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I am from Arkansas though, and looking at pictures of the area around chicago remind me of home.....without the ozarks and the climate in ark is more similar to Chicago than seattle or SD...so who knows I still wanna know about the crime lol anyone who wants to give their opinion on crime in general or in certain areas let me know
First of all let me say welcome to the C-D and I hope you find what you're after here!
I'm sorry that you feel as if you are responded to in a "high-strung" tone, but you need to understand that some of your comments so far have what could be considered condescending tones (see: "a major technique of researching is by talking to people, interviewing etc. If you attend college you'll learn that").
Many of the people on this board are very well educated, and if not formally, have great worldly experience and are the unheralded experts on their respective cities.
That said, it is also important to repeat the fact that no city, especially metropolises, are far to complex to be captured and explained in finite terms, and no amount of reading will ever prepare you to responsibly make a decision on where to spend your life. Every place has intangible factors about it that we'll do our best to describe for you, but you'll only know when you arrive here (or San Diego), whether or not its for you. Take everything you read hear with a grain of salt.
Also to say that Arkansas's climate is more like Chicago's than San Diego's is a bit like saying a Hippopotamus is more like a Horse than a Kangaroo. While you're right, but that's pretty abstract. I've spent a great deal of time in all three area's and I'll tell you Arkansas is similar, but again, nothing will prepare you draw a conclusion better than being there.
Alright now to your prerogative, crime. To generalize Chicago's crime is a mistake, there are hundreds of distinctly different neighborhoods, that all have different types and extents of crime. You could use the search function in the Chicago board to help you find more information about neighborhoods you find appealing or what might be particularly helpful would be let some of these experts here to do it for you. Lets start by asking you what sort of lifestyle you lead (or would like to lead) as to help us suggest neighborhoods to you. From there we could give you a better idea of what these neighborhoods are like in particular or link you to either the neighborhood threads or other useful threads on crime or life here.
In the meantime, you might find this thread interesting: Chicago images
I lived in a number of different places throughout my life; Chicago, Escondido, CA, NY, Bloomington, IL so I feel I can somewhat answer this question.
Lets first start with SD. SD is a great city if you are looking for constant days of waking up to clouds and fog only to quickly be greeted with warm sun about 10AM and temps that year round range from 50-80F and about 95F in the foothill areas such as Poway, Escondido, and Ramona.
Southern Cal's way of life is much different than in Chicago by being much faster but somehow more laid back if that makes sense. People out there are friendly but more so in a fake type of way and came off as being rather shallow to me and not pure. They are not rude by any means, but just seem to have no substance to them to put it as best I can.
Jobs in SD are good if you can get one. However, Mexicans flooding across the border have gobbled up all the labor jobs and the far easterners coming over have taken up much of the professional jobs not leaving much for the average Joe as sad as that is.
Housing in SD is very nice in the respect that it is mostly newer with older homes being close to the beach areas, but many of them have been rehabbed, so they seem new. Homes out there come with a hefty price tag and rent in So. Cal is right on par with NYC prompting $2000 a mo for a 1 bedroom in many cases unless you want to live in an area with higher crime.
SD's crime isn't nearly as severe as Chicago's but is more loaded with petty crimes such as robbery and vandalism. There seems to be a high rate of auto theft there and according to the police, many of the cops say the cars end up in Tjiuana.
Traffic in SD has been growing increasingly bad over the past 10 years as the city has proven to be a major draw for the world due to it's peaceful climate, yet nearly no public transit was ever put in place other than for a few busses forcing nearly everyone to have a car jamming up the freeways very badly.
Beaches in SD are also not really what you would expect. Many people expect white sand beaches and warm water because they saw that on "CHiPs, The OC, Threes Company, etc" when in fact the beaches could be anything but. The water is pretty much like ice water due to it's Alaskan origin and the sand is a dirty gritty type of sand that is covered with kelp. PB (Pacific Beach) is a major tourist attraction with numerous shops and plenty to do not to mention a great place to meet people but again is not the cleanest of beaches in the US.
The scenery in SD is one of the major draws to the city by allowing you to take in breath taking views of the ocean, skyline, and mountains all within one glance. So, that would pretty much sum up SD.
Chicago now on the other hand is a city that is more of a working city much in the way NY is. Chicago is a city of offices, stores, malls, restaurants, and pretty much anything else man made. Chicago is known for having some of the best architecture in the world as well as some of the best universities. (Yes UIC is very good)
Jobs in Chicago are plentiful if you look for them and surprisingly pay pretty good too. The foreigners haven't taken all our jobs away here yet the way they have in CA, so getting a job should be pretty easy if you apply yourself.
Housing in Chicago is kind of a mix bag to to be honest. You can find houses ranging in price from $150K all the way into the millions. Apartments are also plentiful in Chicago and there are plenty of very safe areas you can get a nice place for under $1000 a mo. The area around UIC for instance is being completely redone and there are plenty of rental opprotunities you can find right there and the area is becoming very safe and extremely busy.
Chicago people are more "real" where they are still nice, yet will let you know if they don't like you instead of putting on some fake smile the way Californians will do. Chicagoans from birth are subjected to many factors that build strong character in them such as one that is going on right now; freezing butt _ _ _ cold. For instance, it is not out of the ordinary to get a dead car battery here due to the cold, but you probably won't have to look to hard to find someone willing to help you out as we have all been through this before and understand the frustration of getting in your car only to find it won't start. I remember being in a store in Chicago last winter when a gentleman came in asked the cashier if she knew of anyone who could "jump" his car and the guy standing in line waiting to check out said, "oh I have jumper cables in my car... I'll jump you as soon as I'm out." Just as he said that, another man walking by said, "you need a jump? come on I'll help you..." So, I realize that that is just one case, but that is an example of the type of people that are here. They have some substance to them. At the same time though if you cut in front of someone in a line at a store, usually people will speak up and be like, "hey. what the H _ _ l do you think you're doin?"
Now more about Chicago living... We are a city that isn't bombarded with nature type of stuff, so don't be expecting lots of outdoorsy type of stuff to do here like you would get in CA or CO. Yes there are trails that you can walk or ride a bike down, and yes there are lakes to go to, but the terrain here is flat and every parcel of land is accounted for. If there isn't a building on it, it is farm land, if it's not farm land, its somebody's be sure of that.
Traffic in Chicago is bad, but has been getting much better in recent years as government stepped in about 10 years ago and said enough is enough, so many of the roads were instantly ripped up for widening.
Public transit here is not as good as in NY, but still good in any case and def. better than in CA. If you live right near downtown you won't need a car to get around as you could either walk, ride a bike, take a train, bus, cab, you name it to where you need to go unless you are looking to go out to the burbs, then in that case you can get out there via train, but will need a car once out in the burbs for the most part.
Now onto one of Chicago's biggest negatives... Our weather. If you like a 4 season climate and can handle not only extreme cold, but also lots of cloudy weather, as well as hot and humid conditions, then you will be fine here. Our winters can get very cold (-10F), while summers can get unbelievably oppressive (100F) with plenty of comfortable days mixed in between (45F-85F), so there is a major spread here when it come to temperatures. One thing about Chicago's weather is if you don't like it now, give it a day it will change. Heck sometimes you can wait 20 minutes and it will change. Our weather here will keep you on your toes to say the least. From sunny days, to cloudy days, to rain, to snow, to blizzards, to very scary severe storms, we have it all here. So, I hope you have an idea of what to expect here now.
Location: Originally Fayetteville, Arkansas/ now Seattle, Washington!
1,047 posts, read 3,947,562 times
Reputation: 382
PA, i only said that because the person was kind of rude. So i thought i'd be difficult and be rude back Besides, it was a joke and i think they were serious lol And i was from NW arkansas which has MUCH different weather than the rest of the state being at a higher elevation....not as cold as chicago at all(some snow, VERY hot summers), but not the epic scene like the pacific northwest. But also not flat, small hills and mountains, lots of trees.
I lived in a number of different places throughout my life; Chicago, Escondido, CA, NY, Bloomington, IL so I feel I can somewhat answer this question.
Lets first start with SD. SD is a great city if you are looking for constant days of waking up to clouds and fog only to quickly be greeted with warm sun about 10AM and temps that year round range from 50-80F and about 95F in the foothill areas such as Poway, Escondido, and Ramona.
Southern Cal's way of life is much different than in Chicago by being much faster but somehow more laid back if that makes sense. People out there are friendly but more so in a fake type of way and came off as being rather shallow to me and not pure. They are not rude by any means, but just seem to have no substance to them to put it as best I can.
Jobs in SD are good if you can get one. However, Mexicans flooding across the border have gobbled up all the labor jobs and the far easterners coming over have taken up much of the professional jobs not leaving much for the average Joe as sad as that is.
Housing in SD is very nice in the respect that it is mostly newer with older homes being close to the beach areas, but many of them have been rehabbed, so they seem new. Homes out there come with a hefty price tag and rent in So. Cal is right on par with NYC prompting $2000 a mo for a 1 bedroom in many cases unless you want to live in an area with higher crime.
SD's crime isn't nearly as severe as Chicago's but is more loaded with petty crimes such as robbery and vandalism. There seems to be a high rate of auto theft there and according to the police, many of the cops say the cars end up in Tjiuana.
Traffic in SD has been growing increasingly bad over the past 10 years as the city has proven to be a major draw for the world due to it's peaceful climate, yet nearly no public transit was ever put in place other than for a few busses forcing nearly everyone to have a car jamming up the freeways very badly.
Beaches in SD are also not really what you would expect. Many people expect white sand beaches and warm water because they saw that on "CHiPs, The OC, Threes Company, etc" when in fact the beaches could be anything but. The water is pretty much like ice water due to it's Alaskan origin and the sand is a dirty gritty type of sand that is covered with kelp. PB (Pacific Beach) is a major tourist attraction with numerous shops and plenty to do not to mention a great place to meet people but again is not the cleanest of beaches in the US.
The scenery in SD is one of the major draws to the city by allowing you to take in breath taking views of the ocean, skyline, and mountains all within one glance. So, that would pretty much sum up SD.
Chicago now on the other hand is a city that is more of a working city much in the way NY is. Chicago is a city of offices, stores, malls, restaurants, and pretty much anything else man made. Chicago is known for having some of the best architecture in the world as well as some of the best universities. (Yes UIC is very good)
Jobs in Chicago are plentiful if you look for them and surprisingly pay pretty good too. The foreigners haven't taken all our jobs away here yet the way they have in CA, so getting a job should be pretty easy if you apply yourself.
Housing in Chicago is kind of a mix bag to to be honest. You can find houses ranging in price from $150K all the way into the millions. Apartments are also plentiful in Chicago and there are plenty of very safe areas you can get a nice place for under $1000 a mo. The area around UIC for instance is being completely redone and there are plenty of rental opprotunities you can find right there and the area is becoming very safe and extremely busy.
Chicago people are more "real" where they are still nice, yet will let you know if they don't like you instead of putting on some fake smile the way Californians will do. Chicagoans from birth are subjected to many factors that build strong character in them such as one that is going on right now; freezing butt _ _ _ cold. For instance, it is not out of the ordinary to get a dead car battery here due to the cold, but you probably won't have to look to hard to find someone willing to help you out as we have all been through this before and understand the frustration of getting in your car only to find it won't start. I remember being in a store in Chicago last winter when a gentleman came in asked the cashier if she knew of anyone who could "jump" his car and the guy standing in line waiting to check out said, "oh I have jumper cables in my car... I'll jump you as soon as I'm out." Just as he said that, another man walking by said, "you need a jump? come on I'll help you..." So, I realize that that is just one case, but that is an example of the type of people that are here. They have some substance to them. At the same time though if you cut in front of someone in a line at a store, usually people will speak up and be like, "hey. what the H _ _ l do you think you're doin?"
Now more about Chicago living... We are a city that isn't bombarded with nature type of stuff, so don't be expecting lots of outdoorsy type of stuff to do here like you would get in CA or CO. Yes there are trails that you can walk or ride a bike down, and yes there are lakes to go to, but the terrain here is flat and every parcel of land is accounted for. If there isn't a building on it, it is farm land, if it's not farm land, its somebody's be sure of that.
Traffic in Chicago is bad, but has been getting much better in recent years as government stepped in about 10 years ago and said enough is enough, so many of the roads were instantly ripped up for widening.
Public transit here is not as good as in NY, but still good in any case and def. better than in CA. If you live right near downtown you won't need a car to get around as you could either walk, ride a bike, take a train, bus, cab, you name it to where you need to go unless you are looking to go out to the burbs, then in that case you can get out there via train, but will need a car once out in the burbs for the most part.
Now onto one of Chicago's biggest negatives... Our weather. If you like a 4 season climate and can handle not only extreme cold, but also lots of cloudy weather, as well as hot and humid conditions, then you will be fine here. Our winters can get very cold (-10F), while summers can get unbelievably oppressive (100F) with plenty of comfortable days mixed in between (45F-85F), so there is a major spread here when it come to temperatures. One thing about Chicago's weather is if you don't like it now, give it a day it will change. Heck sometimes you can wait 20 minutes and it will change. Our weather here will keep you on your toes to say the least. From sunny days, to cloudy days, to rain, to snow, to blizzards, to very scary severe storms, we have it all here. So, I hope you have an idea of what to expect here now.
Wow this was a great post! And the videos you found were great too!!!!
Location: Originally Fayetteville, Arkansas/ now Seattle, Washington!
1,047 posts, read 3,947,562 times
Reputation: 382
Thanks for the nice post NYrules, that was very helpful! So nice to hear someone just speaking their experiences....exactly what i wanted in the first place. Thanks i will continue watchin the videos
Moving to Chicago from Seattle, or should I pick SD?
I think you would be much better off moving to San Diego. I grew up in Chicago, lived in Seattle for 7 years, and spent a summer in San Diego. The weather in Chicago sucks!!! The city is 1 big ghetto, and crime is rampant. There are only 2 good areas of the city, besides The Loop. The Northside and SW sides. The city is majority Afro-American and hispanic. Whites are in the minority. Of the 3 cities, I liked Seattle the best by far. May I ask why you are moving away?
Chicago is appealing for its' manmade qualities, like neighborhoods, architecture, food, music, festivals, etc., though the lakefront is occasionally breathtaking in the summer when everything is happening. San Diego is more focused on natural elements, like the weather, canyons, mountains, ocean, and beaches, though Chicago has some urprisingly great city beaches, and dunes nearby in Indiana that would have you swearing you were in California in the summer.
Chicago is more like NYC, while San Diego is laid back like Austin, Texas. I would imagine the single scene might be a little more dynamic in Chicago, if that is what you are looking for.....good luck....
Its a tough answer because these are two distinct cities. Its like asking if Italian food is better than Chinese food.
Simply put:
SD offers weather and outdoor activities
Chicago offers fine city living
NYRules post is spot on, though i think Chicago is faster pace and equal footing on the "laid backness", but the points are moot.
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and the climate in ark is more similar to Chicago than seattle or SD...so who knows 
I still wanna know about the crime lol anyone who wants to give their opinion on crime in general or in certain areas let me know 
Moving to Chicago from Seattle, or should I pick SD?
