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i knew i would come across you sooner than later. you have your opinion and i have mine. I am confident my knowledge of mississippi is much deeper than yours. Jackson is in the middle of the state, I said the coastal region. Why don't you compare those stats for the rest of us? Your opinion represents a lot of broad statements typically made by people who don't know much about America's best kept secret. Ocean Springs has one of the finest school districts in the United States. the Delta region of mississippi (western portion that borders louisianna) skews the numbers. again, i have my opinion and you have yours. Your opinion is worth no more or no less than mine. I have a Chicago education that will enable me to live fruitfully in mississippi. Especially, since the cost of living is ridiculously low. Why don't you talk about Chicago's 10% sales tax? Please, go ahead. I want to see you attempt to spin that one in a positive pro-chicago slant.
I even edited the portion of my post that you quoted and took out "steve-o" and inserted chicago boosters because I knew before I even posted that you would have something to say about it...I'm on to you. As are many others on this board.
Oooh, youre on to me, wow. You better be because I sniff out BS, which your post reeked of. Give me a town on the coastal range of MS and Ill look up its sunshine percentage. Its not gonna be much different than Jackson, thats for sure. Bottom line is that MS's sunshine % is hardly above Chicago's, which you proclaim to be so bad. What a crock. If oyu want hardcore sunshine, go to someplace like Yuma that averages 340+ days of sun a year, not 200 like MS or Chicago.
And Im not gonna praise Chicago's taxes, THEY BLOW. Thats part of the reason why I dont live in Cook, er, Crook County.
I've lived in chicago all my life, and still work in the loop, it is a great city but it is a tough/gritty city. i find some of the people to be uncaring and just flat out struggling to put a smile on their faces as they walk down the city's wide and clean sidewalks. The weather is terrible no matter what any hardcore chicago booster will say. Here it is August and at night the weather has been 59-62 degrees...in the middle of August! that is terrible. plus you can look at chicago and its' surrounding suburbs (since 7 million people live in chicagoland comapred to only 3 million in the city proper) to see how many days the chicago area has of sunshine compared to a lot of other areas in america.
chicago's weather does it for me. I'm moving to mississippi very shortly (the coastal region) where its' blue skies and warm weather all year long. i just don't like the pollution (step outside of your building and take a deep breath, how does that smell?), traffic (constant blare of absurdly loud Chicago ambulances and fire trucks combined with too many crazy taxis cutting you off even pedestrians!), crime (murder rate is/has been higher than NYC for some time plus chicago's homicide rate has skyrocketed this year), and the people tend to be tough and gritty. I am ready for some good ole southern hospitality where people still have manners and use language such as "yes mam and yes sir." this is not against chicago but against all large cities.
In short, Chicago is the most American city in the world and has a lot of things going for it. but i do detest how many billions of dollars the mayor consumes to "put on a pretty face" for toursists and what not with projects like millenium park when crime is still out of control combined with not enough money being devoted to its' educational system. Chicago also has the highest sales tax in the country...10%! imagine paying an extra 10% everytime you buy something. It's absurd! Where is that money going because I don't see any improvements...
Jeez, why are you here if you're THAT unhappy? I've lived here a decade and don't really see the issues you've pointed out as giving me an troubles.
The low temps the past two weeks have been between 62 and 73. The highs have been between 77 and 88. Low humidity. It's been perfect as far as I'm personally concerned. I would hope it drops to the mid 60's at night, at least it cools the house down and you don't have to turn the AC on.
The sales tax is high, but the highest income tax bracket in the city is 3%, and right now I'm paying $1,950 in property taxes on a $240,000 condo. There are payoffs.
The city smells much better than other cities due to the strict trash laws and the fact we have alleys behind every building with sealed garbage containers. The air quality is quite nice due to the lake breeze, and I never smell anything near what I do in New York. The comment I hear most often from people visiting is how they're amazed at the cleanliness of the city.
I sleep on a quiet peaceful street in the heart of Buena Park with no troubles from sirens, and the 800,000 residents up on the north side would hardly be concidered "gritty". I have more of a problem that many people are the opposite of gritty and I tend to roll my eyes.
I think a lot of it is perception and how you view your city. Congrats on moving to MS as is your goal, but I hope you don't think a majority of people in this city actually see it as dismal as you. It's a big city full of all walks of life, you can't really lump it into one description.
88 degrees?! when is the last time chicago saw 88 degrees? You say 2 weeks, and if it is 2 weeks, it was 13 or 14 days ago. The weather has been in the 70's for days on end...which is much too low for me. Some people like the cool weather...others like it very hot. To each his own.
if you don't think that the smell of exhaust effects the city, then you are not a walker....you are driving place to place because while you are waiting to for the walk signs to change, one smells nothing but exhaust as the cities' trollies, tour buses, and PACE buses slowly turn the corners. You must live in one of chicago's less diverse neighborhoods or a genuinely nice neighborhood. I am from the south side where there's a different story to tell...a story often not spoken about.
the city is clean...it's part of the mayor's plan to "put on a pretty face." the city doesn't smell of garbage...it just smells of exhaust due to the heavily congested streets of the loop. Of course on windy days this is a non-factor but the weather has been fairly non-windy lately (including today).
i've traveled all over the united states and it is always a downer landing in chicago. it is usually cloudy, rainy, colder, and doesn't smell as fresh as places like Charlotte and Las Vegas. And say what you want but Chicago is gritty and so are the people.
to each his own...i like the bears and many other things about the city but as a poster said previously in this thread about 20 pages back..."chicago's weather is its' major thorn in its' side." that's for me atleast...to each his/her own.
Remember Chicago is a business/serious city first. Other cities are fun/entertainment cities first and foremost.
i've traveled all over the united states and it is always a downer landing in chicago. it is usually cloudy, rainy, colder, and doesn't smell as fresh as places like Charlotte and Las Vegas
Well Charlotte and Vegas are considerably smaller than Chicago, maybe thats the reason they smell better. And FYI, 95% of the cities in this country will be colder and cloudier than Vegas, no big surprise there.
88 degrees?! when is the last time chicago saw 88 degrees? You say 2 weeks, and if it is 2 weeks, it was 13 or 14 days ago. The weather has been in the 70's for days on end...which is much too low for me. Some people like the cool weather...others like it very hot. To each his own.
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I dunno, I just looked it up in the weather almanac. It was the mid to upper 80's the first 8 days of August, and between 77 and 78 the last 5 days, with one day at 75. Next 7 days are suppose to be between 80 and 86, so that should be better.
"Not to knock on Chicago, I'm sure it's a cool place to live.. but what is it known for that really stands out among major world cities? Railroads? Meat Packing? Populism?"
I have been turned off by LA lately. It was pretty much my second home growing up and I loved it. As I grew up I realized that the people of LA are not that friendly....what I find most annoying is the over-the-top pride they have for LA....I can't stand it. LA is a great city but it is not BETTER than Chi-town in no way. I've stayed in both cities plenty of times, Chicago is just something else. Chicagoans can also be rude sometimes...but they're real...and I can respect that. LA and Chicago should be placed in the same echelon of American cities....both are unique for different reasons.
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You better be because I sniff out BS, which your post reeked of. Give me a town on the coastal range of MS and Ill look up its sunshine percentage. Its not gonna be much different than Jackson, thats for sure. Bottom line is that MS's sunshine % is hardly above Chicago's, which you proclaim to be so bad. 
