Chicago Ranks 6th in Global Cities. Is this deserved? (Omaha: rank, population)

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Who keeps posting these often ridiculous ranking lists? Zombies?

You ought to know better than to ask that by now.

[temp2290]

>95% of Chicago couldn't care less about capital markets or whatnot. That's certainly not what makes Chicago a great city to live in, so the thread title is stupid and misleading.

[OrdoSeclorum]

This list isn't a BS Forbes or Time Magazine list designed to get ad clicks, it's a business press evaluation of a city's global influence. This doesn't mean that Chicago is the 6th "best" city. It means its the 6th most important global city from a business sense. Other similar lists might have Chicago at 8 or 9, but it certainly belongs in the top ten. Consider:

Chicago's GDP is close to that of all of Mexico. It has one of the busiest airports in the word. It's the "capital" of a Midwest mega-region with 45 million people. It's the third largest city in a country that accounts for 20% of global GDP. It dominates international law and commodities exchanges and is home to huge global companies like McDonalds, Boeing, Kraft, Abbott and Aon. Not to mention other companies in the region like ADM, Caterpillar and John Deere. It's at the heart of the most productive agricultural region in the world and is still the biggest steel manufacture in the hemisphere. The University of Chicago is home to more Nobel prize winners than any other institution in the world and Chicago is the heart of freight transport in North America, with 6 of the 7 major rail lines having terminals in the city.

If you look further down the list to Beijing, Seattle, Toronto, D.C, Seoul, Miami, Moscow, Frankfurt, Rio--they may sound exotic but none of them even come close to having that kind of economic influence. In fact, if you express productivity in PPP terms, the only cities that contribute more to the global economy are New York and London.

[OrdoSeclorum]

Originally Posted by temp2290

>95% of Chicago couldn't care less about capital markets or whatnot. That's certainly not what makes Chicago a great city to live in, so the thread title is stupid and misleading.

Maybe not, but the productivity that comes from those jobs results in a lot of things that DO make Chicago a great city to live in. For every one job in finance, there are multiple jobs in support offices, legal firms down the street, hence more flights at O'Hare and more staff at restaurants, etc.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by temp2290

>95% of Chicago couldn't care less about capital markets or whatnot. That's certainly not what makes Chicago a great city to live in, so the thread title is stupid and misleading.

It has played a bigger part than you might realize or care to realize.

[coldwine]

Area Woman Thinks She Could Live In City She's Visiting | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

That about perfectly sums up these lists, my feelings on them, and everything else.

[ajolotl]

that's hilarious, reminds me of my pilot friend who flies into midway, sleeps near Ford City mall, and flies out the next day. Says chicago is way too drab and full of strip malls for his taste, wouldn't even want to spend a weekend here.

Originally Posted by coldwine

Area Woman Thinks She Could Live In City She's Visiting | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

That about perfectly sums up these lists, my feelings on them, and everything else.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

that's hilarious, reminds me of my pilot friend who flies into midway, sleeps near Ford City mall, and flies out the next day. Says chicago is way too drab and full of strip malls for his taste, wouldn't even want to spend a weekend here.

Did you ever tell him to hop on the Orange Line and go downtown sometime?

[ImaloneJill]

Originally Posted by drover

well, chicago is of course an economic powerhouse with some of the largest exchange markets in the world. A chicago machine politician is now the most influential political leader in the world. Its cultural institutions are world-class though not necessarily top-tier. For better or worse, chicago has the world stage now in a way it hasn't for about a century.

yes.

[ajolotl]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Did you ever tell him to hop on the Orange Line and go downtown sometime?

Hell yeah. He thinks though that you'll get shot if you leave the hotel. I'm gonna give him the driving tour some day soon.