What Misconceptions Do People Have About Chicago or Chicagoans? (Addison: train station, eat)

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by 2Easy

Here are my perceptions of Chicago. Not sure which are fake news. No offense intended to your great city.

1. Chicago is much colder than NYC in the winter and hotter in the summer.
2. Chicago is very segregated.
3. Chicago is more of a bar city than a nightclub city and the bars are full of frats from Big10 colleges.
5. Chicago’s “ethnic neighborhoods” aside from Hispanic are mostly 3rd generation or higher meaning that there really aren’t very many.
6. Chicago is expensive for the Midwest but noticeably cheaper than major coastal cities.
7. Most gun violence is in the south and west. The rest of the city is as safe or safer than other big cities (like NYC or LA).
8. Chicago is a very clean city compared to LA, NYC, and SF.

1. I wouldn't say "much", but generally true.
2. True
3. Part 1 is true, part 2 - depends on the bar. In the neighborhoods full of Big 10 grads, this is true. Any other neighborhood, not really true.
4. (missing)
5. The ethnic neighborhoods are less concentrated than they used to be but still exist. For instance, traditional Polish neighborhoods still have a Polish population or have shifted north or west. There's still an Italian presence on the NW side and in Little Italy but much smaller. Beverly and Mount Greenwood are still pretty Irish. I'm sure there's others I'm missing, but similar pattern.
6. True for the most part
7. Partially true, but not for the entire south and west sides. Far southwest sides around Beverly/Mount Greenwood, neighborhoods near Midway, and Kenwood/Hyde Park areas don't have the same level of gun violence as others such as Englewood.
8. I agree regarding NYC, can't confirm LA as I've only been in a couple nicer areas there. I found SF to be pretty clean during my visits there.

[personone]

Originally Posted by fusillirob1983

5. The ethnic neighborhoods are less concentrated than they used to be but still exist. For instance, traditional Polish neighborhoods still have a Polish population or have shifted north or west. There's still an Italian presence on the NW side and in Little Italy but much smaller. Beverly and Mount Greenwood are still pretty Irish. I'm sure there's others I'm missing, but similar pattern.
.

True. I would also add Ukranian Village to that list. Parts of it still have a really old-school ethnic neighborhood feel. Although it definitely has gentrified, I volunteer there, and there are still a lot of stores in that area that are completely in Ukranian (i.e. No spoken or written English). Walking around some parts, you will hear only Ukranian spoken as well, and the old school feel down that part of Chicago ave with all the store fronts, adds to the ethnic neighborhood ambience.

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by personone

True. I would also add Ukranian Village to that list. Parts of it still have a really old-school ethnic neighborhood feel. Although it definitely has gentrified, I volunteer there, and there are still a lot of stores in that area that are completely in Ukranian (i.e. No spoken or written English). Walking around some parts, you will hear only Ukranian spoken as well, and the old school feel down that part of Chicago ave with all the store fronts, adds to the ethnic neighborhood ambience.

Good catch.

[SonySegaTendo617]

Originally Posted by personone

True. I would also add Ukranian Village to that list. Parts of it still have a really old-school ethnic neighborhood feel. Although it definitely has gentrified, I volunteer there, and there are still a lot of stores in that area that are completely in Ukranian (i.e. No spoken or written English). Walking around some parts, you will hear only Ukranian spoken as well, and the old school feel down that part of Chicago ave with all the store fronts, adds to the ethnic neighborhood ambience.

Speaking of that, I was surprised how very German it felt to go inside the DANK Haus building(4700 north block of Western, just south of Lawrence) not long ago, for Open House Chicago. There even is a chapter of a German language private club(I unfortunately forget the exact name of it), that has a chapter that meets inside that building! There are chapters all over the world, and I was surprised to learn the Chicago chapter had about 20 members. And yes, a requirement to join is that(per asking the guy who was a member of that chapter, when I visited) you have to be fluent in German to be a member. It is only open to the public during each Open House Chicago event, so the next chance you'll have to see it is for the 2018 OHC.

[Haaamburger]

I think the biggest misconception is Chicagoans are nice and have a Midwestern flair . No way chicagoans are rude and short tempered . I do not see majority of nice people greeting on street . Chicago is not like the rest of the midwest. We are more like New York not sure if it's new but the city is on edge.

[Master Jay]

Haaamburger, in my experiences, Chicagoans have always been friendly (all sides of the city!). That's the reason I keep coming back weekly to visit.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Haaamburger

I think the biggest misconception is Chicagoans are nice and have a Midwestern flair . No way chicagoans are rude and short tempered . I do not see majority of nice people greeting on street . Chicago is not like the rest of the midwest. We are more like New York not sure if it's new but the city is on edge.

Chicago is still nice for a big city. My Airbnb guests frequently mention how nice people are to them. I don't personally feel like people are on edge.

Chinatown is still very Chinese with recent immigrants supplementing the older ones.

Devon is still very South Asian, although more recently a lot of professional-class Indians choose to live in/near Naperville. But there are still some who keep Devon authentic.

[Slate Moonstone]

Here's a misconception that Chicagoans have:

Chicago thinks it's a little NYC. But it's really a big Milwaukee.

[Master Jay]

Slate Moonstone, although I like the title of Chicago being a "big Milwaukee" since that's where I'm from; However, Chicago has much more diversity and energy than Milwaukee could even attempt to duplicate.

[SkylarkPhotoBooth]

Originally Posted by Haaamburger

I think the biggest misconception is Chicagoans are nice and have a Midwestern flair .

I don't know what "Midwestern flair" is (I don't associate the Midwest with flair), but I find Chicagoans to be very friendly. I think it's even more true of locals in working class neighborhoods than in transplant-heavy neighborhoods (perhaps ironically). I mean, sure, you're not going to have every single stranger on the street stopping to say hi to you like you might in a small town in the South or something, but for a major city I think Chicago is very friendly. I think the neighborhood vibe with its walkable, human-scaled architecture contributes to that. It's pretty easy to meet strangers at bars, coffee shops, laundromats, galleries, festivals, etc.