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Chicago has some fun areas like the miracle mile and clubs in downtown and Boys town (I have to say Halsted is a fun street with great street fairs) but Denver has LODO, the 16th street mall and capitol hill.
Food-Chicago has more, its a larger city, then again in Denver you can find anything you need and want including some great restaurants in downtown in walking distance from the performing arts center and basketball arena. Makes for a great night out.
Entertainment- Not sure what you mean by entertainment since you have culture separate. If we are talking movies then any city with a movie theater is the same and Denver has plenty of them. Denver also has 6 flags, water world, and its close to world class skiing and some of the best resort towns not only in the nation but the world.
Overall Culture- Denver is the center for performing arts in the Rocky Mountain Region, it pains me to say that as a booster of Pueblo but its true. I have season tickets at the Buell, one of the largest performing art centers in the country, and they get some of the best musicals. This year I am going to see Beauty and the Beast, Wicked, The Book of Mormon (its already sold out), to name a few. Then Denver gets top concerts as I am going to see Madonna in October (I am in the 13th row! ) and Neal Diamond in July. This is on top of the many small and medium concerts and local plays Denver has that I don't attend and don't know much about but hear my friends talk about them all the time. So sure technically Chicago might be better but to say someone who lives in or near Denver is lacking in the culture scene would be wrong.
Sports- Both Denver and Chicago have all the major sports (NFL, NBA, Hockey, and Baseball) and college sports in division 1 and division 2 so I would call it a tie.
Skyline-This is personal preference but I happen to like how the Denver skyline look with the back drop of the rocky mountains better then the Chicago skyline. However the Chicago skyline is bigger.
Job opportunities- I have never looked for a job in either city so I am not qualified to answer this one.
Public Transportation- Chicago since they have a subway system.
Ethnic diversity-
Chicago
45.0% White
32.9% Black or African American
13.4% from some other race;
5.5% Asian
2.7% from two or more races
0.5% American Indian.
White 68.9% ( Non Hispanic white- 52.2%)
Black or African American: 10.2%
Native American: 1.4%
Asian: 3.4%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander: 0.1%
Some other race: 9.2%
Two or more races: 4.1%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 31.8%; Mexican Americans made up 31.2% of the city's population.
Technically I have never lived in either city, however, I have spent a considerable amount of time in each city. To be fair I have spent a lot more time in Denver since I only live 100 miles away, a hop skip and a jump. That being said I have spent enough time in Chicago to know what that city has to offer as well.
Umm ya. My uncle lived for years at Halsted and Oakdale in Boys town till he retired and moved to Palm Springs. I have been visiting Chicago since I was in middle school and when I turned 21 actually came out there. Because of this I can honestly say I know the gay night life in Chicago just as well as I know the gay night life in Denver. While its bigger in Chicago its not better as Denver has a great night life and I have just as much fun going out in Denver as I do in Chicago. Same with the performing arts and museums etc. The big difference is walkablity and mass transit and that I admit Chicago is better as in Denver a car is not a must but defiantly makes life easier. Another thing is Chicago is more urban so if someone is looking for a more urban life style then they would like Chicago more.
I know most people automatically think just because a city is larger its better, I am not in that camp. That is why even though I like to visit cities like Chicago and NYC and attended graduate school at USD in San Diego I don't have any desire to live there permanently.
Not sure why I'm throwing my hat in the ring here. I lived in the burbs of Chicago for 2 years, lived in the city itself (north side) for 2 years, and now live in the burbs again for the last 2 years. I am extremely well versed in the inner workings of this city, including the politics, the police force, the corruption, etc.
The people who live here and love it, do so with rose colored glasses on. They love it, well, just because. They cite the street festivals, the lakefront, the "people", etc etc etc. They'll cite Wrigley field, the "bean", the food, Michigan Ave, and the other inexplicable things like the "EL" (elevated train), summers by the lake, etc. If you only care about the surface of where you live, then yeah, you probably live in a nice north side apartment and think it is awesome.
Those things are fine, but there is so much more that determines why a person should or shouldn't live somewhere. Consider the following:
-We have some of the highest taxes in the nation (how about 14% sales tax on prepared food in the city?)
-We have literally the gold standard of corrupt government (482 federal corruption convictions in IL in the last 10 years, Colorado had 95) (as an aside, this costs IL and Chicago residents major money. Court costs aside, sending city contracts to crony buddies and connected families costs just the city of chicago an estimated $500M a year) - Perfect example, LITERALLY TODAY our former gov walked into prison for a 14 year sentence, the 2nd one in a row to go to federal prison. Thanks, littleton for taking that douche off our hands for a while.
-We have worse air quality (chicago: 37 air quality index score, denver: 26)
-IL private non farm job growth in the last decade was -6.9%, CO was+4.8%
-CO and Denver have lower taxes on every single category compared to IL and Chicago (sales, property, income, etc)
-People complain that Denver isn't diverse enough, but chicago is nationally recognized as being the most segregated city in america. If don't buy that, I dare you to leave your comfy Lincoln Park brownstone and head down to the south side or west side. It's all black, and mexican, respectively. And dangerous. Routine in the summer to have 40 or 50 people shot over a weekend - Also, I always hear the argument, "well it's contained within the bad areas so I don't care" First of all, wow. Secondly, if you were a, uh, "troubled youth" from englewood or garfield park, would you rob and rape in your ghetto neighborhood? or would you go to where people have money, walk around like they're in disney world, without a care in the world? Yeah, leave your ear buds in, I'm sure you'll be fine. Oh also, that crime RARELY gets reported, because it made chicago look even worse. Just talk to king richie daley about that one. Or the guy that got his face smashed in with a brick 2 summers ago. Or the irish girl that is brain dead because she got smashed in the head with a bat last year in wicker park/ buck town. yeah.
-Chicago is one of the most anti gun cities in the nation, and has an enormous crime problem. Colorado is a concealed carry shall issue state and has 127,000 law abiding citizens licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
-Denver's city data crime index is 334, chicago's is 586 - BTW chicago's crime stats are so manipulated the FBI won't even use them. Handy tricks include under reporting crime, calling a 9 person drive by 1 incident because it all happened at the same time, etc.
-Yes chicago has public transportation... which is underfunded by millions of dollars a year. Riding the EL is literally hell on earth, between break downs, no AC, bums yelling and begging for money, sitting in pee soaked seats (when you can get one) because they let bums sleep there over night...wow. Every year brings a budget crisis that threatens to shut it down or reduce routes. Prepare for your commute to get even worse.
-IL is running a $8.3B annual budget deficit. CO's is at $1.8. Still not good in CO, but not a doomsday scenario like IL or CA have. Oh yeah, the teacher's and Police/Fire pensions are underfunded, as in, the worst in the nation at 43% - CO's are at 71%
- Obviously the weather. IL sucks, the humidity and bugs absolutely destroy you in the summer. Winter, you get the terrible cold/snow but you can't do anything with it, unless you consider sitting in a bar a good time, or "hiking" in corn fields to be exciting
-Utility costs as measured by the CPI from the BLS puts denver/chicago about even...Denver's utilities are a bit more expensive, but only by about 2%- But on the flip side, gas in chicago is routinely one of the most expensive in the nation...At a state level, IL adds 31 cents tax to every gallon gas...CO is 20 cents.
-Population growth - people are leaving IL, chicago lost 200K residents in the last census. Colorado gained 56K just in the last year
-how about those awesome sporting events? The cubs? Yeah, 3rd most expensive tickets in baseball...Well I'm a white sox fan anyway, oops still 5th most expensive tickets. Rockies are 21st. Parking at the game? Sox park is $25 for the game, coors field is $13.
-Chicago/IL was ranked, at various times, 3rd most miserable city (forbes), 1st most stressful city (forbes), worst state to retire in...CO ranked 5th for best businesses, and 7th for overall well being.
This city is expensive, congested, run by the most corrupt people in the country, and everybody here is OK with it. they say, "chicago is the greatest city on earth" on the news literally every morning. I have data to suggest otherwise.
I am not a pessimist, or an optimist. I am a realist. And the reality of it is, IL and Chicago suck hard when compared to CO and Denver. they just do. You can still live here, it's ok. I don't want you bringing your problems with me next year when I move from this place (CO trip planned for july, again in december, again in april 2013 - fact finding mission to confirm my research).
Again, if you want to live somewhere because you “like it”, that’s fine. But as the outlaw Josey Wales once said, “Don’t p*ss down my back and tell me it’s raining”
Last edited by RockRiver1; 03-15-2012 at 03:00 PM..
Yeah, but Chicago still has a gorgeous skyline, flowers along Michigan Avenue (which has amazing shopping), a lake that may as well be an ocean, several of the world's best museums, is easily walkable, has an interesting history, great sports traditions (even if that includes the Cubs' streak) and some of the best restaurants and bars in the country. Politics and corruption and bad weather aside, Chicago's potentially the best city in the United States. I live in Denver, and I love Denver, and it's a great city. But there's something very special about Chicago.
Well, again, if you like a place because you like it, that's fine. I can't. Here's a few headlines just from today's awesome st. pats. But it's ok, they dyed the river green.
Yeah. It's awful, I grant that. But that said, those shootings are generally not happening in areas where tourists go. Chicago has some bad areas, yes. So does every metro city.
And as I said before, most of the crime that gets discussed in the media and made available to the public are the shootings. On a population adjusted basis (per 100K residents) Chicago has 229% more robberies than Denver, 49% more assaults, etc etc. And trust me, those aren't limited to the "bad neighborhoods". In fact, of all of my friends, I am the only person who lived in the city and wasn't the victim of some type of crime (robbery, burglary, car broken into,etc). And yeah, they all lived in the best neighborhoods that a young professional can live in.
But nationally, you never hear about the jogger on the lake path who gets beaten up and robbed, or the roving gangs of 20 or 30 "youths" that flash rob the apple store, the best buy, etc etc right by water tower mall (one of the biggest tourist destinations in the city). Or the party trolley full of bachelorette party girls who got their trolley boarded by thugs in river north and beaten up and robbed, in the middle of one of the highest priced shopping/dining districts in the entire city. Or the girl that got her teeth smashed out of her mouth by a bum because she wouldn't give him a cigarette (interestingly enough, that guy only spent about 6 months in jail for that, he's out again, and was just rearrested for trying to kill his girlfriend in a domestic disturbance. The ultra liberal judges and legal system in cook county give very light sentences to repeat offenders, hence, they are always available to commit more crime).
So yes, every metro city has crime, Chicago just has more of it. A lot more. And often times, it isn't limited to the "bad" neighborhoods like so many think. There's another benefit of Chicago's illustrious public transportation. You can travel from the south or west side's ghettos all the way up to your $850K condo in Lakeview (north side neighborhood where I used to live) for the low low price of $2.25. Crime travels.
So yes, every metro city has crime, Chicago just has more of it.
Actually there are many metros that have more crime than Chicago (Memphis, Little Rock, New Orleans, Birmingham, Atlanta, Charlotte, Richmond, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo, St. Louis) and others that are about tied (Dallas, Houston, Milwaukee).
It just so happens that Denver is not one of those places. So if your overriding quality of life issue is fear of crime, then Denver may be a great choice.
On the other hand, you may well find that no place in Denver is any safer than Lincoln Park/Lakeview/Bucktown/Wicker Park/downtown Chicago, and that you have sacrificed a lot of amenities for the illusion of safety. But that is your choice.
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) and Neal Diamond in July. This is on top of the many small and medium concerts and local plays Denver has that I don't attend and don't know much about but hear my friends talk about them all the time. So sure technically Chicago might be better but to say someone who lives in or near Denver is lacking in the culture scene would be wrong. 
