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Also, metro Atlanta's power grid can't handle the weather because there are constant power outages when it rains and you can be without power for two or three days. Trees either fall on the lines or transformers blow. Even in sunny weather we lose power a lot in Atlanta.
Also whenever Atlanta does get a little snow or ice, the roads become unsafe because they don't have the salt trucks to salt the streets, so the city shuts down for days and there are lots of car accidents because Georgia drivers are horrible as it is and they don't know how to drive in snow and ice.
Yes!! It's horrible here when it rains because the rain comes so hard and floods everything. One little clap of lightning and everyone's power is out, sometimes power is restored that same day, sometimes it's not until the next day. And yes when the snow does come everything shuts down and people are scared sh*tless to drive on the street. A few years ago we had a snowstorm and there was everywhere. Hardly no one was driving on the streets and the people that were were slipping and sliding and crashing into other cars. The drivers really suck butt here.
I'll chime in...I don't live in Atlanta, but, I am a Chicago native that lives in Charlotte, NC, Atlanta's southern neighbour
The weather is the only thing keeping me here in Charlotte. Chicago has more to do than there are days in the week or hours in the day. Just when you thought that you had done/seen it all, it all changes up and you can do it again!
I find that the cost of living is getting closer & closer between Charlotte & the Chicago-area. In fact, I am going to Chicago next week & plan to do my grocery shopping there...food is that much cheaper (& the meat is better, too). Lots of fresh fruits & veggies at a very reasonable cost.
You should be quite happy there. Just be careful & you'll be fine!
I'll chime in...I don't live in Atlanta, but, I am a Chicago native that lives in Charlotte, NC, Atlanta's southern neighbour
The weather is the only thing keeping me here in Charlotte. Chicago has more to do than there are days in the week or hours in the day. Just when you thought that you had done/seen it all, it all changes up and you can do it again!
I find that the cost of living is getting closer & closer between Charlotte & the Chicago-area. In fact, I am going to Chicago next week & plan to do my grocery shopping there...food is that much cheaper (& the meat is better, too). Lots of fresh fruits & veggies at a very reasonable cost.
You should be quite happy there. Just be careful & you'll be fine!
I also noticed when I was in Chicago that the produce tasted much better. The fruit was much sweeter and more flavorful than here. They talk about Georgia peaches but I've never seen a peach tree in all my years here and the peaches I had in Chicago tasted way better lol.
Also, metro Atlanta's power grid can't handle the weather because there are constant power outages when it rains and you can be without power for two or three days. Trees either fall on the lines or transformers blow. Even in sunny weather we lose power a lot in Atlanta.
Also whenever Atlanta does get a little snow or ice, the roads become unsafe because they don't have the salt trucks to salt the streets, so the city shuts down for days and there are lots of car accidents because Georgia drivers are horrible as it is and they don't know how to drive in snow and ice.
Yes!! It's horrible here when it rains because the rain comes so hard and floods everything. One little clap of lightning and everyone's power is out, sometimes power is restored that same day, sometimes it's not until the next day. And yes when the snow does come everything shuts down and people are scared sh*tless to drive on the street. A few years ago we had a snowstorm and there was everywhere. Hardly no one was driving on the streets and the people that were were slipping and sliding and crashing into other cars. The drivers really suck butt here.
I think it depends on what you make of it, what your world is, what neighborhood you're in, etc. It can be a really, really great place to live in but if you are in the wrong area under the wrong circumstances, you can hate it (really that's true of anywhere).
Chicago probably has the highest population of gang members of any city in the US, but it's pretty segregated to certain areas. While a gang member can
The north side is often seen as the yuppified area of town, although this isn't true for the whole thing. So if you want a 1 bedroom 30 minutes away from "downtown" near a train, it could cost you hmm $850/month on upwards (probably close to $900-$1000). If you have roommates then hell, I know people with 3 other roommates who pay around or even under $600. A former gf of mine paid $575/month for a place in Lincoln Square/North Center with one other roommate which is on a train line and 30 minutes away - two of the top 5 or so safest neighborhoods in the city. Then, $750/month in Lakeview (a hot neighborhood for young people) with another roommate about 3 blocks from Wrigley Field (where the Cubs play) and tons of restaurants, shops, and bars all short walks away.
U of Chicago is one of the top...5 or 7 universities in the entire world. Northwestern is probably top 25. Other than that, there are ones like U of Illinois-Chicago, DePaul, Loyola University - Illinois, Roosevelt, Columbia College, Harry S Truman College, Northeastern Illinois, Robert Morris U, etc etc.
A lot. There's a lot of big and small museums for example. The Art Institute of Chicago I believe is the 2nd largest art museum in the country after the Met in NYC. The Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, Shedd Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, the museums at U of Chicago (like Oriental Institute) are other big museums but also smaller ones like National Museum of Mexican Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Photography, etc.
Chicago is also home to one of the top 3 food scenes in the country so there's that, tons of bars/lounges/clubs, and also some great live music (blues and jazz) places. Navy Pier, Millennium Park, Grant Park, Lincoln Park, all the neighborhoods, all major professional sports, random events of whatever it is, etc.
Honestly, and no offense to this one but you can Google this and find better answers.
I can't speak for all of them, but the one in the Loop - Harold Washington Library - is the largest public library in the country I believe.
Really depends on what you're going into. For some markets, it's great and for others - not so great. I can't speak for your specific stuff.
Well, this isn't like the pacific NW or anything, but there's some to do. There are actually 30+ beaches in Chicago that are very popular in the warm months so there's that. There's a river that runs through the city and you can kayak/canoe, etc on it. Chicago is on a huge lake which is more like an inland sea (if you were to just look - it *looks* like it's an ocean because you can't see land to the horizon).
For stuff like skiing and what not, you aren't going to do that in the city, but there's ski/snowboard areas in northern Illinois and Wisconsin a short drive away. Some other national parks with hiking and what not. Chicago is prettttty damn flat though, so no hiking, mountains, etc but there is a little outdoors.
On the overall level, Chicago is more diverse than Atlanta for sure. Chicago can be pretty segregated though - there are a lot of black people here too (though not nearly as high a percentage as Atlanta) but there's areas where it's 95% or more black. There are pretty integrated areas though (like Albany Park, Uptown, Rogers Park, increasingly Bridgeport believe it or not, Hyde Park, etc) and that's improving. There's probably people here from most (not all) countries in the world (I mean all countries, not just the large ones).
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago History Museum, Field Museum kind of, Art Institute is kinda history in a way? etc
I am atheist/agnostic and have friends who are. I really don't think twice about speaking my mind in some areas personally. Actually most people I know don't go to church here ever.
Atlanta is cheaper, but not by a ton unless you want to live in a luxury high rise downtown. The thing most people don't realize either is you can get away without having a car in Chicago (I do it and many others do). So really if you think about it..
If you have a rent of $1000/month in Chicago and $100/month in unlimited CTA and in Atlanta it's $750/month but you pay $150/month for gas, $50/month for insurance, and you have a car payment of $200/month...then Chicago is actually cheaper by $50/month. If you own your car in this situation, then Chicago is more expensive by $150/month, not $250/month at least transit + housing.
According to this link, Atlanta is 11% cheaper than Chicago: Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site
LOL, Chicago has malls, but you have to understand the urban fabric. In Chicago in many areas, you walk outside and you have tons of options to choose from. Chicago doesn't have a ton of malls because it doesn't need them. Store are built into the fabric of the city itself in many areas. It's urban, not suburban-ish like a lot of Atlanta is. Think of how NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, etc are. That's how Chicago is in many areas. In areas like Atlanta which are not nearly as Urban, you don't have that on average. This place is famous here:
Mall culture is not popular here, but there's a ton of shopping here.
CTA is much, much, much, much, much times 10 more extensive than MARTA. CTA is the 2nd largest transit system in the US after NYC's. If you want an unlimited monthly pass, it's $100/month. Otherwise, a single ride is $2.25 and you can do 25 cent transfers up to 2 hours of reading the card. After that it resets and it's $2.25 again.
Michigan on average gets more snow than Chicago by a little bit and it's on average a little colder. Humidity, it can get pretty humid here but I'm pretty sure Atlanta is worse.
Check out chicagogangs.org and Google the Chicago Gang map.
Yes, there are tens of thousands of gang members and they seem to be the ones perpetrating the violence that's all over the news, but they are largely confined to certain neighborhoods. I live in Logan Square and I see gang graffiti (Orchestra Albany gang which is affiliated with the Folks) in the alleyways, but I've never seen any gangbangers in person around here. They must be small in numbers and lurk in the shadows. Perhaps there is crime associated with this gang in my area, but it's never a concern to me.
If you avoid the hotspots like Austin, Englewood, Garfield Park, etc. where crime, poverty, drug trade, prostitution, urban blight, and gang warfare exists everyday, you'll be just fine. If you want to have nothing to do with the bangers, that's entirely up to you and possible.
As probably the only person here who lived in a gang-infested Chicago neighborhood in the 90s, I will say this is simply not true. Chicago does not have a "gang problem". Chicago has a police presence problem. The "gangs" are being scapegoated. The real issue is the mayor not funding CPD. Crime is correlated to poverty everywhere, and Chicago is not unique in that aspect. Stop falling for the media hype. "Gang warfare".
As probably the only person here who lived in a gang-infested Chicago neighborhood in the 90s, I will say this is simply not true. Chicago does not have a "gang problem". Chicago has a police presence problem. The "gangs" are being scapegoated. The real issue is the mayor not funding CPD. Crime is correlated to poverty everywhere, and Chicago is not unique in that aspect. Stop falling for the media hype. "Gang warfare".
Atlanta has more overall crime than Chicago and has a higher crime rate, even though it has way less people.
That's true for a number of cities. I roll my eyes every time I hear about the crime in Chicago, but people don't fact check anymore.
Most people are ignorant and they buy everything that's fed to them on the news. It pisses me off too. The funny thing is how rampant people think crime is. If you do the math, yeah no city in the world is like that really.
As probably the only person here who lived in a gang-infested Chicago neighborhood in the 90s, I will say this is simply not true. Chicago does not have a "gang problem". Chicago has a police presence problem. The "gangs" are being scapegoated. The real issue is the mayor not funding CPD. Crime is correlated to poverty everywhere, and Chicago is not unique in that aspect. Stop falling for the media hype. "Gang warfare".
that's nuts.
so, when gangbangers shoot at each other and fight over turf to sell baggies of heroin on the street, that's not a problem? seems most of the shootings are somehow associated with gang activity.
CPD should be better staffed and better funded, but still the gangs are a real threat and a prime instigator of violence in our city.
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