Chicago not on the top 10 must visit list for US cities? (rent, homes)

[the resident09]

I understand all of you but this poll didn't seem very scientific, therefore I think they were going off of overall perception of these cities, their immediate surroundings, and what they expect the cities to offer. Quite honestly to someone who may or may not have been to Chicago they won't know of the special things in the area to look at before going there. Maybe a couple of skyscrapers and "the bean" is all really.You already know about the Epcot ball at Disney and the Pyramid at Luxor or Stratosphere before even going to Vegas. You already know what the Art Deco streets of Ocean Dr look like before even traveling to Miami, or the Hollywood sign etc...

Not saying I agree with Chicago being left out, I can just understand why it was not listed as a MUST SEE or place to visit.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by the resident09

I understand all of you but this poll didn't seem very scientific, therefore I think they were going off of overall perception of these cities, their immediate surroundings, and what they expect the cities to offer. Quite honestly to someone who may or may not have been to Chicago they won't know of the special things in the area to look at before going there. Maybe a couple of skyscrapers and "the bean" is all really.You already know about the Epcot ball at Disney and the Pyramid at Luxor or Stratosphere before even going to Vegas. You already know what the Art Deco streets of Ocean Dr look like before even traveling to Miami, or the Hollywood sign etc...

Not saying I agree with Chicago being left out, I can just understand why it was not listed as a MUST SEE or place to visit.

Chicago and IL have a relatively poor tourism board, even more poor than Michigan right next door. All these other cities market themselves through tv ads and other means. I've never seen a commercial for Chicago. Go to Europe and you will see ads for NYC Vegas California Miami Disney etc, same thing with other states, even here you will see ads for visiting california, las vegas, nyc. Do you see ads for Chicago in other states? Nope. I see ads for Wisconsin, Michigan even, never EVER for Chicago. The closest you'll get is one of those Airplane magazines and they'll list like 5 Chicago steakhouses.

[Bluefox]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of hubpages if I'm looking for meaningful data. It's not like it's done by a professional research company. Any top 10 or even top 5 list without Chicago on it immediately loses all credibility in my opinion. And Orlando? Really? Come ON. I could find five better cities in FLORIDA, let alone the US.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by grapico

Chicago and IL have a relatively poor tourism board, even more poor than Michigan right next door. All these other cities market themselves through tv ads and other means. I've never seen a commercial for Chicago. Go to Europe and you will see ads for NYC Vegas California Miami Disney etc, same thing with other states, even here you will see ads for visiting california, las vegas, nyc. Do you see ads for Chicago in other states? Nope. I see ads for Wisconsin, Michigan even, never EVER for Chicago. The closest you'll get is one of those Airplane magazines and they'll list like 5 Chicago steakhouses.

I have...that corny "Mile after Magnificent Mile" ad. But even so, Chicago is still a big tourist destination. This list is from 2008 but it does list Navy Pier as #10 most popular tourist destination in US. 8.6 million/yr.

Top 25 Most Visited Tourist Destinations in America

[andrew61]

Personally, I'm much more miffed that Chicago didn't break the Top 15 in this list of America's Gayest Cities:

gay.com Daily Travel: What’s America’s Gayest City?

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Personally, I'm much more miffed that Chicago didn't break the Top 15 in this list of America's Gayest Cities:

gay.com Daily Travel: What’s America’s Gayest City?

San Francisco came in at #11, and New York didn't make the list either. Cleveland and St. Louis were on the list, and they ranked Minneapolis as #1.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by Bluefoxwarrior

San Francisco came in at #11, and New York didn't make the list either. Cleveland and St. Louis were on the list, and they ranked Minneapolis as #1.

Yep. Another dumb list, IMHO, just like those endless Forbes city rankings. I don't take them too seriously... I deem them good for entertainment value only.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Personally, I'm much more miffed that Chicago didn't break the Top 15 in this list of America's Gayest Cities:

gay.com Daily Travel: What’s America’s Gayest City?

wow, that list is even more ridiculous than the one in the OP!

really, no Chicago, no NYC, not a single town/city in Mass. (I mean, it's not like they legalized gay marriage or anything ) and San Francisco wasn't #1 or even in the top 3? list wasn't worth the bandwidth it took up for me to read it.

these silly lists are getting so tiresome. find me a list from a reputable source that uses common sense criteria to back up their picks (you know, silly little things like statistics, facts, etc). until then, no point in creating new threads every time Chicago is or isn't featured on a certain list

[mjtinmemphis]

Ive lived in Chicago for almost 3 years now and I dont care what list its on or not on. Iam very happy with my life here so it doesnt really matter what a magazine article says.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

I really enjoyed visiting Chicago. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and an urbanist's dream. That said, you do have to be financially prepared to visit Chicago because it seemed like, compared to St. Louis, everything was a lot more expensive. That said, I've never been to New York.

We had this day pass for Chicago that ended at 5. We had fun and the architectural boat tour was fantastic, but we were running around like crazy trying to see everything. It would have been nice to have more time, but we didn't. Our passes only lasted for a day (you can get them for longer periods).

Wrigley Field wasn't that great, to be honest. The scoreboard, the ivy, and the rooftop seats were neat and very unique. However, I think I am spoiled by Busch Stadium. I spent half the time at Wrigley trying to find bathrooms (though fortunately for me the women's bathrooms are apparently better than the mens) and trying to figure out where I was going. Stuff was just squeezed into wherever there was room and everything was cramped. Granted, we were pretty close to the field, except for the beam in front of me. The stadium itself, to me, is nice, but not that comfortable of a place to watch a ball game.

It is a long trip for us. Three hours to St. Louis and another five to Chicago. Again, it was a blast. However, I can imagine it's pretty expensive if you try to see everything, especially without one of those day passes. I've grown up in a small town, but I wouldn't mind to live in St. Louis, especially on one of those pretty South City streets. Of what I saw of Chicago, it's too much city for me. Of course, the neighborhoods are probably a lot quieter than the commercial areas. Chicago is generally quite a bit more expensive as well.

That said, Chicago was a very unique experience and I had a lot of fun. These lists generally don't mean much.