Something's telling me Chicago... (Atlanta, Ohio: apartment, transfer to, neighborhoods)

[HarmanFox]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

This is true for the most part, and there's not the weird regional hate here like the OP may have experienced for "Yankees" in Georgia. That being said, if there is any place that some Chicagoans have a bit of a chip on their shoulder about, it's New York. I guess it's because of the whole "Second City" thing, though we have technically been the third city for a long time now. At any rate, I would tell any NYer moving here to be careful to avoid making comparisons between NYC and Chicago, particularly with any kind of tone about NY being better than Chi. As long as you don't go around doing that regularly, though, you should be fine.

That is true to a point. Chicago has more of a north side vs south side vs west side feel.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by ja1myn

Is it common to not have a car in Chicago? Do most people prefer to drive instead of taking public transportation?

I'd say it's probably about halfway between NYC and Atlanta in terms of car culture vs. public transit culture, if that makes sense, with maybe a slight lean toward the NYC end of the spectrum. It's fairly common for young professional types like yourself in the city to not have cars, especially for people who work downtown and live either downtown or near an el stop. Train access to the whole city isn't nearly as comprehensive here as in NYC, though. Buses can be, but they can also be slow and irregular.

If you don't have a car you may want a Zip Car membership and/or to just plan on spending a couple hundred a month on cabs if you go out regularly to a variety of places. (This shouldn't be a problem for you, because your rent won't be anywhere near $2500 unless it's really important for you to go absolutely all-out in the swanky pad department, so you'll be saving there.) That's probably what I would do if I worked someplace easily accessible from the el.

[Alacran]

The northsiders don't have cars.
Southsiders do

West siders is half and half

From my observations

[HarmanFox]

Originally Posted by Alacran

The northsiders don't have cars.
Southsiders do

West siders is half and half

From my observations

The south side has more lower density housing than the north side which is the reason for more cars.

[It'sAutomatic]

Originally Posted by ja1myn

Very helpful information, thank you.



Is it common to not have a car in Chicago? Do most people prefer to drive instead of taking public transportation?

It's common but not a requirement. I view it as a luxury. With your line of work, I imagine you'll be commuting downtown, where using a car is more of a liability than a convenience. A lot of people take transit everywhere and live great. I ride a bike because it's the easiest way to get around: no traffic, no parking, and no gasoline (all three can suck pretty bad sometimes), and it's faster than CTA trains. It helps that I'm in an area within a few miles of many things to do as well as downtown.

It's a myth that Chicagoans have some sort of rivalry with New York. Outside of sports, I don't know anyone here who gives much thought even to other regional cities (Milwaukee, Indianapolis, St. Louis), let alone places thousands of miles away.

I feel like adding: public transit isn't amazing here, but I think actual travel times are pretty comparable to NYC. That's because Chicago is smaller. You might have to take a bus and you might have to wait 10-15 minutes for a connection, as opposed to NYC where you barely have to wait 5 minutes for a train, but making some trip like going from downtown to the UWS is going a HUGE distance (compared to what I'm used to), and thus it takes a long a$$ time anyway.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by Alacran

The northsiders don't have cars.
Southsiders do

West siders is half and half

From my observations

Overall I'd say that's a fair generalization, at least among the young middle class population, due to North having better public transit and South having more parking, but I would still say there are plenty of Northsiders who do and Southsiders who don't.

[HarmanFox]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Overall I'd say that's a fair generalization, at least among the young middle class population, due to North having better public transit and South having more parking, but I would still say there are plenty of Northsiders who do and Southsiders who don't.

What about the northwest side near O'hare? And remember, density also plays a role as well.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by It'sAutomatic

I
It's a myth that Chicagoans have some sort of rivalry with New York.

Seriously? Are you sure you live here? Or read this forum? It's very common for Chicagoans to compare our city with New York. (Usually it's along the lines of "We have almost everything they do, but we're more affordable and more friendly," or something like that.) A big part of our city's identity within the nation is how we compare to New York. What do you think the label "Second City," which is still common, refers to? Who do you think we consider ourselves to be second to? It ain't Detroit.

You're technically right that it's not a rivalry, because rivalries go both ways, and people in NY don't give "flyover country" much thought. It's more of a chip-on-shoulder thing. Note that I said it's some Chicagoans. It's not overwhelming or pervasive, but it's certainly not a myth.

[Alacran]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Seriously? Are you sure you live here? Or read this forum? It's very common for Chicagoans to compare our city with New York. (Usually it's along the lines of "We have almost everything they do, but we're more affordable and more friendly," or something like that.) A big part of our city's identity within the nation is how we compare to New York. What do you think the label "Second City," which is still common, refers to? Who do you think we consider ourselves to be second to? It ain't Detroit.

You're technically right that it's not a rivalry, because rivalries go both ways, and people in NY don't give "flyover country" much thought. It's more of a chip-on-shoulder thing. Note that I said it's some Chicagoans. It's not overwhelming or pervasive, but it's certainly not a myth.

Real life people don't really care.
It's just urban nerds

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by HarmanFox

What about the northwest side near O'hare?

O'Hare is technically West Side (using the traditional river-as-boundary definition), which he mentioned separately from North and South. And of course, much of what is near O'Hare is actually not part of Chicago at all.

Originally Posted by HarmanFox

And remember, density also plays a role as well.

I remembered. Hence my reference to the more comprehensive public transit on the North Side and the more parking space on the South Side.