Tired of NYC - Move to Chicago? (Manhattan, Brooklyn: real estate, rent)

[Drover]

Originally Posted by coldwine

I just want to say that I made my comments and I'm not going to change them, but I respect others' opinions and do not plan on refuting those, either. It would turn into yet another Vs thread, and we've seen just too many of those.

That was my opinion, this is others', and I say we leave it at that.

Part of the problem is that your opinion seems to be borne out of personal frustration rather than reasonable conclusions reached after meaningful thought and consideration -- the kind of thing that might lead you to say such contradictory things as "we have a more avid and forward-thinking theatre scene than NYC" and "there is a lack of creativity, a lack of drive to create." These are mutually exclusive claims.

It's certainly your right to prefer NYC or any other place over Chicago, and I don't think you would get a serious argument from any of us if you had said "there is more creative drive in NYC than Chicago," or if you did, it would at least be an understandable, reasonable claim. However, one is left to wonder how seriously you should be taken when you claim that there is a "lack of drive to create" in one of the nation's premier cultural incubators with conspicuous signs of that creativity all over the city. Those of us who know better feel the need to set the record straight, so to speak, and it also makes us wonder if your opinions are motivated by a genuine desire to inform and contribute or by something slightly less benign.

[Lookout Kid]

As far as what the city has to offer, I like New York better than Chicago. As far as what the city has to offer per dollar spent, Chicago is DEFINITELY the way to go. I'm here because I can afford a good quality of life, am within a manageable driving distance from nearly all of my family, and have great professional opportunities in my creative field.

And by the way, Chicago has many great cultural institutions. The Art Institute isn't ever going to be the Met, but it has carved out its own niche in the international arts scene. The Museum of Contemporary Art really tries to do some innovative things and can take bigger chances than MoMA. Our theater scene is really quite vibrant and interesting--and I don't think I could hanlde any more Broadway shows that we already have (I hate them). Chicago's historic skyscrapers are widely regarded as the pre-cursor to architectural modernism, and the city has dozens of architecture firms doing work all over the world. The CSO, Lyric Opera, and Joffrey Ballet are world-class institutions, and only a very well-trained student of music or ballet could notice a drop in the talent level from what you would expect in NYC.

In terms of creative professions, there are two that are booming in Chicago in ways that compare to or surpass New York and/or Los Angeles. Chicago is home to many wonderful architecture firms, and the city is opening up to edgier stuff. And the advertising industry maintains a HUGE creative presence in Chicago. In fact, some Madison Avenue firms like DDB keep their accounting in New York but have most of the creative staff in Chicago. Media production will always be centered in NYC and LA, but there are still plenty of job opportunities here as well.

[DC's Finest]

And "Boystown" (which is the ONLY nationally recognized and city promoted gay district in the country) is one of many gay friendly areas of town.

False - the Castro in San Fran and the Village in NYC are more well known and internationally recognized gay districts.

[Lookout Kid]

I know a lot of openly gay people in Chicago, and I've never heard of anyone having any problems here in the city. It seems to me that Chicago is very gay-friendly--at least on the North Side and downtown. There was a case of some rogue cops beating a guy, but I wouldn't think that this is a typical case. The CPD is about to get a much shorter leash anyway, with a new chief taking the reigns soon.

[yakijy]

I spent some time in Manhattan and I can't believe that people like it there.
It is a veritable sea of concrete, and the garbage cans are out on the street. There's nothing green except Central Park, and that didn't feel safe. Chicago has it way over NYC, there is really no comparison.

[gellio_sf]

Originally Posted by DC's Finest

And "Boystown" (which is the ONLY nationally recognized and city promoted gay district in the country) is one of many gay friendly areas of town.

False - the Castro in San Fran and the Village in NYC are more well known and internationally recognized gay districts.

Um - TRUE - The Castro and the Village are FAR more internationally recognized gay districts than Boystown. I should know. For God's sake, I grew up in Wisconsin and heard about the Village and Castro LONG before I ever heard of Boystown, and Chicago was in my own backyard. When I came out in my early 20s, I almost immediately learned of the Castro and Villiage. It wasn't until I WENT to Chicago, in my late 20s, for the first time that I ever heard of Boystown!

[NYrules]

Chicago has an ever growing gay population and I see flammers all the time when I am downtown and nobody even says a word. I think you will be fine here if you are gay, Chicagoans are pretty open minded people and have a lot of better things to worry about than you being gay.

Also, I have been through NY's gay area on 8th Ave in March. I actually didn't even know I was driving into it until I saw a dude dancing on the corner wearing tight leather pants and a bra with a wig on! Then I looked around, thought to myself "WTF???!!!" and then saw all the rainbows in the windows, porn shops, and such and realized where I was. I didn't even know I was in the gay area because of how dirty it was.

Chicago's gay area (Lakeview) is very upscale, trendy, and super clean. I think you will like it better than NY's to be honest. Chicago's B-town is more what you would think of when thinking of young gay males; super clean, well groomed, nice designs, trendy, flirtatious (the people), friendly, etc., vs. littery (garbage everywhere including the caliber of people), scummy (sleaze balls dancing in their underwear on the street corners), jam packed with people, run down old buildings. Not ripping on NY believe me, I love NY, but in this one case I have to say Chicago has a major edge on NY. Our Boistown is much nicer and feels much safer. Hope this helps Boystown, Chicago: Information and Much More from Answers.com You will notice in the pics that it is very clean and well kept. Gay Chicago Boystown Chicago Neighborhoods - Halstead/Boystown Et. Al

[Drover]

RedEye's cover story today entitled "There Goes The Gayborhood" was about how Boystown is losing its gayness: Culture clash | Redeye | Home (broken link)

[Nafster]

Chicago is no New York City. Likewise, New York City is no Chicago. Both are completely different cities with completely different ways of life.

However, the ways of life in both cities are fun, creative, energetic, and have endless possibilities.

If you're a single or taken GLBT, then you should love Chicago. It has a higher *population* of gays/lesbians than San Francisco, and ranks 3rd in the nation for them behind LA. There are tons and tons of gay bars, bookstores, and culture all around the city.

[nanannie]

Come for a few days. Visit some homes/condos in your price range. Visit our museums/aquarium/restaraunts/cultural events etc. You will pack your bags as soon as you can and wonder why you put up with New York as long as you did.