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I was wondering if anyone on here moved to Chicago from the Seattle area. What was your experience like? Are you glad you made the move? What are the pros and cons?
I did a forum search and only found two or three threads on this subject, so I thought it would be worth starting another.
What you will gain is the big city feel and all of its wonderful cultural amenities and diversity, a slightly better cost of living and more sunshine.
What you will lose is that younger, progressive vibe that seems to stretch from San Francisco to Portland to Seattle. And that incredible natural beauty/mountains/wilderness. And you will have more snow.
What you will gain is the big city feel and all of its wonderful cultural amenities and diversity, a slightly better cost of living and more sunshine.
What you will lose is that younger, progressive vibe that seems to stretch from San Francisco to Portland to Seattle. And that incredible natural beauty/mountains/wilderness. And you will have more snow.
Yeah, I was just wondering if anyone had any stories to share about their particular experience moving from Seattle to Chicago. I'm not sure it's that common of a move, though. I suspect that there are a lot more people moving from Chicago to Seattle than from Seattle to Chicago.
Yeah, I was just wondering if anyone had any stories to share about their particular experience moving from Seattle to Chicago. I'm not sure it's that common of a move, though. I suspect that there are a lot more people moving from Chicago to Seattle than from Seattle to Chicago.
Hey Steve, I haven't specifically moved from SEA to CHI, but my good friend/classmate moved from SEA to CHI and we've had several conversations about it. I've also spent a fair amount of time in SEA over the past year and coincidentally enough will be moving to SEA in a few months.
Certain things you'd like to know judging from a combo of my experience and my buddies experience:
SEA: Much more chill/quiet/happy-go-lucky and relaxing than Chicago. Way more green than you'll EVER see in Chicago, more earthly/natural people and food themes in SEA - the vegan population and theme is spread all throughout SEA whereas Chicago is an American food city for the ages, one to be modeled after. SEA is possibly a little more intellectual as well? I've noticed a significant amount more weirdo's in Seattle than I've ever seen in Chicago (who let the wackos out?).
CHI: This is without a doubt themed as a regional capital for this area of the country, a VERY worldly city. It's 3-4x's more exciting than SEA easily and larger. It's big, impersonable, and decently fast-paced. Also many more selections of neighborhoods themes vary moreso than SEA. Here, there is a neighborhood for everyone no matter what religion, race, or social class you may be in. Chicago also has a more broad employment industry ranging from sports/finance/health care/tech/arts/education/etc whereas SEA has more narrow industries (tech/boeing etc, although they do offer more, just not at the same level as CHI). Seattles Public transportation is a joke in comparison to SEA where you don't NEED a car in most parts of the inner-city whereas many people would rely on their cars in Seattle depending on what neighborhood they're in. Chicago is way more diverse than Seattle in every sense of the term, but theres also more segregation in Chicago that's very apparent.
I'm brainstorming but I see those as major differences, I'm sure someone who has lived in both recently will respond so this is just added/extra info from my perspective. All-in-all, I think Seattle might be more charming because it's natural beauty (as opposed to sky scrapers and people screaming "f*** you buddy" when you're driving the speed limit), but Chicago is a city people still fall in love with and it's on an international stage which is apparently appropriate for a city of it's size and what it has to offer.
My buddy use to say he didn't like Chicago, he said it was too big, too cold, and the people were not as friendly and easy to talk to as people from SEA but I guess you'll get a different perspective on that through each person you talk to.
Haha so now that I wrote all this, I could use some advice on SEA if you'd be willing to let me PM you! Good luck either way!
Hey Steve, I haven't specifically moved from SEA to CHI, but my good friend/classmate moved from SEA to CHI and we've had several conversations about it. I've also spent a fair amount of time in SEA over the past year and coincidentally enough will be moving to SEA in a few months.
Certain things you'd like to know judging from a combo of my experience and my buddies experience:
SEA: Much more chill/quiet/happy-go-lucky and relaxing than Chicago. Way more green than you'll EVER see in Chicago, more earthly/natural people and food themes in SEA - the vegan population and theme is spread all throughout SEA whereas Chicago is an American food city for the ages, one to be modeled after. SEA is possibly a little more intellectual as well? I've noticed a significant amount more weirdo's in Seattle than I've ever seen in Chicago (who let the wackos out?).
CHI: This is without a doubt themed as a regional capital for this area of the country, a VERY worldly city. It's 3-4x's more exciting than SEA easily and larger. It's big, impersonable, and decently fast-paced. Also many more selections of neighborhoods themes vary moreso than SEA. Here, there is a neighborhood for everyone no matter what religion, race, or social class you may be in. Chicago also has a more broad employment industry ranging from sports/finance/health care/tech/arts/education/etc whereas SEA has more narrow industries (tech/boeing etc, although they do offer more, just not at the same level as CHI). Seattles Public transportation is a joke in comparison to SEA where you don't NEED a car in most parts of the inner-city whereas many people would rely on their cars in Seattle depending on what neighborhood they're in. Chicago is way more diverse than Seattle in every sense of the term, but theres also more segregation in Chicago that's very apparent.
I'm brainstorming but I see those as major differences, I'm sure someone who has lived in both recently will respond so this is just added/extra info from my perspective. All-in-all, I think Seattle might be more charming because it's natural beauty (as opposed to sky scrapers and people screaming "f*** you buddy" when you're driving the speed limit), but Chicago is a city people still fall in love with and it's on an international stage which is apparently appropriate for a city of it's size and what it has to offer.
My buddy use to say he didn't like Chicago, he said it was too big, too cold, and the people were not as friendly and easy to talk to as people from SEA but I guess you'll get a different perspective on that through each person you talk to.
Haha so now that I wrote all this, I could use some advice on SEA if you'd be willing to let me PM you! Good luck either way!
I grew up in the Pac Northwest and my brother and some cousins live in Seattle currently. I've lived in Chicago for most of the past 17 years.
I can't really disagree with anything JL1585 wrote, except I can't agree that it's unfriendly. For a city of its size, Chicago is incredibly friendly. I get a lot of visitors from all over the world (I had over 50 different people visit me last year), and almost all of them tell me how surprised they are at how friendly the city is.
Seattle is much, much smaller. The metro area of Seattle is 1/3 the size of Chicago's metro area, and Seattle city proper is less than 1/4 the size of Chicago city proper.
Seattle is in the middle of spectacular natural wonder. The natural environment within a couple hours of Chicago is much better than the wasteland some would have you believe exists, but it's not majestic in the same way Seattle's natural setting is.
But what you lose in natural settings, you do gain in urban settings. Major museums, major theatres, major opera, major symphony, and an NBA team (in addition to two MLB teams, an NFL team, and MLS team and a NHL team). Transit in Seattle is better than some cities, but Chicago's is very much better.
I grew up in the Seattle area and moved from Seattle to Chicago a year ago and I love Chicago. People are friendlier, despite its much larger size. Strangers will talk to you way more often than in Seattle, whether you're in line to get fast food, on public transportation, or approached on the street. I like that, but the many introverts of Seattle may not.
The weather in Chicago is obviously more extreme. Hotter and more humid than Seattle in the summer and colder, snowier and windier in the winter.
Way better nightlife scene in Chicago than Seattle. There are just so many more neighborhoods to go and choices to make. There are after hours bars here in Chicago that will stay open until 4 or 5 am as opposed to Washington's strict bars-close-at-2 laws. Makes Seattle nightlife a little lackluster in that way.
Chicago has more diversity, though Seattle loves to think of itself as among the most diverse cities in the nation, with a nearly 80% white people statistic, it simply is not. Chicago is something like 42% white, 36% black, 26% hispanic.
You will miss the abundance of Asians and Asian food that Seattle has though. There are plenty of sushi places in Chicago, and thai seems to be a big one too, but I cannot for the life of me find decent yakisoba and I really miss Seattle-style teriyaki. Any teriyaki you get in Chicago will be really, really disappointing. Great Mexican, Greek, Italian, German food etc... Plus, of course, great pizza.
You'll definitely, definitely miss the beauty, greenery and nature of the PNW. Unavoidable. Nothing in the Chicagoland area even comes close to the beauty of the Seattle area.
You'll probably be amazed for a while how flat the Chicago area is.... everywhere. No hills. Makes it a great city for having a bike though.
Chicago and Seattle both have fantastic music scenes. The one downside of Chicago is if there is a popular band/group/musician you want to see that's having a concert, you have to be ON that fast and buy tickets right away. Because Chicagoland is made up of 9 million people, plus all the people from the rural surrounding states that come to Chicago for big concerts, the concerts sell out SO fast. I find it almost impossible to find tickets for shows I want to go to without buying from a scalper that is selling them for $200.
Way worse traffic in Chicagoland, despite Seattleites having the delusion that their traffic is terrible.
Way better public transportation in Chicago. On the west coast, you cannot survive without a car. When I moved to Chicago, I sold my car, bought a bike, and ride my bike and take the el, the subway, and buses everywhere and it's easy as hell. And relatively stress-free compared to being stuck in traffic and driving all day.
I find people in Chicago to be a bit more down to earth, and I find less snobbery in Chicago vs Seattle. Except maybe in Lincoln Park.
Chicago has a more blue-collar attitude than Seattle, while Seattle because of the nature of the tech-driven industry, has a lot more yuppies.
I love both cities. A lot. In fact I'm vacationing to Seattle next week. Both great cities. But city vs city I think Chicago wins in almost every way. There's something for everyone. I hear more people hate on Seattle because of the constantly rainy/overcast/misty weather and abundant passive-aggressive attitudes than I ever hear anyone hate on Chicago.
Yeah, I was just wondering if anyone had any stories to share about their particular experience moving from Seattle to Chicago. I'm not sure it's that common of a move, though. I suspect that there are a lot more people moving from Chicago to Seattle than from Seattle to Chicago.
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, but lived in Portland for 3 years. I was so bored out west... Especially with that never-ending mist. Hung out in SEA a couple of times, and was not wowed. You'll actually find that many people who lived out there for X years boomeranged back, and we tell our friends the funny stories of life out there . Portlandia is a documentary!
Here's a couple of other things that haven't been mentioned:
Getting a cab, does not have to be phoned in, unless you are in some oddball location (bad neighborhood or suburbs). If you are in any of the major neighborhoods, you can flag a cab nearly anytime and be on your way! Learn to know the best route too, every once in a while they try to take a longer route, especially if you act like you don't know where you are going.
Learn the grid system. It is really nice when you know where you are at.
Though the Asian food here may be a little light in variety, it's made up for by a significant Latino influence. Make sure to try all the different Cuban, Argentinian and every other south of the border flavor you can find!
Some outdoor activities in the area, daytrip wise, are as follows on this here URL:
You can also fish here, reasonably successfully if you are in to fishing. We have nice bass and some places have walleye/northern pike. I've had decent luck at Wolf lake and Busse Lake, both are roughly 45 minutes by car out of the downtown area (traffic conditions apply). For river fishing, try the Fox or Illinois rivers, both have some fish in there.
Chicago is very much a bar town, there are different ones for every preference. Some are even open until 5am!
Chicago has 6,000 restaurants and Chinatown. Illinois does have some awesome parks and museums located throughout the state. Unfortunately the official Illinois Office of Tourism only promotes Chicago and Springfield. All things considered, you will enjoy Wisconsin much more and spend less money than you will trying to discover Illinois. Door County, the thumb of Wisconsin, is absolutely one of the most interesting destinations I ever visited.
I was wondering if anyone on here moved to Chicago from the Seattle area. What was your experience like? Are you glad you made the move? What are the pros and cons?
I did a forum search and only found two or three threads on this subject, so I thought it would be worth starting another.
I am making the move in April after I graduate from UW. I'm pretty stoked. I will let you know my experience in a month. PM me if you have any questions.
I am moving to the Lincoln Park Area. I felt it would fit my lifestyle/budget the best. What neighborhoods are you interested in?
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. Portlandia is a documentary!
