Would you relocate to another midwestern city? (Chicago, Champaign: hotels, neighborhood)

[ChicagoMeO]

Originally Posted by Lorielicious

This:

I'd eat it, but I'd hope it isn't something weird disguised as something normal that I'd eat. what is that a pic of?

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by Lorielicious

Actually, with enough Sriracha, I could probably eat tater tots for a week, but still.

+1 for this. Almost everything can be made edible with enough Sriracha.

[Lorielicious]

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

I'd eat it, but I'd hope it isn't something weird disguised as something normal that I'd eat. what is that a pic of?

Nobody knows. It's something that Minnesotans call "hot dish," which I think is just gravy baked in a pan.

[aragx6]

Chicago's a great town, but I love the Midwest as a whole and would live in plenty of other cities here. Most regulars know I have a real soft spot for St. Louis, but if you've really gone and spent time there I think a lot of transplants can be pretty damn happy there too. If urban, walkable neighborhoods with their own flavor and that rust belt grit appeal to you in Chicago, there's a lot to like about St. Louis.

And it's not as though you can't ever go back. Sometimes we have to make choices that will benefit us over the long haul, and while leaving Chicago broke my heart and Kansas City is a pretty dull city with a regressive streak I can't stand, it's still better than sitting around waiting for your life to start.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by ProgMichael

I absolutely love the Midwest. If I HAD to move from Chicago, I could see myself being very happy in Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis and St. Louis. Also visited Detroit for the 1st time a couple months ago, and (this is not a joke) really fell in love with the city. Maybe I'm easy, but I think it's the warmth of the people in the Midwest, combined with the historic architecture and the variation as you go neighborhood-to-neighborhood that I really enjoy.

I'm an off-and-on-fan of Detroit as well. I really like the entire metro area of Detroit and all it represents - the immense amount of amazing musicians that came from that area - Motown, Techno, Iggy Pop, Eminem, Madonna, John Lee Hooker, it seems in every genre, there is a superstar that came out of Detroit. The only thing I'm not a big fan of is such a car-culture area. However, there isn't as much much traffic in metro Detroit to deal with, so it's not like it's that needed either.

[Tiger Beer]

As to this thread, Pittsburgh is seldom given 'Midwest' status, but I like that city. At least you get a mountains and hills and valleys..so real nice topography.

On that note, Louisville and Cincinnati have that too....the only thing I don't like about Cinncinnati, is it seems like too much racial tension, and too pro-Republican of the 'hatred' kind....the Rush Limbaugh kind. I don't mind some Republican stuff, but not the hate-spewing rhetoric. Cincinnati seems to have more of that. I never lived there, but that's the impression I've come to, after really considering Cincinnati for some time.

Louisville, however, seems like a pretty cool smaller city. Lots of very walkable neighborhoods. Even does well with the hipsters, which I'm not one, but any city that is popular with hipsters, has some ingredients to it, that I'd probably like.

Metro Detroit is interesting to me, as mentioned in my post above.

St. Louis because of the brick and tudor homes everywhere, very beautiful because of it.

Cleveland might even go on my list, although much lower on the list. Seems like it has some density even in the suburbs, some public transportation for getting around, and enough interesting immigration patterns that made an interesting impact on it in the past.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

On that note, Louisville and Cincinnati have that too....the only thing I don't like about Cinncinnati, is it seems like too much racial tension, and too pro-Republican of the 'hatred' kind....the Rush Limbaugh kind. I don't mind some Republican stuff, but not the hate-spewing rhetoric. Cincinnati seems to have more of that. I never lived there, but that's the impression I've come to, after really considering Cincinnati for some time.

Although I like Cincinnati and I do find that it has its charms, I've never been comfortable with the aura of social conservatism that seems to predominate there. I'll always remember Cincinnati as the city that shut down the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit.

[Drover]

I'd move back to Madison in a minute's notice if I had the opportunity. I'd consider other options in the Great Lakes area like Milwaukee, Cleveland, Twin Cities, etc if I got an offer I couldn't refuse. I'd also consider Detroit if it ever shows any signs of a meaningful turnaround.

St. Louis, Kansas city, Indianapolis... not terribly interested.

[linicx]

Best guess is it a casserole. It reminds me of the type of food picture that Women's Day magazine featured with a recipe. The problem with the picture on my monitor is that it looks very faded and dated. As far as as I am concerned the 'Frozen Tater Tot Casserole and Frozen Pea Salad ranks at the top of my do-not-eat list along with canned black eyed peas, hominy, and beef tongue. I know folks who like these foods; I don't.

My grandparents were born in the Victorian Era. They were farmers; nothing went to waste. What I grew up eating as a child was a reflection of how and what my grandmother's learned to cook from their mother's when they were young girls. Some of my family recipes are 100 years old.

Food is very regional. I grew up with bluegill, crappie, variety meats, I didn't discover Liver Dumpling Soup until I came to Chicago, and I didn't eat Chateaubriand until I was old enough to pay for it. Kids in Baton Rouge and El Paso had a different diet than kids in NYC and Seattle, or Boston and Florida.
It is difficult to judge a picture of food without a title or a recipe.

Originally Posted by ChicagoMeO

What is that a pic of?

[summer22]

Originally Posted by caverunner17

If I had to stay in the MW that isn't Chicagoland, the order would be

1. Madison, WI
2. Quad Cities
3. St Louis
4. Cleveland
5. Indy


Louisville would be #4 if we can count it since it's right on the border

My list would be, other than Chicago --

1. Columbus, OH
2. SE Michigan (Detroit/suburbs/Ann Arbor)
3. Bloomington, IN
4. Champaign/Urbana, IL (where I am now)
5. Milwaukee, WI
6. St. Louis, MO
7. Toledo & Bowling Green, OH
8. Cincinnati, OH
9. Cleveland, OH


Quad Cities are the most boring place on earth; Indy is pretty close.

Cleveland doesn't rank higher for me because the downtown is so fragmented and dead. Having the Indians, though, and Lake Erie, is a plus.

Ohio in general though, and SE Michigan, you have more of an East Coast outlook... people in the cities tend to move a little faster and value education more.

Indiana, Illinois outside Chicago, and Iowa = the doldrums.

Toledo/Bowling Green would be VERY high on my list if there were jobs there. The people are great and the universities are very integrated with the community. Great place to go to school and to be involved.