trucking hub in the country, and O'Hare is one of the busiest airports in the world), education and arts center, R20. It was a huge center of manufacturing diversity the likes of which the world never saw before. And despite the export of manufacturing to Asia, Chicago still produces an extraordinary number of goods. Sears, Spiegel's and Montgomery Ward, the Amazons of their time, all got their starts here.

Did you flunk 4th grade geography, R20?

This is a “new” Chicago. In terms of PR anyway. Chicago is no longer in the shadow of its costal siblings. It’s coming into its own, and isn’t as frequently compared to this city or that.

Now if the could only get the crime-heavy areas under control once and for all.

Touchy, touchy, R21.

Are you by any chance a Gallagher? Or a Milkovich?

[quote] It was a huge center of manufacturing diversity the likes of which the world never saw before

"Was" being the operative word, R22.

Chicago is a dying city, with gun violence just hastening its decline.

Chicago is basically the "murder capital" of the United States right now, and not even the past few Mayors could get it under control.

In fact, Chicago's population has been steadily declining. In the past 70 years (from 1950), Chicago has lost nearly a MILLION people.

That's not exactly the mark of an "up and coming" city.

I'm a Chicagoan. I love the city but that doesnt mean I'm not constantly thinking about moving. One thing that gets me is that Chicago, geographically speaking, is so dull. You really notice that when you go to other places.

Chicago is Beautiful from May to October. The other months it's hell.

Come on babe why don't we paint the town.

R26 nonsense. It literally looks like a cleaner NYC with hotter, Midwestern white beef all over.

Who are these Chicagoans supposedly claiming the city is better than NYC, Paris, etc., combined? I've never heard such a thing.

Why does it bother you so much that people love their hometown?

This again? Come up with something different to post OP.

Yeah it’s a shit hole. Stay away.

R29, really? I think NYC men are much hotter. Not to say Chicagoans are ugly, but I think men from Montreal, LA and NYC are way hotter and more diverse.

[quote] Chicago, geographically speaking, is so dull

Indeed.

This is basically what you see, when you drive away from Chicago.

im going to Chicago for a breast reduction in Janurary

R32 most of the men in those cities you claimed aren’t actually from those cities. Most of those hot white guys you see in LA are from the Midwest.

Rofl, R34.

Congratulations! At least Chicago is good for something.

Real estate in Chicago is crazy inexpensive.

"Chicago is basically the "murder capital" of the United States right now, and not even the past few Mayors could get it under control."

Now you're simply pulling shit out of your prolapsed, shit encrusted hole.

On a per capita rate, it's not even in the top 20. Once again, you prove your ignorance and stupidity.

[quote] Real estate in Chicago is crazy inexpensive.

Gee, I wonder why?

[quote]I've lived extensively in both NYC and LA. Visited Chicago many times. I absolutely love it. Much more than NYC and on par with LA. It's just a very cool big city with a small town appeal.

Downtown Chicago reminds me of what Manhattan was like before it was chain-stored to death. I like the city a lot.

OP? Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.

R5 you sound like a five-year old

If you’re a mouth-breathing Covid-denying MAGA, it’s a crime ridden shithole run by one of those N words

If you’re a normal human, it’s a fine place, 3 out of 4 seasons, anyway.

One of the coldest places in the dead of winter.

It toddles.

[quote] Damn, damn, damn [R14]!!!! —Florida

Your husband died in a car accident? What a coincidence, so did my wife!

[quote] If you’re a mouth-breathing Covid-denying MAGA, it’s a crime ridden shithole run by one of those N words

That was totally non-sequitur, R43.

How in the hell are you trying to relate MAGAT Covidiots, to Chicago crime and gun violence?

Talk about a stretch!

Pop, Six, Squish, Uh uh, Cicero, Lipschitz!

Looks like Jussie Smollett found Datalounge.

It’s a world-class city that is a lot more affordable and liveable than NYC or LA. Yes, certain neighborhoods are crime-ridden...every big city has that. Chicago is the capital of the entire Midwest.

[quote] Chicago is the capital of the entire Midwest.

MAGA!

Just to remind the ultra-chic sophisticate at R51: Trump and Rudy Giuliani, MAGA's biggest dicks , are both NYC born and bred.

I'd go along with your assessment, r50.

I like Chicago very much, could definitely live there. Must say though that New York has me spoiled. I just feel safer in New York.

I know the urge is to say, of course, you’re a New Yorker, naturally you would feel safer at home, but that’s not it. Even in central Chicago, where I spend most of my time when I’m there, I see people following me at night, looking for an opportunity. Even there you see locals out at night keeping an eye on you for an opportunity.

I took my niece there a few years ago she’s from an incredibly safe small town, so she doesn’t notice danger signals, but I grew up in New York in the 70s! She and I walked out to get some dessert one night and I saw things developing on the street that set alarms off. We then saw an elderly couple who were clearly being followed and I had a difficult decision at that point — linger to make site they were ok, and endanger my 17 year old niece, or get her out of there and leave the ok’d couple to their own devices. Fortunately we soon passed the Sofitel and the ok’d folks went in, so the decision was made for me.

Boy my phone really hates referring to old folks. Ok’d folks, lol!

[quote]One of the coldest places in the dead of winter.

Horseshit. The past several winters have been bizarrely mild due to climate change and this will probably be the norm from this point on.

That said, the worst thing about Chicago is the people have shitty attitudes - way worse than New Yorkers.

It also encompasses a huge metropolitan area of suburbs and other townships that are all considered “Chicago”.

Chicago is the most affordable world class city in America (compared against NYC and LA), but the crime situation is out of control. Unfortunately, crime is not just confined to certain parts either—there are many anecdotes of random murders and drive bys on the more affluent, “safer” north side of the city as well.

The city is cheap because it’s in decline, hemorrhaging population every year. But population loss isn’t just confined to Chicago, but the entire Midwest, as cities like Atlanta, Dallas, Austin, Houston, and Phoenix see surging populations.

[quote]That said, the worst thing about Chicago is the people have shitty attitudes - way worse than New Yorkers.

I'm a Chicago lover, but one of the most awful things (besides crime) is that the people that flood the streets on the weekend are awful — woo! girls, frat boy types, etc. They love to drink and don't know how to hold their liquor. Just about any place you go turns into a land of Brett Kavanaughs and girls who love Amy Schumer.

It's way cheaper than NY and London.

Chicago is kind of like a little Manhattan except younger and fresher-looking.

New York is old around the edges like Madge.

Sounds like hell, R59.

And the Art Institute is world class.

With fine, upstanding citizens like these people, how can anyone not love Chicago?

R59 Yeah, the people are absolutely vile.

R61 It is.

I've heard Lincoln Park and the "Boystown" area are nice. The traffic on the toll roads and the cold, cold and snowy winter months are the things that would get to me.

Oh and another awful thing about Chicago is that the “L” is a fucking joke. Why there isn’t a proper underground subway like NYC or London is beyond me. So it’s difficult to drive in Chicago yet the public transport is shit so you’re basically dealing with one pain in the ass or the other.

I loved living there. I may return some day.

[quote] I've heard Lincoln Park and the "Boystown" area are nice

Didn't the trannies force them to rename the area from Boystown, to something else?

[quote]I've heard Lincoln Park and the "Boystown" area are nice. The traffic on the toll roads and the cold, cold and snowy winter months are the things that would get to me.

Lincoln Park and Boystown have been taken over by straights so they aren’t all that nice anymore IMO, and as I said earlier, Chicago hasn’t had “cold snowy winter months” in years. It’s been very mild in recent years.

[quote] Why there isn’t a proper underground subway like NYC or London is beyond me

Why wouldn't Chicago - which is MUCH snowier than either NY or London - have an underground transit system?

Why make people freeze their asses off on a platform, waiting for a train to come? That makes no sense!

It has beaches and a beautiful “front yard” urban park.

[quote]Lincoln Park and Boystown have been taken over by straights

I guess they weren't counting on that when they put up all the gay monuments and rainbow signs.

Boystown is being renamed.

[quote] It also encompasses a huge metropolitan area of suburbs and other townships that are all considered “Chicago”.

Yes, that's generally how suburbs works.

[quote] The city is cheap because it’s in decline, hemorrhaging population every year.

Well, not exactly. College graduates keep flocking to Chicago. Chicago now has a higher percentage of adults with college degrees than NYC or LA. That wasn't the case 15 years ago.

[quote]An airport where you are 1 connection away from virtually anywhere on the planet .

Chicago is the world headquarters of United Airlines. American Airlines also operates a major hub at O’Hare. And Southwest operates a hub at Chicago Midway airport. Very well-connected city.

I know many young white people in their 20s who now live in Chicago. Some were originally from there and others moved there and love it.

This one guy I met in Miami while vacationing was trying to convince me to move there. He in from NJ and then moved to NYC after college, then LA and then Chicago. He loves Chicago and has made it his home. He told me the winters are exaggerated, that they aren’t even that bad and you adapt to the cold. He also said it’s easy to get around and not over congested like NYC and LA, and also affordable. He lives in a beautiful 2 bedroom for $1400 a month. A steal.

It’s easy to get into and out of Chicago from anywhere in the world.

[quote] I know many young white people in their 20s who now live in Chicago

Yeah I heard it's good for straights, but not so much for gay people.

It's still the Midwest, and it's still conservative.

[quote] It's still the Midwest, and it's still conservative.

Chicago may be more conservative than San Francisco, socially, but it is still very liberal.

Having grown up in New York, I never expected to be impressed with Chicago. Never even had a desire to go there, until a friend moved there. I was immensely impressed with everything about the city from the ease of getting into downtown from the airport, to the architecture, museums, parks, neighborhoods, restaurants, the lake, the Chicago River, the arts, etc. If it were not for the weather, I would move there in a heart beat.

It used to have a great gay scene but they opened up their areas to the straights and now were washed out of them.

The guy who tried convincing me to move there is gay.

Chicago did give us Second City, the Steppenwolf theater, some choice '90s alternative music (Liz Phair, Urge Overkill), as well as a bevy of lovely old department store and bank buildings. But O'Hare is a nightmare and the flat midwestern accent you hear all around town is pretty grating.

[quote] . But O'Hare is a nightmare and the flat midwestern accent you hear all around town is pretty grating.

Is there any major airport in America that isn't a nightmare?

Chicago restaurants >>> NYC restaurants.

I actually don’t trust people who say NYC has the best restaurants and food. Bullshit if you ever travel and try different places. Chicago has some of the best, and best Mexican and Chinese food.

R85, I agree with you 100% about Mexican but Chinese? Honestly, the west coast does it so much better. Chicago doesn't have a place that does soup dumplings.

[quote]But O'Hare is a nightmare

It’s no worse than LaGuardia or JFK.

R85, I don't think any city beats LA for Mexican food.

I saw FOLLIES there at the Candlelight dinner theater....in the round. I also saw the first tour of the original CHICAGO there.

I’ve said this on other threads, but Chicago has 90% of what NYC has to offer but at half the cost and bullshit.

LA has incredible Mexican because it’s Mexican land taken over by the Europeans who came here.

But Chicago has amazing Mexican also. San Francisco has amazing Cerviche and Seafood dishes

It has a mysterious lure for some people, OP. They'd even crawl to get there....

I'm guessing the Wrigleyville Cumdump loves it there.

What R81 said.

[quote]If it were not for the weather, I would move there in a heart beat.

OMG how many times do you need to hear it?! Chicago winters have not been that bad for years due to climate change. The winters are no worse than NYC. You can check out NYC’s weather and Chicago’s weather for this week and it’s pretty similar - 40’s and 50’s in December.

Chicago's winters are nowhere near as bad as, say, Montral or Toronto's. And NYC and Boston also get wayyyy more snow than Chicago (especially the former).

[quote]But O'Hare is a nightmare

Lord, you can say that again. The staff (especially the TSA) are total cunts. I try to avoid it whenever possible.

[quote]Is there any major airport in America that isn't a nightmare?

I’ve been to airports all over the US and O’Hare is definitely the most miserable.

R97, I have to disagree. I've travelled using O'hare several times and it isn't nearly as depressing or miserable as LAX. LAX is pure misery.

R98 LOL and I have never had problems at LAX (although I haven’t been there in years). I even remember one of the TSA people complimenting my outfit. That would never happen at O’Hell.

R99 I've never been complimented at any airport....but that's just me 😁

Does Chicage have legal weed? If so I am moving.

yes, it is a major melting pot city in USA. World class city.

The Obama's are from there, politically. Michelle Obama was raised there. People love their city, also their state (Illinois)

LaGuardia is the worst airport in the nation.

[quote]The Obama's are from there, politically. Michelle Obama was raised there. People love their city, also their state (Illinois)

Yeah, it’s so great that the Obama’s didn’t return once Barack left the White House. If they really liked it, they would have moved back. Even the Bushes (both of them) moved back to Texas when they left office.

[quote]Does Chicage have legal weed? If so I am moving.

All of Illinois does.

[quote]Yeah, it’s so great that the Obama’s didn’t return once Barack left the White House. If they really liked it, they would have moved back. Even the Bushes (both of them) moved back to Texas when they left office.

Yeah, well...the Clintons didn’t move back to Arkansas, or to Chicago, where Hillary’s from.

it's really my favorite town

Chicago was built on a swamp, just like New Orleans. See the difference?

R66

The El turns into a subway at certain points. Stop misrepresenting the city.

Douchebaggery will get you nowhere.

It's a world class city.

Chicago Symphony with Ricardo Muti. Art Institute. Steppenwolf Theatre and Second City.

Half the cost of London or NY. But you can't get famous there if you're an actor. It's just a good place to make a start.

R79

That is such bullshite. Chicago has a thriving gay scene.

It never had that singular feel that Toronto had in the mid 80s, and has since lost.

The 1893 Chicago World Fair was "wonderful." So was the string of teen films, Risky Business, Sixteen Candles and Ferris Bueller.

I have been here 30 years and it has its moments. Great city to start a career in but if you get offers mid career , take them up on it .

[quote]I’ve been to airports all over the US and O’Hare is definitely the most miserable.

The other airport, Midway, is smaller and easier to navigate if you can get a flight in or out (it's one of those secondary airports that's heavily Southwest).

The Blue Line from O'Hare takes about 50 minutes to get into downtown and often has lots of commuters getting on and off at every stop. The Orange Line from Midway is 20-25 minutes and is usually less heavily traveled.

Downside is that the concessions have been severely reduced while the airport undergoes expansion. Don't get there early planning to eat.

I have a fantasy that when I win the lottery, I buy a condo in Lake Point Tower.

This is my fantasy home:

Naah, Chicago's not really all that.

It's just that it's always been infinitely better than the smug, sanctimonious flyover queens have ever given it credit for being.

I'm a born and bred Chicagoan, left in '83 for Berkeley, then Los Angeles. My mother still lives there (Lincoln Park). I love visiting her, but am glad I don't live there anymore. I never had problems with winters, it was the summers that I hated. If you hated the El now (which I like), you would have hated it back in the 70's- no A/C and tiny little windows.

If I had the money, or if there was a solid film/tv business there, I would move back to the Bay Area, probably East Bay.

Chicago has some incredible areas. The architecture is amazing, the food and restaurants, the shops, the art and atmosphere... it’s what NYC used to be before becoming Disneyland

'nuff said

The question of why the 'L' wasn't built underground - it is underground downtown, but it is elevated elsewhere. The main reason was because at the turn of the 20th century, Chicago was the fastest growing city in the world and they needed to put in some infrastructure quickly. It's a lot easier to build elevated train tracks than to bore underground.

I lived there for over 20 years and still have family there. I've lived in NYC and Paris prior to that. Chicago doesn't have the same excitement or glamour of other big world cities. And there's a reason for that.

Many world cities (Paris, London, Tokyo) are the nation's capitals and the center for basically everything - finance, fashion, film, TV, politics, media, etc. It's like if DC also had NY and LA. Their secondary cities (Manchester, Lyon, Osaka) receive much less attention as a result.

Since Chicago is not a major hub of one industry, let alone those that get a lot of press (TV, Film, Politics, Media, Fashion), it isn't on people's radar as much. But it is a major world city by any World Cities Index.

It will never get a lot of press or attention - except for the shootings and murders the past 5 years, which I believe is politically motivated in being reported in the press. (Chicago's murder rate isn't even in the top 20 cities in the country, but you wouldn't know that by the reporting).

It's a fine city with a lot to offer and is arguably one of the most affordable large cities in the Western world. Your standard of living is MUCH higher there than in other cities - meaning you can also afford to leave the winters for sunny vacations more often.

The winter isn't great, but not what people make it out to be. However, it does get severe arctic blasts that last a few days which you just don't get on the East Coast.

If you want a lot to do and have a good standard of living, but don't need to feel that you are in the center of everything, then Chicago is a great place to live.

It’s fine. I find it bland - and doesn’t seem truly integrated like NY or LA. But it’s a decent city and I understand why people live there - especially if family is in the Midwest and the price is right. But it’s never a place I choose or make an effort to go. It’s fun if I’m there for work - vs St Louis or Dallas, etc.

And while it is cheap, the 3 people I know who moved there because they could afford to buy something ended up losing money when they decided to move out a few years later and had to sell.

You don’t move there and buy and then hope to sell for profit. Especially in today’s world.

All cities are struggling right now.

People like R25 are obese housebound fuckwits who know absolutely nothing.

Chicago is neither the best thing since sliced bread nor the pit of despair that so many are convinced that it is.

It's also much more than the downtown "Loop" area. There's certainly some stunning things in the Loop area but the best parts of Chicago, the ones that make it really livable and appealing, are its neighborhoods. Downtown/Loop areas are filled with tourists and are not indicative of the rest of the city.

Many Chicago suburbs are very beautiful

Guys from there are generally friendly.

We notice that whenever we are in PVR. They seem to like being there.

There is a calmness to most people there that I like. The vibe feels like NYC before Disneyland but without the craziness. It’s clean. It’s busy but not over congested. It’s good.

R25 is all over this thread bashing Chicago. Ok, you have a lot to say - where do YOU live?

Chicago certainly does have a subway system. I've ridden it many times.

[quote] The question of why the 'L' wasn't built underground - it is underground downtown, but it is elevated elsewhere. The main reason was because at the turn of the 20th century, Chicago was the fastest growing city in the world and they needed to put in some infrastructure quickly. It's a lot easier to build elevated train tracks than to bore underground.

It's also partly because the various train lines in Chicago used to be run by different companies. A number of them eventually came under the same ownership, now the CTA, and that's when they developed the system as it is today. So some companies did elevated trains, some started the underground ones (though I think most of the system was built or expanded at the time it was already the CTA).

The larger, more traditional "railroad" train systems go into Union Station or Ogilvie Station (or the station near the lake for south Chicago and western Indiana) and aside from Amtrak passenger trains, the regional trains are run by Metra.

The neighborhoods like Logan Square Bucktown West Loop Andersonville Lakeview Rogers Park, Hyde Park,(I’m missing a ton forgive me) are what make Chicago great. All of the bs that people mention is what every big city has to deal with. I’ve loved here 27 years and there are times when it’s a total pain in the ass to be here but then I realize I have a beach and lakefront 10 minutes from my house. Or I live in a blue state with a lesbian mayor who actually cares about our lives. It’s not perfect but it’s a whole lot better than it was when I first moved here in 93. It’s a pretty amazing place to live actually and fairly affordable for what you get.

Great place. Incredible history. Excellent restaurants.

R131 - but that story is the same for almost every public transportation system. NYC was separately owned lines as well. And Boston. And practically every place public transport was built before 1950.

[quote] I find it bland - and doesn’t seem truly integrated like NY or LA.

LA and NYC integrated? Huh?

NYC is one of the most racist cities. It’s just more lowkey there

Renaming Boystown has not gotten much traction with locals and a majority of those surveyed don't support changing the name. However the North Halsted merchants association, fearing negative press if they weren't seen as being more inclusive, agreed to stop using the name in their marketing efforts. It's likely a futile effort since Chicagoans are stubborn when it comes to these things. We still refer to Sears Tower, the Hancock building, the Prudential building and Marshall Field's long after those names were "officially" changed.

Do white people actually live in South Side Chicago, like on the tv show "Shameless?"

Or is it just fiction?

They do of course R138, and they aren’t the trash that “Shameless” makes them out to be.

But ...

The incentive to “hustle” (whatever that means) is very ingrained (just as it is in poorer NY neighborhoods), so like all TV, there is a grain of truth.

R138, off the top of my head, Bridgeport and Hyde Park havetons of white people. But those neighborhoods are an anomaly. The west side has lots of Polish people though.

Also, Beverly (the southernmost city neighborhood) has tons of white people.

What is the Scandinavian part of Chicago?

I saw this beautiful neighborhood on Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives, made up of people who had mainly Swedish or Norwegian heritage, and the neighborhood looked beautiful, clean, and very pleasant.

I would love to live there!

R142, you might be thinking of Andersonville. The lesbians claimed it shortly after the boys took over New Town, what is today Boystown. Now both neighborhoods are quit mixed.

I think you're right, R143.

i googled "Scandinavian neighborhood in Chicago" and Andersonville came up.

They even have their own website.

[quote] Many Chicago Swedes entered the construction business as part working their way up the economic ladder, though most started as carpenters and laborers. The Gust K. Newberg Construction company has emerged as one of Chicago's most prominent architectural firms. It is estimated that Swedes have been involved in building almost half the buildings in Chicago.

Wow.

Who knew?

The south "East Side" of Chicago was a racist haven that has been taken over by Mexicans. Whites lost their foothold when the steel mills closed in the 80s and 90s.

The alphabet streets south of Calumet Park between the Calumet River and Whiting, Indiana was called White Island. South Side Blacks never crossed the bridges to White Island.

R146, I lived near that area of Indiana. The entire Gary region is filled with Chicago's "leftovers". It sucks.

I lived in Chicago for a very long time before moving away this year. I get that it’s much cheaper than NYC and LA, but owning is still out of reach for most (myself included) and I didn’t want to rent my whole life. I love the city very much and feel it is largely misunderstood, however, I noticed over the past decade that a lot of the cultural edge/uniqueness I loved about it was disappearing. In short, boring basic Midwestern suburbanites have been flooding in at the same rate it was hemorrhaging the cool/arty crowd (many of whom moved to LA, or satellite cities like Austin, Portland, etc). Way too many yoga moms and douche bros - it feels more like an expensive Wisconsin suburb now. I do already miss the architecture, cultural events, and what’s left of the independent businesses though.

[quote] Chicago may be more conservative than San Francisco, socially, but it is still very liberal.

Chicago is not 'liberal.' It is provincial. It historically votes democratic but not because Chicagoans are progressive.

[quote] It is provincial.

You just defined hundreds of cities across America--including Boston, Philiadelphia and San Francisco, all of which are provincial in their own way. And the Chicago of the 40s and 50s isn't the one that exists now. Most of those white people who protested against MLK and the civil rights protestors moved to the burbs or outside of Illinois. The people who continue to move to the city are college educated people, often from other states.

Chicago gave us Oprah, Obama and Chaka Khan.

Don't forget Chicago invented house music. Chicago's contribution to rock music has been kind of meh though.

Yes, I'm taking into account bands like Wilco and Smashing Pumpkins. Compared to other cities, like Minneapolis, that's kind of subpar for a city of its size.

What's the Gold Coast like as a neighborhood ?

Ann Margret's father was a Swedish immigrant who worked as an electrician. It's never been clear to me what they were doing in upscale Wilmette.

“What’s Cabrini Green?”

I'm one of those suburbanites that moved to the city from out of state. I'm in my late 20s. I know gentrification is "bad" but I love that my northside neighborhood is becoming safer and safer every time an old brownstone is torn down for a nearly million dollar modern replica. The homes are beautiful, but it's a little sad to see the originals get torn down, but they replaced something when they went up so that's life.

I joke with my parents, when they visit, that it's like living in a suburb lifestyle with the ability to say I live in a real city. You can move to hip River North to really get a city feel. Plus, more hot guys with more money. Chicago is a cock buffet.

I took a stroll through Uptown for something on Saturday. Had to walk near that infamous McDonalds that's know for a bit of crime. This is one of the few areas on the north with a high concentration of section 8 housing. Since I haven't had to step foot downtown since March, I nearly forgot about the poverty and general unease one can feel when confronted with the unglamorous side of city life. It reminded me that in my old neighborhood (Lakeview) and my new neighborhood, we really don't see any homeless people. Tourist you should feel safe enough in most of Lakeview. My area is just pleasant shops, parents with strollers, Aussie Doodles, sexy former frat guys turned young zaddies (yum!), clean streets, and a generally an enjoyable American lifestyle.

Boystown is still very gay and welcoming. I don't know what some posters were talking about. I'm sure crime happens but pre-COVID the police were everywhere in Boystown and on Clark St. (Straight bars near the Cubs' stadium). I felt safe walking, maybe a little drunk, from Boystown to my apartment about 15-20 in away in the middle of the night. Some posters are making things out to be way overblown. Yes, many black LGBTQ people do come to Boystown to have fun, as they should. I think this is why some like to pretend that Boystown is now scary because God forbid, it becomes more inclusive and welcomes everyone. Give me a break, there is usually a cop within 3 blocks from you on a weekend night in Boystown.

Chicago really comes alive in the summer but I prefer the Fall, simply gorgeous.

So if you like young hot career oriented men, come to Chicago...after you get your COVID shot!

r154 it leans older but has that feeling of a old time grandeure. You can still get pre-war apartments in their original designs in Chicago! Gold Coast has a lot of them. The old money Astor Street has some nice old and new mansions. Chicago has some interesting penthouses in Gold Coast.

There was some unpleasant stuff that happened in the area this summer, not talking about the protests, but that seems to have ended.

Here is an Astor street penthouse. Interesting design. Built in 1928.

If you'd like some 19th Century charm you can grab this one. What's really cool about Chicago is that you can head north or south and snag beautiful pre-war apartments for a steal. Now the property taxes, especially on the lake front properties are a bitch, but there is a lot of interesting inventory for those into real estate porn. Hyde Park, where the Obama's lived has a ton because as other posters said a lot of well of white and black people dotted the south side. Head north and it's the same story, but usually a whiter history, but the condos exist. The craftsmanship just can't be recreated today on some of these aging treasures.

r2 Would you say that that is really Chicago's signature song? Don't they have a 'New York, New York' or a 'California Dreaming'?

r158...What happened there this summer ?

R160 - you mean "Chicago" by Frank Sinatra? Huge song and played often.

[quote] The old money Astor Street has some nice old and new mansions. Chicago has some interesting penthouses in Gold Coast.

[quote] There was some unpleasant stuff that happened in the area this summer, not talking about the protests, but that seems to have ended.

That's so cryptic, R158!

Please explain.

r161 just some looting and one shooting near a ritzy shopping area. Was very rare for that type of trouble to go to a white glove neighborhood but t happened. Usually, criminals keep crime in their own neighborhoods but this summer many were transient since the police had the impossible job of battling 100 different protest incidents around the city at the same time. I'm glad things have cooled off.

I live in Roger's Park and today there was a helicopter hovering (what felt like) right above my place because there were gunshots. And this is the third time this has happened in two years. But Roger's Park isn't even bad compared to Uptown or parts of Edgewater. Uptown is still very shady in parts.

R164 - so, the same stuff that happened in NYC, LA, Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis, etc?

Yes, but it was out of place for Gold Coast, just like a shooting in the Upper East Side or Palos Verdes Estates would give one pause (I assume).

No apostrophe in Rogers, R165.

R165 - how long have you lived there? Rogers Park has been a dodgy neighborhood for 40 years. It only recently got better - about 20 years ago when gays moved in.

However, it still has a lot of the old elements. I used to buy drugs there. To say it's better than Uptown is really inaccurate.

Everyone else in the city would say that Rogers Park is WORSE than Edgewater or Uptown.

Including me.

Justin Earle wrote a song about Rogers Park. He was there for the drugs.

[quote] Everyone else in the city would say that Rogers Park is WORSE than Edgewater or Uptown.

Really? Worse than Edgewater sure but I've never heard anyone say worse than Uptown. Rogers Park has improved thanks to gays and also Loyola's presence. I'm sure it depends on what part of RP you live in, parts of it are still shit. But Uptwon as a whole isn't great.

I used to live in Rogers Park in the late 70's and was dismayed to find out that it went to seed. I'm also disappointed at how the seedier parts of Clark St. (around Belmont), and Southport (by the Music Box) has lost all its charm. But the Kerryman Irish Bar is still going strong- that place has to be at least 45 years old.

The fastest female sprinter in my track team in high school used to live in Cabrini Green. She attributed the fact that living there helped her speed because she said that she had to sprint up the stairs (you don't take the elevators) such that people wouldn't jump her in the stairwell. I'm assuming she lived at least on the 10 level or more.

Chicago has a magnificent infrastructure and physical plant, built by a wiser and more ambitious generation. Today's hipsters are like toddlers rushing around in Mama's shoes too small for what they've inherited.

Rogers Park east of Sheridan is practically Evanston.

[quote]Would you say that that is really Chicago's signature song? Don't they have a 'New York, New York' or a 'California Dreaming'?

"Lake Shore Drive"

R176, when that song first came out in the early 70's, the AM radio stations edited the lyrics to change "Just slippin' on by on LSD, Friday night trouble bound" because they didn't want "impressionable children" thinking it was a drug reference.

I can’t stand how so many of the streets are diagonal. It makes it easy to get lost and just looks ugly.

R178 - what? There's a grid system and a spoke system that intersects to make it faster and easier. With street numbering so you know how far north and east you are.

If you get lost in Chicago, you're pretty stupid as numbers just aren't your thing.

Chicago is one of those cities like Atlanta and Dallas that actually have something to offer, although not much, but because most American cities have nothing at all, it stands out. But compared to NYC or London or ParIs, Chicago is a small town filled with dull, surprisingly good looking midwesterners. With bad accents.

I don’t even like Chicago - but it is light years better than Dallas or Atlanta sprawl of new construction and strip malls.

R157 is the reason I left.

We don't miss you r182.

[quote]It's still the Midwest, and it's still conservative.

???

Chicago is blue, and turned the whole state blue in the last election.

Chicago has the best symphony orchestra in the country, the best art museum (outside of NYC and DC), the best opera company (outside of NYC), the tallest buildings (outside of NYC). Culturally speaking, it's the third most important city in America just as it is the third most populous.

r184, last election? Chicago has been blue since FDR. Not a single Republican has been elected since the 40s (if memory serves me right). It's been dragging IN's clone (the rest of IL) along for the ride ever since. It's a very liberal city, but midwest sensible. We won't do that occupy or lawless zones like Seattle and Portland. We will show out and there will be blood (hello shootings) but Chicago is liberal and blue.

There's a great big town on a great lake called Chicago! When the sun goes down, it is wide awake: bring your Ma and your Pa, come to Chicago!

Boston is London...New Orleans is France.... New York is anyone's for ten cents a dance! But that great big town on that great big lake is America's first and America's great: Chicago!

This is r186 I mean not a single Republican has been elected Mayor since 1944, to be exact.

R186 - liberal politically and open culturally. However, you're not going to get the same number of try-hard alt-rebels with neck and hand tattoos like you would in Seattle, Portland or SF. And that is JUST FINE.

People also do tend to dress up more - many people I know who have moved away from Chicago comment about how people don't dress up as much where they live (Boston, Philadelphia) to go to restaurants, bars, or anything.

I don't know how true that is.

Ohhh sigh, the fact that this thread is even started goes to show Chicago’s status. Always a third rate “town”, Not city, but “town”. A very lovely island in the Midwest, but that’s about it. Expect no more, expect no less.

I think this is the song that was requested.

never been, if i go east i go to nyc....

alwys heard its full of beasts and ugly folks,

stinks from pollution.

Momma said it was a shit hole and to never go there....

[quote]What exactly is Chicago known for? Like, what do they do?

Well, Chicago is hog butcher for the world, for starters.

They're a lovely bunch - stormy, husky, brawling - and they do know how to keep a person from starving.

If I go is there any chance of me running into Richard Speck?

The Chicago gays are the most pretentious gays anywhere in the US.

The Chicago gays are the most pretentious gays anywhere in the US.

Just some unfortunate activity over the summer, but as DL favorite Patsy Stone says “Nothing wrong with a bit of extreme shopping.” I mean these are people from West Humboldt Park, West Hyde Park. TURNING THEIR LIVES AROUND. I’ll pay $50k in property tax on my condo to support that. And still skip ketchup on my hot dog. That’s what makes me a Chicagoan!

[quote] People also do tend to dress up more - many people I know who have moved away from Chicago comment about how people don't dress up as much where they live (Boston, Philadelphia) to go to restaurants, bars, or anything.

I really love this about any city, actually.

I've found that it's the less renowned cities whose citizens tend to dress up more.

In Europe, people dressed up WAY more in Madrid, than they did in Paris. I mean, dressed to the nines. It was fabulous.

[quote] The Chicago gays are the most pretentious gays anywhere in the US.

I visited Boystown a few times, and I wasn't a fan.

Lots of stuck up gays, and I don't even know why they acted that way. Most of the guys weren't "all that."

R196 - and you're from where exactly?

Most likely you're from a smaller city and visited and people didn't think you were as fabulous as you thought you were.

Chicago is laid out so that everyone has access to the lake, the parks and beaches, and the incredible Lincoln Park Zoo, Every year the city gets more and more bike friendly with new designated lanes and traffic signals. (Thanks to Rahm who was an avid bike rider.) It's an easy city to get around in, and I find it friendlier than NY and LA/SF.

No, it’s not wonderful at all. Why do you think Oprah sold all of her property and left after her talk show ended? Why do you think the Obama’s never returned to live there when they left the White House? Why do you think the majority of the celebrities that are from Chicago don’t even have a home there?

Because it sucks.

r203, by the same token, how many wealthy or celebrity people still live in the city that they were born and bred?

Someone upthread said the Lake Michigan is like a big blanket and the snow just vanishes? I’ve yet to experience this.

Weather is extreme. Heat waves from hell, winter is four to five months long. A week with single digit temps. Just deal with it: eat something and put on long underwear. Everyone leaves for a week in January. Also people drink to stay warm.

Sports is religion. Opera, symphony, museum, theatre, music, architecture and fancy pants restaurants are world-class. So there.

People are more polite than other cities. It’s probably one quarter Mexican, which maybe warms up the reserved Midwesterners a bit, and makes for mesmerizing tostadas.

The stylish are stylish, either very severe or with a kicky bohemian flair, but far rarer than other cities. The hipster element is very visible. Business attire can be shockingly bad. Everyone else is dressing for survival. Black sweatpants and blue jeans.

There’s still something of a strong gay scene left, but who wants to go out anyway?

This thread is laughable. I've lived here for a number of years. I like it here. It works for me. I don't need to justify why.

If you don't like it here. That's fine. No one is forcing you to live here. Find somewhere that works for you.

But enough with the 8th grade my school is better than yours. It's ok. Chicago will be fine without your critique.

Thanks,

R203 is on this thread calling the people vile, the city ugly and all other insults he can come up with.

On another thread - shockingly - he had this to reveal about himself:

"I’m so lonely and depressed. I have no friends. Is life ever going to get better?"

Bitch - look in the mirror. You're a nasty troll - start acting like a human being instead of taking out your frustrations on the world.

R201 I am in Seattle. Does that support your keen assessment of me?

R208 - absolutely. You have a lot of nerve talking about pretension when you're from Seattle, the hub of alt try-hards where visible tattoos are a prerequisite.

Bitches you better put down the food and get those home workouts started again because the vaccines are going out and Chicago will be damn fun this summer. Can't wait for Market Days in August and Out at the Park at Six Flags.

Chicago is the white trash capital of the United States!

R211, haven't traveled much around the US, have you?

R211 - take your meds. You're talking about your insane 'cunt rants' in another thread. You're fucking deranged.

[quote] You're fucking deranged.

Says the psycho stalker who follows people around this forum, like Jack the Ripper.

Lurking in the shadows, creeping around like a freak.

R214 - that's why it's there, you insane cunt. You're all over threads calling other people poor, freaks, that they have small dicks.

Seriously - get a life, loser.

R202, Daley (the second) was the original biking proponent. He installed bike lanes and all those bike parking stands you see on the sidewalks.

R207 I’m honored you took the time to research my other threads! Sorry I don’t like your shitty city!

R217 - aww...poor troll doesn't like being called out or identified as a troll. Pity the poor troll everyone. No - I looked you up because you were talking about the weather in Chicago not being bad the past few years as if you lived there and then shitting all over it in other posts.

I don't live there.

"Sorry I don’t like your shitty city!"

I don't think R217 would be happy in the Garden of Eden.

[quote]Seriously - get a life, loser.

Says the freakshow who take the time to research everyone’s posts in other threads.

Chicago is a has been city.

It's all about Texas and Arizona now.

The sprawling cities of the South and Southwest will never be as appealing as the older cities like San Francisco, Chicago, New York, etc.

Chicago is all about the lake. Everything good about Chicago is within a thin strip of land that hugs the lake, even the best suburbs. Go a mile inward and everything is bungalows.

R223 Oak Park is great too. But I agree with you generally. If Chicago didn't have the lake, it would just be Gary, part 1.

Chicago doesn't have 4-5 month winters r205, they never did. Nor do you see single digit Temps that often. Chicago winters are actually quite mild. I grew up there spent 30 years. You want 4-5 month winters you go to the upper Midwest, not Chicago.

Love Chicago, specially "Hard to Say I'm Sorry."

Because r222 surprise surprise who knew a grid based system was better to navigate than a cul de sac. People only choose suburbs because of good schools and *somewhat* quietness. Those IMO are pretty dumb reasons.

Chicago is a step up for people visiting it from the Midwest, but it’s just a large city with large city amenities and not a world-class city.

I grew up in a Chicago suburb and live in a suburb on the north shore now. I’ve grown to hate most cities because they’re so homogenized. But Chicago, Boston, and some smaller cities like Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Pittsburg, and San Diego are not just extended shopping malls. I just used to love NYC but just feels like little to offer but shopping at Chan stores. in past decade.

R227, the suburbs as we know them--the ones largely created afte world war 2--will implode in the next two or three decades. The "beneficiaries" of this will be the more dense towns/older suburbs and cities. The sprawling monstrosities like Phoenix or Dallas are not normal.

[quote]I just used to love NYC but just feels like little to offer but shopping at Chan stores.

You need to get out of Chinatown.

I lived in another city on the Great Lakes, Buffalo. We had 6 months winter every year. Honestly, do you think Chicago could be that different given they are extremely similar in latitude and region? And yes, we had a few weeks of nosehair-freezing weather every year. Not to mention the years we had 4-6 feet of snow at some point. Never less than 5 months of snow every year.

That said, i'm considering moving back there now that i can telecommute and be near other family. If i don't have to drive every single day twice a day in snow, i can put up with the weather because the beauty of the region (especially in Fall and summer - with air conditioning!) and the proximity of my family. I left SF city 10 years ago because the time i spent there, while interesting and entertaining, made me realize i couldn't exist in a city like that with people defecating on the sidewalk below my bedroom window and the crime in the middle of a still beautiful city of Victorians and rent control wasn't enough to keep me there. i moved North of the city and have been there since 2019 but now with the constant fires and power outage and expense, it's just not worth it.

Some cities just lose their bloom and glory. i know nothing of Chicago except a time or two i spent in its airport, so i guess i'm not qualified to comment, but it's just my perspective. I wasn't born in Buffalo/NY area or grew up there, but i do know it once was a very glorious upscale place then it went down the shitter. Before Covid, the Art scene was apparently making a huge comeback and of course the countryside, lakes and rivers are beautiful. And it's way more affordable than SF/Bay area. i can actually buy a home for 165k. can't see that at all here, ever again.

R232, the past few winters have not been that snowy here in Chicago honestly. And generally, Chicago gets less snow than Torono, Boston and NYC. A good friend of mine moved to Chicago from Buffalo a few years ago and he loves it here.

[quote] the past few winters have not been that snowy here in Chicago honestly

One of the benefits of climate change is that winters in the Great Lakes area are more mild now. I would not want a return to long, harsh winters. The beneficial warming effects in the north central part of the continent could outweigh the rise of far away sea levels.

R211 Then why isn't it in Florida?

r230 Oh definitely. Especially as the climae heats up and the water runs short. All those people that moved to those places because "it's cheaper" will reap what they paid for. Won't be pretty.

I travel a lot for work and spend time repeatedly in most major cities around the country. Chicago isn't my favorite, but it isn't bad. I find it has the energy of a suburb more than a city, not sure why that is exactly.

Does America really need a sassy president?

Sorry. nope.^

[quote] All those people that moved to those places because "it's cheaper" will reap what they paid for. Won't be pretty.

For thos interested, I highly recommend the book Strong Towns. There is also a website. Basically, these sprawling monstrosities are doomed. For the past 70 years or so, America has built itself backwards and now has a huge problem on its hands. The cost of infrastructure completely dwarfs the size of the tax base in most cities and suburbs all across the country. It makes the pension crisis look quaint. And that's terrifying. But at the same time, all this makes perfect sense. You can actually tell a lot about a place by the way it looks. And I think the way America has sprawled in the past few decades a lot about our current national character.