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The pure fact that you're using the Loop as your baseline for the city shows you know jack **** about the city. "Spent some time in the Loop"...that speaks volumes. Your statements are only partially true and I can't believe you would bring up Las Vegas in with NYC, Miami, and even LA. Miami is international also if you are going for the Latin American thing, but outside of that it's not as international as you think.
So what neighborhood would you consider "baseline"? If anything, the loop is probably one of the most visited parts of the city. It's Chicago's Manhattan. A less impressive neighborhood might be more applicable, since it would be reflective of more of the city.
So what neighborhood would you consider "baseline"? If anything, the loop is probably one of the most visited parts of the city. It's Chicago's Manhattan. A less impressive neighborhood might be more applicable, since it would be reflective of more of the city.
You got that right.
Just because it's one of the most visited parts of the city doesn't mean it's indicative of the rest of the city. It's almost nothing like Manhattan minus tall buildings and large handful of establishments that are mainly in River North. It's the central business district. Only 1.09% of the city's population lives in the Loop, nightlife after 8-10pm is virtually non existent minus a few bars (i.e. the ROOF) and a few theatres (i.e. Cadillac Pallace and Oriental Theatre), and the food scene there is severely lacking minus a few spots. Just because there's some hotels there, a few museums, a few tourist attractions, and a bunch of workers (including my own office I work at every single week) does not mean the area is indicative of the city.
If you are visiting here or just moved here, I understand that's what you think Chicago is, but there's a lot more to the city and the rest of the city is nothing like the Loop or River North/Streeterville/South Loop. It's just one facet of the city out of many.
There are many other neighborhoods to me that are CHICAGO. To me, areas like Lakeview/Lincoln Park, Hyde Park, West Town, Logan Square, South Lawndale, Lower West Side, Bridgeport, Rogers Park, Albany Park, Englewood, Austin, Uptown, Lincoln Square, Norwood Park, Hermosa/Belmont Cragin, Humboldt Park, Greater Grand Crossing, South Shore, Avondale, etc.
I've been to a lot of neighborhoods in this city, and to me minus a few kitchy tourist attractions and tall buildings, the Loop is by far one of my least favorite parts of the city. For the record I live in the Gold Coast, about a mile north of the river that separates River North and the Loop and if I don't have to work or go to some festival at Grant Park or visit the Art Institute, I almost have no reason to ever visit the Loop. Once you actually learn what Chicago is, you learn that the Loop is a very bland and boring place. I am there 5 days a week to work, so I know a little something about the "neighborhood" (which it's really not much of one).
I take big offense to your statement about "less impressive" neighborhood. I understand you barely know this city, but you should be careful of what you say. If the Loop was such an impressive neighborhood and the others outside of the core were inferior to it, don't you think millionaires (i.e. businessmen, professional sports player, etc) wouldn't be building/buying multi-million dollar homes in areas such as Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Gold Coast, Lakeview, Kenwood, Hyde Park, etc? Please tell me why the mayor of our city prefers to live in Lincoln Square instead of the Loop? Or why the former governor chose to buy a mansion in Ravenswood Manor near Albany Park? How about the fact that the #1 (sometimes #2) ranked high school in the entire state is located in the North Park neighborhood? Or the fact that these areas (i.e. Lincoln Square, North Center) are very low in crime?
You have a lot to learn about this city.
Last edited by marothisu; 07-15-2013 at 11:14 PM..
Location: Cleveland, OH USA / formerly Chicago for 20 years
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marothisu
I've been to a lot of neighborhoods in this city, and to me minus a few kitchy tourist attractions and tall buildings, the Loop is by far one of my least favorite parts of the city. For the record I live in the Gold Coast, about a mile north of the river that separates River North and the Loop and if I don't have to work or go to some festival at Grant Park or visit the Art Institute, I almost have no reason to ever visit the Loop. Once you actually learn what Chicago is, you learn that the Loop is a very bland and boring place. I am there 5 days a week to work, so I know a little something about the "neighborhood" (which it's really not much of one).
Now that I haven't worked downtown in years, I find I have very little reason to visit the Loop, and indeed I very rarely go there. And it hasn't diminished my experience of the city one bit.
So what neighborhood would you consider "baseline"? If anything, the loop is probably one of the most visited parts of the city. It's Chicago's Manhattan. A less impressive neighborhood might be more applicable, since it would be reflective of more of the city.
I think Chicago is a bit too multifaceted to have one single neighborhood which captures it all. You'd need one which:
Makes stuff, both physical and "creative" class products.
Houses a population of people across all income levels, ethnic backgrounds, etc.
Does the above while is also still dynamic and changing.
But what you can't have is a neighborhood which has the more small town feel of the west side ones while also having the crazy (good and bad) that the Lakefront brings.
That said, and fully disclosing I am a born-and-bred North Sider who considers going to Chinatown, MSI, etc. is a "big trip", I think Rogers Park is probably pretty close to having everything besides the small town thing. It has a college campus, vibrant commercial strips, public transportation, the lake, good restaurants (or good proximity to them, meaning Devon and Western specifically), some old-fashioned political mayhem behind the scenes, etc.
I personally like my neighborhood (Avondale) as although a bit further from the lake, we have excellent public transportation infrastructure combined with a really healthy international flavor due to large numbers of eastern europeans and central and south americans. And I can get to the lakefront in 10 minutes by doing it intelligently/at off-peak times.
That's one thing I like about neighborhood cities is one neighborhood doesn't capture the culture of the city. Chicago is too sophisticated to have a base neighborhood.
I always thought that Uptown best represented the city's culture, both good and bad:
Lake access and nice parks
Gangs and other criminal/mentally ill elements
Section 8 and subsidized living
Sub-neighborhoods with unique character (thinking Buena Park, Little Vietnam)
Large gay population
Great train, bus and express bus access
Remarkably racially and culturally diverse
Young families and middle income types
Theaters and nightclubs
Good restaurant scene
New high-end housing mixed in with older buildings
A feeling of overall grit and old school Chicago
It seemsl like there's a little of Chicago in this neighborhood more than others
Just because it's one of the most visited parts of the city doesn't mean it's indicative of the rest of the city. It's almost nothing like Manhattan minus tall buildings and large handful of establishments that are mainly in River North. It's the central business district. Only 1.09% of the city's population lives in the Loop, nightlife after 8-10pm is virtually non existent minus a few bars (i.e. the ROOF) and a few theatres (i.e. Cadillac Pallace and Oriental Theatre), and the food scene there is severely lacking minus a few spots. Just because there's some hotels there, a few museums, a few tourist attractions, and a bunch of workers (including my own office I work at every single week) does not mean the area is indicative of the city.
If you are visiting here or just moved here, I understand that's what you think Chicago is, but there's a lot more to the city and the rest of the city is nothing like the Loop or River North/Streeterville/South Loop. It's just one facet of the city out of many.
There are many other neighborhoods to me that are CHICAGO. To me, areas like Lakeview/Lincoln Park, Hyde Park, West Town, Logan Square, South Lawndale, Lower West Side, Bridgeport, Rogers Park, Albany Park, Englewood, Austin, Uptown, Lincoln Square, Norwood Park, Hermosa/Belmont Cragin, Humboldt Park, Greater Grand Crossing, South Shore, Avondale, etc.
I've been to a lot of neighborhoods in this city, and to me minus a few kitchy tourist attractions and tall buildings, the Loop is by far one of my least favorite parts of the city. For the record I live in the Gold Coast, about a mile north of the river that separates River North and the Loop and if I don't have to work or go to some festival at Grant Park or visit the Art Institute, I almost have no reason to ever visit the Loop. Once you actually learn what Chicago is, you learn that the Loop is a very bland and boring place. I am there 5 days a week to work, so I know a little something about the "neighborhood" (which it's really not much of one).
I take big offense to your statement about "less impressive" neighborhood. I understand you barely know this city, but you should be careful of what you say. If the Loop was such an impressive neighborhood and the others outside of the core were inferior to it, don't you think millionaires (i.e. businessmen, professional sports player, etc) wouldn't be building/buying multi-million dollar homes in areas such as Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Wicker Park, Bucktown, Gold Coast, Lakeview, Kenwood, Hyde Park, etc? Please tell me why the mayor of our city prefers to live in Lincoln Square instead of the Loop? Or why the former governor chose to buy a mansion in Ravenswood Manor near Albany Park? How about the fact that the #1 (sometimes #2) ranked high school in the entire state is located in the North Park neighborhood? Or the fact that these areas (i.e. Lincoln Square, North Center) are very low in crime?
You have a lot to learn about this city.
The loop is too flashy for you, understood. Typical midwest thinking. You're trying to say that neighborhoods where two fat guys walk into, hold up their beers, and say "Da Bears" are indicative of real Chicago. Not surprised.
I like Lakeview & Wicker Park. Lincoln Park is too many small town yuppies from the Big 10.
The mayor can live where he wants. That's the dumbest thing I've ever read. The mayor lives there, lol. Wow.
Also, no idea why you mention South Lawndale unless you're trying to prove some street cred. You are going to say North Lawndale is more dangerous, then say I know nothing about the city. There, done for you.
The loop is too flashy for you, understood. Typical midwest thinking. You're trying to say that neighborhoods where two fat guys walk into, hold up their beers, and say "Da Bears" are indicative of real Chicago. Not surprised.
I like Lakeview & Wicker Park. Lincoln Park is too many small town yuppies from the Big 10.
The mayor can live where he wants. That's the dumbest thing I've ever read. The mayor lives there, lol. Wow.
Also, no idea why you mention South Lawndale unless you're trying to prove some street cred. You are going to say North Lawndale is more dangerous, then say I know nothing about the city. There, done for you.
The Loop is too flashy for me? I live in the Gold Coast, which is one of the most expensive, if not THE most expensive area of the entire ****ing city. I have a Lamborghini/Ferrari/Bugatti/Masserati dealership right near me. I have Prada, Hermes, Gucci, etc right down the street from me. I have a door staff in my building just to open doors for me, let my friends/family into my building only after the staff gets my permission, etc. I have a few professional sports players who live in my building. Too flashy? Just stop. You are embarrassing yourself. The pure fact that I brought up before I live in the Gold Coast and you think the Loop is too flashy screams that you have no idea what you're talking about. The Gold Coast is much flashier than the Loop.
The mayor CAN choose where to live, and obviously someone with money can choose where they want to live. They choose to live in good neighborhoods, not **** "inferior" ones. Nobody in their right minds would consider the Loop the most superior neighborhood in Chicago.
As others have pointed out, Chicago is a complex city. There is no one neighborhood that is indicative of the entire city although there may be others which are closer. Chicago has people of all different races, classes, creeds, etc and areas of varying crime, commerce, feeling, etc in it. There is no ONE neighborhood that necessarily has all of this as one and it's certainly not The Loop, or even River North or Gold Coast. These represent one minor facet of the entire city.
You know absolutely nothing about this city other than the typical tourist information. Go back to Iowa.
Last edited by marothisu; 07-16-2013 at 11:36 AM..
I always thought that Uptown best represented the city's culture, both good and bad:
Yeah, areas like that I'd agree on in a way. Uptown, Rogers Park, West Town including the still semi sketchy areas versus the more "elevated" ones like Wicker Park, Logan Square, Hyde Park/Kenwood area..they are a lot more indicative of the city.
The Loop is too flashy for me? I live in the Gold Coast, which is one of the most expensive, if not THE most expensive area of the entire ****ing city. I have a Lamborghini/Ferrari/Bugatti/Masserati dealership right near me. I have Prada, Hermes, Gucci, etc right down the street from me. I have a door staff in my building just to open doors for me, let my friends/family into my building only after the staff gets my permission, etc. I have a few professional sports players who live in my building. Too flashy? Just stop. You are embarrassing yourself. The pure fact that I brought up before I live in the Gold Coast and you think the Loop is too flashy screams that you have no idea what you're talking about. The Gold Coast is much flashier than the Loop.
The mayor CAN choose where to live, and obviously someone with money can choose where they want to live. They choose to live in good neighborhoods, not **** "inferior" ones. Nobody in their right minds would consider the Loop the most superior neighborhood in Chicago.
As others have pointed out, Chicago is a complex city. There is no one neighborhood that is indicative of the entire city although there may be others which are closer. Chicago has people of all different races, classes, creeds, etc and areas of varying crime, commerce, feeling, etc in it. There is no ONE neighborhood that necessarily has all of this as one and it's certainly not The Loop, or even River North or Gold Coast. These represent one minor facet of the entire city.
You know absolutely nothing about this city other than the typical tourist information. Go back to Iowa.
Well, they are different. Most who live in Gold Coast work in the loop. Everyone knows that. It's not like they are far away.
You are trying to play up the less-known neighborhoods (standard fare on City-Data), and anyone who isn't familiar with them, knows nothing about the city.
You are the mayor.
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