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well i guess the biggest complaint aside from how dirty it is and how unreliable the subways are (at least the lines i rely on N or W)... would be that there is no middle class, not even upper middle class. like i said my husband and i have good salaries and we can never save. if you don't have a car, that will save you a lot. we do because our families are nearby and it's easier to visit them then deal with the zoo that is penn station on a regular basis. we don't have a family yet, but we don't want to have one here. the cost of living is outrageous. however bad it may seem in chicago it's worse in nyc. much worse. we go to chicago and we're like 'wow what a bargain'. seriously. rents are so nice compared with what we're used to for what we get. my first "apartment" was 450 sq feet. and this was pretty long ago. 5 floor walkup. worked 2 jobs. yeah. now i'm older and want a decent sized space. i guess i'm more picky and i find that the pickier i am, the less nyc ever fits the bill.
also, post 9/11 people can say all they want about how new yorkers stuck together and i guess that's true, but overall, nope. in my opinion, snobs. for the most part. or else chip on shoulder. the nice ones are transplants from other parts of the country. helps to speak at least one language too. i had to play charades to get my rug from the cleaners. took an hour.
well i guess the biggest complaint aside from how dirty it is and how unreliable the subways are (at least the lines i rely on N or W)... would be that there is no middle class, not even upper middle class. like i said my husband and i have good salaries and we can never save. if you don't have a car, that will save you a lot. we do because our families are nearby and it's easier to visit them then deal with the zoo that is penn station on a regular basis. we don't have a family yet, but we don't want to have one here. the cost of living is outrageous. however bad it may seem in chicago it's worse in nyc. much worse. we go to chicago and we're like 'wow what a bargain'. seriously. rents are so nice compared with what we're used to for what we get. my first "apartment" was 450 sq feet. and this was pretty long ago. 5 floor walkup. worked 2 jobs. yeah. now i'm older and want a decent sized space. i guess i'm more picky and i find that the pickier i am, the less nyc ever fits the bill.
also, post 9/11 people can say all they want about how new yorkers stuck together and i guess that's true, but overall, nope. in my opinion, snobs. for the most part. or else chip on shoulder. the nice ones are transplants from other parts of the country. helps to speak at least one language too. i had to play charades to get my rug from the cleaners. took an hour.
yeah, i'm not looking forward to encountering snobbier types. i'm grateful that they're in short supply in chicago. i like chicago's grit, but the flipside i guess is that chicago seems a bit less cultured and cosmopolitan.
haha, pardon my rant. i'm just disgruntled. obviously i moved there for a reason and stayed there so long. i guess my priorities have changed since i've (yikes) gotten older. i see your point. my family and friends all still live in the area so i've always got places to crash and come visit if i get homesick.
What a coincidence; we've got one New Yorker heading out to Chicago, one Chicagoan heading out to NYC, and then me, one New Yorker who's lived in Chicago for a year.
Chicago rents are definitely lower than New York's and you get much more. The city is spread out in a sprawl (you should check out where East Chicago is to get an idea) which probably explains why rents are a bit cheaper. The buildings don't seem as old so the quality of the apartments are much better.
The pace in Chicago is slower. I felt I was being watched for zipping down streets and jaywalking ever chance I got. Remember this: pedestrians don't rule Chicago, cars do. Unless you're in the Loop, most of Chicago's intersections consist of stop signs, which means it'll be between you and the driver to decide and it's usually the driver.
On average, I would say the weather is about 10 degree differential. Snows a little more in Chicago. The temperature differences between the suburbs and the neighborhood bordering Lake Michigan are something to note; it's much colder in the suburbs and warmer along the coast, at least in winter so I've been told.
The trains in Chicago seem filthier than I can remember from trains in New York, maybe it's just the fabric they lay on the seats that's always stained. I don't remember if it was the whole system but I can at least tell you the red and brown lines, which happen to be two of the more popular lines, are undergoing a major overhaul. Delays can be expected for over half an hour during rush hour.
The gay population seems to be huge in the city, or at least more noticeable. They're all concentrated in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and their own area, Boystown. Not a day passed that I didn't see a gay.
To the Chicagoan:
Other than the usual sites, I would recommend spending time in the St. Mark's neighborhood. Very hip and a lot of bohemians walking around. Cheap food and plenty of interesting shops. It's a very grungy neighborhood. If you'll be attending NYU, you'll probably end spending time there anyway.
I can't think of much else to say aside from what you what already expect.
to the person moving to nyc, i guess it depends what you're into. in my opinion, the st marks area is so bridge-tunnel (nj, li, etc) crowd. mostly touristy or just plain cheesy. no offense. it used to be more fun back in the day, more original, more artsy... now it's just too annoying, different crowd. but i guess it depends what you're into. i prefer les or e village below 6 st (love all the cheap indian places there yummm) for bars and shows, restaurants, etc. since you're not some 18-21 year old nyu kid i doubt you'll really want to hang out in the area near nyu. just my opinion. there are much more fun areas to explore. if i get a sense of what you're into i can recommend lots of places. are you coming out here at all? how are you on the decision process?
to the new yorker now in chicago... what drew you there? with regards to subways, i guess it depends here what line you take. i am always on the N/W and they are very dirty and gross. my husband is all into old new york and trains/subways, etc. and he's all upset about the bright shiny new trains on some lines 4/5/6/L now N too. the ones with automated voices. they are way too bright, remind me of hospitals. but the ac does work on them better than others. we're not even sure when we're moving, but we do want to leave. im applying to schools in chicago and i think it will be more affordable there than here if just one of us works fulltime. what's your experience been? are you native new yorker or elsewhere?
weather question - was it milder there this past winter too? compared to other winters? here was insanely mild - 1st weekend in january i was wearing flipflops at the farmers market. i do want a larger space - that's why we moved way out to brooklyn originally. i don't mind being spread out a bit i guess. i'm more private - where i am now our yard has no privacy. it's annoying. i have a car so i'm somewhat concerned about parking (costs, etc). my brother and his family are in urbana - not close but closer than i am now! and they're having another baby in sept so i'd like to be closer to them. if i may ask, what neighborhood do you live in? we're looking in wicker park, bucktown mostly. yay big points for the gay population everywhere. i like more liberal areas - nothing fazes me. and i prefer to have my (future) kids in a diverse area which is pretty openminded. coming from ny i guess i'm pretty spoiled in that regard.
what do you miss most about ny? i guess you saw my post about the pizza. that concerns me. and sports. other than that, i'm ready to move... hahaha
thanks for the great advice. well, nyu *might* not work out for me. i was put on the waitlist, and have yet to get off (unlike many others at this point). otherwise, i'll be going to school in morris park in the bronx. i'm mentally preparing myself for there being not much to do in the area, but i do like the school and it's 30-60 minutes from manhattan. any advice on that part of the bronx is most welcome.
the red line stretches from the north side all the way to some of the not-so-great neighborhoods in chicago on the south side. i think it's especially the folks from those not-so-great neighborhoods who are more likely to just leave their trash behind on the train (if you hang out in those neighborhoods, which you should have no reason to unless you live there, you'll see folks nonchalantly just drop their trash right on the sidewalk. it's quite nice). the brown line is probably a little cleaner, since it really only goes to nicer areas in town.
the winter was a milder here at first than it usual. people were gasping "global warming" and freaking out about the possibility that it might not snow. haha. then winter hit with a vengeance, and didn't leave us until april. it felt more like winter was shifted forward a month or two but we still got the full treat. based on talking to nyc friends and visiting there once last winter, i think your milder portion of the winter was nicer than ours.
if you have a car, then chicago should be good. there's no alternate side of the street parking rules. you just gotta watch out for the street cleaning signs that go up in the fall and spring, or it's a $50 ticket.
wicker park/bucktown is pretty nice but decently gentrified (it's passing the bohemian stage). the apartments are also relatively small. my favorite neighborhoods are albany park and rogers park (very diverse), but they're kind of far from downtown. i'd say logan square and ukrainian village are the next wicker park. they're still pretty bohemian. plenty of artists. it's not the easiest to find parking spots in wicker park/bucktown/ukrainian village, but you should be able to get parking permits which will help.
chicago's got some good beer, too. goose island is locally brewed, and i like it well enough.
haha so your red line is like our A/C train? yikes...i remember one time coming all the way from 190 st back to jay st in brooklyn on the A and was groped. eww. learned my lesson then.. yeah but even taking the N to manhattan in the morning we have the occasional bum sleeping and taking up like 5 seats and it's rush hour. usually he/she has at least one smelly cart/baby carriage too.
and wicker park/bucktown is like your williamsburg? great. i left there after a few years because it was becoming so gentrified, condos everywhere... just waiting on their starbucks. doh! maybe we should look elsewhere?
So ironic - my girlfriend and I just made the decision to move BACK to Chicago after coming out to Brooklyn on a whim a couple years ago. Originally we landed in this awful loft building in Bushwick that was deplorable for 1 year. We then moved into a more cramped RR apt in East W'burg/West Bushwick. Considerably nicer, but still a little rough at times and expensive.
Ultimately, I think we both realized how much we liked Chicago's atmosphere and just the general humanity of the Midwest. NYC is fine for a lot of folks but I guess it's a place I'd like to visit and not live.
That said, I would argue that the "West of Western" rule is a little dated. I used to live off Division/Ashland in Wicker Park and would go to bars/restaurants over in Humboldt Park (west of Western Ave) all the time. It's actually a very beautiful area w/amazing homes. Maybe Bushwick hardened me up a bit but I definitely would not rule out that area. Only real drag is that it's not exactly near the subway lines - you truly are depended on the bus system.
oh no!! yeah that area is getting so pricey but is very sketchy and the further you go out on the L the more sketchy. it's also getting very $$$ though you do get a huge space. when are you moving back? i'm not even sure where to look to be honest. my father in law is very sick and we may have to reschedule our trip, but we'd planned to come out tomorrow night through sunday. i think east williamsburg/west bushwick are names landlords/brokers invent to rent their spaces. i don't think there is such a thing - it's williamsburg graham and west on the L and then bushwick. i remember looking at a place in bushwick back in 2000 and then going to a friend's party last summer on the roof. scary. hasn't changed much. more hipsters but what are they gonna do to protect me? haha.
nyc is nice and all, but my husband and i are getting sick of it. his band is sort of disintegrating and i want to look at law schools and why bother looking at here when we don't want to live here? it's too $$ and frankly at this point just too much. my husband grew up in williamsburg, when it was way rough. i'm from jersey but i've lived in the city for many years.
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to the person moving to nyc, i guess it depends what you're into. in my opinion, the st marks area is so bridge-tunnel (nj, li, etc) crowd. mostly touristy or just plain cheesy. no offense. 
it used to be more fun back in the day, more original, more artsy... now it's just too annoying, different crowd. but i guess it depends what you're into. i prefer les or e village below 6 st (love all the cheap indian places there yummm) for bars and shows, restaurants, etc. since you're not some 18-21 year old nyu kid i doubt you'll really want to hang out in the area near nyu. just my opinion. there are much more fun areas to explore. if i get a sense of what you're into i can recommend lots of places. are you coming out here at all? how are you on the decision process? 
funny coincidence.
