Why do Chicagoans look down on people from the suburbs?

[DavePa]

Originally Posted by NOLA101

Ding, ding ding! We have a winner!

You can tell the "Chicago pride" types with the city flag on their backpack, constantly talking negative about the Midwest, bragging about their cramped two bedroom in Lincoln Park like it makes them hot stuff.

If you're from rural Indiana or something, yeah, you think it's a big deal that you're living somewhere that doesn't look like Muncie or Terre Haute.

The reality is that A. Chicago proper isn't that different from the suburbs, for the most part and B. Even the parts that are different (i.e. the core), aren't that urban/cosmopolitan compared to other global cities around the world. Lincoln Park is a looong way from NYC, Paris or London. But it's easier to rag on Kalamazoo.

The irony in bringing up a CRAMPED APT. from a transplant to NYC. The poster city of cramped apartments .... but its NYC so ..... fagetaboutit. It's all good there. I ALSO THINK Lincoln Park and others are worthy to boast ..... up against Manhattan and other areas there in quality and offerings. It needs not every street with businesses. Going home to a quieter block, tree-lined and your can enjoy a leisurely walk too is superior to over-the-top density.... knowing all is still on the main streets nearby.

I guess some must have been comparing Lincoln Park to NYC, Paris or London (I think some Chicago top neighborhoods can sure impress even Europeans? IMO

Didn't you lessen transplants to Chicago themselves (as a lower caliber) vs those that NYC gets too (in post in past months I read)..... claiming Chicago's transplants ARE JUST Midwesterners from places like Iowa. There is NO REASON to lessen Chicago here and to claim the city is NO DIFFERENT then its suburbs.... Guess because it has a bungalow belt? Well NYC has Staten Island too. Chicago is far just being one big suburb itself? It's still denser then other Eastern cites (not NYC) even with its bungalow-belt and lost housing on the south and west sides.

But the thread is merely on the Chicago metro and NOT vs another major city.

I'm crossing my fingers I'm not being rude? But still PRIDE IN CITY IS A GOOD THING given ALL Chicago was through (in past decades) and issues it still has. I remember the days many Chicagoans had little pride in downtown or the city in general. Today they do despite issues locals well know they have too.

But its core (and these neighborhoods of many transplants) today has the:
- recognition today as a Top downtown in the Nation
- has risen as a tourist destination (to some they will just say its Iowans and such) ......
- is still in a boom stage in high-rise construction in the US and much infill actually increasing the city's density.
- has HIGHLY complemented neighborhoods .... EVEN BY NEW YORKERS. But for a few and maybe a transplanted one to Brooklyn?

Even the common front-green-space of Chicago neighborhoods STANDS OUT to visitors and the gilded-age homes especially many of near core neighborhoods have. I also remember someone saying in past post to ...... how Chicago's great vintage brick Victorian and others to greystone varieties COULDN'T TOUCH NYCs brownstones .... I think many can IMO.

Pride in being a CITY RESIDENT especially in the core and most sought after neighborhoods. TO A DEGREE TODAY IT IS A STATUS SYMBOL (it is deserved in how these neighborhoods are FULL OF LIFE AND HIGH-END ATTRIBUTES TOO (just a tad bit of what NYC has).....

Chicago's core outward has COME TO A NATIONAL PROMINENCE that shows on C-D .... of course there are a few we can count on to lower Chicago any opportunity. I think its GREAT HOW you see the CHICAGO CITY FLAG .... all over downtown AND HOMES FLY IT TOO with OUR NATIONS FLAG. Not too many cities do that (I believe the DC and Chicago flag were voted BEST city flags too).

So it still is a POSITIVE as going back a few decades. It was TOTALLY THE OPPOSITE. Why should New Yorkers only feel these BETTER THEN those in outlier areas with Pride? Oh, because it is NYC over much lower Chicago ..... maybe to some?

But I guess New Yorker's have the right to look down on others in the Northeast and Midwest especially? Just being FLYOVER But in Chicago ..... how dare they think any aspect of Chicago has some status to boast and have Pride.... as it is just false in thinking there is some higher esteem value in this Midwestern city just like the rest? Guess that's it to some?

[ToriaT]

I think that many think the suburbs are full of mindless and characterless tract homes that all look alike, strip malls and chain stores and restaurants. The city has buildings of character, mom and pop stores and boutiques, and individualized restaurants, as well as cultural things. The truth is that some of the city is also run down and characterless (and dangerous) and its true that there are plenty of the above negatives in the suburbs. But that does not tell the whole story as many suburbs have beautiful homes that do have character, nice parks, trees, good restaurants and small town cores that are as nice as any you can find in parts of the city, even nicer.

[doodlemagic]

Originally Posted by stinkingliberal

I think it might have something to do with the fact that much of the suburbs of Chicago aren't even in Illinois.

Are you referring to NW Indiana? I think many Illinoisans don't consider those to be a suburb, it's kind of an ongoing discussion on here, although personally I would say in some ways many NW Indiana cities are more suburbs than say a Plainfield or Joliet or Oswego or St Charles

[PILMAN]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

I think that many think the suburbs are full of mindless and characterless tract homes that all look alike, strip malls and chain stores and restaurants. The city has buildings of character, mom and pop stores and boutiques, and individualized restaurants, as well as cultural things. The truth is that some of the city is also run down and characterless (and dangerous) and its true that there are plenty of the above negatives in the suburbs. But that does not tell the whole story as many suburbs have beautiful homes that do have character, nice parks, trees, good restaurants and small town cores that are as nice as any you can find in parts of the city, even nicer.

I grew up in the nw suburbs in wheeling and it didnt look like that. All the houses looked different from old brick homes to various other styles. You can find many chicago bungalows in the suburbs. I lived near Milwaukee Ave next to superdawg, portillos, chicago bagel and bialy, beautful forest preserves, botanic gardens, etc.

my old area.

https://youtu.be/04fMrnfT0pk

i dont have anything against the city, i wish i could say i was from the city. my dad and his family were from the city from north lawndale originally but most of the jews went to west ridge or nw suburbs. Maybe i will never be seen as a chicagoan but when you leave chicagoland, you do see how the culture is vastly different than to the rest of the midwest or even say florida where i am stuck now.

[PILMAN]

Originally Posted by MassVt

This is just splitting hairs, anyway. If a stranger asked me where I live, I'd probably say "Boston ", although I live in a suburb of Boston. No point in getting into geographical semantics about this..

If someone says they live in Chicago, but actually live in Evanston, does it really make that much of a difference? Is the questioner trying to make an obscure point, or is he just making casual conversation? It's usually the latter..

Yes it is excessive especially the cherry picking of words and last word mentality.

i understand living in the chicago burbs and claiming to be in the city, yeah, clearly city limits and the burbs are different but outside of illinois, if i ran into someone from chicago in say florida who bashed me for being from arlington heights and saying chicago area, that is just childish.

Its not incorrect to claim and unfortunately i will waste more time giving details while a city snob warrior tries to school me. the point is few people care except the internet and the same trolls who like to few special claiming they own the culture and city yet never actually leave their home to enjoy the city. the average person doesnt care.

using chicago as a reference for outsiders indicates that I identify with where my parents were from. I went to suburban school and my friends lived there but Chicago was our core city. We cheered the cubs and the bulls, mustard went on vienna beef dogs, giardineria was on everything we ate, soda was pop, italian beef was served everywhere, q101 and b96 were the stations i listened to in the 90s especially those house music mixes.

alot of things i took for granted when i was forced to move to florida. good luck finding most of the foods in chicago, no one knows what vienna beef is, real gyros, chicago dogs, true deep dish, giardiniera, polish sausage, all imitations. We identify with the core city like a Paisa in Colombia in antioquia clings to medellin and paisa culture.

tell anyone here you are from illinois and they think you are a farmer in a corn field.

a lot of us have ancestors that built Chicago or lived there for generations. I guess that means little. Most of Chicagos great architects came from the east coast.

Sadly, the internet regarding Chicago and the suburbs reminds me of religion, example being Judaism, you have the "traditional" Orthodox, the "modern" Conservative, and liberal "reform", the Orthodox will never see a convert or those practicing another religion as part of them that their judaism is inauthentic or fake, in a lot of ways, I do notice this sometimes with those in the city against the Chicago suburbs when to the rest of the country, we are pretty much the same and many of Chicagos neighborhoods started off as "suburbs".

When I was up in Chicago over in Avondale visiting for a few days, no one had any problems with me being from the suburbs or treated me any different, they asked if I was coming back to Chicago. The internet wars seriously create a toxic environment and cause so much division.