Big City Nightlife (Chicago, Manhattan: appointed, restaurant, club)

[kci1]

For who ever has been to the two, how do you compare the nightlife downtown Chi to NYC

[Steve-o]

Less in Chicago, but a similar experience. To say there is a lack of nightlife in Chicago would be ludicrous, theres TONS of nightlife, but Im willing to bet its not on near a grand scale as NYC. You wont be disappointed though, guaranteed.

[jman07]

I've been to both a few times and the cities are so big and the nightlife so diverse its hard to say exactly because you can find anything in both. But I think there is a limit to how great any nightlife can be in a city so I would not say that NYC's is any better.

For one its a lot more expensive in NYC but when I was in Downtown Chicago I thought it was pretty amazing the stip of bars and clubs I went to. I went to NYC twice and out about 5 times in those times and I didnt see anything like what I experience in Chicago.In Chicago it was like 2 am and cars and people EVERYWHERE. I went to the meat packing district in NYC which is supposed to be high end and I wasnt inpressed. I personally think Chicago has NYC beat. NYC had a few high end clubs where there was no dancing and people just stood around and talked drinking expensive drinks but thats about it. I think if you looking for a good time chicago nightlife is the best in the country.

Oh. ANd another thing. In my opinion NYC just has more variety and weird bars than smaller cities. LIke bars that are for fat girls and guys that have a thing for them go there (ha. seriously). ANd me and a friend went to one that was like a diner but also a club into one. Like imagine a dennys with club lighting and music and a bar. It was weird but cool.

[jacknotion]

Originally Posted by jman07

I've been to both a few times and the cities are so big and the nightlife so diverse its hard to say exactly because you can find anything in both. But I think there is a limit to how great any nightlife can be in a city so I would not say that NYC's is any better.

For one its a lot more expensive in NYC but when I was in Downtown Chicago I thought it was pretty amazing the stip of bars and clubs I went to. I went to NYC twice and out about 5 times in those times and I didnt see anything like what I experience in Chicago.In Chicago it was like 2 am and cars and people EVERYWHERE. I went to the meat packing district in NYC which is supposed to be high end and I wasnt inpressed. I personally think Chicago has NYC beat. NYC had a few high end clubs where there was no dancing and people just stood around and talked drinking expensive drinks but thats about it. I think if you looking for a good time chicago nightlife is the best in the country.

Oh. ANd another thing. In my opinion NYC just has more variety and weird bars than smaller cities. LIke bars that are for fat girls and guys that have a thing for them go there (ha. seriously). ANd me and a friend went to one that was like a diner but also a club into one. Like imagine a dennys with club lighting and music and a bar. It was weird but cool.

Second that. NYC is a bar, lounge and restaurant city. There just are not a lot of clubs(with a dance floor to dance). The ones they still have are big mega clubs with outrageous cover charges and a bunch of door drama. You can always go out for a night of dancing in Chicago. Its just that people just only talking and drinking. NYC is for sure not a club city.

[5Lakes]

I would say NYC is more eclectic and has more variety overall. Not that Chicago does not have variety, but it seems to have a lot of the same generic type bars copied over and over again. This is especially true on the north side where you have seemingly the same faux-Irish sports bar all over the place. NYC does have some of these type of places, but they seem much more limited to me.

Another difference is that Chicago's nightlife is more concentrated along strips or around certain intersections. In NYC things seem more randomly scattered, although there are certain areas that are more known for nightlife than others. This probably has to do with the fact that residential and commercial are more mixed in NYC (especially in Manhattan). I could see how someone would prefer Chicago in this regard because in makes things easier to find.

I don't find NYC bars to be all that more expensive than Chicago's, but I usually hang out at more low-key joints. I imagine this comes more into play if you go to ultra trendy places or tourists traps.

Both are great places to party, but NYC will have more simply because it's bigger.