Chicago or Boston? (living, best, cost, state)

[Stockholmaren]

Boston or Chicago? That’s the question we currently face, and we’re hoping that some of you can shed some light on what would be the best city for us.
To give you some background information, I’ll be starting a MBA either in Chicago or Boston this fall, while my wife will continue her current job from home, but eventually she’ll probably look for a job in the area within the Instructional Design field.
I understand that there are many different areas in a city, but some of the criteria we will use to determine what’s the best for us are the following:

-Crime
-Cost-of-living
-Job Market
-Recreational opportunities (outdoor, beach, mountains, boating, sports etc.)
-Schools (not a priority right now, but will be eventually)
-Diversity (we’re an interracial couple)
-Liberal mindset

[oakparkdude]

I've lived in both, Chicago from 92-200, then to Boston till 2005, and back to Chicago (suburbs) since.

Crime: this will vary enormously depending on the neighborhood. Which schools are you considering?

Cost-of-Living: housing is more expensive in Boston, car insurance is crazy expensive in Boston. (of course its easier to get by without a car there)

Diversity: I'd say its about the same in both areas.

Liberalness: Its hard to beat Boston (home of Ed Kennedy and legalized gay marriage), but I'd say Chicago (at least the central city) is pretty close.

Recreational opportunities: Weather is about the same. The nice thing about Boston is how close you are to skiing in Maine/NH/VT. Chicago is pretty much surrounded by flatness. Both are close to bodies of water. Boston has Community Boating which is a nice organization for people interested in sailing.

Don't know enough to comment on the other categories.

[Steve-o]

Sukwoo, true the Chicagoland area is flat, but a short 2-3 hour drive to WI or Galena and there are several nice ski resorts to choose from. Michigan also has some decent ones as well. ;-)

[mdz]

...but truth be told, no midwest ski resort can compare to vermont or out West.

[oakparkdude]

I've gone skiing at Devil's Head and at several places in VT and ME. As mdz says, there's no comparison. I've heard the UP in MI is pretty decent. That being said, once you've been out west (my favorite is Whistler), even the best of the east coast pales in comparison.

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by mdz

...but truth be told, no midwest ski resort can compare to vermont or out West.

Of course.

But that isnt to say that the midwest has some decent resorts, considering most of the area is as flat as a piece of paper.

[ksmc]

Boston is more liberal. Boston is more diverse. Boston is safer too. More activities too because you can drive to neighboring states so easily.

[Drover]

I wasn't aware that activities were defined by state borders -- though for what it's worth, you can drive from Chicago to Wisconsin in about 40 minutes, from Chicago to Michigan in about an hour, and from Chicago to Indiana in zero seconds. But I'm willing to bet New England is more interesting than the Midwest. Then again, so is watching a snail crawl across the garden....

I have a hard time believing Boston is more diverse than Chicago. We have a higher proportion of Blacks, Hispanics and Asians than Boston. Every ethnicity imaginable is represented here.

I don't have a hard time believing Boaston is more liberal than Chicago, especially if comparing metro areas.

Boston and Chicago have pretty comparable crime rates except with regard to murder, where Chicago is the clear and convincing frontrunner. That said, according to the CPD crime statistics, about 12% of those murders are actually motivated by random-encounter robberies. The rest are gang-related or domestic. So basically, stay out of gangs, stay out of gang-infested neighborhoods and don't date/marry an abusive creep and your chances of being a murder victim drop precipitously.

[oakparkdude]

Well, for what its worth, Boston's murder rate is trending up and Chicago's is trending down, so for the last year stats are available (2005), they are relatively similar.

[im2005]

I have lived in both and I actually think Chicago is way more diverse. Boston is more liberal for sure, but it's a Beacon Hill sort of liberal; Chicago-style liberal is totally different (think more Obama, less Kerry).

Chicago is bigger - many more choices in terms of restaurants, bars, etc. if that's your thing. Boston is a more beautiful city and has better options for weekend getaways by car (beach & mountains).

Weather is about the same. I think Chicago is colder but Boston has wilder weather - it's actually windier and they get heavy nor'easters.

Depends on what your thing is. For me, the deciding factor: friendlier, less reserved people in Chicago.