Transplanted New Yorkers to Chicago? (Manhattan: living in, transit, palm trees)

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by Motion

Considering how multi-ethnic/racial Chicago is how much of that varies depending on the groups there?

It's more or less just the attitude here, without respect to culture. New Yorkers always look hurried, well, we have our behaviors too. Regardless of the person, we just keep our emotions to ourselves. Friendly chat in public does not equal letting others know how you really feel.

[amy_cate]

Originally Posted by Castro Viejo

Anyone else a former New Yorker who never thought they'd find a major city with a harsher winter, but overall friendlier people?

my husband and i moved here a few weeks ago from brooklyn after spending most of our lives there. BIG change and a very refreshing one. we are very happy we made the leap. much less pretension - example - he posted an ad on craigs list looking to form a band 3 wks ago and already had first practice session last night with 3 other guys. pretty insane - in nyc, that process takes a long time and is not without a large heaping serving of ego... nyc has colder people (i worked at conde nast for years) - i'll take snowstorms and/or biting wind chill over that any day.

[Tribeca]

Thanks for the replies everyone (especially coldwine very informative and very funny post). As a NYer for close to 14 years I'm actually looking forward to a different kind of city and everything I hear sounds great.

In many ways I've "been there, done that" in NYC and have been looking for a change for awhile.

As I mentioned, my wife and I live in Tribeca which is an area we love for many reasons....real neighborhood feel, great restaurants and bars that are quieter (not targeted to kids in their 20's, etc), but still close to everything we need. Any suggestions in Chicago?

[Castro Viejo]

Originally Posted by amy_cate

my husband and i moved here a few weeks ago from brooklyn after spending most of our lives there. BIG change and a very refreshing one. we are very happy we made the leap. much less pretension - example - he posted an ad on craigs list looking to form a band 3 wks ago and already had first practice session last night with 3 other guys. pretty insane - in nyc, that process takes a long time and is not without a large heaping serving of ego... nyc has colder people (i worked at conde nast for years) - i'll take snowstorms and/or biting wind chill over that any day.

Hey, I'll be coming from Brooklyn (originally, but now in Manhattan) too. Where in Brooklyn do you hail? Bay Ridge here.

[Castro Viejo]

Originally Posted by Tribeca

Thanks for the replies everyone (especially coldwine very informative and very funny post). As a NYer for close to 14 years I'm actually looking forward to a different kind of city and everything I hear sounds great.

In many ways I've "been there, done that" in NYC and have been looking for a change for awhile.

As I mentioned, my wife and I live in Tribeca which is an area we love for many reasons....real neighborhood feel, great restaurants and bars that are quieter (not targeted to kids in their 20's, etc), but still close to everything we need. Any suggestions in Chicago?

I lived in Tribeca for a while (North Moore St.) before moving a little further north (Greenwich Village). With my cursory knowledge of Chicago neighborhoods, I'd imagine River North with its loft style apartment dwellings (converted warehouses) and cafes/restaurants and stuff would be similar to TriBeCa. Perhaps even the near West Side or something like that where they seem to be converting even more warehouses for TriBeCa-like homes.

Good luck.

Hope to bump into all of you at one point or another in the Windy City!

[prairiestate]

I'm a native Chicagoan, and can attest to the fact that, for a big city, Chicago can be pretty friendly. Tonight was the season opening performance at the Lyric Opera (side note, Chicago is one of the only cities in the country to offer a nearly year round schedule of opera. Maybe the only one outside of New York). Anyway, we received commemorative posters as we left, so it was easy to tell who had been to the opera, and we had struck up a conversation on the El with some other opera goers. I've been to the northeast, though not New York yet, and I can't see that being too likely to happen up there. And to blow away one stereotype, we were heading home to the southwest side, the decidedly uncool, underrated and wrongly maligned working class part of town.

[amy_cate]

Originally Posted by Castro Viejo

Hey, I'll be coming from Brooklyn (originally, but now in Manhattan) too. Where in Brooklyn do you hail? Bay Ridge here.

haha i just moved from dyker heights/bay ridge area. i was just there this weekend for a wedding in coney island. (gargiulios) i can honestly say that i was totally happy with our decision to move here and now, having just been in brooklyn yesterday, i can say the only thing i miss is the pizza. i did sneak some in at my favorite place on 14th ave but seriously? i couldn't wait to be home!!

[amy_cate]

Originally Posted by Tribeca

Thanks for the replies everyone (especially coldwine very informative and very funny post). As a NYer for close to 14 years I'm actually looking forward to a different kind of city and everything I hear sounds great.

In many ways I've "been there, done that" in NYC and have been looking for a change for awhile.

As I mentioned, my wife and I live in Tribeca which is an area we love for many reasons....real neighborhood feel, great restaurants and bars that are quieter (not targeted to kids in their 20's, etc), but still close to everything we need. Any suggestions in Chicago?

my husband and i are both from nyc and after getting married last year, we decided we had to start looking elsewhere. i love it here in chicago and i'm sure you will as well. we're both in early 30s and like lincoln square/north center area. our block is very quiet - seriously, you here cicadas and that's it. it's quite bucolic, but if you walk to damen or lincoln or some busier streets there are lots of bars, restaurants, etc. i like being somewhere quiet and chill but having access to nightlife too. i've been here officially one month and i am not looking back. i was in nyc for the weekend and am so happy to call this area my home.

[Castro Viejo]

Originally Posted by amy_cate

haha i just moved from dyker heights/bay ridge area. i was just there this weekend for a wedding in coney island. (gargiulios) i can honestly say that i was totally happy with our decision to move here and now, having just been in brooklyn yesterday, i can say the only thing i miss is the pizza. i did sneak some in at my favorite place on 14th ave but seriously? i couldn't wait to be home!!

Ah, a local girl! Well, glad to hear another native of Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights likes the Windy City.

I think the area's gotten rougher since I was a kid. The kids I see attending my old schools (PS 176 on Bay Ridge Avenue and IS 201 on 12th Avenue) downright look like punks.

[TheProudChicagoan]

Here are some things anyone should know about Chicago:
Our thansit is slow, and has the weirdest ass coverage.
Our traffic is even worse than LA.
Anyone who puts ketchup on their hotdogs runs the risk of getting their picture put on the "wall of shame." (reply if you know what place I'm talking about.)
Everyone in the country makes fun of our accents.
We would never have it any other way