chicago vs. atl & dallas (Brookfield, Lincoln: transplants, gated, crime)

[Chicago60614]

^ I moved here from Iowa with my car i was in LOVE with. I kept the car, but within 18 months got to the point I just hated having a car in the city. I finally just sold it, about 4 years ago, and have never looked back. I wouldn't even dream of buying one living along the northside. Otherwise you can have one in the city if you're west of say Ashland. But yeah, I grew up addicted to cars and love my life just fine without one.

The winters do suck, but it's not winter for 8 months of the year. 70's can easily stretch towards Halloween, and be back by St. Patty's day. That's only 4.5 months. I remember last New Years it was around 60 degrees, then it got freezing, then warmed up, then got REALLY cold, then warmed up nicely. It's always changing, it's not like it's ALWAYS freezing during the winter. The little breaks are the huge thing that makes it livable.

[KevK]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Atlanta does not have a good transit system! Sure, it's really shiny and new, but it's pretty useless. You still absolutely need a car there! The only transit sytems in the U.S. that are extensive enough to warrant a somewhat convenient car-free existence are (ranked in order of usefulness):

1. New York, NY. Hands down the most extensive. It takes you anywhere in the city.

2. Chicago, IL. Second in terms of scope, but needs more funding! The radial pattern of the "L" makes cross-town trips more difficult than in New York, but Chicago's bus system blankets the whole city and utilizes many express busses. All of the non-New York train systems also use this radial pattern, since only New York's system is large enough to support anything else.

3. Boston, MA. The "T" feels a lot like the NY subway, but also uses a radial pattern requiring all trains go through the center of town. The density of Boston along with high transit ridership truly makes a car unnecessary there.

4. Washington, D.C. Super cool subway looked futuristic 20 years ago. Has multiple lines in a radial configuration. Unfortunately, there aren't enough trains or stations to really make this system comprehensive. But it's definitely better than most!

5. Philladelphia, PA. The system here is similar to Boston's, but seems to be used more lightly. Philly was once dense enough to really support a car-free existence, but things are getting worse there.

6. San Franciso/San Jose/Bay Area, CA. While the BART and San Jose's light rail system don't really constitute any sort of comprehensive transit system, there are so many little bits of public transportation in the Bay Area that chances are higher than normal that you could get lucky enough to survive without a car. Trolleys, busses, and the Caltrain commuter rail system make the Bay Area more transity-friendly than all other Western cities.

7. Portland, OR. While they only have Light Rail and Busses, they have really made the most of their limited systems by encouraging density around transit stops. The suburban growth boundary has had a really positive effect there.

I have rode many systems and the DC Metro is absolutey GREAT. You can go to DC and visit EVERYTHING- even Arlington National on the trains. We left our car parked at the motel the entire 4 days we were there last 4th of July!

[KevK]

You can live in the city of Atlanta (Fulton-DeKalb) without owning a car. Many people do. In the suburbs you need a car. Although the suburbs like Cobb and Gwinnett do have buses, they do not run as much as MARTA buses run in the city. Where I live in Cobb, our CCT bus runs only every half hour during rush hour and every hour the rest of the day. It only runs 6 days a week from 6AM to midnight.

[rcriddell]

Chicago - if you are not from the midwest or a northern state. You might SERIOUSLY consider coming up here for a few weeks in the winter before you choose Chicago. I was born and raised in Phoenix. So I was STUNNED my first year in Chicago. Plus some people are really affected by Seasonal Affected Disorder. It is SO depressing here when the sun sets (like today at 4.21pm) then you are just stuck inside. The city is a great city but the winters keep things in check. As far as Chicagoans being friendly - well i would have say I have not seen that. They aren't rude. But not friendly either. The summers are great fun...but come visit for 2 weeks in the summer to avoid the Dallas heat.

[supernerdgirl]

Originally Posted by rcriddell

Chicago - if you are not from the midwest or a northern state. You might SERIOUSLY consider coming up here for a few weeks in the winter before you choose Chicago. I was born and raised in Phoenix. So I was STUNNED my first year in Chicago. Plus some people are really affected by Seasonal Affected Disorder. It is SO depressing here when the sun sets (like today at 4.21pm) then you are just stuck inside. The city is a great city but the winters keep things in check. As far as Chicagoans being friendly - well i would have say I have not seen that. They aren't rude. But not friendly either. The summers are great fun...but come visit for 2 weeks in the summer to avoid the Dallas heat.

You're only stuck inside if you want to be and/or are afraid to go out "after dark."

Everyone I've encountered in Chicago has been nice. Six months in, you would think I would have ran into someone totally surly by now (ok a few bus drivers) but generally everyone on the street has been cool.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by rcriddell

It is SO depressing here when the sun sets (like today at 4.21pm) then you are just stuck inside. The city is a great city but the winters keep things in check

Please, by all means, go back to PHX if youre so "depressed", there you can stay inside between the hours of 10am to 7pm during the months of May, June, July, August, most of September and a little of October due to the obnoxious heat.

[bozziescott]

Dallas has about nine months of summer and the heat is unbearable from dawn to dusk.

[hokiehigh]

i am from the south and live in chicago so here is my recommendation:

hands down chicago. at least try it. cities like atlanta and dallas are a dime a dozen (i.e. charlotte, phoenix, raleigh, houston, etc....). in chicago you have culture, great sports, the lake, non strip mall shopping (mag mile), and it wasn't built in the '80s you also get 4 seasons. my friends in dallas are about to pack up and leave b/c it is almost 80 degrees in december! that's not 4 seasons!

i would choose atlanta over dallas just b/c i personally think dallas is the ugliest city in the US. flat and very "Texas". plus it freaks me out that people are so into Texas.

also, i had the same choice you did between atlanta and chicago. i have friends in both cities. my friends in atlanta all wanted to move somewhere else saying they were bored. my friends in chicago said they would live nowhere else. that's how i decided. i moved from charlotte and love it!

[Tex?Il?]

Chicago is big and diverse enough that it has something for everyone.

I often talk on this forum about how Chicago is overrated, but when I go to the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, Brookfield or Lincoln Park Zoo, then I feel how lucky I am to be here. I'm addicted to natural sciences! Everything that Chicago has to offer in my opinion is no better than other places, because I guess I'm personally slightly ignorant when it comes to ethnic restaurants, art museums, etc.

Personally I don't give a RATS ASS!!! really about sports, shopping (mag mile is still a mall!!!), the lake (its freshwater body of water, no marine life, so its no cooler than a reservoir), the architecture in comparison to Dallas and Atlanta or Houston, but other people might.

To each his own I guess. If you like country music, which I do, you might have to look a little harder to find people who are into it, harder than Dallas or Atlanta, but they around.

[Gtownoe]

I'm originally from the south (KY) and I moved to Chicago last summer do to an internship.

~I had the best summer of my life~

I have a sister in L.A. and a sister in Atlanta. I've visited most of the major cities in the US (haven't been to Dallas) and I haven't found 1 (other than New York) with the energy of Chicago. When my sister visited from L.A. she fell in love with the city.

There's so much to do and the city has so much culture and attitude (in a good way) that its gonna be hard for me to live anywhere else. It was never a question about whether or not there was something to do, but just rather if I wanted to go out or not.

There's a different vibe in every neighborhood which makes the scenes in each unique and interesting.

I haven't been to Dallas, but I would never, ever, ever pick Atlanta over Chicago.