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DTLA stikes me as more dynamic. Residential, industrial, business, civic, and entertainment/nightlife. But nothing really dominates. DT Chi seemed more like business, shopping, and civic stuff. I prefer DTLA, but Chicago's DT is really cool.
I'm not sure if you really know as much about downtown Chicago as you think:
* Loads of bars, restaurants, performance venues, theaters (both movie and stage), concert venues, museums, etc
* Loads of shopping
* Around 100,000 to 125,000 residents in the greater area (counting parts of South Loop and West Loop) and growing.
* The main government operations for the city are located downtown in the Loop.
* The largest business district in the US outside of NYC is located downtown in the Loop.
Not to mention a huge park in Grant Park with Millennium Park and Maggie Daley Park right there, as well as a few beaches, a lakefront, and completely public land all along that lakefront. I don't know - it seems like you visited a few times and didn't really get out that much to the actual areas where people go for nightlife. I don't know. There's actually a lot of people living in downtown Chicago, around or over twice as many as downtown LA.
Last edited by marothisu; 09-17-2015 at 10:03 PM..
I'm not sure if you really know as much about downtown Chicago as you think:
* Loads of bars, restaurants, performance venues, theaters (both movie and stage), concert venues, museums, etc
* Loads of shopping
* Around 100,000 to 125,000 residents in the greater area (counting parts of South Loop and West Loop) and growing.
* The main government operations for the city are located downtown in the Loop.
* The largest business district in the US outside of NYC is located downtown in the Loop.
Not to mention a huge park in Grant Park with Millennium Park and Maggie Daley Park right there, as well as a few beaches, a lakefront, and completely public land all along that lakefront. I don't know - it seems like you visited a few times and didn't really get out that much to the actual areas where people go for nightlife. I don't know. There's actually a lot of people living in downtown Chicago, around or over twice as many as downtown LA.
Yep, DTLA is a dump. Nowhere near the level of Chicago. I'm here right now and can't wait to leave... Now I did spend some time in Irvine, CA this week and that's a nice area, but it's an hour+ drive from LA.
Having a hard time believing downtown L.A. can compete with downtown Chicago.
One of my coworkers took a visit few months back. Young guy in mid 20's. He said he was highly disappointed with
entertainment options. Mentioned that he ended up spending more time in Hollywood than downtown L.A.
I think San Francisco is more comparable to Chicago than L.A.
I think San Francisco is more comparable to Chicago than L.A.
Agreed. San Francisco is more developed. LA is a good city, but downtown as of right now is definitely not on the same level as downtown Chicago. A lot of my family is from LA, a city I've always enjoyed visiting, but I hadn't been there for a few years until Thanksgiving time. Had a good french dip and old fashioned downtown at Cole's and some good ice cream elsewhere, as well as a few other bars, but downtown still has a fair amount of vacant land and nowhere near the level of intensity as a Chicago.
You might be able to compare parts of DTLA to parts of downtown Chicago in terms of developed-ness like 15 years ago. Center City in Philadelphia might be a more apt comparison for DTLA with around the same population. There's things to do, buildings, business, civic stuff, etc but at the same time it's not the same intensity or as many entertainment options even if there's still a good amount. Though I really like Center City - it's pretty cool.
Hi,
Not sure where to post this, but I am going to graduate in May and I am trying to decide whether I should relocate to Chicago or LA after. I am from the west coast so LA would definitely be closer to family. A few things holding me back from LA is traffic and it's probably more expensive than Chicago. Chicago seems more affordable but I thought about moving there in the past and couldn't because of the weather. I always wanted to move to Chicago because of Second City. I found out LA has it too so I'm wondering if anybody has experience with Second City in LA? I took an immersive with Second City in Chicago and it was great, but when I saw a show in Second City Toronto I wasn't that big of a fan. So I was wondering about the Second City in LA. Any opinions?
First Of All: Stop flaming the OP. It's counter productive.
Secondly:
OP, before we discuss things such as university & Second City Comedy Club, let's get down to basics and compare/contrast settings of each city, pros and cons
Chicago:
Located in the Mid-West, Chicago is a medium to high density city where buildings and properties are generally much more clustered and "built up" compared to what you're probably used to being a Westerner. It has a glorious and breath taking downtown, excellent public transit, skyscrapers, dense neighborhoods with neatly packed together Greystone & historic architecture, 11 miles of beach front along Lake Michigan, and for lack of a better example, Chicago will seem very New York City-esque to you. Call me crazy, but cold weather does not signify worse weather. There is something very romantic about Winter time in the big city. Imagine snowflakes falling as you make your way through a bustling downtown at Christmas time, breathing in the crisp, cool air on your way to meet a date. You can hear the clickety-clack of your boots on the sidewalk, and feel sharply dressed wearing a stylish scarf, and sleek, black, leather gloves. A clear and endearing dark night sky, seeing your breath e.t.c. The overall scenery of Chicago will include much more brick, concrete, asphalt, sleek skyscrapers, rustic buildings, electric trains rattling overhead, and large rugged structures of steel where the EL tracks are above, peppered with a sort of romanticized urban decay.
Cons:
While cold weather can be nice - Chicago has a very harsh and unforgiving frigidness during the height of Winter. I personallylove the cold, but for folks averse to it, the 3 months are probably excessively harsh. Below freezing, lots of densely packed snow. Also, the setting & part of the country - the two coasts are where things happen and everything is humming and buzzing with the cutting edge. Chicago surrounding scenery is a bit drab for most, as it is flat, rolling Prarie in every direction, far from the ocean. I find Prarie nice being a native Easterner (NJ/NYC). But scenery is poor compared to LA.
Los Angeles:
Located in the sun-kissed region of Southern California, with the close proximity of the ocean, LA has a climate that few other places can rival. The weather is warm and tolerable most of the year, and it never really gets too cold. Surrounding scenery is breath taking with views of mountains, palm trees, and one word: BEACH. Los Angeles is the entertainment capital, packed with celebrities & hollywood, and does not have very good public transit. The people will most likely be a bit less friendly than in Chicago, and in certain parts of Hollywood, you'll notice an air of elitism and perhaps snobbery. The cost of living is MUCH higher in LA, but you get what you pay for. There are more people in LA proper, however the downtown is not as good as Chicago. YOU WILL NEED A CAR. LA embodies the concept of sprawl, many neighborhoods will perhaps appear more suburban in nature even if they are in the city proper. Everything will be much more spread out. Imagine spending sun-kissed afternoons at the beach after work, and being obsessed with being in top physical and aesthetic condition, showing yourself off whilst walking the Sunset Strip.
Cons:
MUCH higher cost of living, you will absolutely need a car, people a little bit less endearing/friendly, more difficult to make new friends in the pedestrian fashion.
***If you are planning on attending university you will easily & quickly make countless friends in either location. It's College. Enough said.***
My personal opinion: You'd be cheating yourself if you didn't give Chicago a chance. You are young and need to save money and get ahead. If you like comedy, Second City kicks ass for that. Let's keep in mind - if you choose LA, you will be competing with literally thousands of others for a slot in the entertainment industry (this includes comedy). I'm assuming you are graduating high school and are only 18 years of age or so. Do you have a nice, reliable car?? Because driving a college kid's beater/bucket of bolts everywhere will probably eventually be grading on a fellow in LA. You have the rest of your life to pine away in LA. Check out Chicago and then later when you are older and more established and you are feeling homesick, THEN, you can return to the West and set up shop in LA.
Take it from me. I'm a 27 year old NJ native who relocated to Chicago a little less than one year ago from NYC. I've been getting ahead, enjoying the change, and taking advantage of everything the city has to offer. Will I return to the NorthEast? Absolutely someday. Maybe another year or two. Then I will return to expensive NYC or Northern NJ. I think you should do the same. OP, follow your gut and do what's in your heart first and foremost, but take advice from folks on this forum wisely & perhaps with a grain of salt. Best of luck.
I'm not sure if you really know as much about downtown Chicago as you think:
* Loads of bars, restaurants, performance venues, theaters (both movie and stage), concert venues, museums, etc
* Loads of shopping
* Around 100,000 to 125,000 residents in the greater area (counting parts of South Loop and West Loop) and growing.
* The main government operations for the city are located downtown in the Loop.
* The largest business district in the US outside of NYC is located downtown in the Loop.
Not to mention a huge park in Grant Park with Millennium Park and Maggie Daley Park right there, as well as a few beaches, a lakefront, and completely public land all along that lakefront. I don't know - it seems like you visited a few times and didn't really get out that much to the actual areas where people go for nightlife. I don't know. There's actually a lot of people living in downtown Chicago, around or over twice as many as downtown LA.
I think you are just expanding the definition of downtown, to suit your claims. The actual loop community area has no where near 100,000 people living there. Probably more like 30,000 according to the census. I have family there and have visited , it is a cool City. It seemed like a lot of the nightlife was in the adjacent neighborhoods. Downtown LA has like 50, 000 people, most of them are clustered west of S. Central Ave, which is probably about the same size as the Loop.
Nothing personal, the loop just seems more centered around commerce when compared to Downtown LA.
Chicago doesn't strike me as being a low cost city. Average rents seem to be with in a few hundred dollars of each other. And both places do not have a rep for low taxes...
I think you are just expanding the definition of downtown, to suit your claims. The actual loop community area has no where near 100,000 people living there. Probably more like 30,000 according to the census. I have family there and have visited , it is a cool City. It seemed like a lot of the nightlife was in the adjacent neighborhoods. Downtown LA has like 50, 000 people, most of them are clustered west of S. Central Ave, which is probably about the same size as the Loop.
Nothing personal, the loop just seems more centered around commerce when compared to Downtown LA.
Chicago doesn't strike me as being a low cost city. Average rents seem to be with in a few hundred dollars of each other. And both places do not have a rep for low taxes...
Anybody who spends enough time in Chicago and actually lives there would know that the Loop is not the only part of downtown, unless you are very old school or know nothing about the city as of right now. For all purposes, downtown to most includes the Loop, most of River North, Streeterville, and most of the Gold Coast,as well as at least part of the West Loop and you could include part of the South Loop as well. There are MANY office-related businesses located just west of the river in an area called West Loop Gate and there's also a hell of a lot more than you think in River North. West Loop Gate is not very residential but full of office business just like the Loop. Two 700-750+ foot office buildings are being built there as we speak in fact. The areas north of the river are full of residents and nightlife, but also offices in the River North area, as well as a big campus for Northwestern University Medical in Streeterville.
Office business wise, yes the Loop is the epicenter, but to think that there's no major players in the downtown area outside of that shows some ignorance of the current situation. The following companies are located not in the Loop:
* Google - River North - soon moving to West Loop
* Motorola Mobility - River North
* Yelp - River North
* Groupon - River North
* Salesforce - River North
* ConAgra - River North - 2016 move
* Motorola Solutions - soon moving to West Loop Gate
* Hillshire - West Loop Gate
* Uber - West Loop
* Big 10 Network - River North
* Braintree - River North
* Morton Salt - West Loop Gate
* Boeing - West Loop Gate
* Duetsche Bank - West Loop Gate
Etc
Regardless of that, the densest parts of downtown in people are not in the Loop. Hardly anybody lives in the Loop. They are in Streeterville, River North, and the Gold Coast. Streeterville and Gold Coast is full of high rises and the highest grossing street economically in the entire city, Michigan Avenue, is located in Streeterville and Gold Coast. The section of Michigan Avenue south of the river in the Loop is a joke store wise and economically compared to what it is north of the river (though it is improving but still very very very very far behind what's north). Also, a huge chunk of the hotels in the city are actually in these areas north of the river, not in the Loop.
Nobody is expanding the borders to fit this idea of what downtown is. Anybody who thinks the Loop right now is the only part of downtown is at least 15 years behind the times. Honestly, you're going to look at this and tell me you don't think this is part of downtown?
Anybody who spends enough time in Chicago and actually lives there would know that the Loop is not the only part of downtown, unless you are very old school or know nothing about the city as of right now. For all purposes, downtown to most includes the Loop, most of River North, Streeterville, and most of the Gold Coast,as well as at least part of the West Loop and you could include part of the South Loop as well. There are MANY office-related businesses located just west of the river in an area called West Loop Gate and there's also a hell of a lot more than you think in River North. West Loop Gate is not very residential but full of office business just like the Loop. Two 700-750+ foot office buildings are being built there as we speak in fact. The areas north of the river are full of residents and nightlife, but also offices in the River North area, as well as a big campus for Northwestern University Medical in Streeterville.
Office business wise, yes the Loop is the epicenter, but to think that there's no major players in the downtown area outside of that shows some ignorance of the current situation. The following companies are located not in the Loop:
* Google - River North - soon moving to West Loop
* Motorola Mobility - River North
* Yelp - River North
* Groupon - River North
* Salesforce - River North
* ConAgra - River North - 2016 move
* Motorola Solutions - soon moving to West Loop Gate
* Hillshire - West Loop Gate
* Uber - West Loop
* Big 10 Network - River North
* Braintree - River North
* Morton Salt - West Loop Gate
* Boeing - West Loop Gate
* Duetsche Bank - West Loop Gate
Etc
Regardless of that, the densest parts of downtown in people are not in the Loop. Hardly anybody lives in the Loop. They are in Streeterville, River North, and the Gold Coast. Streeterville and Gold Coast is full of high rises and the highest grossing street economically in the entire city, Michigan Avenue, is located in Streeterville and Gold Coast. The section of Michigan Avenue south of the river in the Loop is a joke store wise and economically compared to what it is north of the river (though it is improving but still very very very very far behind what's north). Also, a huge chunk of the hotels in the city are actually in these areas north of the river, not in the Loop.
Nobody is expanding the borders to fit this idea of what downtown is. Anybody who thinks the Loop right now is the only part of downtown is at least 15 years behind the times. Honestly, you're going to look at this and tell me you don't think this is part of downtown?
I don't know Chicago culture well enough to say. My grandmother's younger sister relocated there during the war after getting married, so that is where the Chicago branch of my family tree comes from. I can't speak on others, but my family seemed to consider the loop as downtown. They said people from the suburbs were the ones who didn't really know what downtown was. And yes, there definately are some old school belushiesque members of the family.
That being said, I feel that DTLA has much more of a neighborhood feel on a whole, when compared to DT Chicago, the loop, or what ever you want to call it. I don't think the loop is bad or anything, but it clearly had a different function than DTLA.
Then please stop arguing with those who do. Trust us, nobody is referring to only the Loop when they talk about downtown Chicago. They are at least also including the Near North area (which is quite dense and includes two of the four tallest buildings in the city, not to mention many of the downtown hotels, the Magnificent Mile, etc.), and usually also at least parts of South Loop and West Loop. Beyond that there is some debate, since there is no official definition of "downtown," but you are the first person I've ever heard argue that it is ONLY the loop.
Then please stop arguing with those who do. Trust us, nobody is referring to only the Loop when they talk about downtown Chicago. They are at least also including the Near North area (which is quite dense and includes two of the four tallest buildings in the city, not to mention many of the downtown hotels, the Magnificent Mile, etc.), and usually also at least parts of South Loop and West Loop. Beyond that there is some debate, since there is no official definition of "downtown," but you are the first person I've ever heard argue that it is ONLY the loop.
Chill out, don't get your panties in a bunch. According to the thread "what area is downtown" there does not seem to really to be a consensus, even among Chicago posters as to what DT Chicago is. I can see some posters in that thread who say downtown is the Loop for some. So I am assuming that it is really not as unheard of as you would like to believe. If you want to include other community areas all the way to Lincoln Park Zoo as downtown Chicago, that is fine by me.
One thing I can tell you is DTLA is defined. It is not subjective and can't be changed to suit an arguement. It's kind of hard for me to see how downtown Chicago can be better when people can't seem to even define it's boundaries, LoL.
DT Chicago certainly has over 100, 000 people if you claim downtown goes all the way to McCormik Place, NorthAve Beach, and several blocks west of i94, lololololol.
Last edited by WizardOfRadical; 09-19-2015 at 09:01 PM..
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