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Jobs, Tourism, Entertainment, Restaurants/Bars/Pubs, weather, life quality, other things...
How people are (friendly or not), what can you see in this city, what is the nice in these cities, how people dress (formal or informal, casual, in shirts or T-shirts, etc.), pros and cons, clean or dirty city.
I want to know something about the lifestyle in these cities. Where is easy to find jobs, wich of these are more beautiful, something about the style of life in these cities.
LA or Chicago depending on which criteria is most important to you. For me it's LA, but I can see Chicago. I can't see Phoenix. I can't see Newark even with it's proximity to NYC. If you had said Jersey City or Hoboken...
It's hard talking about Newark without including NYC since after all it's only like 10 miles from the city. And although I love Phoenix (I live there) you really can't compare it to Chicago and LA on most levels.
Phoenix: Pros: Pretty clean city overall with great infrastructure. The cost of living isn't bad at all. Lots of beautiful resorts in the area that attract numerous visitors. The weather is dang near perfect year round (just stay indoors during the summer months and you won't know it's 110 outside) and the people are overall friendly. Phoenix is very casual and by casual I mean flip flops and tank tops year round casual (whether that's a pro or con is your call). Cons: Yes the summers begin to feel long and relentless sometimes, very spread out metro area making it unwalkable and you will spend a lot of time in your car, pretty conservative and republican metro area and Obama is well disliked here (however I do like Obama) so you might want to peel your "Obama Biden" bumper stickers off your car.
LA: Pros: Gorgeous weather year round, Disneyland, lots to do you will never get bored, awesome beaches, great Mexican food, even though it's a big city it's pretty laid back like most of SoCal. Cons: Of course it's very expensive, very very crowded, very spread out like Phoenix and not very walkable and you need a car.
Chicago: I love everything about Chicago except for the brutal winters. Pros: Real city with beautiful architecture...I love the older homes back East. Has the best downtown area of all the cities mentioned and has one central business district unlike Phoenix&LA. Plenty to do and see and it's a short drive to other large cities. Cons: very racially segregated city unlike Phoenix and LA, the crime is off the charts and I wouldn't venture to a lot of areas in Chicago when the sun goes down (I'm not afraid to walk or drive through any neighborhood in Phoenix where I live day or night), harsh winters that last quite a while, very small yards in the city which is typical of Midwest and Eastcoast cities. I'm used to having a decent sized backyard with a pool like virtually every house in Phoenix.
It's hard talking about Newark without including NYC since after all it's only like 10 miles from the city. And although I love Phoenix (I live there) you really can't compare it to Chicago and LA on most levels.
Phoenix: Pros: Pretty clean city overall with great infrastructure. The cost of living isn't bad at all. Lots of beautiful resorts in the area that attract numerous visitors. The weather is dang near perfect year round (just stay indoors during the summer months and you won't know it's 110 outside) and the people are overall friendly. Phoenix is very casual and by casual I mean flip flops and tank tops year round casual (whether that's a pro or con is your call). Cons: Yes the summers begin to feel long and relentless sometimes, very spread out metro area making it unwalkable and you will spend a lot of time in your car, pretty conservative and republican metro area and Obama is well disliked here (however I do like Obama) so you might want to peel your "Obama Biden" bumper stickers off your car.
LA: Pros: Gorgeous weather year round, Disneyland, lots to do you will never get bored, awesome beaches, great Mexican food, even though it's a big city it's pretty laid back like most of SoCal. Cons: Of course it's very expensive, very very crowded, very spread out like Phoenix and not very walkable and you need a car.
Chicago: I love everything about Chicago except for the brutal winters. Pros: Real city with beautiful architecture...I love the older homes back East. Has the best downtown area of all the cities mentioned and has one central business district unlike Phoenix&LA. Plenty to do and see and it's a short drive to other large cities. Cons: very racially segregated city unlike Phoenix and LA, the crime is off the charts and I wouldn't venture to a lot of areas in Chicago when the sun goes down (I'm not afraid to walk or drive through any neighborhood in Phoenix where I live day or night), harsh winters that last quite a while, very small yards in the city which is typical of Midwest and Eastcoast cities. I'm used to having a decent sized backyard with a pool like virtually every house in Phoenix.
just give it 5-10 years...that'll be in the history books
It's hard talking about Newark without including NYC since after all it's only like 10 miles from the city. And although I love Phoenix (I live there) you really can't compare it to Chicago and LA on most levels.
Phoenix: Pros: Pretty clean city overall with great infrastructure. The cost of living isn't bad at all. Lots of beautiful resorts in the area that attract numerous visitors. The weather is dang near perfect year round (just stay indoors during the summer months and you won't know it's 110 outside) and the people are overall friendly. Phoenix is very casual and by casual I mean flip flops and tank tops year round casual (whether that's a pro or con is your call). Cons: Yes the summers begin to feel long and relentless sometimes, very spread out metro area making it unwalkable and you will spend a lot of time in your car, pretty conservative and republican metro area and Obama is well disliked here (however I do like Obama) so you might want to peel your "Obama Biden" bumper stickers off your car.
LA: Pros: Gorgeous weather year round, Disneyland, lots to do you will never get bored, awesome beaches, great Mexican food, even though it's a big city it's pretty laid back like most of SoCal. Cons: Of course it's very expensive, very very crowded, very spread out like Phoenix and not very walkable and you need a car.
Chicago: I love everything about Chicago except for the brutal winters. Pros: Real city with beautiful architecture...I love the older homes back East. Has the best downtown area of all the cities mentioned and has one central business district unlike Phoenix&LA. Plenty to do and see and it's a short drive to other large cities. Cons: very racially segregated city unlike Phoenix and LA, the crime is off the charts and I wouldn't venture to a lot of areas in Chicago when the sun goes down (I'm not afraid to walk or drive through any neighborhood in Phoenix where I live day or night), harsh winters that last quite a while, very small yards in the city which is typical of Midwest and Eastcoast cities. I'm used to having a decent sized backyard with a pool like virtually every house in Phoenix.
That's a good review, but something about jobs? I included Newark 'cause it's close to NYC. My top cities are now NYC and L.A. (Phoenix it's ok but I think it's to hot here and I don't know if I can feel ok in a hot city). Yeah, Phoenix is nice city, clean.
Last edited by Krisztián; 12-23-2013 at 03:56 AM..
Jobs, Tourism, Entertainment, Restaurants/Bars/Pubs, weather, life quality, other things...
How people are (friendly or not), what can you see in this city, what is the nice in these cities, how people dress (formal or informal, casual, in shirts or T-shirts, etc.), pros and cons, clean or dirty city.
I want to know something about the lifestyle in these cities. Where is easy to find jobs, wich of these are more beautiful, something about the style of life in these cities.
I've never been to Phoenix, so I'm leaving that out. Anyway, in an overly simplistic nutshell:
Tourism: Chicago brings in more tourists overall than LA, but LA brings in more international tourists than Chicago does.
Entertainment: Los Angeles' metro is going to have more theme parks than Chicago's, and both cities are going to have some of the country's top museums. LA has Hollywood though, and Chicago doesn't really have an equivalent for that.
Restaurants/Bars/Pubs: Both cities are known for food. In regards to drinking, LA would probably be better known for clubs and lounges, while Chicago succeeds more in bars. I'm not sure if it's still like this, but bars in California had to close at 2AM before. In Chicago, many places are open until 3, 4, or even 5AM.
Weather: Los Angeles has lovely weather throughout the year, while Chicago is definitely going to give you 4 seasons. You'll experience a cold and snowy winter in addition to a hot and fairly humid summer. (I say "fairly humid" because I'm originally from St. Louis, and Chicago's summers seem way less humid to me. If you're not from a humid area though, you'll think it's humid)
Life quality: Chicago: Cheaper with a far superior public transportation system. Going car-free in Chicago is doable. The city also has an extensive park system, and the lakefront is gorgeous.
Los Angeles: As I mentioned before, LA has better weather. LA also gives you real beaches on an ocean rather than Chicago's which are Lake Michigan, and LA's landscape is far more varied.
Friendliness: I'd say Chicagoans are more laid back than Angelenos, but both are probably going to seem rude if you haven't spent much time in a large city before. Midwesterners also have a reputation for being cliquish, although I felt like it wasn't nearly as much of an issue in Chicago in comparison to the rest of the region. I'd keep it in mind though.
Dress: I'd imagine that Angelenos would have better style than Chicagoans, although that's not to say Chicagoans are slobs or anything. LA is going to most likely jump on a trend before Chicago will. It comes with being in the middle of the country. You'll find people in t-shirts and button downs in both cities, however. That's going to happen anywhere, as it's not like everyone is wearing one or the other.
Cleanliness of the city: Definitely Chicago.
Pros and Cons:
LA
Pros: Larger city and metro area, better weather, real beaches, mountains, etc
Cons: Dirty, not a lot of greenery (compared to other parts of the country), poor public transit, expensive, LA's sprawl in the city itself, etc
Chicago
Pros: Compact city with better public transit, the lakefront, more affordable, superior downtown area, etc
Cons: Winter, higher crime than LA, far less scenic than LA (outside of the city and suburbs IL is farmland)
That's a good review, but something about jobs? I included Newark 'cause it's close to NYC. My top cities are now NYC and L.A. (Phoenix it's ok but I think it's to hot here and I don't know if I can feel ok in a hot city). Yeah, Phoenix is nice city, clean.
Why not Jersey City and/or Hoboken instead of Newark? They're both better than Newark and closer to NYC. Can't get much closer than right across the river with easy PATH and tunnel access. Maybe because Newark is cheaper? It's cheaper because it sucks, plain and simple. Save for a few decent/nice-ish areas, don't go to most of Newark and don't live there.
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