What’s it like living in or around Chicago? (Washington: lease, condo)

[Justabystander]

Originally Posted by aga412

Real garden spots right there!

Coastal Orange County, Brookline, MA and Hinsdale, IL. Yes, I have been fortunate and count my blessing to have been able to have lived in such lovely "garden spots". Not as lovely as the "Tri-cities" where you live I'm sure, but we can't expect to have everything in life.

[Chicago-guy]

A city of neighborhoods.
Brick buildings. 3 flats, greystones, frame, bungalows.
Old school joints that have had time to perfect their skill.
Humid hot summer nights with people having cookouts.
Summer storms as you fall asleep.
Sitting on 3rd story porches looking out at the cityscape.
Gyros, hot dogs, Pizza, beefs.
Fire hydrants open and kids playing.
Neighborhoods of lush green tree canopies.
Neighborhoods of tree-less streets. Once factories and warehouses.
Trains overhead in the distance. Sirens. Honking.
Cubs. Sox. Bulls. Bears.
Cold frigid nights that give you the credentials to be called tough.
Silent streets as you look outside your window and see the white covered city.
Immigrants. Multiple generations. Blue collar. White collar. Factory workers. Office workers.
Struggle. Success. Pain. Pleasure.
Chicago

[personone]

Originally Posted by Chicago-guy

A city of neighborhoods.
Brick buildings. 3 flats, greystones, frame, bungalows.
Old school joints that have had time to perfect their skill.
Humid hot summer nights with people having cookouts.
Summer storms as you fall asleep.
Sitting on 3rd story porches looking out at the cityscape.
Gyros, hot dogs, Pizza, beefs.
Fire hydrants open and kids playing.
Neighborhoods of lush green tree canopies.
Neighborhoods of tree-less streets. Once factories and warehouses.
Trains overhead in the distance. Sirens. Honking.
Cubs. Sox. Bulls. Bears.
Cold frigid nights that give you the credentials to be called tough.
Silent streets as you look outside your window and see the white covered city.
Immigrants. Multiple generations. Blue collar. White collar. Factory workers. Office workers.
Struggle. Success. Pain. Pleasure.
Chicago

This sums the city up about as well as you can.

My only minor edit would be adding a little more detail to the foods to give it more local description: "Gyros, Chicago hot dogs, Deep Dish Pizza, Italian beefs, Steaks

I also may add: Tough, Friendly, Fast-Paced, Laid-Back

But your list is nearly a perfect description of the city.

[Gaylord_Focker]

Thank you for those that have positive opinions. I'm looking at Chicago in a few years as well.

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by Justabystander

So people that go to public institutions for learning are not learning anything? And you are calling people ignorant because you were unable to learn anything in a public setting? My kids will go to Hinsdale Central, and I am sure will get a great education paid for by my taxes which will help them in life. I went to a public law school which helped me get a great job. I see kids going to the University of Illinois, Michigan, UCLA etc. who don't need the handholding of a private school.

I have lived in California, Massachusetts and Illinois. Chicago is a place I recommend wholeheartedly. That is not ignorance run amok, but based on life experience. Sorry.

100% agree... My kids graduated from another Illinois public high school which, like Hinsdale, is ranked highly nationally. My kids now attend Top 10 natl. universities (according to U.S. News). They were lucky to attend great IL schools that prepared them for great colleges. Many of the IL public HS kids I know go to U of Chicago, Northwestern, Big 10 schools like UIUC/Michigan/Wisc, Ivies, MIT, top CA schools, etc. where they are thriving.

I’ve spent the last 5+ years touring campuses all over the nation with my kids and you get to see the patterns of who’s attending these top schools. Lots of IL, CA, MA, NY kids - sadly fewer representatives from places like Missouri and the south. This is why there is a selective college admissions advantage for kids from these underrepresented states. There are just fewer top performing students from these areas, and that is a reflection of their state’s school systems (public and private).

Speaking of private schools, research has shown (too lazy to link now) that students who are the top performers at highly ranked public high schools (like Hinsdale) have a better chance at admission to elite/highly selective colleges/programs than their private school counterparts (though there are a few exceptions with feeder prep schools, like Harvard Westlake, but these are extremely small student numbers).

So yeah, your kids going to Hinsdale Central will have a competitive college advantage over many students from schools across the nation, including those in Missouri.

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by Chicago-guy

A city of neighborhoods.
Brick buildings. 3 flats, greystones, frame, bungalows.
Old school joints that have had time to perfect their skill.
Humid hot summer nights with people having cookouts.
Summer storms as you fall asleep.
Sitting on 3rd story porches looking out at the cityscape.
Gyros, hot dogs, Pizza, beefs.
Fire hydrants open and kids playing.
Neighborhoods of lush green tree canopies.
Neighborhoods of tree-less streets. Once factories and warehouses.
Trains overhead in the distance. Sirens. Honking.
Cubs. Sox. Bulls. Bears.
Cold frigid nights that give you the credentials to be called tough.
Silent streets as you look outside your window and see the white covered city.
Immigrants. Multiple generations. Blue collar. White collar. Factory workers. Office workers.
Struggle. Success. Pain. Pleasure.
Chicago

Nice. Modern day Carl Sandburg.

[Bitey]

LOL @ the list of top-tier-schools in the north attracting mostly northern kids, as if Missouri and the rest of the south don't have their own high quality institutions like Washington University, Vanderbilt, Duke, Emory, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest Rice, etc.

It seems provincialism isn't just a southern thing.

[lepoisson]

Chicago is a pretty cool city with a low cost of living compared to other large cities but I just don't see anything positive happening here anytime soon. The politicians are absolutely horrendous and keep making the wrong decisions. The crime in the city seems to be getting worse, especially on the CTA.


Some of the suburbs are old and run down looking. Others are really nice and have a classic look to them. These are my favorite ones because they are so unique to Chicago. The newer suburbs look like any suburbs you'd find across the country.

[GoCUBS1]

Originally Posted by Bitey

LOL @ the list of top-tier-schools in the north attracting mostly northern kids, as if Missouri and the rest of the south don't have their own high quality institutions like Washington University, Vanderbilt, Duke, Emory, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest Rice, etc.

It seems provincialism isn't just a southern thing.

Yes, plenty of students around here choose Duke, Vanderbilt, WashU, Rice and Georgia Tech as safeties.

[MSchemist80]

Originally Posted by Cardinalsfan158

What’s it like living in or around Chicago?

Also for those who own homes are property taxes as bad as they say they are?

It's like getting constantly being raped in the @ss. Thanks Democrats "party of the working people" for taxing grannies and working families into foreclosure and driving an exodus that led to Illinois losing another US House seat.