A poster on Houston forum is bashing Chicago (Montrose: credit, college)

[lincolnparker]

I would replace Tokyo with Shanghai. Other than that, it looks like a great list. I think Chicago is a great city, but having traveled to Tokyo, London, HK, and lived in NYC and Shanghai, I think Chicago is definitely NOT in the same league as NYC and its international counterparts. However, that does not take anything away from the windy city. It is great city, but there are bigger and more influential cities out there.

Originally Posted by coog78

Talk about delusional. NYC is the ONLY American city that could even remotely be considered for that list. Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, NYC, and Paris are the most relevant urban areas worldwide. You're an idiot if you think London needs New York. London is far more fast paced and urban than NYC could ever hope to be. chicago, ha! that's funny!

[brinegar312]

Does Houston call their downtown "The Loop"? That's cute...

Originally Posted by JerichoHW

Chicago is getting bashed again, despite my rather nice way of saying Stop the Bashing!!

Here is quote:

"Food for thought, eh? Well, hope you're hungry. Houston is second only to NYC for headquarters of Fortune 500 companies (more than Chicago has or will ever have). Houston has the second largest theatre district in the United States (more shows and larger than Chicago has or will ever have). Houston has one of the best medical centers worldwide (better than Chicago has or will ever have). Houston is endurable outside 365 days a year unless you're some Midwest wuss that melts when it gets hot outside. Houston continues to constantly increase density inside the loop and boasts an array and diversity of food Chicago does not have nor will ever have. All that and Chicago is older than Houston by over 50 years. Eat up!
I had no intention of pointing out the obvious and bashing Chicago, but the previous post clearly begged to be called out and put on point. It will be less than 25 years until Houston's population surpasses Chicago. We will continue to be an international hub for the Mideast, Asia, and South America. Chicago will continue to be cold and unbearable to be outside for 5 months of the year. Your city has nothing to make you such a snob, so make like Oprah and eat that food for thought! "

[raleightransplant]

Kudos to the Chicagoans who aren't taking this seriously. Anyone who has seen both has to know this is a ridiculous comparison. Houston of all places... to Chicago?? As in Chicago with the beautiful lakefront, huge/dense/walkable/energetic downtown, thriving theatre scene, amazing cultural diversity, effective mass transit and architectural splendor? This has to be some kind of joke.

As someone who is considering moving to Chicago, and lives in another part of the country, I can honestly say Chicago is viewed by outsiders as a prime time multicultural and dynamic city. Houston is viewed by the rest of the country as...well Texas. As mentioned, who the hell would want to even visit that Houston (I mean for what?), much less live there. Houston's like a flat redneck LA with hotter weather...maybe that is the future of America, but I'm not sure that would be anything to be proud of. Texas, as with much of the south and southwest is cheap cheap cheap....simple as that. That's good enough for plenty of Americans, but not for me!

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by coog78

I like no state income tax and margaritas.

Its apparent that you like one tooooooooooooooo many margaritas.

I have a question though.... can you get a DUI on a horse in TX? I figured you'd probably know more than anyone else.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by coog78

Talk about delusional. NYC is the ONLY American city that could even remotely be considered for that list. Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, NYC, and Paris are the most relevant urban areas worldwide. You're an idiot if you think London needs New York. London is far more fast paced and urban than NYC could ever hope to be. chicago, ha! that's funny!

Chicago:
-3rd largest GDP in the nation
-most diversified economy in the US
-rated 4th most important business center in the world
-greatest number of new or expanded corporate facilities in the United States for five of the past six years
-2nd largest central business district in the US
-home to the worlds largest financial exchange: the Merc. the underlying value of all contracts traded on an average day is between $3-4 trillion dollars
-also home to the chicago boards option exchange and chicago stock excange
-3rd most popular convention city
-home to 11 fortune 500 companies, with 21 more in the metro region. 17 Financial Times 500 companies
-2nd largest labor pool in the US
-10th on UBS' list of world's richest cities

Carry on.

[jdiddy]

Local Idiot To Post Comment On Internet | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

[Ramo Nash]

Originally Posted by via chicago

Chicago:
-3rd largest GDP in the nation
-most diversified economy in the US
-rated 4th most important business center in the world
-greatest number of new or expanded corporate facilities in the United States for five of the past six years
-2nd largest central business district in the US
-home to the worlds largest financial exchange: the Merc. the underlying value of all contracts traded on an average day is between $3-4 trillion dollars
-also home to the chicago boards option exchange and chicago stock excange
-3rd most popular convention city
-home to 11 fortune 500 companies, with 21 more in the metro region. 17 Financial Times 500 companies
-2nd largest labor pool in the US
-10th on UBS' list of world's richest cities

Carry on.

So, even though you hand-picked stats to present, it's first in the US in only a couple of them... how does that show that Chicago's a top 5 world city or in the same league as NYC? I'd also argue that a lot of those stats are debatable for signifying "world importance." Chicago I think was rated #4 in the world for economic importance, but that's a very different discussion I think...

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by Ramo Nash

So, even though you hand-picked stats to present, it's first in the US in only a couple of them... how does that show that Chicago's a top 5 world city or in the same league as NYC? I'd also argue that a lot of those stats are debatable for signifying "world importance." Chicago I think was rated #4 in the world for economic importance, but that's a very different discussion I think...

This isn't about NYC. It's about Houston. NYC is vastly more important than Chicago on the world stage. I don't think anyone here thinks differently.

[Ramo Nash]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

This isn't about NYC. It's about Houston. NYC is vastly more important than Chicago on the world stage. I don't think anyone here thinks differently.

Well, look back at what I'm replying to. The original poster claimed that having chicago on a list of "most important cities" with 3 other US cities was ludicrous and the reply (to which I replied) tried to dispute that claim with a bunch of facts about chicago. It had nothing to do with houston.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by chicagomama

Here is what they are saying: (these are not my words!! I'm from Chicago and love it!!!)

"It seems clearly better than Chicago (at least from my experiences) in terms of number of things to do, weather, and proximity to other interesting places. Houston is near Galveston, a short car/train ride (in the future) from Austin, San Antonio, Dallas. Chicago is the only big town for 1000s of miles. The entire cultural life of Chicago seems to consist of getting drunk on cold nights. Houston offers lots of museums, arts, etc., in addition to more clubs/bars than you could ever want. Why doesn't it get more love?
Also "natural beauty" isn't the reason - Chicago is cold and bleak most of the year and is just as flat as Houston. Houston is lush and green year-round.
I would put the U.S. cities like this:
L.A. > NY > SF> Houston > Chicago"

Who cares? It's one person's opinion... not like there's some Chicago bash session going on in the Houston board.

Now (probably because of this post) we've got all kinds of Chicago people coming into the Houston board and whining about Houston. Thanks....