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For city living, Chicago is definitely one of the best in America outside of NYC. As far as suburban living, Chicagoland presents no clear advantage over other suburban areas IMO. In fact, you still have to pay a premium simply for living in the Chicago area unfortunately even in the suburbs. The only way to dodge this is to literally live in Indiana or Wisconsin.
I have to disagree somewhat. Chicago suburbs are much more affordable than those of the other top four or five metro areas for buying houses.
What I would say is that if you are looking for things to do and to get out and meet people, then Chicagoland suburbs presents no clear advantage at all, since single people and fun things to do are largely all in the urban core. Most of everything outside the city limits is largely family oriented, SFH dominated bedroom communities.
Although Chicagoland has higher home prices than suburbs of most of the sunbelt or rustbelt, in this case you kind of get what you pay for. However if you are looking to buy a house and raise a family, but still be in commutable distance to a world class city with all its employment opportunities and cultural opportunities, then Chicago suburbs are kind of the sweet spot (parklike suburbs with good schools AND a world class city down the road). (Kids can escape their sleepy suburb and pull a Ferris Buellers day off).
I would say that as far as city living (I'm talking day to day here, not the cultural amenities that are more recreational) other than lower prices, it doesn't have much of an advantage over SF, Boston, or DC due to the fact that a significant swath of Chicago is undesirable, and when you count up the neighborhoods/census tracts that actually are relatively vibrant, dense, accessible and safe it doesn't add up to not much more than those other cities (which are between 6-800,000 something), and you have to do your homework as to know whats safe and whats not.
(IE: real estate people advertising low prices in "West Wicker Park" only to be having to invest in pepper spray and bullet proof glass because you found yourself in Humboldt Park). But I digress.
Chicago population seems small if you just consider the city limits but there are like ten million people living in the metro area. Its huge. And there are things to do and see outside the city proper such as the frank Loyld wright district, Morton arboreteum, the north shore, Ravinia, the botanic gardens, etc.
Eh, its the metro area population, is where Chicago does NOT, NOT stand out compared to other metro areas. Chicagos metro population barely passes up the metro population of DC and SFBA, and both of these metro area have FAR more going on outside the core city limits (which DC and SF are relatively small).
And as far as total land area that is developed and built up with residential area, ChicagoLAND is not too much larger than that of Atlanta, Houston, DFW or Detroit. (even though the metro pop. is half the size in those in those other areas, because they don't have a dense city as its central city, but rather suburban pop. density of under 5,000/ppsqmi throughout).
NYC: maybe
LA: no
Boston, Philly, San Fran, Houston, Atlanta: no
Chicago isn't really that boring compared to NYC - there's more to do in NYC by virtue of it being 3X the population in the city itself, but it's still fun compared to it. When I come back to Chicago every weekend or every other weekend from NYC, I don't think to myself "God it's so boring here compared to NYC." I think "It's a little different" instead. The clubs, bars, restaurants, etc etc etc aren't any more crazy in NYC than they are in Chicago. There's just more of them in NYC - but that doesn't necessarily mean it's loads more fun. You have more options is what it means (and Chicago is still not lagging with options).
Compared to LA I think of it as more fun, or can be depending, but maybe around even. I think the only other city besides LA and NYC that are on par with Chicago or ahead of it is San Francisco and MAYBE parts of DC, but I think of Chicago is ahead of both of them by a little bit. Houston and Atlanta more fun compared to Chicago? Yeah right.
How you hear about cities and what not is mainly media perception unless you've visited these places and spent time there. I have friends who have lived in both Beirut and Miami, and said that Miami's party/club scene is tame compared to Beirut's, but you'll never hear that in the western media. Your perception of Beirut may be far from what I just told you, but that doesn't mean it's what your pre-conceived notion of it is just because you don't hear about it in the media much. I think a place like Atlanta, which CAN be fun, is a prime example of that. It's overhyped by certain people who have more access to the media making people believe that the whole place is something that it might not be.
If you want a true test of a city, visit it for a little while and probably more than once - do your research and get into areas apart from tourist areas where most of the population lives.
Last edited by marothisu; 12-20-2014 at 01:53 PM..
I take back what I said to some extent. But I was comparing Chicago's suburbs to suburbs of cheaper Midwestern metro areas such as Metro Detroit lol. I forgot for a second that the thread revolved around Chicago vs. more expensive peers such as NYC & LA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tex?Il?
I have to disagree somewhat. Chicago suburbs are much more affordable than those of the other top four or five metro areas for buying houses.
What I would say is that if you are looking for things to do and to get out and meet people, then Chicagoland suburbs presents no clear advantage at all, since single people and fun things to do are largely all in the urban core. Most of everything outside the city limits is largely family oriented, SFH dominated bedroom communities.
Although Chicagoland has higher home prices than suburbs of most of the sunbelt or rustbelt, in this case you kind of get what you pay for. However if you are looking to buy a house and raise a family, but still be in commutable distance to a world class city with all its employment opportunities and cultural opportunities, then Chicago suburbs are kind of the sweet spot (parklike suburbs with good schools AND a world class city down the road). (Kids can escape their sleepy suburb and pull a Ferris Buellers day off).
I would say that as far as city living (I'm talking day to day here, not the cultural amenities that are more recreational) other than lower prices, it doesn't have much of an advantage over SF, Boston, or DC due to the fact that a significant swath of Chicago is undesirable, and when you count up the neighborhoods/census tracts that actually are relatively vibrant, dense, accessible and safe it doesn't add up to not much more than those other cities (which are between 6-800,000 something), and you have to do your homework as to know whats safe and whats not.
(IE: real estate people advertising low prices in "West Wicker Park" only to be having to invest in pepper spray and bullet proof glass because you found yourself in Humboldt Park). But I digress.
I don't live in the US but of the American cities I hear most about Chicago rates about 7th on the list. I hear about Boston, Philly, San Fran, Houston, Atlanta more. As the third largest city in the US I am kind of surprised that I don't hear about it more. Every time I do hear about it, everything I hear about it, doesn't really seem interesting to me. I think the architecture is neat, but I am not familiar with any artistic vibe in Chicago that rivals other cities. I'm also not familiar with whether or not Chicago has great food culture like other American cities. It seems aesthetically pleasing, but I don't get any other impression by it. When I hear "Chicago" i think "city in the midwest" and not much else.
I have met hundreds of travelers to Chicago Mod cut. Somewhere between 40-50% of my guests have been international, with most of the international visitors being from Europe. As of the end of this month I'll have hosted 328 bookings, which equates to over 500 individuals, so at least a couple hundred international visitors.
The vast majority of them enjoyed their stay and have been surprised by how much they liked Chicago, even those who had heard plenty about it prior to their arrival. I'm not sure what you mean by "artistic vibe," but Chicago has contributed at least its fair share of art to the U.S. and the world. There is, of course, it's contributions to jazz and blues, but also to pop music, gospel, house music, hip-hop, rock and other genres. Everything from the band Chicago to The Smashing Pumpkins to Frankie Knuckles to Buddy Guy to Louis Armstrong to Thomas Dorsey to Lou Rawls to Liz Phair to Veruca Salt to Urge Overkill to Wilco to Tortoise to Kanye West to Common to Felix da Housecat to Benny Goodman and hundreds of other influential musicians have been based here or started their careers here. On the classical front, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is one of the Big Five American orchestras and more than holds its own globally and the Lyric Opera is also well-regarded.
When it comes to stage performances, Chicago is one of the best sources of comedy in the U.S., with perhaps the best improv comedy scene in the world, and a healthy stand-up scene. Big-stage plays do very well here, with Chicago often being where Broadway shows start out to work out the kinks before officially opening on Broadway, and getting touring productions that often have the same people as the New York productions do. And home-grown playhouses such as the Steppenwolf and Looking Glass send shows to New York and regularly bring home Tony awards, and there are over a hundred small stages in the city that turn out high-quality productions. It's true we lose a lot of people to New York and LA, but we get to enjoy them as they hone their craft and it leaves a positive mark on our culture here.
Film-wise Chicago is not LA or New York, but after those big two it contributes in everything from John Hughes' coming-of-age classics to films like Source Code or Contagion, and even being the backdrop of blockbusters like the Batman reboot by Christopher Nolan (who spent part of his childhood in Chicago) and the Transformers movies to foreign-based films such as Dhoom 3, to documentaries and television shows such as The Good Wife, Chicago Fire, the U.S. version of Shameless,
For art, the Art Institute of Chicago is very large and has impressive collections of modern art and impressionism and American art, as well as European. It's not as encyclopedic as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York or as deep in a specific area like a museum such as the Prado, but it covers a lot of art well. And there's also the Museum of Contemporary Art, and specialized art museums like the National Museum of Mexican Art, the DuSable Museum of African American History, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, and quirky ones like a museum of surgical science, a military library, Polish museums, Irish museums, a Greek museum, the Driehaus Museum dedicated to gilded-age mansions, an LGBT leather museum, and dozens of other quirky places to see.
I could keep going, but Chicago has a lot to offer, it's not as dominant as NYC, but it is a global city with global influence and opportunities for culture.
Last edited by PJSaturn; 12-28-2014 at 07:53 PM..
Reason: Advertising link deleted.
I don't live in the US but of the American cities I hear most about Chicago rates about 7th on the list. I hear about Boston, Philly, San Fran, Houston, Atlanta more. As the third largest city in the US I am kind of surprised that I don't hear about it more. Every time I do hear about it, everything I hear about it, doesn't really seem interesting to me. I think the architecture is neat, but I am not familiar with any artistic vibe in Chicago that rivals other cities. I'm also not familiar with whether or not Chicago has great food culture like other American cities. It seems aesthetically pleasing, but I don't get any other impression by it. When I hear "Chicago" i think "city in the midwest" and not much else.
Chicago doesn't have a national, let alone international, ''image''. Mod cut.
The Chicago Tribune did an article on this same topic: ''Chicago: World Class City without an Image''.
Last edited by PJSaturn; 12-28-2014 at 07:55 PM..
Reason: Off topic.
I take back what I said to some extent. But I was comparing Chicago's suburbs to suburbs of cheaper Midwestern metro areas such as Metro Detroit lol. I forgot for a second that the thread revolved around Chicago vs. more expensive peers such as NYC & LA.
Gotcha. Agree 100%. That is personally a major appeal of other Midwest metro area. Growing up in the NW burbs I will say I grew up with an attraction to the old money neighborhoods of the north shore suburbs with those english tudor, georgian, and colonial houses that were the homes of the main characters in John Hughes movies. In metro Detroit, its more of a possibility for someone to afford a house in Gross Pointe than it is in Winnetka, even though they look about the same.
Chicago isn't really that boring compared to NYC - there's more to do in NYC by virtue of it being 3X the population in the city itself, but it's still fun compared to it. When I come back to Chicago every weekend or every other weekend from NYC, I don't think to myself "God it's so boring here compared to NYC." I think "It's a little different" instead. The clubs, bars, restaurants, etc etc etc aren't any more crazy in NYC than they are in Chicago. There's just more of them in NYC - but that doesn't necessarily mean it's loads more fun. You have more options is what it means (and Chicago is still not lagging with options).
Compared to LA I think of it as more fun, or can be depending, but maybe around even. I think the only other city besides LA and NYC that are on par with Chicago or ahead of it is San Francisco and MAYBE parts of DC, but I think of Chicago is ahead of both of them by a little bit. Houston and Atlanta more fun compared to Chicago? Yeah right.
How you hear about cities and what not is mainly media perception unless you've visited these places and spent time there. I have friends who have lived in both Beirut and Miami, and said that Miami's party/club scene is tame compared to Beirut's, but you'll never hear that in the western media. Your perception of Beirut may be far from what I just told you, but that doesn't mean it's what your pre-conceived notion of it is just because you don't hear about it in the media much. I think a place like Atlanta, which CAN be fun, is a prime example of that. It's overhyped by certain people who have more access to the media making people believe that the whole place is something that it might not be.
If you want a true test of a city, visit it for a little while and probably more than once - do your research and get into areas apart from tourist areas where most of the population lives.
Beirut, huh? Interesting. Maybe that comes out of a mindset in places that have a history of being war-torn, people are more likely to live every day like its their last, and really party it up?? Tel Aviv is supposed to have a crazy party scene too.
You might be right about Atlanta. To me, Atlanta has that "this is where Black people live like they are portrayed in sit coms and R&B videos" kind of appeal, but like you said, its probably more media perception.
I apologize if both this comments come across as offensive. Its meant to be ever slightly ironic.
Beirut, huh? Interesting. Maybe that comes out of a mindset in places that have a history of being war-torn, people are more likely to live every day like its their last, and really party it up?? Tel Aviv is supposed to have a crazy party scene too.
Yeah, I think that's part (but not all of it) for sure. I've heard that about Tel Aviv too. Lebanon has their own wing of MTV too which surprises most people. In case you're interested, this is something CNN International did on it a few years ago https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hxTK1Hy8B8
Anyway yeah, point is that media shapes a lot of our perceptions even down to cities, unfortunately. And unfortunately, people just assume that X and Y city is not whatever because they don't hear about it no matter what the truth is.
I have met hundreds of travelers to Chicago as an Airbnb host. Somewhere between 40-50% of my guests have been international, with most of the international visitors being from Europe. As of the end of this month I'll have hosted 328 bookings, which equates to over 500 individuals, so at least a couple hundred international visitors.
The vast majority of them enjoyed their stay and have been surprised by how much they liked Chicago, even those who had heard plenty about it prior to their arrival. I'm not sure what you mean by "artistic vibe," but Chicago has contributed at least its fair share of art to the U.S. and the world. There is, of course, it's contributions to jazz and blues, but also to pop music, gospel, house music, hip-hop, rock and other genres. Everything from the band Chicago to The Smashing Pumpkins to Frankie Knuckles to Buddy Guy to Louis Armstrong to Thomas Dorsey to Lou Rawls to Liz Phair to Veruca Salt to Urge Overkill to Wilco to Tortoise to Kanye West to Common to Felix da Housecat to Benny Goodman and hundreds of other influential musicians have been based here or started their careers here. On the classical front, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is one of the Big Five American orchestras and more than holds its own globally and the Lyric Opera is also well-regarded.
When it comes to stage performances, Chicago is one of the best sources of comedy in the U.S., with perhaps the best improv comedy scene in the world, and a healthy stand-up scene. Big-stage plays do very well here, with Chicago often being where Broadway shows start out to work out the kinks before officially opening on Broadway, and getting touring productions that often have the same people as the New York productions do. And home-grown playhouses such as the Steppenwolf and Looking Glass send shows to New York and regularly bring home Tony awards, and there are over a hundred small stages in the city that turn out high-quality productions. It's true we lose a lot of people to New York and LA, but we get to enjoy them as they hone their craft and it leaves a positive mark on our culture here.
Film-wise Chicago is not LA or New York, but after those big two it contributes in everything from John Hughes' coming-of-age classics to films like Source Code or Contagion, and even being the backdrop of blockbusters like the Batman reboot by Christopher Nolan (who spent part of his childhood in Chicago) and the Transformers movies to foreign-based films such as Dhoom 3, to documentaries and television shows such as The Good Wife, Chicago Fire, the U.S. version of Shameless,
For art, the Art Institute of Chicago is very large and has impressive collections of modern art and impressionism and American art, as well as European. It's not as encyclopedic as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York or as deep in a specific area like a museum such as the Prado, but it covers a lot of art well. And there's also the Museum of Contemporary Art, and specialized art museums like the National Museum of Mexican Art, the DuSable Museum of African American History, the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, and quirky ones like a museum of surgical science, a military library, Polish museums, Irish museums, a Greek museum, the Driehaus Museum dedicated to gilded-age mansions, an LGBT leather museum, and dozens of other quirky places to see.
I could keep going, but Chicago has a lot to offer, it's not as dominant as NYC, but it is a global city with global influence and opportunities for culture.
Great post.
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