The Urbanophile's "State of Chicago" Series (Lincoln, Paris: crime, neighborhood)

[emathias]

Originally Posted by gomexico

I never heard of the guy, until today. A self-promoter it seems to me. I don't see much enlightenment in the linked comments.

Chicago has always been built on self-promoters. If that was his only flaw, it would practically be a virtue.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by MassVt

Worcester, and then Fitchburg. That's REALLY livin'.....LOL

No doubt that all this will be construed as "simplifying one's life"..."getting out of the rat race"..etc

And just what is wrong with that?

One person's trash is another person's treasure. To each his own. Diversity and all that.

Big, frenetic cities are not the be-all and end-all of human civilization. Sometimes I fantasize about retiring to a remote small town in my old age and becoming a hermit.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by andrew61

And just what is wrong with that?

One person's trash is another person's treasure. To each his own. Diversity and all that.

Big, frenetic cities are not the be-all and end-all of human civilization. Sometimes I fantasize about retiring to a remote small town in my old age and becoming a hermit.

Right, but the sour grapes on big city life from a guy who fancied himself the guru of urban living is pretty ridiculous.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

Right, but the sour grapes on big city life from a guy who fancied himself the guru of urban living is pretty ridiculous.

And in the broader sense this sort of "reasoning" that I have seen time and time again from smug youngsters is what makes it so very easy easy to mock the "principles" that they hold dear, whether that be support of high speed rail or locally grown / small family farms or "retro"-ish design or overly artsy bicycles or "rust belt technology incubators" any of the dozens of silly FADS that often take up too much space in the Chicago threads and other parts of the forum...

The "take away" from folks that really have the attention span of a flea and less fortitude than you average possum is skepticism generally outlasts optimism !

[urza216]

Originally Posted by chet everett

And in the broader sense this sort of "reasoning" that I have seen time and time again from smug youngsters is what makes it so very easy easy to mock the "principles" that they hold dear, whether that be support of high speed rail or locally grown / small family farms or "retro"-ish design or overly artsy bicycles or "rust belt technology incubators" any of the dozens of silly FADS that often take up too much space in the Chicago threads and other parts of the forum...

The "take away" from folks that really have the attention span of a flea and less fortitude than you average possum is skepticism generally outlasts optimism !

Support for high speed rail is a fad? High speed rail is part of what makes the city the city..

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by andrew61

And just what is wrong with that?

One person's trash is another person's treasure. To each his own. Diversity and all that.

Big, frenetic cities are not the be-all and end-all of human civilization. Sometimes I fantasize about retiring to a remote small town in my old age and becoming a hermit.

I think you missed the point. The problem is that this guy has a pattern of blaming his problems on his location. He had bad experiences growing up in small town Indiana, so the big city of Chicago was the answer. Then he had a bad experience in Chicago, so there must be something wrong with the city. Etc.

[chet everett]

...that have dreamers longing for French / Asian style jet-speed toy trains. The benefits of commuter rail are pretty clear to anyone that cares to look at the desirable spots in the Chicago region or other metro area with a similar development pattern. The "rail fans" that rally round over-priced consultents reports that would shift billions of transportation funding to schemes that fatten-up connected firms while doing a lot of harm to the established transportation methods in the US are clearly in the fad camp...

Originally Posted by urza216

Support for high speed rail is a fad? High speed rail is part of what makes the city the city..

[urza216]

Originally Posted by chet everett

...that have dreamers longing for French / Asian style jet-speed toy trains. The benefits of commuter rail are pretty clear to anyone that cares to look at the desirable spots in the Chicago region or other metro area with a similar development pattern. The "rail fans" that rally round over-priced consultents reports that would shift billions of transportation funding to schemes that fatten-up connected firms while doing a lot of harm to the established transportation methods in the US are clearly in the fad camp...

You are right that high speed rail is commuter centric in Chicago. However, this isn't its only purpose. Many people live in Chicago (mostly the north side) and don't have cars. They depend on CTA to get anywhere that isn't walking distance. People in NYC prabobly don't even use the term "commuter rail" unless they're talking about the suburbs..

Chet, I'm not trying to insult your intelligence. I just find what you're suggesting to be absurd. And I'm trying to figure out if you're saying what it sounds like you're saying..

I absolutely think Red Line should be extended past 95th Street and into the "wild 100s". And. It for the sake of dollar signs but for the sake of making Chicago a greater city. As a south suburbanite who sees this under-serviced part of the city first, it doesn't make much sense to me. It feels like Riverdale, Illinois.

[williepotatoes]

And in the end this guy is just someone who opines on a subject where he does none of the research or footwork himself, gathering information from other souces. Just like you and me.

Since the birth of the net, these types have been re-producing like a feral, unmanaged species so questioning his motives is right and reasonable. I don't know what he might have lost on his condo, but let me put forward another possibility on why he is leaving. Maybe he is not very good at what he does and has exhausted most of his future pool of clients to heap consulting fees upon.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The "rail fans" that rally round over-priced consultents reports that would shift billions of transportation funding to schemes that fatten-up connected firms while doing a lot of harm to the established transportation methods in the US are clearly in the fad camp...

If the "established transportation methods in the US" means each person having their own personal fossil-fuel-guzzling machine, people's preparation for its inevitable demise is not what is going to bring about the demise.