Chicago (Rosemont, Rome, Humboldt: standard of living, prices, law)

[Tenzo]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Explain.

The world of Chicago does not exist just for your eyes and is not frozen in time for you. It changes and you are clinging to preconcieved selfish notions about what you want out of an area that 11 million inhabit

[TheLordYourGod]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

I can kind of hear Lord on this one. That screed is too self-conscious for my tastes. There is a fine line between good old nostalgia and an annoying self conscious whinefest. The line was crossed for me.

Bingo. That's a + 1 for you.

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

First time I heard someone living downtown lament their relative remoteness from the "ethnic areas".

Everyone who grew up here is constantly bitching about gentrification. I feel like I'm missing out on the south side. If you want the "real" people you crave they are only a short train ride away. Just take the red line and get off anywhere south of 35th.

Yep, South of 35th is still gritty and pretty much full of native Chicagoans.

[softdev]

Originally Posted by ajolotl

Everyone who grew up here is constantly bitching about gentrification. I feel like I'm missing out on the south side. If you want the "real" people you crave they are only a short train ride away. Just take the red line and get off anywhere south of 35th.

I chuckled when I read this. Every city I've ever lived in has these crazy townies who talk about the good ole days of pre-gentrification. Usually it's just people who are jealous that yuppies can afford to pay more in rent than they make in a year.

Thankfully, no one listens to them and gentrification is only going one way.

And for your enjoyment, here's the impact gentrification is having on Chicago:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...e_map_2006.png

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by Tenzo

The world of Chicago does not exist just for your eyes and is not frozen in time for you. It changes and you are clinging to preconcieved selfish notions about what you want out of an area that 11 million inhabit

I should've been more precise, I want him to explain why the post is pretentious.

[coldwine]

Can we all at least agree that fruit snacks are delicious?

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by softdev

I chuckled when I read this. Every city I've ever lived in has these crazy townies who talk about the good ole days of pre-gentrification. Usually it's just people who are jealous that yuppies can afford to pay more in rent than they make in a year.

Townies? You talk about millions of people with the easy contempt of a shallow and spoiled student? That and your contempt for people of lower incomes makes you a walking argument for Marxism.

Maybe you're a rube covering anxiety?

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Townies? You talk about millions of people with the easy contempt of a shallow and spoiled student? That and your contempt for people of lower incomes makes you a walking argument for Marxism.

Maybe you're a rube covering anxiety?

Fruit snacks, Tom. Think about the fruit snacks.

[rickmahorn]

Originally Posted by Vertdemer

I was born and raised in Chicago and went to school at a "fill in the blank" big 10. Before college, I had only really spent time in my city. I grew up in one of Chicago's many ethnic neighborhoods so in a way, I was shielded from a lot of that superficial culture that strolls down Michigan Ave. and other parts of the north side. The people I met in college were horrible with their ideas of "culture", diversity, and those milk and cheese accents. I was even told on several occasions that I spoke really well, not understanding what it meant until my second year when the accents became grating. I had gone to school to get away from my city, but I ended up in a place much worse. Throughout college I spent time on both coasts (L.A., San Fran, NY) and each return to the next school year became unbearable. It wasn't until graduation that I realized that all of those people whom I really couldn't stand (although I smiled in their face, yes it's a midwest thing) would be moving to Chicago upon graduation. I didn't quite believe it since I never saw "those people" walking around my city when I was younger, but I soon realized they were telling the truth. I see my school shirts (alright it was U Mich!!) everywhere and right in the heart of Lincoln park I can taste the low class superficiality every time I step outside. In defense of Chicago, the real richness and culture lays in the ethnic neighborhoods on the north, south, and west sides of the city. Unfortunately, that's as mythical as a unicorn if you don't have inside connections. When I want to get away I know where to find the best food, entertainment, art, and cultural experience. However, it requires really getting away (i.e. long train, bus ride, far from downtown) since everything is becoming gentrified. Most people not from here don't know about these thigns and that includes the majority of the city's transplants who bring down its "culture". As a child, this city nurtured me, my creativity, my cultural sensibility, but as a young adult, it's only taking my energy and leaving me wanting much more. I can even hear "milk and cheese" forming in my accent. Fortunately, I'm headed to grad school far far away. Many of the adults here are from places like Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana etc. This is as good as it gets for many of them.

There's a lot here I would like to address. First, I suggest learning the concept of paragraphs. It will help you convey your ideas in a more effective manner. You also seem to display poor grammatical skills. Though, perhaps I am just not 'cultured' enough to make that judgment.

Second, you do realize that everyone in the world has an accent, don't you? I hope you also realize that having a certain accent does not inherently define your personality. Neither does being from the Midwest. I was born in the Northeast, but grew up in the Upper Midwest. I also attended a 'fill in the blank' Big10 school. I was accepted to an Ivy league school, but could not justify spending that much money for a piece of paper (I'm in a 'creative' field in which autodidacts thrive). I chose to go to a Big10 school. I find your implications that being from the Midwest / Big 10 makes you low class / uncultured to be very shallow and ignorant in nature.

I found your insinuation that spending 'some time' in LA, San Fran, and NY somehow makes you culturally superior quite laughable. You want culture? Go live in a third world country for a year where you don't speak the native language. Leave the USA for a couple years. It will give you a better perspective of what exactly 'culture' is. But you probably are not willing to do that. You would prefer to live in your safe little bubble where there's this cool Mexican restaurant down the road and a great place to get authentic Vietnamese food a couple blocks down. You would probably prefer this over actually living in Vietnam. It's in this safe little bubble where you can turn up your nose at other people for being from the Midwest and ironically complain about gentrification.

The argument of transplants and gentrification towards Chicago is ludicrous. In your extensive travels where you spent 'some time' in LA, San Fran, and NY, what did you do? Gentrification is not just a Chicago thing. Having a high percentage of transplants is not just a Chicago thing.

Oh, and before anyone makes the retort that I am a Chicagoan with an inferiority complex, don't. I currently live in NYC, but am looking to potentially relocate to Chicago, as it is one my favorite cities in the world (yes, I actually have lived in other cities around the world). I just find your 'type' insufferable. This notion that being from a certain area somehow makes you inferior or superior to others. Your attempts at pretentiousness are quite humorous. Your literacy skills, rhetoric, and logic just don't read 'cultured'.

Word of advice: Whether you live in Chicago, NYC, Nairobi, Shanghai, or Rome will not define your life. It is what you DO that defines it.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by coldwine

Can we all at least agree that fruit snacks are delicious?

as long as they're not those canned ones ...