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People who like Chicago and NYC kill me with this logic. "Lets move to one of these towns so we can take the rain home after heavy drinking" Mad Stupes
When I worked in downtown Chicago in my 20's I would have a few drinks about 3 nights a week. Being able to take public transit home after having 3-4 drinks was a big plus. Public transit is/was perfectly safe even late at night. If you lived in the downtown area cab fares were usually pretty reasonable too if you prefer to be chauffeured.
There is a lot of culture in LA though, if anything Hollywood has more influence on the behavior of people than possibly any other entity. I mean, people see a movie they like and it's all they wanna talk about for days upon end.
Chicago has culture as well, but isn't as diverse, interesting, or attractive as LA and everything is dominated by beer & football.
There is a lot of culture in LA though, if anything Hollywood has more influence on the behavior of people than possibly any other entity. I mean, people see a movie they like and it's all they wanna talk about for days upon end.
Chicago has culture as well, but isn't as diverse, interesting, or attractive as LA and everything is dominated by beer & football.
In my experience, both cities have great culture, Los Angeles maybe just slightly more and it is more spread throughout the entire region instead of centered around the core.
Yes Chicago has the beer and football culture, but Los Angeles has the South Bay surfer brahs. Every city has its "lowest common denominator" (No offense to the brahs, I basically grew up with the Pismo Beach / Central Coast version).
My 2 cents. Chicago is a fantastic city to live in - especially if you are a young, career focused individual looking to build experience and have a great time while doing it.
You can find reasonable rents in safe areas, don't need to own a car or have the expenses that come with it, have access to great and active social scenes and nightlife, terrific restaurants that span the whole spectrum of cuisine and expense. There are all sorts of little villages and pockets of commerce throughout the city reaches that are fun to explore and you never know what you might find. Everything is easy to access because of a mature public transit system.
The crime, corruption, and problems you read about in the newspapers or see on television are real, but no different than any other large metropolitan area. It seems the negative news stories overshadow anything else they display, but on a daily basis for a majority of the areas in the city - people are safe and go about living their normal lives.
As far as weather? The most amazing late springs and summers, a small burst of chilly fall followed by months and months of miserable and cold winter that seems to last...too long. The weather is definitely a major negative and can't be ignored. For the young professional? Not a huge deal because outdoor activities aren't as much of a focus at that point in life and there are plenty of indoor things to do. But it keeps people indoors and in front of the TV more than I think is healthy.
The other negative is topography and natural setting. A jog after work on a nice spring day along Lake Michigan is nirvana for many, but outdoor activities are limited compared to Southern California.
The suburbs of Chicago are very nice and a lot more reasonable than anything in the Greater Los Angeles area. I thought houses were close together in the Chicago suburbs until I moved out here. Outdoor activities are a lot more accessible and plentiful due to access to parks and other natural areas.
But we come back to that weather issue once again and the reason why I left. Many people LOVE the change of season, shoveling snow, building snowmen with their kids, a hot bowl of chili on a fall night watching football. But those reasons weren't enough when a job offer popped up for California.
Either city is amazing and has it's negatives and positives and each individual must decide what their priorities are for their life.
I was recently in Chicago for a Wednesday afternoon - Friday evening business trip. I was mostly in meetings, so I didn't see much outside of a few nice restaurants, the Intercontinental hotel, and an office building. Wasn't my first time in chicago, but my first time in ..... 5-7 years?
Traffic, especially Friday at 2pm, on the towncar ride back to ORD, rivaled LA.
Weather, hot/semi-humid one day, chilly rainy the next. Didn't really bother me, but its not So Cal.
City itself seemed small. Much smaller than my time in NY, and obviously much less spread out than LA. But again, I was only in a small part, and only walked around a bit.
Native of LA who moved to Chicago and back to LA before moving to Texas.
I took an opprotunity to move there in the summer of 2006 and stayed through the spring of 2008. When I moved to Chicago, I feel in love with the city itself. It was June, everyone was active, there were street festivals all over the Lincoln Park area, etc. I was also highly impressed with the food scene and how easy it was to get around (which is better than LA in my opinion).
However, my true love for Chicago died as soon as mid-November rolled around. I simply could not take the weather and the grey which seemed almost constant. That is what I would truly caution anyone from Southern California on. I know we hear about how tough the winters are in the midwest, but you really dont grasp it until you are there for a full winter. It doesnt truly end until Mid-April. Also, while getting around soley by public transit is great and novel for a guy who grew up in the suburbs of LA, I really missed my car!
You are right, the drinking and partying culture is actually a lot better. And yes the public transportation is outstanding - and if you feel burdened by a car then Chicago is one of the best cities for that. People in Chicago seem to have the energy to stay out late and hold more liquor.
Other than simple expense, and environmental impact, I feel always burdened by not having a car. A car gives me freedom, as I like a city more for the nature that can be explored and enjoyed either right on the edge of the city or on the other side of the state. Road trips to beautiful natural scenery is obviously a much greater part of the culture of California.
I love LA. I lived there for the vast majority of my life and the geography (among other things) of the city consistently amazes me. I understand what you're saying about the virtues of having a car - there's definitely days when I miss flooring it down Malibu Canyon Road. But i was definitely hungry for a city with more visible urbanity instead of sprawl.
Glad to see you're enjoying it as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by munchitup
I've never really experienced this issue in Hollywood and DTLA. Transit is fine in that corridor to get me home when I am reprehensibly intoxicated.Actually what is funny is Los Angeles is one of the better cities for late-night public transit (for the 2nd largest city it's not up to par, of course). My last city, Boston, didn't even have buses that ran past 1:30 AM. Though I do wish we had some features of the Chicago El, like 24-hour trains! 24 hour buses are alright, add a little entertainment to the end of your night - just wish they got me home a little faster.
Yeah, the Red & Purple Lines are great for the small regions they service. Problem being, I lived in one of the huge swaths of the city unserved by any decent PT so it meant driving 15 minutes to get on the subway, which at that point just seems like a huge chore. Though on the occasions I was in Downtown or Ktown or Hollywood late at night and wanted to go somewhere in one of those neighborhoods, it was refreshingly convenient. The problem is that LA's PT is simply a novelty for people w/ cars who don't live near a station rather than an ingrained part of city life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by munchitup
It makes me like this city even more that half the country thinks of it as some sort of vapid, culture-less wasteland. Give me the city everyone loves to hate over an over-glorified but ultimately less-interesting city any day.
Yeah I love this too, I can't help but make an annoyingly smug face whenever I hear nonsense like that
Quote:
Originally Posted by jacktravern
This type of Rhetoric and clown logic is always is a major shake my head moment.
Several points
1-Did you ever stop to think that everybody doesnt like getting reprehensibly intoxicated? For health or waistline reasons. Or just the fact that there a potential to feel sick the next day
2-DO you plan on getting reprehensibly intoxicated every night of the week? if so, how do you hold a job sir?
3-People in driving societies do actually get drunk. They something called bring a designated driver or sleep in the car until they sober up as I have done once or twice
4-Do you think its even wise to get on a train while heavily intoxicated? You'd be an easy mark to get mugged
People who like Chicago and NYC kill me with this logic. "Lets move to one of these towns so we can take the rain home after heavy drinking" Mad Stupes
Wow
I stated one advantage for me about Chicago. I'm not projecting that choice on anyone else, nor am I implying that getting obliterated is my raison d'etre
Seems like you've given up on life if the idea of someone appreciating a city that facilitates fun offends you so.
I love LA. I lived there for the vast majority of my life and the geography (among other things) of the city consistently amazes me. I understand what you're saying about the virtues of having a car - there's definitely days when I miss flooring it down Malibu Canyon Road. But i was definitely hungry for a city with more visible urbanity instead of sprawl.
Glad to see you're enjoying it as well.
Thanks. Glad to see you are enjoying Chicago. Interesting thing is, and its often discussed here, and I have brought it up as well, that the surrounding Chicago suburbs lean much more in the traditional, bedroom community sense, somewhat bucolic in many areas, and without any "hot spots" which is fine. I can see some advantage of the suburbs being the suburbs and the city being the city.
In Chicagoland all the singles scene is all in the urban core, I love how in LA, I don't have to live somewhere thats visually urban to be somewhere where there are loads of single, attractive, ethnically diverse range of women. Bay Area is like that too. In Chicago not only the single scene, but also the ethnic diversity is generally more concentrated as well in the areas that are more visually urban, no nature/greenery, etc.
In Chicagoland all the singles scene is all in the urban core, I love how in LA, I don't have to live somewhere thats visually urban to be somewhere where there are loads of single, attractive, ethnically diverse range of women. Bay Area is like that too. In Chicago not only the single scene, but also the ethnic diversity is generally more concentrated as well in the areas that are more visually urban, no nature/greenery, etc.
This is what worries me about Chicago's north suburbs. I recently moved back from California to my native Wisconsin to commute to a job in Gurnee (got laid-off from my gig in Calif and needed work). Been thinking about moving to the Lake Co suburbs, but not really inspired by what I've seen so far. Seems pretty dull and un-populated compared to the moving and happening SFV and SGV 'burbs I lived and worked in when I was in CA. Diversity is actually not bad, I was surprised by the number of koreans, mexicans, europeans, etc living in the north suburbs; but it seems all the bars/live music/singles scene, etc. are more concentrated in the inner city like you and a few other posters have said. I'm single, love live music (I'm a guitarist) and meeting interesting people. I suppose I could always live/work in Lake Co. and do my socializing, etc. in the city. Otherwise, wondering if I should just start interviewing for another job back out in CA. Eh well, life is what you make of it, I suppose.
I don't know much about Chicago , I'd like to visit and have heard good things about it. Where I work we have a volunteer that works here part of the year and the rest of the year in Chicago (probably due to weather being not too great part of the year). When I think Chicago I think architecture, history and lot's of food. I also have the perception that there are parts of Chicago with really bad crime and that the politics are corrupt. But I'm sure people also think that way about L.A too! At least their 'bad areas' are a lot cheaper it seems.
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Eh well, life is what you make of it, I suppose.
