Hyde Park, Chicago vs. University City, Philly

[goonsta]

Good luck finding nightlife near Hyde Park, its notorious for being dry. Its a better neighborhood for 30-somethings than college age or just out of college age. Evanston has more going on.

[IAmEverywhere]

I'm a software development professional. I've also spent quite a bit of time in both Hyde Park and University City and have met many students from both Chicago and Penn.

Originally Posted by Planner15

Access to public transit

University City wins, by far.

A subway line and streetcars run through University City. You can also walk to 30th Street Station, the main rail hub in Philly, and take the regional (mostly suburban) trains and even Amtrak in any direction.

Hyde Park has only suburban trains which run infrequently and buses.

Originally Posted by Planner15

Quality of public transit

Philly wins, although not by that much.

There are only two subway lines in Philly, although the city is smaller than Chicago, so it balances out. Both cities have wide swaths which are not densely populated and served only by buses. The big difference is that Philly has noticeably better regional rail coverage than Chicago.

Originally Posted by Planner15

Access to computer science jobs

Honestly, neither city is a true tech hub. Philly is at least a short trip on Amtrak or bus from NYC and DC. Overall, the job market and economy in Chicago are mediocre. Conversely, the City of Philadelphia has atrocious business taxes which drive potential employers away.

Originally Posted by Planner15

weather

Philly is noticeably warmer.

Originally Posted by Planner15

Geek friendly

Neither city really has a geeky vibe.

In general, I found Penn students to be friendly and welcoming. However, this may be skewed by the ones I've met. A Penn alumnus I know admitted to me that many Penn students are jerks.

The University of Chicago has an intellectual, geeky vibe. However, while some Chicago students are friendly, I've found others to be somewhat cold.

In practice, Philly is probably a better fit socially than Chicago for you. Chicago is socially polarized and you really have to find a subculture to fit into. If your interests are mostly geeky, you're not likely to be welcomed by the Chicago mainstream, which is quite conformist. You may or may not fit in with the hipsters. Hipster culture really has nothing in common with old-school geek culture. In Philly, it's much easier to just be yourself and do your own thing.

Originally Posted by Planner15

Dating scene (I'm a straight male)

Both campuses have attractive women.

But when looking at the cities as a whole, Philly is vastly superior in this category for you.

The biggest reason for this is that women in Chicago generally prefer jocks and fraternity types. They also tend to be status conscious and to look for men with money. Women in Chicago also tend to run in close-knit circles which you'll have a very hard time breaking into. In my experience, women in Philly are much friendlier and more approachable.

The Wrigleyville social scene is about as ungeeky as it gets. Many of the other Chicago nightlife districts are only marginally better.

Much of the socializing in Chicago takes place in neighborhoods which are miles from Hyde Park. At Penn, you can walk to places where people socialize.

[IAmEverywhere]

Originally Posted by OyCrumbler

I definitely would. My friends have to TA for UPenn undergrads. Retarded is putting it lightly--this goes for most undergrads of almost every school I've ever met. It's a phase, I guess.

This makes no sense. Penn is extremely selective about who it admits. Drexel is also quite selective.

18-year-olds can be immature. However, the really immature ones are less likely to get into schools like Penn or even Drexel.

Many campuses and their surrounding neighborhoods can be really dysfunctional environments. Neither University City nor Hyde Park is in that category. I haven't been stared at or verbally abused while walking down the street.

That said, University City east of 40th Street or so tends to be dominated by undergrads. Grad students may prefer to live west of 40th. West of 40th, the neighborhood becomes much more of a mix of people, including many who aren't students at all.

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by IAmEverywhere

This makes no sense. Penn is extremely selective about who it admits. Drexel is also quite selective.

18-year-olds can be immature. However, the really immature ones are less likely to get into schools like Penn or even Drexel.

Many campuses and their surrounding neighborhoods can be really dysfunctional environments. Neither University City nor Hyde Park is in that category. I haven't been stared at or verbally abused while walking down the street.

That said, University City east of 40th Street or so tends to be dominated by undergrads. Grad students may prefer to live west of 40th. West of 40th, the neighborhood becomes much more of a mix of people, including many who aren't students at all.

I've spent several weeks living in University City and have been a fairly consistent visitor. I do not think undergrads of virtually any school, as a group, are particularly good company and are not much fun to have living in large numbers in the same neighborhood. Going further west is good for getting away from undergrads though it also gets grimier the further you get. Really, the big advantage of UPenn in terms of neighborhoods is that it is right next to Center City so I think if one can swing it, then living in Center City is an amazing option which offers so much more than living in University City.

[TheProf]

Even though this is about Chicago and Philly, Cleveland’s University Circle shares a lot of the same characteristics: elite university (just a half-step behind Penn and UC), an old formerly (and regaining) wealthy area that’s now trendy, several other amazing museums (Cleve Museum of Art, Nat History museum, Botanical Gardens and Cleveland’s smaller scale Smithsonian: the Western Reserve Historical Society featuring, among others, its famed Crawford Auto and Aviation museum) and top flight fine arts (Cleveland’s top 3 orchestra), educational institutions (prestigious Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland Institute of Art), great public transit (the heavy rail Red Line rapid transit to downtown (E. 4th, W. 6th, the casinos, restaurants, etc.), Ohio City, Detroit-Shoreway and the airport along with the 24/7 Health Line BRT (to Cleveland Clinic, CSU and Playhouse Sq)… The brand new/rapidly growing Uptown mixed-use apartment/retail district is a game changer for entertainment, food and retail (a sudden new college town and more) and the area is immediately adjacent one of the best, tightly configured, active Little Italy’s in the USA… And yes, University Circle, like it’s Chicago and Philly counterparts, sits next to a very poor, rundown area (Lower Glenville and East Cleveland)... I'd say, because Cleveland's Midwestern, University Circle feels more like Hyde Park with the old mansions and old brownstone apartments as opposed to Philly cobblestone, rowhouses, streetcars and overall tighter/more congested streets.

So while Hyde Park and University City are great trendy, diverse urbanized areas with great transit… they’ve got nothing on Cleveland’s University Circle.

[TheProf]

^In case you haven’t figured it out, the university I speak of is Case Western Reserve U…