What is Chicago missing (Naperville, Lincoln: apartment complexes, house, pierogies)

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Trees.

There are plenty of trees here. Do a Google Satellite view and you can't see a lot of the residential streets because they're covered by tree canopy. You won't find stands of trees in undveloped hollows and the like as you find in Pittsburgh, but IMO a substantially higher portion of the residential streets here are tree-lined. A lot of Pittsburgh neighborhoods have structures right up to the sidewalk line and no parkways in which to plant trees.

Some pictures of my neighborhood:







(All images found at Dreamtown)

[odannyboi]

Originally Posted by thePR

We have those [palm trees].

Yea but:

1. only in 1 place
2. not all year round

Its a shame that this city is so cold 1/3 of the year... in warm weather, it is one of the best cities in the world.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by odannyboi

Yea but:

1. only in 1 place
2. not all year round

Its a shame that this city is so cold 1/3 of the year... in warm weather, it is one of the best cities in the world.

I think what makes it such a great city in the summer is the festive atmosphere brought about by people knowing they only have a few months to make the best of it. In that regard, the weather is a double-edged sword -- it makes it a dreary place half the year and an absolute hoot the other half of the year.

[odannyboi]

Originally Posted by Drover

I think what makes it such a great city in the summer is the festive atmosphere brought about by people knowing they only have a few months to make the best of it. In that regard, the weather is a double-edged sword -- it makes it a dreary place half the year and an absolute hoot the other half of the year.

This is pretty much true.. I went to LA last december (70 and sunny) and the city seemed dead. They have great weather all year round but probably take it for granted.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by Drover

I think what makes it such a great city in the summer is the festive atmosphere brought about by people knowing they only have a few months to make the best of it. In that regard, the weather is a double-edged sword -- it makes it a dreary place half the year and an absolute hoot the other half of the year.

That is a good point, Chicago probably has the most active summer of any city I've spent time in. And I definitely think it is due to people coming out of winter, and knowing that before they know it, they'll be in winter again. Chicago is like Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde because of the weather.

[thePR]

Originally Posted by odannyboi

Yea but:

1. only in 1 place
2. not all year round

Its a shame that this city is so cold 1/3 of the year... in warm weather, it is one of the best cities in the world.

True, and lucky for me because I don' really like them.

Originally Posted by grapico

That is a good point, Chicago probably has the most active summer of any city I've spent time in. And I definitely think it is due to people coming out of winter, and knowing that before they know it, they'll be in winter again. Chicago is like Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde because of the weather.

New York, Miami, and Los Angeles included?

[quigboto]

There are tons of palm trees in Phoenix, and it's one of the most boring ass towns you could possibly live in. Plus, the palm trees are polluted with scorpions. Eff that.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by quigboto

There are tons of palm trees in Phoenix, and it's one of the most boring ass towns you could possibly live in. Plus, the palm trees are polluted with scorpions. Eff that.

Why would anyone want palm trees in Chicago, anyway? Those palm trees they put out on Oak Street Beach don't add anything to the ambience, IMHO. They just look grossly out of place.

One of the things I hated about visiting L.A. in October was that I didn't see any autumn colors anywhere. There were plenty of palm trees around, but that just wasn't quite the same. I'll take changing foliage anyday.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Why would anyone want palm trees in Chicago, anyway?

Some people like palm trees.

The ones you see pictures of lining the streets in L.A. look stupid. They look like a big tall stick with a poofy thing way the hell up there. I like the palm trees better in the Southeast. They look like actual trees and not like a mutated dandelion. Maybe they have "normal" looking palm trees in L.A. too?

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by Drover

There are plenty of trees here. Do a Google Satellite view and you can't see a lot of the residential streets because they're covered by tree canopy. You won't find stands of trees in undveloped hollows and the like as you find in Pittsburgh, but IMO a substantially higher portion of the residential streets here are tree-lined. A lot of Pittsburgh neighborhoods have structures right up to the sidewalk line and no parkways in which to plant trees.

Some pictures of my neighborhood:







(All images found at Dreamtown)

Good pictures, especially the 2nd one; having those "parkways" between the sidewalk and the street certainly make the neighborhood look more spacious and liveable, in contrast to many urban neighborhoods in Eastern cities..

This neighborhood looks nice, and well maintained; looks like a combination of single-family, 2-family, condo and apartments; probably isn't all that bad on the wallet, either (compared to Lincoln Park, for example)...