Does Chicago "feel" like a megacity? (Manhattan, Detroit: condo, crime)

[2dc]

I've never visited Chicago but am thinking about moving there from the east coast. I'm from Philadelphia but want to move to a bigger city. Not that Philly is small in anyway but there are cities that are bigger and Chicago is one of them. Compared to NYC & LA does Chicago have a feeling of hustle and bustle? I need a fast paced lifestyle. Can Chicago offer me that?

[Chicagoland60426]

Yes it have the hustle and bustle. Chicago is twice the size of Philadelphia; home to 2.9-3 million people in the city alone and almost 10 million in the metro area. The southside of Chicago alone is around the size of Philadelphia. Chicago also have the second largest downtown in the country after Midtown, NYC

[HRTplz]

I think it's definitely not as intense as new york - to me that's actually a good thing, I don't know about you.

Many parts of the city definitely sleep, and get quiet, especially some of the weekend mornings from what I've seen.

[hsw]

Phila feels like a dumpy, high-crime small town, despite its population....a lackluster/weak regional economy...outside of Wharton and the Penn campus, many of the major offices w/high-income jobs in Phila region are scattered around the suburbs...much like Detroit region....and Phila has the antiquated freeway infrastructure of a decrepit Eastern town....

Chic is arguably US' most "mega-city" place outside Manhattan....but Manhattan has a distinctive 3rdWorld feel....decrepit freeways/roads leading into Manhattan; smelly streets; lack of modern parking garages under key office bldgs/valet parking in front of key restaurants; lack of many new office and condo towers in upscale locations in Midtown/UES/CPW....

In many ways, Chic is quintessentially American....fusing many aspects of LA's car-based feel/infrastructure w/a centralized, high-powered economy (vast majority of Chic's high-income jobs are in Loop's financial industry)....Chic region clearly lacks the more decentralized set-up of the LA and SiliconValley economic regions...

[Drover]

If you split the difference between Philly and NYC in terms of "urban intensity," you will approximately arrive at Chicago. The pace here can be exactly as fast as you want it to be; much of that is up to you.

[Attrill]

A lot larger and more impressive than Philadelphia on the urban scale.

Definitely smaller that NYC, but has sections that compare to Manhattan (but not nearly as massive). Chicago is second only to NYC for traditional urban environment in the US.

Much more urban than LA, LA is very spread out, and while there are some great pockets of dense urban environments LA doesn't really have the old school hustle and bustle going on.

Tokyo kicks all their asses on the things you're probably looking for.

[M4rT1N]

Why not visit the city first to see if it's for you?

On the hustle and bustle...... non-existent in Chicago past 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.

[j33]

Originally Posted by M4rT1N

On the hustle and bustle...... non-existent in Chicago past 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.

You seem awfully sure of that. Do you mean Chicago in its entirety, or just your neighborhood. Because I can assure you, I can walk up the street about 4 blocks at 1am on a Wednesday night and there will be plenty of people out and about. But I've also lived in areas of the city where at 1am on a wednesday night, the only things out are the crickets and rats. It all depends on where you live.

[cotyan]

Originally Posted by M4rT1N

Why not visit the city first to see if it's for you?

On the hustle and bustle...... non-existent in Chicago past 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.

I'm not from Chicago nor do I live there yet and I know that's not true unless you just mean where you live. That was one of the things that I loved most and hooked me to want to make the move there next year. My husband and I would take the kids to dinner, go back to hotel, get them settled and hit the streets again around 11pm with people still walking around and the bars and restaurants still packed!

To me, Chicago resembles NY only it's cleaner, not as congested and the people are friendlier. I love NY though too, I just wouldn't want to live there.

[At1WithNature]

i don't think so, but i am desensitived to it. if you think of megacity on a national level then yes. but on a global scale the shear amount of people and density isn't there compared to cities in South America and Asia plus New York City.

but as far as hustle and bustle and face paced...lol, it doesn't get any faster paced than being in chicago M-F.