Many Chicagoans have an unhealthy obsession with berating surrounding states. (Evanston: tax, live)

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

Interesting comments from the original poster and that post seems to have sparked some controversy.

Seems to me any random city in the Midwest or any region in the USA for that fact , will put their own city on a pedestal.

Example: People in Michigan from Grand Rapids believe their fine city is damn near perfect.

Example: In Indiana they have a tendency to look down at the northern half of that states cities in reg to Ft. Wayne, South Bend, IN.

All in all in my experiences with the city of Chicago most people do not have a spiteful attitude towards others although at times I can see where people look down upon the areas south of the city.

This is especially true if you get into a one on one conversation.
Overall my perception of Chicagoan is positive and I find 99% of the city's inhabitants friendly.

Seems to me to the city knows the importance of relationships beyond the city limits.

I do not run across to many Chicago residents who do not welcome a visitor and almost 100% of the time are always giving advice on where to eat , what to see.

People on the coast the same thing NYC tends to think they are the shining city and Boston thinks the same thing about themselves.

It is just human nature.

IMHO there is alot of bashing of Illinois and certain states stereo type our area because of politics, weather, regional accents and taxes.

This is clearly a two-way street.

On a different level I tend to believe Chicago is more open to different beliefs , different religions than most of the Midwest.

The key word is most. As many of the other smaller major metro (2 million plus) areas in the midwest and the college towns are quite cosmopolitan and liberal.

[Tex?Il?]

Originally Posted by chrawnick

Chicago is the best in the Midwest and everyone will just have to deal and accept that.

What is that video all about? Where is that from?

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

The key word is most. As many of the other smaller major metro (2 million plus) areas in the midwest and the college towns are quite cosmopolitan and liberal.

True!
Madison, WI
Champaign, IL
Bloomington, IN

Ann Arbor, MI
Lansing, MI
Basically any BIG 10 College atmosphere.

Madison probably being the most open minded of the pack.
Great city (madison)

[Drover]

Originally Posted by sunnyandcloudydays

True!
Madison, WI
Champaign, IL
Bloomington, IN

Ann Arbor, MI
Lansing, MI
Basically any BIG 10 College atmosphere.

Madison probably being the most open minded of the pack.
Great city (madison)

OK, I've been to every place on this list except Ann Arbor. (BTW, MSU is in East Lansing, not Lansing.) Of the rest, the only one that comes close to being "cosmopolitan" is Madison, and that's mostly relative to its size. It's a real stretch to call any of the rest "cosmopolitan."

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Drover

OK, I've been to every place on this list except Ann Arbor. (BTW, MSU is in East Lansing, not Lansing.) Of the rest, the only one that comes close to being "cosmopolitan" is Madison, and that's mostly relative to its size. It's a real stretch to call any of the rest "cosmopolitan."

Agreed, I love Madison, but it isn't cosmopolitan. It's a state capital with a large university. It's probably 90% white.

[FAReastcoast]

Originally Posted by Drover

OK, I've been to every place on this list except Ann Arbor. (BTW, MSU is in East Lansing, not Lansing.) Of the rest, the only one that comes close to being "cosmopolitan" is Madison, and that's mostly relative to its size. It's a real stretch to call any of the rest "cosmopolitan."

I went to U of M, Ann Arbor, while a great town, is not cosmopolitan.

[Tex?Il?]

I guess it depends on how you define cosmopolitan.

I believe the more transplants you have from a much wider geographic range, and when the foreign born population is more educated and exposed to more cultures then that can bring up the cosmopolitan index of an area.

When people immigrate as large families, have lower levels of education and more blue collared jobs, and live in communities where people come frome the same region that they came from, I think that is diverse, but NOT cosmopolitan. Not that theres anything wrong with that.

A population that is 90% white, but where there are more people that have traveled to other countries and been exposed to more cultures, then that is cosmopolitan.

Cosmopolitan is more of a mindset, that includes being more well traveled for what your income allows, which college faculty, and even government employees often time are. College faculty and high level government employees are often going to be more cosmopolitan than the average person.

[themag62]

Originally Posted by Lorielicious

I was actually thinking this when I opened the thread, but it amused me more to make a crack about the rest of the Midwest. To be slightly more serious, I've encountered entirely too many people who peer over their monocles at any part of the city not on the North side along the Brown or Red Lines. "You mean you don't live in Lakeview? You may as well hang yourself with piano wire!"

I totally agree. I more commonly hear neighborhood elitism among Chicagoans than trashing of other states. A chicago parent board recently included a lament that there are no houses to buy in the city bcs. she couldn't find any rehabbed ones below 8ook in Lakeview.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Tex?Il?

I guess it depends on how you define cosmopolitan.

I believe the more transplants you have from a much wider geographic range, and when the foreign born population is more educated and exposed to more cultures then that can bring up the cosmopolitan index of an area.

When people immigrate as large families, have lower levels of education and more blue collared jobs, and live in communities where people come frome the same region that they came from, I think that is diverse, but NOT cosmopolitan. Not that theres anything wrong with that.

A population that is 90% white, but where there are more people that have traveled to other countries and been exposed to more cultures, then that is cosmopolitan.

Cosmopolitan is more of a mindset, that includes being more well traveled for what your income allows, which college faculty, and even government employees often time are. College faculty and high level government employees are often going to be more cosmopolitan than the average person.

That's great if you're a part of the "cosmopolitan" inner circle. But none of these cities with the possible exception of Madison are outwardly cosmopolitan in any significant way, and even Madison's "cosmopolitan" aspect is substantially limited by its size. The benefit of a truly cosmopolitan city, or at least one that has a substantial cosmopolitan element, is that the cosmopolitan institutions are available to anyone at any time who wants a taste of it.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

You mean, like this?

The Midwest, as Viewed by Chicagoans. - Imgur

Only problem with this picture is the ''Civilisation'' size is way too big...should be a speck (aka lakefront from Roosevelt to Irving Park Rd/west to Ashland).