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I think your experience with the lakefront in Chicago though is probably not as big as you think. Lake Shore Drive does not go the entire length of the waterfront for the city. In the north in Edgewater and Rogers Park, there are numerous high rises literally right next to the lake with no road separating them. Some basically have beaches right outside of the building. Walk out the back of the buildings and you are right near the water. There are some high rises on the lake in South Shore as well.
As far as the park stuff goes, if you go a bit north of North Ave Beach then Lincoln Park greatly expands in green space east of the road. Montrose Beach area has 10 or 15 acres of green space next to the beach. Remember that Lincoln Park, the actual park, is over 1200 acres, and over 50% of it is next to the lake with no road separating it.
I'm familiar with the park in LIC, and while it's pretty nice, I still wouldn't take it over chicago's waterfront parks. I think the best waterfront in nyc is far out of Manhattan in areas like Rockaway which has a completely different vibe than Manhattan.
At the end of the day though, the thread is about if you should visit one. Both have waterfronts, but the actual niceness of the waterfront around both cores are quite different.
I never claimed that my knowledge of the Chicago waterfront was exhaustive. But you are picking out fringe areas (Edgewater, Rogers Park), that are unlikely to be accessed by most tourists, as exceptions to the rule. Obviously I wasn't talking about those areas, i was talking about the areas closer to Downtown. Sometimes I feel like you like to argue just for the sake of arguing.
My main point was that Chicago has better recreational waterfront development while NY has better mixed use waterfront development. And, of course, no one waterfront park in NY makes it better than Chicago. But I brought up numerous examples in NY/NJ of the type of mixed use waterfront that's not found in Chicago. If I want to hang out by the water, then have lunch in a waterfront restaurant, then do some shopping nearby -- I would rather be in Battery Park City, Dumbo or Hoboken than anywhere in Chicago.
But how is Chicago not just a poor man's NYC? Pretty much everything it offers, NYC has and more:
Chicago has a lakefront, NYC has the Atlantic Ocean.
Chicago has history, NYC has even richer history.
Chicago is urban, NYC is even more urban
Chicago is diverse, NYC is even more diverse
Chicago has parks, NYC has grander parks.
Chicago is a big city, NYC is an even bigger city
So on, so fourth...
[/Devil's Advocate]
No one will lessen Central Park in Manhattan. Its Tops. Chicago's Lincoln Park has its zoo and is awesome on the lakefront just north of the city. Downtown is Grant, Millennium and Maggie Daley Parks. They are ON the Lakefront too gaining millions of tourist and the Museum Campus off Grant Parks southern edge ON THE LAKE tourist also head too.
This little group of Chicago haters on this forum are hilarious. Guess what guysss? I lived in Manhattan. In families penthouse. For years. Experienced some of the best it had to offer. Nobu was a favorite. Bagatelle anyone? The basement was always fun. If you don't know what I'm talking about you aren't in the in crowd. Lavo was great fun always! Also spent time in Harlem so not just south of the park. Love the urbanity there. I now live a very different existence on the other end of the spectrum in Chicago. New York can suck my dick. Chicago all day baby. Always found New York overhyped and not that great. And lots of people agree. As far as the silly waterfront argument, I live two blocks from a beach with water that'll make you think you're in miami where people walk around in flip flops with beach chairs and volley ball nets in hand. Won't find that in NY. Period. Visit Chicago and skip ny. People here don't think the world revolves around them.
This little group of Chicago haters on this forum are hilarious. Guess what guysss? I lived in Manhattan. In families penthouse. For years. Experienced some of the best it had to offer. Nobu was a favorite. Bagatelle anyone? The basement was always fun. If you don't know what I'm talking about you aren't in the in crowd. Lavo was great fun always! Also spent time in Harlem so not just south of the park. Love the urbanity there. I now live a very different existence on the other end of the spectrum in Chicago. New York can suck my dick. Chicago all day baby. Always found New York overhyped and not that great. And lots of people agree. As far as the silly waterfront argument, I live two blocks from a beach with water that'll make you think you're in miami where people walk around in flip flops with beach chairs and volley ball nets in hand. Won't find that in NY. Period. Visit Chicago and skip ny. People here don't think the world revolves around them.
Make you think youre in Miami? Right. Kind of like the cheesy palm trees they put up too. Sounds like you can't take the high road and are becoming a hater yourself. People that care about living near water would rather be within an hour to the Hamptons than have a lake. Don't get me wrong Lake Michigan is fine but couldn't live away from the ocean.
Make you think youre in Miami? Right. Kind of like the cheesy palm trees they put up too. Sounds like you can't take the high road and are becoming a hater yourself. People that care about living near water would rather be within an hour to the Hamptons than have a lake. Don't get me wrong Lake Michigan is fine but couldn't live away from the ocean.
Was mainly talking about the water color. Should have been more clear, my bad. The hues of lake Michigan can most definitely appear tropical. Obviously the surroundings give it away. Chicago has real beach neighborhoods (Edgewater) where every afternoon in the summer, people grab the sunscreen and flip-flops and hit the beach after work. Nice beaches. New York has absolutely nothing to compare. The lake obviously isn't the ocean but the waves can get just as big, although less frequently, and the water stretches as far as the eye can see. I love the ocean. I love the lake too.
Make you think youre in Miami? Right. Kind of like the cheesy palm trees they put up too. Sounds like you can't take the high road and are becoming a hater yourself. People that care about living near water would rather be within an hour to the Hamptons than have a lake. Don't get me wrong Lake Michigan is fine but couldn't live away from the ocean.
Long Island surely has its beaches. But nothing bests the white sands of Florida and its blue waters and palms (so both Northeastern and Great Lakes beaches are secondary). Many by Northern NJ ..... people don't go in the ocean water. Speaking of blue hues ..... Lake Michigan surely does a good job for those flying over of on its shores. Still within the city of Chicago and near and in its downtown.
This video is North Ave Beach. Just north of downtown Chicago within the Greater Core.
A DRONE captures its scope, blue waters and popularity with beach-goers ....
I do wish that LSD was changed from being an expressway for large chunks of its length to being a boulevard or esplanade with more stoplights, at-level pedestrian crossings, fewer traffic lanes. and bus only lanes.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 11-13-2017 at 12:57 AM..
Make you think youre in Miami? Right. Kind of like the cheesy palm trees they put up too. Sounds like you can't take the high road and are becoming a hater yourself. People that care about living near water would rather be within an hour to the Hamptons than have a lake. Don't get me wrong Lake Michigan is fine but couldn't live away from the ocean.
Excellent, please stay as close to the Ocean as possible.
But keep in mind that the Lake Chicago sits on is some 30 times larger than Long Island.
So if Long Island was sitting in the middle of a freshwater sea 30 times it size, they still wouldn't feel they are living near water? Maybe they only like saltwater? Hate freshwater?
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