what down south city would be most similar to chicago?? (Jacksonville: best city, crime rates)

[mscbrown]

I live in Wisconsin and have visited chicago a million times due to my family living there and I LOVE it, especially the down town area with the electric/exciting vibe!

BUT the crime is out of hand and as a young african american single women probably not the best city for me

SO I thought down south would be a little better, cross paths with some southern gentlemen and some good southern cooking lol

BUT I need that same electric feel where it feels like a CITY not a town! Where I feel like i'm living and not just existing! I will only move to humid tropical climates so my top choices where

Jacksonville, FL, Charlotte, NC, Louisville, KY and Nashville, TN. I was looking into places like houston and dallas but the weather alone would make me miserable I hate dry heat !!!

[nana053]

Originally Posted by mscbrown

Jacksonville, FL, Charlotte, NC, Louisville, KY and Nashville, TN. I was looking into places like houston and dallas but the weather alone would make me miserable I hate dry heat !!!

Dry heat in HOUSTON? You are nuts... Houston is hot and very humid.. It's doesn't have dry heat.

[Vlajos]

Crime is out of hand in some neighborhoods, but otherwise most of the City is quite safe.

Nothing in the south is similar to Chicago.

[Drover]

You won't find anything like Chicago down south. The built environment of the cities down there is much less dense, more spread-out, more car-centric. You may find very small clusters of Chicago-like urbanity near some downtown areas, but compared to Chicago most cities will feel like giant suburbs. I'd say the closest you'll find to what you're looking for is St. Louis, which hardly qualifies as "southern."

[sheaosaurus]

Scratch Jacksonville off your list. My parents did the typical leave New York retire to Florida while I was in high school and it is nothing like Chicago. Out of your list, Charlotte would be my pick.

[prelude91]

Originally Posted by Drover

You won't find anything like Chicago down south. The built environment of the cities down there is much less dense, more spread-out, more car-centric. You may find very small clusters of Chicago-like urbanity near some downtown areas, but compared to Chicago most cities will feel like giant suburbs. I'd say the closest you'll find to what you're looking for is St. Louis, which hardly qualifies as "southern."

Or safer than Chicago

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by mscbrown

BUT the crime is out of hand and as a young african american single women probably not the best city for me

You should do more research on Chicago. The crime is out of hand only in some neighborhoods. Outside of those neighborhoods it's actually quite safe here. Also, even in the neighborhoods the violence is gang on gang or drug related. I don't know what your experience is, but it all depends on where you would live, but if you really think the entire city is some crime infested capital of the world then you need to learn more about the city.

To answer your question, there's nothing in the south similar to Chicago. There's only a few other cities in the entire country similar to Chicago. I guess you could say Miami, Houston, or Atlanta because they have some tall buildings, but in reality? nothing is like it down there..

[brooklynborndad]

In 1983 I moved for a job from Chicago to Jacksonville.

While on San Jose Blvd, I longed for the excitement of Hyde Park.

[Drover]

Heh

[ChiNaan]

You really won't find anything like Great Lakes-area cities in the South, just like you won't find anything like Miami, Atlanta, or Charlotte in the North.

The closest would probably be river cities like New Orleans or Memphis, but even that is a stretch.

I don't think you're going to find crime rates to be much better in the South, in general, and you're going to find HUMID heat, not dry heat. (I, too, cracked up at the idea of Houston being dry.) The Southwest is where you'll find the dry heat.