Pros and Cons about living in Chicago (school, college)

[probablyimnotsure]

Can someone tell me why it's a pro to be a great sports town. Is it because there's comradery amongst the fans? I'm not being sarcastic, just would like to know how "being big on sports" adds to the quality of life of a city.

[Atlwarrior]

I absolutely love your City of Chicago. The nightlife in the core part of the city was very nice. Your city is very beautiful, and I will visit again soon. Sure there are cons, but Chicago have lots of pluses in my eyes.

[Nafster]

Seems most commonly voiced pros:
-architectural beauty
-amazing summer vibe
-public transportation
-food, food, food
-great culture
-great nightlife
-great sports

Most commonly voiced cons:

-Winter
-Crime
-Taxes
-Corruption
-flat scenery
-weird city laws
-more segregation than LA and NYC

Pros and cons to all US cities.... LA and NYC will both be a give and take for these too

[jayway]

Cheeseburgah, cheeseburgah!

And how's this for a 3 bears/3 cities analogy with a nod to Rammstein:

NYC = too big
LA = too sprawl
Chicago=Size does matter, after all
Zu groß, zu klein?
Er könnte etwas größer sein.

[edsg25]

i think i must be living on a different planet. i read endless quotes saying "winters are terrible". i end up saying "winter is terrible". or was. if i am tailing about the winter of 2013-2014, in other words, last winter.

as for the others: well, not so much. easily and often comfortably survivable with many, many days that are snow free and with mild temperatures. and, yes, we do get somewhat lower winter temp's than the northeast corridor but not all that much different. and to a californian or floridian, Chicago gets bundled up (pun intended) with NYC for bad winters. and even with our (slightly) harsher temps in winter, the east coast seems to get dumped with more snow.

yo'd have to be a real wimp not to be able to stand a typical Chicago winter and if you are suffering from cabin fever, you probably aren't cold; you're a shut in.

the paradigm that is sold is that Chicago is a frozen hell in winter; I'm not buying the paradigm because i find it patently untrue.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by jayway

Cheeseburgah, cheeseburgah!

And how's this for a 3 bears/3 cities analogy with a nod to Rammstein:

NYC = too big
LA = too sprawl
Chicago=Size does matter, after all
Zu groß, zu klein?
Er könnte etwas größer sein.

but (baby) Chicago Bear was in the middle…..not too this, and not took that. the baby bear was the golden mean.

So if New York and LA or simply too big and spread out, and almost not cities at all but more akin to a metro area.

then Boston and San Francisco are too small and lack the real critical mass for a big city

and thus Baby Chicago Bear gets to be just right.

If you wish to get away from the notion that mine is bigger than yours and that bigger, taller, richer, most, most, most is the measuring stick you should use, then you might see an ideal out there:

a metropolitan of some 9 million souls, 3 million of which live in the central city. Numbers are just numbers; they hardly tell a complete story. but these very numbers may tell a wonderful story about Chicago that gives it a wonderful edge of its own.

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by probablyimnotsure

Can someone tell me why it's a pro to be a great sports town.

Have you ever been to a professional sports event?

[probablyimnotsure]

Originally Posted by jwaiter

Have you ever been to a professional sports event?

Yes I have, but many other cities have sports events. What's special about Chicago's sports than any other cities sports?

[probablyimnotsure]

I always hear people saying Chicago is clean compared to LA and New York. I would say that's a huge pro.

[jwaiter]

Originally Posted by probablyimnotsure

Yes I have, but many other cities have sports events. What's special about Chicago's sports than any other cities sports?

That's not the question I was answering. You asked...

Originally Posted by probablyimnotsure

Can someone tell me why it's a pro to be a great sports town. Is it because there's comradery amongst the fans? I'm not being sarcastic, just would like to know how "being big on sports" adds to the quality of life of a city.

Chicago sports are exciting to attend, it's an entertainment industry at heart, but not necessarily any better than other towns. Having 2 MLB teams, 1 NHL, 1 NBA, 1 NFL and 1 MLS is nice to have.