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I'd love to hear from some newer transplants and long-time residents of the city proper alike.
Let's put some insight out there into the -magic- of the Windy City, and why for you, personally, it is second to NONE in terms of sheer quality of life and enjoyment.
Everyone on C-D loves to endlessly pore over the numbers, and the statistics and all the technical aspects like transit, rent, taxes etc. But let's do something different here. Something deeper. Let's talk instead about intangibles this go-round.
Why do you the people and city itself make you happy to be living there, and what is -unique- about Chicago amongst the top-tier cities in the country?
Looking for a lot of heart here! I'm from Jersey and in my state, it's all about the heart! I know for sure you guys have plenty more of it than the west coast, so let's hear some of it!
Last edited by the12ronin; 06-20-2013 at 06:00 PM..
Reason: typos etc.
Let me just start out by saying I don't think Chicago is perfect by any means, nor do I think it's the best city in the US. I'm a transplant, so I don't have any native ties to the city. With all of that said, here's what I like about Chicago (and this is just from my experiences from where I live or have lived while in Chicago so that's what my opinions are based off of). I love the urban walking environment that isn't too crowded. I know a lot of people like density and having a lot of people in a small area, but I think there's a good balance in that regard in Chicago vs a lot of other places that I've seen.
Another thing I like about the city is that one of the best neighborhoods in the entire city has a big population with people my age (20's) in Lincoln Park. I really like that going out to bars and places to eat has people that I can relate to whether it's students or young professionals. I'm also a big sports guy, aside from my school/work, there isn't anything else I admire more than sports. I didn't realize how big of a sports culture Chicago had until I moved here. It absolutely reminds me of Boston in the sense that it's a big part of the culture regardless of which sport it is.
COL is usually discussed a lot on C-D using statistics. Here's what I want to say about it in regards to Chicago. I think for the amenities that you get, it's one of the better "bang for your buck" cities. I've never lived in NYC (only visited) nor LA or SF or other big cities besides Houston, so my perspective for comparing to other cities is based on visiting experiences, though I'm not a typical tourist (I usually like to take trips to try things that locals like) so I do have a small idea of some of the COL in other cities.
Regarding location of Chicago -- being in the midwest and having a midwestern culture: For me, I don't mind the location because I'm not someone that takes weekend getaway trips. Even having said that, I'd like to visit some of these other midwestern cities to get an idea of what they're like one of these days. For the culture itself, it's different from the South, where I grew up. People definitely do things differently here, but in the city, I think the culture like most other big cities. The people here are genuine, they aren't pretentious by any means. I think they're polite, some come across as friendly and helpful too.
For nightlife, I'm mainly a bar person. It's one of the reasons why I love cities like Austin because they have districts where young people love to drink. It's the same way over here. I've been to a few clubs and lounges here, and they're fine too. I like to gamble a little bit, so I'm hoping a casino does eventually get built in the city if I am still living here in the future. In general though, I find the nightlife to be adequate for my needs.
I'm big on food. I love to try new things to eat, and I love to have a good variety of options. When I first got to Chicago, I had the opinion that Houston was still a better food city but I hadn't explored enough of Chicago to realize why it's highly regarded as a food city. Eventually overtime, I've come to realize the vast number of quality options that I have for different kinds of food that is offered in this city. I still miss some of the food from back home because my favorite foods are ones that Houston (and Texas in general) is known for so I don't expect to find the same quality here. I recently had a few of my family here from Texas, and they loved the food.
The weather -- yes, the weather gets tiring in the winter, mostly towards the end of winter. You just want it to end after a while (this is how I felt about summers in Houston). I don't mind the frigid cold weather though, it's not as bad as I thought it would be though it also has been somewhat milder from what people say over the last couple of winters. This is one of the biggest knocks on Chicago, understandably so, compared to other cities. But, I will say, the summer time here is pretty damn nice. The city just comes alive in the summer time, and I really enjoy going to some of these festivals, big or small. So I don't find the weather to be a huge problem, but then again I don't have a real appreciation for great weather considering I've never lived in a state like California where weather there is generally nice.
Lastly, I think just the lifestyle I'm able to live as a student soon to be a young professional is a blessing for me. I don't know how many other cities I'd be able to live in with worrying about money issues or having a hard time finding people I have things in common with. That isn't to say I couldn't live in other cities (most notably my two other favorite cities NYC and SF), but I've had such a good experience here with everything.
I agree, Chicago is not perfect by any means and I don't think any CITY in the world is (although I've certainly been to paradises in the world, but they weren't cities).
* Walkability/public transit - Best in the US? No, but one of the tops. A ton of Chicago is simply walkable and while NYC has the best public transit, I believe Chicago is 2nd best in terms of extensiveness. The ability to get back to a simpler way of life is key. Many neighborhoods are simply "self sustainable."
* Nightlife - In many areas, bars and food are everywhere. Sure, there are areas where this is not true (anymore, used to be the case) mainly on the south side, but for the other areas it's absolutely true. The last call for bars is 4am everyday except Saturday when it's 5am. The nightlife is pretty varied. Not perfect, but there's a lot of different types of nightlife from good clubs, lounges, bars/pubs, restaurants, theatres, etc.
* Food - I love food and Chicago is simply top 3 in the US for food. Anybody who thinks Chicago is just a bunch of hamburger, hot dog, and pizza joints is seriously mistaken. You can get good authentic food of many different cuisines here. There are only a few cuisines I can think of that aren't very well represented here (and really they aren't represented anywhere except for NYC and one of them - Boston).
* COL - relative to what it is, Chicago can be downright cheap when you compare it to Boston, NYC, DC, San Fran, and Los Angeles. In fact, it's possible for Chicago to be cheaper than even places like Minneapolis/St. Paul. I know people in Lakeview paying $600/month with roommates. I know good neighborhoods you can get 1 bedrooms for $850/month which would be on par with somewhere like Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, etc. While not luxury, they still aren't always terrible.
* Diversity - True, Chicago can be pretty segregated and in a way it is at least between white and black mainly (and to an extent with some hispanic but not as much). There are many areas that are pretty integrated though. Even then, I like the fact that there's so many different people of differing cultures/countries, religions, sexual orientations, etc. I truly believe in life experiences and learning from others of different backgrounds.
* Summers - summers here are truly awesome. Case closed. SO much going on and the weather is great.
I still miss some of the food from back home because my favorite foods are ones that Houston (and Texas in general) is known for so I don't expect to find the same quality here. I recently had a few of my family here from Texas, and they loved the food.
If you're talking about Mexican, then I disagree but you may have not explored the city enough yet. Chicago has almost 600,000 Mexicans (over 1 million in the metro area). There is really, really good authentic mexican here but you aren't going to find it downtown, lincoln park, lakeview, etc.
If you haven't been yet, every sunday just east of UIC, the Maxwell Street Market happens and it's a Mexican market. Some of the vendors come from areas of town you may not visit. Some of them make their own tortillas fresh and press them infont of you. It's pretty authentic stuff. I'd suggest going there sometime if you haven't already. It's just a small taste of what's available out there.
In general, you have to travel to areas like Pilsen, South Lawndale, Brighton Park, Gage Park, Chicago Lawn, etc if you want the GOOD authentic mexican stuff. There's some good stuff in areas like Rogers Park too.
All truly powerhouse reasons to love living in Chicago, but what of the people folks?
Let's hear from some resiidents on what it is you like about the *people* and their attitude in general in Chicago that makes it so comfortable and friendly/nice/enjoyable/stimulating.
I mean, you can say NYC definitely has it's own -flavor- of attitude that is both liked and disliked as well. Same with L.A.(my current home). Cities have a definite -personality- that seems typically pervasive. NYC/aggressive,urban LA/laidback/beachy etc.
And then of course, there are many folks from either city that prefer the overall -vibe- of the people where they live(or don't live)to their wayward cousins on the opposite side of the country.
So with that being said, what is the energy you get from the Chicago dwellers, and why is this preferable and enjoyable to you, the resident?
*In a Black Reverend's voice* " C'mon, cmon! I got ta hee-yuh frum yuh! " *raises hands in the air above*
If you're talking about Mexican, then I disagree but you may have not explored the city enough yet. Chicago has almost 600,000 Mexicans (over 1 million in the metro area). There is really, really good authentic mexican here but you aren't going to find it downtown, lincoln park, lakeview, etc.
If you haven't been yet, every sunday just east of UIC, the Maxwell Street Market happens and it's a Mexican market. Some of the vendors come from areas of town you may not visit. Some of them make their own tortillas fresh and press them infont of you. It's pretty authentic stuff. I'd suggest going there sometime if you haven't already. It's just a small taste of what's available out there.
In general, you have to travel to areas like Pilsen, South Lawndale, Brighton Park, Gage Park, Chicago Lawn, etc if you want the GOOD authentic mexican stuff. There's some good stuff in areas like Rogers Park too.
Well I'm talking mainly about Tex-Mex and BBQ. Traditional Mexican isn't bad here, and yeah I haven't fully explored it either. I had fajitas at Zapatista and they're weren't bad, just didn't have the flavor I'm accustomed to. I may have a high standard because of all the places I've eaten in and around Texas, so when I say I miss it, I don't mean to say there isn't great Mexican food here, but I miss specific things like great fajitas and Habenero pepper shrimp. Speaking of that Maxwell Street Market, I actually used to live in the West Loop and my apartment faced Desplaines St -- I always wondered what that was on Sundays. I'll have to check it out though. I'll also be checking out some of those other neighborhoods you mentioned, hopefully I can find a favorite spot to eat.
I don''t find everyone in Chicago nice or anything. Just like any other city there's a mix, but there's definitely a number of nice people here. There's definitely people with attitudes akin to a stereotypical NYer too (mainly south side people I find).
What I do find is that people in Chicago are generally, on average, more down to earth people. There are DEFINITELY people who care about status and what not, but at a bar on average people aren't going to truly care about what you do for a living or whatever versus some of the other cities.
I find the balance of people to be nice. Laid back but not laid back enough where it's lazy, and still driven usually to do *something*
Well I'm talking mainly about Tex-Mex and BBQ. Traditional Mexican isn't bad here, and yeah I haven't fully explored it either. I had fajitas at Zapatista and they're weren't bad, just didn't have the flavor I'm accustomed to. I may have a high standard because of all the places I've eaten in and around Texas, so when I say I miss it, I don't mean to say there isn't great Mexican food here, but I miss specific things like great fajitas and Habenero pepper shrimp. Speaking of that Maxwell Street Market, I actually used to live in the West Loop and my apartment faced Desplaines St -- I always wondered what that was on Sundays. I'll have to check it out though. I'll also be checking out some of those other neighborhoods you mentioned, hopefully I can find a favorite spot to eat.
BBQ I agree, although there's some good BBQ on the south side for sure that most people don't know about. Here is one that was featured on Bizarre Foods too that's supposedly real good: http://www.yelp.com/biz/uncle-johns-bbq-chicago
I'm a huge fan of GOOD BBQ and Smoque is actually really good.
Zapatista, had it...Not a fan at all. I lump it in with americanized mexican food that's like half traditional. It's not bad but I don't find it good either. Again, you have to go to the other neighborhoods to get the good stuff. You should definitely go to Maxwell Street Market. Some of the neighborhoods I mentioned are "dangerous" by statistics, but who knows. Xoco in River North is actually very good though. Lincoln Park around DePaul has some decent hole in the wall cheap 24 hour/late night Mexican places too.
Do you know who Rick Bayless is, the guy in that video?
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