What Misconceptions Do People Have About Chicago or Chicagoans? (Naperville: neighborhood, school)

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by Larry Siegel

No, it's not. But when someone says that if you're on the south side you're poor, dumb, and murderous (those were his words) it deserves a correction.

Take a look at the thread title. The author of that post was pointing out what (s)he perceives as misperceptions about Chicagoans.

[andrew61]

Originally Posted by VA All Day

Chicago being fast-paced.

I lose my mind several times per day because of seemingly able-bodied people that don't do things near as quickly as they should or just acting completely oblivious in public space (though there's an element of that everywhere thanks to smartphones).

But to me, the fact that such slowpokes stick out like a sore thumb is proof that Chicago really is fast paced.

And, depending on where in Chicago you happen to be, a good number of those people might be tourists.

[VA All Day]

Originally Posted by andrew61

But to me, the fact that such slowpokes stick out like a sore thumb is proof that Chicago really is fast paced.

That's a distortion of my perception. I'm saying the "slowpokes" aren't the exceptions that prove the rule. They're generally the norm.

Originally Posted by andrew61

And, depending on where in Chicago you happen to be, a good number of those people might be tourists.

Not really applicable in my case. Most tourists are gonna be in the loop, river north, wrigleyville, all of which I'm rarely in. I'm talking mainly about the people I encounter in my neighborhood on a daily basis at the train stop, jewel, etc. I suppose a few could be airbnbers but most are likely residents.

[DougStark]

Did someone mention this one yet? So many people not familiar with Chicago or its history think the nickname "the windy city" refers to its climate, lol. NOT! I've corrected quite a few people on this one

[nana053]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Did someone mention this one yet? So many people not familiar with Chicago or its history think the nickname "the windy city" refers to its climate, lol. NOT! I've corrected quite a few people on this one

Change of Subject: For our out of town guests: Why Chicago is called `the Windy City'

The closest anyone has gotten to the truth about the "Windy City" nickname seems to be the research of etymologist Barry Popik. He says the earliest examples of the moniker for Chicago meant both wind and windbags, and Dana had nothing to do with it. And he's sick of people who can't get it straight.

Popik, a consultant to the Oxford English Dictionary, spends his days working as a judge in New York City's bureau of parking violations. He spends his nights in libraries looking at old newspapers, microfiche and digital databases, hunting for early examples of famous nicknames and slang. Then he embarks on vigorous letter-writing campaigns to let everyone know what he has found.

In the mid-1990s, Popik set his sights on "Windy City," and started scanning hundreds of editions of the New York Sun -- a newspaper that was published from 1833 to 1950 -- in the New York Public Library.

He couldn't find a single instance of Dana using the name "Windy City."

Then Popik started looking further back, and in other newspapers, traveling to the Library of Congress to search through them.

He found a Louisville Courier-Journal reference to "Windy City" in 1886 -- one year before the Oxford English Dictionary's first citing. He found the 1885 article from the Cleveland Gazette. He came across several examples from the early 1880s in newspapers such as the Fort Wayne Daily Gazette, the Indiana Progress and the Decatur Daily Republican.

Cincinnati connection

Finally, Popik isolated a single source. "Windy City," he says, may have been coined by -- drum roll, please -- Cincinnati.

Popik found numerous references to Chicago as the "Windy City" in the Cincinnati Enquirer in the late 1870s and early 1880s. The oldest instance Popik has found is in the May 9, 1876, edition of the Enquirer, in a report about a tornado that hit Chicago on May 6. The headline read, "That Windy City."

Popik found numerous references to Chicago as the "Windy City" in the Cincinnati Enquirer in the late 1870s and early 1880s. The oldest instance Popik has found is in the May 9, 1876, edition of the Enquirer, in a report about a tornado that hit Chicago on May 6. The headline read, "That Windy City."

So despite the urban legend that the original referred to long-winded politicians, the truth is that it did refer to the weather here.

[DougStark]

^^^^ But the problem with your claim that the nickname "Windy City" DOES refer to the climate is that Chicago is not generally windier than other cities, so I'm inclined to believe it's referring to the wind-bag politicians.

FYI. Amarillo TX is America's windiest major city.

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by Larry Siegel

No, it's not. But when someone says that if you're on the south side you're poor, dumb, and murderous (those were his words) it deserves a correction.

So, now there are two people who can't comprehend the title of this thread?

[2Easy]

Here are my perceptions of Chicago. Not sure which are fake news. No offense intended to your great city.

1. Chicago is much colder than NYC in the winter and hotter in the summer.
2. Chicago is very segregated.
3. Chicago is more of a bar city than a nightclub city and the bars are full of frats from Big10 colleges.
5. Chicago’s “ethnic neighborhoods” aside from Hispanic are mostly 3rd generation or higher meaning that there really aren’t very many.
6. Chicago is expensive for the Midwest but noticeably cheaper than major coastal cities.
7. Most gun violence is in the south and west. The rest of the city is as safe or safer than other big cities (like NYC or LA).
8. Chicago is a very clean city compared to LA, NYC, and SF.

[SkylarkPhotoBooth]

Originally Posted by VA All Day

Chicago being fast-paced.

I lose my mind several times per day because of seemingly able-bodied people that don't do things near as quickly as they should or just acting completely oblivious in public space (though there's an element of that everywhere thanks to smartphones).

The parenthetical part of your post is key. I've encountered this in L.A., Boston, New York, Taipei, Singapore, Tokyo, and everywhere else, so I don't see it as a Chicago thing. In Tokyo they even have signs in the train stations telling people not to walk while looking at their phones because it impedes traffic flow, but people still do it. I've been guilty of it more than once myself, though I try to step off to the side and out of the way when I need to look at my phone.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by Chicago South Sider

So, now there are two people who can't comprehend the title of this thread?

The post was ambiguous. "one of the misconceptions is that..." would have been clearer, but I stand corrected. Hier stehe ich, ich kann nicht anders :-)