Chicagoland (Washington, Washington Park, Woodlawn: condos, work, homes)

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by Drover

HUH? I don't think I've ever seen one single such post in the Chicago forum, and I'm one of the most active people here. Who has said "there is little to no traffic" in Chicagoland?

People have made comments in other boards on here about the fact that traffic is not bad around here and that it moves right along. Im not going to name names, but just look around and you will see it. Thats why I now just post video links so there is no chance for arguement as to what our roads are like around here during the day. Im just tired of seeing people on here making Chicago look like its Utopia because it will only = disappointment for newbies to the area who thanks to certain individuals on here painting an image of heaven on Earth, the newbies will see that Chicago has some BIGTIME faults and think to themselves, "this is not what I was told. Or, I was told traffic was light here and that snow didn't make hardly a bit of difference in the travel times. Or, winters here aren't bad and I was told it doesn't get this cold???!!!" I just feel it is best for us on here to dish out the good along with the bad and let people make their own judgements after seeing/reading what Chicago is really like, and if they like what they see or read then by all means, Chicago is the place for them.

And as for the difference between LA and here, and no Drover this is not aimed at you, LA has tons of traffic, but guess what, their freeways though jammed to the hilt with cars, MOVE!!! And if the state decides to rip up a freeway, they work in a little area and move the barrels as they go, unlike here where every spring the barracades go up for miles blocking one if not two lanes so 10 guys can stand around and watch one guy do some work in an area 100 feet by 10 feet. Lets just watch and see the difference shall we. LA: YouTube - BMW M3 ON LOS ANGELES FREEWAY Chicago: YouTube - Traffic in Chicago WOW what a surprise, apparently 10-12 lanes do make a difference.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by NYrules

Lots of traffic? OH YA. Don't even listen to people who are so pro-Chicago on here that live in Never Never land who go on about the fact that there is little to no traffic. There is traffic and to be honest after driving all over the country, our traffic is about the worst I have ever seen. While LA is worse, but not by much, at least they have 12 lane freeways all over vs. our 4-6 lane expressways and tollways we have to drive on and no other city has the sheer number of trucks/semis on all of their streets like we do grinding all the roads to a crawl. We are America's transportation hub so it is understandable why there are so many trucks going through here all the time, but it is too bad road planners never thought of that though when they were designing the roads.

Expensive? This is a tough one. Lincoln Park and downtown itself, yes, very expensive. Other areas like the south side and maybe the burbs, then no its not bad at all. Our gas though is the highest in the country though.

Yeah, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything close to Chicago having little to no traffic, at any time in my life. Chicago has 8 hours of rush hour per day. 290 between manheim and harlem has about 20 hours of rush hour per day.

I think the main drawbacks to Chicago that a majority of people agree on are

The terrain, and lack of hills/mountains anywhere nearby.
The long winter/short spring.
The traffic.

On that list, there are some people I've met who claim to enjoy the flatness of the area. There are even more who enjoy the winters in Chicago. But again, never have I heard someone who enjoys the traffic here.

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by rw2006

Is it worth living in Chicagoland? I heard there's a lot of racism (and the cops are racist, too), it's dirty, lots of traffic, and it's expensive to live there.

Eh. Less traffic than most places and it's not very expensive.

The only problem with Chicago is that it's bland. It's an average American city. There's no art scene, no real culture other than the midwest/Canadian influence... and that can hardly be said to be culture...

I've been trying to make this city work for me for so long, but I'm thinking of moving back to NYC.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by NYrules

And as for the difference between LA and here, and no Drover this is not aimed at you, LA has tons of traffic, but guess what, their freeways though jammed to the hilt with cars, MOVE!!! And if the state decides to rip up a freeway, they work in a little area and move the barrels as they go, unlike here where every spring the barracades go up for miles blocking one if not two lanes so 10 guys can stand around and watch one guy do some work in an area 100 feet by 10 feet. Lets just watch and see the difference shall we. LA: YouTube - BMW M3 ON LOS ANGELES FREEWAY Chicago: YouTube - Traffic in Chicago WOW what a surprise, apparently 10-12 lanes do make a difference.

Oh come on, are you serious? Are you actually trying to insult my intelligence? I've heard enough griping about traffic in L.A. to know damn well this is not what it's like at rush hour. I could take a drive on the Tri-State at 2:00 pm and get the same damn result that Mr. "BMW M3" got. But I wouldn't try to use that to claim that traffic flows like water through a fire hose all the time around here. Neither would anyone in L.A. try to make any such claim. Those "10-12 lanes do make a difference" all right -- the average commute in the L.A. area is 29 minutes versus 33 minutes in the Chicago area according to the last Census Bureau ACS survey on the subject. Yeah pal, the traffic is just so much better in L.A. FOUR WHOLE MINUTES!!!

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by Drover

Oh come on, are you serious? Are you actually trying to insult my intelligence? I've heard enough griping about traffic in L.A. to know damn well this is not what it's like at rush hour. I could take a drive on the Tri-State at 2:00 pm and get the same damn result that Mr. "BMW M3" got. But I wouldn't try to use that to claim that traffic flows like water through a fire hose all the time around here. Neither would anyone in L.A. try to make any such claim. Those "10-12 lanes do make a difference" all right -- the average commute in the L.A. area is 29 minutes versus 33 minutes in the Chicago area according to the last Census Bureau ACS survey on the subject. Yeah pal, the traffic is just so much better in L.A. FOUR WHOLE MINUTES!!!

What you are missing is the fact of how spread out LA is vs Chicago when you speak about time factors and claim to insult your intelligence. Ya 29 minutes to go from LA to where? Long Beach, San Bernardino both over 10 miles from the downtown? Apparently you have never been driving in LA during rushour as I had to do when I lived there for a year. Now lets look at the loop here to where would you like? Oak Park, or better lets be comparative here for distance factor, Lombard or more like a real distance of San Bernardino to LA, Aurora to Chicago? Lombard to the loop during rushour, you are looking at well over an hour. And Aurora More like 2 to even 3! The averages only take into account TIME in a car, not distance traveled in a car.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by coldwine

There's no art scene, no real culture other than the midwest/Canadian influence... and that can hardly be said to be culture...

have you even left the house?

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by via chicago

have you even left the house?

I can understand what is going on here. This person is trying to compare Chicago to NYC and thats just not going to happen EVER! NY is what twice if not three times the size of Chicago and has a much LONGER US history dating back to the days of Columbus, Washington, Jefferson, and the first settlers? So, it is understandable that NYC is going to have more to offer in the whole art scene.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by NYrules

What you are missing is the fact of how spread out LA is vs Chicago when you speak about time factors and claim to insult your intelligence. Ya 29 minutes to go from LA to where? Long Beach, San Bernardino both over 10 miles from the downtown? Apparently you have never been driving in LA during rushour as I had to do when I lived there for a year. Now lets look at the loop here to where would you like? Oak Park, or better lets be comparative here for distance factor, Lombard or more like a real distance of San Bernardino to LA, Aurora to Chicago? Lombard to the loop during rushour, you are looking at well over an hour. And Aurora More like 2 to even 3! The averages only take into account TIME in a car, not distance traveled in a car.

What?

I think what you're trying to say is that traffic flows more smoothly in L.A. than it does in Chicago? Funny thing is, every single study I ever read about traffic congestion for about the last 15 years ranks L.A. as the worst.

Here's one, from 1999.

Here (broken link) is another with data from 2003. In fact as of this study, TTI has put L.A. at #1 for 17 consecutive years.

Wanna measure by annual person-hours of delay per year? Here ya go: L.A. at #1 every year but one since 1982.

Here's a study that puts an economic spin on the subject by calculating the cost of highway congestion both in raw numbers and per-capita. L.A. proudly claims #1 in both categories in every year covered by the study (1998 through 2003) by a massive margin.

I'd be interested to see if you could find a study supporting a claim that traffic sucks worse in Chicago than in L.A. Because as far as I can tell, no matter who measures it and what metrics they use, the experts seem to agree that L.A. takes the cake, and has for quite a while.

[markablue]

Calm down everyone, please. I'd hate to close this thread.

[dreamofmonterey]

Originally Posted by jessiegirl_98

I think the most people have ever said is that there is less traffic than LA or NYC. Less doesn't equal "little or no." It's still not good. BUT if the city is worth it, you can deal.

Trust me- no city traffic is worse than NYC-I used to live there