Chicago more like 3 biggest East Coast cities OR 3 biggest Midwest cities (Aurora: taxi, live)

[Nafster]

I wouldn't call any neighborhood between Chicago and New York identical at all - but many do have enough similarities that justify the constant comparisons between the two cities on this board.

It's not so much a Chicago vs New York comparison that can argued, it's more of a Chicago vs. certain New York neighborhoods that can be justified because New York is just a completely different beast and is much larger that Chicago just doesn't match.

[personone]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

People like to think that Chicago and New York have very few structural similarities. But honestly, I think that has been hugely blown out of proportion. Here are pics of Chicago and New York neighborhoods that look almost identical. These aren't trendy, strip mall Americana built up in the 21st century places.





























There are about an equal amount of Chicago to New York pictures. If you can figure out which city is which (outside of the obvious ones with the street signs and traffic lights) , you know both cities well.

If you took someone who had never been to either city, blindfolded them and magically transported them to the other within the same day, they most likely wouldn't know they even changed cities.

Yes. Especially in parts of Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and parts of the Gold Coast/ Old Town- you'll see many streets with New York-style brownstones and row houses. Chicago's housing stock is much more diverse than a lot of people realize.

[spaceboyzero]

Originally Posted by personone

Yes. Especially in parts of Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and parts of the Gold Coast/ Old Town- you'll see many streets with New York-style brownstones and row houses. Chicago's housing stock is much more diverse than a lot of people realize.

This and the original post x100! And, I would extend that to say NYC's housing stock is also more diverse than people think as well. If hard pressed, everyone thinks all of NYC is just built up like Manhattan and Chicago is all bungalows.

The relative percentage breakdown in each city varies, but both have multiple areas that all contain comparable housing stock to each other.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by Nafster

I wouldn't call any neighborhood between Chicago and New York identical at all - but many do have enough similarities that justify the constant comparisons between the two cities on this board.

It's not so much a Chicago vs New York comparison that can argued, it's more of a Chicago vs. certain New York neighborhoods that can be justified because New York is just a completely different beast and is much larger that Chicago just doesn't match.

But the point is that neither Indy, Columbus, nor KC honestly have that architectural similarity with NYC at all. There are other Midwest cities that have greater degrees of Northeastern type architecture (Cincinnati and St. Louis come to mind) but they aren't large enough to justify the comparison and they're not Chicago.

[mjtinmemphis]

Originally Posted by EddieOlSkool

But the point is that neither Indy, Columbus, nor KC honestly have that architectural similarity with NYC at all. There are other Midwest cities that have greater degrees of Northeastern type architecture (Cincinnati and St. Louis come to mind) but they aren't large enough to justify the comparison and they're not Chicago.

I lived in Chicago for several years and have lived in St. Louis for almost 3 years now.

I don't think Chicago is anything like Kansas City, Indianapolis or Columbus.

St. Louis is clearly not in the league of Chicago. It shares some similarities such as older urban architecture, older urban neighborhoods and Midwestern culture. That is it.

Chicago is far more aggressive and faster paced than St. Louis or any other city between the coast but Chicago isn't like coastal cities either. St. Louis has a small big city flavor where as Cleveland and Detroit can claim the same.

[EddieOlSkool]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

I lived in Chicago for several years and have lived in St. Louis for almost 3 years now.

I don't think Chicago is anything like Kansas City, Indianapolis or Columbus.

St. Louis is clearly not in the league of Chicago. It shares some similarities such as older urban architecture, older urban neighborhoods and Midwestern culture. That is it.

Chicago is far more aggressive and faster paced than St. Louis or any other city between the coast but Chicago isn't like coastal cities either. St. Louis has a small big city flavor where as Cleveland and Detroit can claim the same.

When you say it's not like Coastal cities, how do you mean? It's just as dense if not more than done Megalopolis cities at the very least. It also has an established public transportation system and was an entry point for many immigrants.

[personone]

Originally Posted by personone

Yes. Especially in parts of Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and parts of the Gold Coast/ Old Town- you'll see many streets with New York-style brownstones and row houses. Chicago's housing stock is much more diverse than a lot of people realize.

Another section of the city where you can find a lot of east-coast style brownstones and row houses is the Little Italy/ University Village/ Tri Taylor area. It's an underrated part of the city, but there are some beautiful homes and tree-lined streets in that section of the city.

[Fishtacos]

The answer to the poll is neither. One of the issues with the poll is that for example, the three East Coast places chosen are not all that similar to one another.

Some Chicagoland people, not all, get offended if they are not compared well to larger/the largest city/metro areas on the coasts. Some of those same people are quick to thumb their nose or tease Midwestern areas smaller than Chicago. Perhaps it's personal insecurity. Perhaps it is too many flyover country comments. Chicago is just fine. It's not better or worse than anywhere else. Just enjoy it. It is unique and different, just as NYC is unique and different. As for how it feels to me...

Having lived in some of the places in and out of the poll, Chicago is and feels very Midwestern. It is a big city/metro with plnty of International elements, and very American in feel. Pace is very slow outside of the city. The city will have more pace, population, and density than other Midwest locales.

[personone]

Originally Posted by Fishtacos

The answer to the poll is neither. One of the issues with the poll is that for example, the three East Coast places chosen are not all that similar to one another.

Some Chicagoland people, not all, get offended if they are not compared well to larger/the largest city/metro areas on the coasts. Some of those same people are quick to thumb their nose or tease Midwestern areas smaller than Chicago. Perhaps it's personal insecurity. Perhaps it is too many flyover country comments. Chicago is just fine. It's not better or worse than anywhere else. Just enjoy it. It is unique and different, just as NYC is unique and different. As for how it feels to me...

Having lived in some of the places in and out of the poll, Chicago is and feels very Midwestern. It is a big city/metro with plnty of International elements, and very American in feel. Pace is very slow outside of the city. The city will have more pace, population, and density than other Midwest locales.

It's a matter of opinion I guess. I'm from the east coast and have lived in Philly and DC. To me, Chicago is a huge outlier in the Midwest because it just doesn't feel comparable to me, to any other Midwestern city. Besides Chicago, my knowledge of the Midwest is pretty limited, but I don't understand when people say Chicago has this "Midwestern vibe."

Having briefly visited Kansas City, Cincinnati, and even close-by Milwaukee for work- none of them seemed similar to Chicago. I have family in St. Louis, and again, I don't see the Midwestern similarities. At the downtown level in the Loop, it definitely feels similar to Center City Philly to me, and even parts of Manhattan (although obviously way less populated and dense). At the neighborhood level, Chicago is difficult to pinpoint because the housing is so diverse. As mentioned in this thread- you've got east coast style row houses and brownstones, high rises in the loop/ Gold Coast/ lake shore, but then have bungalows and in areas away from the core, single family homes with lawns and a distinct Midwestern look and feel. So it's a mixed bag on that front.

To me, what gives Chicago more of an east coast "feel" (and this is coming from an east coaster), is the large historic, ethnic groups and blue collar presence that you still have remnants of in Chicago. Other Midwestern cities may have some of this, but nowhere near the level of Chicago. Chicago is far more racially/ethnically diverse than anywhere in the Midwest, which gives it a different "feel." You combine this with the large L/CTA rail system (with the train tracts in the urban background landscape and subway stops- which characteristically have an urban east coast feel), and overall it "looks and feels" more East Coast to me than Midwestern.

That's not a knock on the Midwest at all. I just think Chicago feels very different. Although Chicago does have a lot of Big Ten/Midwest transplants, so it definitely does have some Midwestern characteristics. But still it's unique in its characteristics. As an example, I have a lot of friends from NYC here who joke that Chicago is the only place in the Midwest they'd live. That's not a knock on Midwestern culture because Chicago does have that, but it also has enough east coast features to that remind people from the east coast of their cities back home.

[Fishtacos]

Originally Posted by personone

It's a matter of opinion I guess. I'm from the east coast and have lived in Philly and DC. To me, Chicago is a huge outlier in the Midwest because it just doesn't feel comparable to me, to any other Midwestern city. Besides Chicago, my knowledge of the Midwest is pretty limited, but I don't understand when people say Chicago has this "Midwestern vibe."

Having briefly visited Kansas City, Cincinnati, and even close-by Milwaukee for work- none of them seemed similar to Chicago. I have family in St. Louis, and again, I don't see the Midwestern similarities. At the downtown level in the Loop, it definitely feels similar to Center City Philly to me, and even parts of Manhattan (although obviously way less populated and dense). At the neighborhood level, Chicago is difficult to pinpoint because the housing is so diverse. As mentioned in this thread- you've got east coast style row houses and brownstones, high rises in the loop/ Gold Coast/ lake shore, but then have bungalows and in areas away from the core, single family homes with lawns and a distinct Midwestern look and feel. So it's a mixed bag on that front.

To me, what gives Chicago more of an east coast "feel" (and this is coming from an east coaster), is the large historic, ethnic groups and blue collar presence that you still have remnants of in Chicago. Other Midwestern cities may have some of this, but nowhere near the level of Chicago. Chicago is far more racially/ethnically diverse than anywhere in the Midwest, which gives it a different "feel." You combine this with the large L/CTA rail system (with the train tracts in the urban background landscape and subway stops- which characteristically have an urban east coast feel), and overall it "looks and feels" more East Coast to me than Midwestern.

That's not a knock on the Midwest at all. I just think Chicago feels very different. Although Chicago does have a lot of Big Ten/Midwest transplants, so it definitely does have some Midwestern characteristics. But still it's unique in its characteristics. As an example, I have a lot of friends from NYC here who joke that Chicago is the only place in the Midwest they'd live. That's not a knock on Midwestern culture because Chicago does have that, but it also has enough east coast features to that remind people from the east coast of their cities back home.

My answer to the question was that Chicago was not like the three East Coast nor Midwest metros in the poll.

For perspective, I have live in NYC, DC, have spent considerable time in Boston and some other areas in those locales. I have also lived in St. Louis, Milwaukee, spent lots of time in KC, etc...