gauging the bro influence (Chicago, Lincoln: lease, how much, schools)

[sydlee]

A subjective question: How "bro" is the overall city culture in Chicago? Especially interested in hearing how bro it is in the tech (including startup) culture there -- how prevalent it is, and how much it impacts work life as well as daily life outside of work.

I totally get that different areas of the city (and different companies) will feel different. Just trying to get a general sense, if that's possible.

Thanks!

[chiMT]

Like you said, some areas are more "bro" than others. The "bro" areas are quite "bro." Hopefully someone can help you more here, but it's pretty difficult to generalize the whole city of Chicago.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by sydlee

A subjective question: How "bro" is the overall city culture in Chicago? Especially interested in hearing how bro it is in the tech (including startup) culture there -- how prevalent it is, and how much it impacts work life as well as daily life outside of work.

I totally get that different areas of the city (and different companies) will feel different. Just trying to get a general sense, if that's possible.

Thanks!

Depends on what area you are in. Some areas are pretty bro, such as Old Town, 75% of Lincoln Park, 50% of Lakeview, parts of River North and South Loop, etc. Other parts are not bro at all. In the tech world, there's some of it, but overall it's not extremely prevalent. I would say it's pretty similar to other cities as what I've personally experienced. The people are perhaps a little more outgoing and socially able versus a place like Des Moines or something, but that doesn't necessarily equate to "bro."

I think the thing to remember and many people don't remember, is that a few areas are not indicative of the entire city. A lot of people will move to Lakeview for example, and judge the entire city based off of that, Lincoln Park, and Old Town. If you explore more of the city and get out even into the non trendy areas, you'll see differences.

[MassVt]

I have to wonder if the euphamism "bro" will someday make it into Webster's Un-Abridged Dictionary..and if there will be a picture.

[RH3Flatlander]

Virtually all Big Ten "Bros" find their way to Chicago at some point in their 20s. It's a pretty Brotastic city.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by RH3Flatlander

Virtually all Big Ten "Bros" find their way to Chicago at some point in their 20s. It's a pretty Brotastic city.

... other well know stereotypes? The chill crowd, the LGBTQIA crowd, hipsters, breeders, people of color, etc etc, etc...

[sydlee]

Thanks, everyone, for your input.

Originally Posted by RH3Flatlander

Virtually all Big Ten "Bros" find their way to Chicago at some point in their 20s. It's a pretty Brotastic city.

Interesting. One wonders if there is anything "Big Ten"-specific about the type of bro culture commonly found in the city, and if not coming from a Big Ten school would present any challenges in the workplace and in general.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by sydlee

Interesting. One wonders if there is anything "Big Ten"-specific about the type of bro culture commonly found in the city, and if not coming from a Big Ten school would present any challenges in the workplace and in general.

TONS of people didn't go to Big Ten schools (myself included) in Chicago. Most people in my office didn't actually go to a B1G school either. I'm going to be honest, I never thought about this "problem" until I started reading this forum because I have never once encountered any sort of weird social interactions, workplace bias, etc due to the fact that I didn't go to a Big Ten school. Yes, there's a ton of people who come to Chicago from schools like Michigan (which is a very good school, by the way), Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, Iowa, etc but there's many other schools represented.

It's not going to present a problem. Any person who doesn't talk to you, or looks down on you because you didn't go to a Big Ten school is an absolute idiot and not worth your time in the first place. Most people don't actually care what school you went to. I've almost never had a conversation for more than 30 seconds about where I went to college. Usually it ends right away or they start talking about the school if they actually know anything about it. Usually that is something like "Oh, good school. You have a good basketball program."


Also, in Chicago many bars have kind of sponsored teams where alum may meet to watch a game there. Look at this list - there's more than just Big 10 represented:
http://www.chibarproject.com/Feature...llegeBars.html

[sydlee]

Originally Posted by marothisu

TONS of people didn't go to Big Ten schools (myself included) in Chicago. Most people in my office didn't actually go to a B1G school either. I'm going to be honest, I never thought about this "problem" until I started reading this forum because I have never once encountered any sort of weird social interactions, workplace bias, etc due to the fact that I didn't go to a Big Ten school. Yes, there's a ton of people who come to Chicago from schools like Michigan (which is a very good school, by the way), Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, Iowa, etc but there's many other schools represented.

It's not going to present a problem. Any person who doesn't talk to you, or looks down on you because you didn't go to a Big Ten school is an absolute idiot and not worth your time in the first place. Most people don't actually care what school you went to. I've almost never had a conversation for more than 30 seconds about where I went to college. Usually it ends right away or they start talking about the school if they actually know anything about it. Usually that is something like "Oh, good school. You have a good basketball program."


Also, in Chicago many bars have kind of sponsored teams where alum may meet to watch a game there. Look at this list - there's more than just Big 10 represented:
Chicago College Bars: Chicago Bar Project

Cool. I haven't encountered school-related issues either in the workplace and in general out here in Pac 10/12 country, though on occasion, you hear about Stanford snobbery. Glad to hear not having Big 10 credentials isn't a problem in the city.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by sydlee

A subjective question: How "bro" is the overall city culture in Chicago? Especially interested in hearing how bro it is in the tech (including startup) culture there -- how prevalent it is, and how much it impacts work life as well as daily life outside of work.

I totally get that different areas of the city (and different companies) will feel different. Just trying to get a general sense, if that's possible.

Thanks!

Well, like pretty much everyone else in Chicago, Bros are segregated into their own area. An area like Englewood or East Garfield Park, for example, would have no Bros, while Lincoln Park might be 75-85% Bro. The Brohoods here may well be the densest in the nation.

I don't know what impact it would have on you one way or other. If you're not a Bro, they'll probably just ignore you and perhaps motivate you to go into a Hipsterhood for your next lease. If you're part of the Bro culture, you might be tempted by all the Brobar drink and food specials that run seemingly every night ($.50 wing Monday, $5 domestic bucket Tuesday, $1 burger Wednesday, and so on) and perhaps put on some weight if you don't join a Bro-style sports activity to go with it. You also may have to get a small place or find other Bros to live with because rent is expensive in the Brohood. But beyond that, I doubt it'll be a concern. Just stay out of any bar with a Tiki theme (trust me on this).

I'm really surprised that Chicago Magazine, Money or some other glossy rag hasn't done a stupid study on this.