Talk to me about Chicago! (Manhattan: transplants, power lines, neighborhoods)

[mango tango]

Hello! I'm a female in her early 20's that is highly considering moving to Chicago. I've visited twice (albeit only for 4-6 days each visit) and I fell in love with the city and how beautiful and clean it was. I did stay on the north side so that may explain why I found everything so beautiful and clean lol. I have heard that the southern areas are completely different and much less touristy.

1. What is Chicago really like? As I've only visited, I know that my perception of it is probably completely different from someone that has lived there for a while and has gotten over the "newness" of the city. Care to share your take?

2. I enjoy a good art, dining, music, nightlife, and intellectual scene (I know how pretentious that all sounds )... I know that there's one present in Chicago but how prominent is it? And speaking of nightlife and events, what is it like in Chicago?

3. I'd love to live downtown in the midst of everything (I lived in Manhattan for a few months a year ago and I loved the city atmosphere... it energizes me) but is it safe at night? I hope that's not a dumb question. Also, which neighborhoods are considered downtown?

4. If I moved to Chicago, I wouldn't know a single person here. How easy is it to get to know people and make friends? I've never had a problem making friends in my life before but then again (with the exception of one experience) I've always knew one or two people.

5. What are the guys like in Chicago? Now I know that there's a variety of guys no matter where you go but maybe you could help by giving me some different types that tend to exist in great quantities in Chicago? Is the dating scene just like any other city here or is it different? I know these are picky questions, sorry!

Thanks to everyone who replies! I was just googling (isn't that funny how that's a verb lol?) and I came across this website and it really does seem like a wealth of information.

[Venom]

Better yet...
If you've only been to the richer places of Chicago...
... you will see that everything will be way different once you live those areas.

Chicago does have a bunch of events all the time
Chicago's neighborhoods can change from one street to another.
I can be your friend.

[Carantini]

Originally Posted by mango tango

1. What is Chicago really like? As I've only visited, I know that my perception of it is probably completely different from someone that has lived there for a while and has gotten over the "newness" of the city. Care to share your take?

Its a magical place. seriously. any engineering feat you can imagine and more goes on. bridges opening, hundreds of walking and car tunnels, trains underwater, elevated trains through the whole city, even going through buildings, busses with giant televisions on the sides of them, mad made canyons and canyons of uniquely designed skyscrapers, a reversed flow river, everything in chicago is a world record, as diverse as the world, millions of millions of people living wall to wall top to bottom forever, a central business district rivaled only by nyc in america and few others on earth, sports galore, billionaires and homeless, largest groups are white, black, polish, or mexican, tribune is the best newspaper, redeye is a free daily newspaper by tribune, CS is a free luxury magazine that u might like, 24 hour 7 day a week largest train lines in the city red line and blue line, two internatonal airports on opposite sides of the city, money to be made, ppl to meet, never ending things to see, a bean, two tv spitting fountains crown fountains, and the bukingham, a lakefront path packed beyond belief, get some rollerskates, a neighborhood for everyone, largest middle class african american population in the world, we gave you President Obama, largest Mexican population outside East L.A., street performers on michigan ave mag mile, and state street, which are two huge outdoor malls if u think about it, which you could not cover in one day, water taxis, taxis everywhere, very few highways, grid pattern streets so u cannot get lost even if u tried, alleys everywhere to put garbage and phone and power lines and for trucks etc, and theyre nice and big and go on as far as the eye can see too, u can probably go from one side of the city to the other in an alley, if you want to make it in this world chicago accepts you and works with you if you work with it.

2. I enjoy a good art, dining, music, nightlife, and intellectual scene (I know how pretentious that all sounds )... I know that there's one present in Chicago but how prominent is it? And speaking of nightlife and events, what is it like in Chicago? you can go to a club every weekend in the entire year and not see them all. from the southside, westside, and northside, theres always one thats just a trip. hip hop, reggaeton, dance, its all here. Some clubs are so nice they probably get rated best in the US, like Level.
Art, theres museums everywhere, on mag mile, art institute, just everywehre. dining, well, its really a foodie city, restaurants of all kinds, you wont have to even look for them, real nice ones. huge intellectual scene, thats why they have so many offices in the loop, they sell their brain.

3. I'd love to live downtown in the midst of everything (I lived in Manhattan for a few months a year ago and I loved the city atmosphere... it energizes me) but is it safe at night? I hope that's not a dumb question. Also, which neighborhoods are considered downtown?
Downtown is very very safe at night, if anything, downtown itself is actually relatively empty at night, you would want to live immediately, immediately south west or north of downtown, that is the liveliest places still within highrises, among the 10 most walkable neighborhoods in america. downtown neighborhoods are considered the Loop, South Loop, West Loop, River North, and Near North Side. Any of these areas are lively as hell at night, except the Loop, but ithe loop is the liveliest place in the weekdays in the whole country except of course midtown manhattan, highest population concentration i mean.

4. If I moved to Chicago, I wouldn't know a single person here. How easy is it to get to know people and make friends? I've never had a problem making friends in my life before but then again (with the exception of one experience) I've always knew one or two people. Youll meet people immediately in whatever your involved in. if its school or work or just holding down the block gangbanging, youll know people right away. Small talk is big here, so you can say to anyone the classic "damn is cold outside" and thats it. People talk back here all the time, you ask, they answer, they ask, you answer, no ones scared to talk to anyone at any time for any reason, its not wierd to small talk anyone, its sometimes expected in certain situations.

5. What are the guys like in Chicago? Now I know that there's a variety of guys no matter where you go but maybe you could help by giving me some different types that tend to exist in great quantities in Chicago? Is the dating scene just like any other city here or is it different? I know these are picky questions, sorry!
The real biggest quantity of guys I can imagine arent anything specific like guidos in jersey for example, we have rappers and rockers, gangbangers and frat boys, theres sports bar type guys, spansih lover type guys, theres indian clubber guys, theres everything, and no one group represents much more or dominates much more the entire cities image of a typical type of guy. not much people immitate others here, the transplants (you) hang only with each other for the most part, and same goes for the locals in their groups. its a city of neighborhoods, every neighborhood is its own country, you have greeks, italians, indians, etc...you can find anything. other than that, the guys are maybe the same in one way, which is that they are relatively normal, not extreme in any way they are, conservative if you will, but dont let it fool you, its the trick of blending in that has made chicago what it is, what got obama the presidency, what got the sears, trump, and handcock that tall.

Thanks to everyone who replies! I was just googling (isn't that funny how that's a verb lol?) and I came across this website and it really does seem like a wealth of information.

you can ask anything about anything here on this site and like 20 responses will come backing each other up, i asked for cheap wedding spots and one was literally chosen for a wedding thanks to here, i asked when classes started after the summer break in the big colleges here and got the answers right away by students. use it or lose it.
enjoy your stay, live as close to the loop as you can, its actually the only neighborhoods( the ones touching the loop like i said earlier) that are not their own worlds, and are pure mix, you wont feel like your missing out on anything the entire city has to offer in those neighborhoods. dont make the transplant mistake of living in lincoln park or lakeview or anywhere north of north ave, youll just leave after a couple of years or sooner or marry and have a kid then go to the burbs cause thats the way they do in those areas, its a temporary world, good to visit once in a while, but quickly quickly sickening, too temporary. thats a fact, not an opinion. those that live there are many here, and they will come back offended and say im a liar, but they are just defending their mistake to not look dumb or admit fault, but i told you, youve been warned. peace.

[Avengerfire]

My eyes hurt.

[mango tango]

Why was your post bolded?

[Carantini]

because i hit the B letter before i typed it.

[OyCrumbler]

Bold means business. BOLD BUSINESS.

Who's going to help the poor girl out? Also, where are you originally from, mango tango?