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NYC is a global city--much more cosmopolitan, and sits at the top of the world city food chain as one of the best cities globally--in everything.
Chicago is more "large regional city" dominant, and is not nearly as global, is much smaller, and is very midwestern US, overall (many exceptions). Also, it's not large enough to be on the same tier as NYC.
Overall, Chicago is a great city on the whole, but is lacking the vibrancy, energy, and countless options for everything, that NYC has.
To use a car purchase analogy, it's sort of like comparing rolls royce options to audi options. Chicago is nice, offers a lot, but NYC is on a whole other category level.
Superior urban residential architecture. Significantly lower crime rate. Narrower range of weather extremes. Better variety of nearby outdoor recreational activities. Endless white-collar job opportunities (plenty of blue-collar job opportunities too but the pay-to-COL ratio is harder to justify).
Also better surrounding area. Wisconsin vs the eastern seaboard
Not sure for the price difference, if the amenities are that different. Sure, more, but Chicago offers pretty much everything. It has been said, that Chicago's skyline is the best in the country, but that's a matter of opinion. Clearly, Chicago is a world-class city, whether it be in the Midwest, or wherever it is. People like to put it down because it's in the Midwest, but that doesn't take away what the city is. Important, major, and filled with amenities. Anyone thinking differently has a bias. I'm not saying it's NYC, but it offers enough, I would think, to satisfy most people.
New York IS itself the experience. Chicago, like any other city in America, merely has them. Chicago lacks all of the things that New York really excels at--vibrancy, cosmopolitanism, diversity, global reach, creativity, intellectualism and the information economy, etc. What Chicago does offer is a large regional hub and a wide-scale urban fabric at an affordable price. If you're fine with a lot of good restaurants, some high quality cultural amenities, a large (mostly home-grown) population base, and an expansive transit system then Chicago is a good choice because it's much more affordable. But New York gives you the world, it gives you the best, the most--and that inevitably comes at a high price.
Last edited by ForeignCrunch; 03-05-2023 at 12:27 PM..
New York IS itself the experience. Chicago, like any other city in America, merely has them. Chicago lacks all of the things that New York really excels at--vibrancy, cosmopolitanism, diversity, global reach, creativity, etc. What Chicago does offer is a large regional hub and a wide-scale urban fabric at an affordable price. If you're fine with a lot of good restaurants, some high quality cultural amenities, a large (mostly home-grown) population base, and an expansive transit system then Chicago is a good choice because it's much more affordable. But New York gives you the world, it gives you the best, the most--and that inevitably comes at a high price.
Chicago is a world-class city, not a regional hub. It's ranked as an Alpha city, one of 3 in the US. One's opinion does not change that.
NYC with the over ration on the site again. Go where your dollar stretches farther. Any amenity you seek in NYC, I'm sure you can find in Chicago's core. The only tangible difference would be the more extreme cold in the Midwest.
Chicago is a world-class city, not a regional hub. It's ranked as an Alpha city, one of 3 in the US. One's opinion does not change that.
I'm not sure what "world class" really means because everybody likes to talk about their city that way, but the gap in terms of international migration, tourism, and business between Chicago and many coastal cities (including but not limited to New York) is vast. Chicago is not a global hub in the way that New York is and very much functions like a regional Midwestern hub (where the vast majority of its population comes from). Some people find that charming and quaint about Chicago but it's not something anyone would ever say or think about New York.
Chicago is my favorite city in the United States. Its clean. Word-class. Lots to do. Affordable. The airport has direct rail service to the Loop. The people are down to earth. Not a huge tech scene (big plus) and you can realistically own a car and explore the Chicagoland. Also the beach access is great. Chicago summers are really hard to beat.
The downsides to Chicago is that its cold af in the winter, topographically challenged so its flat without mountains nearby, and the transit while more reliable than the MTA, is less extensive.
Overall, "best" or "greatest" is subjective and theres a looootttt of NYC gloating and tech-transplant boasting, so it all depends on what you like. Bigger doesnt mean better. Smaller doesnt mean less great. These are two world class cities with different offerings. The real question is what do you prefer?
I'm not sure what "world class" really means because everybody likes to talk about their city that way, but the gap in terms of international migration, tourism, and business between Chicago and many coastal cities (including but not limited to New York) is vast. Chicago is not a global hub in the way that New York is and very much functions like a regional Midwestern hub (where the vast majority of its population comes from). Some people find that charming and quaint about Chicago but it's not something anyone would ever say or think about New York.
You are trying to downplay Chicago's importance in this country. All one has to do, is look at Alpha cities to see that Chicago is there, whether you think it should be, or not. It has a whole lot of relevance, and two of the top universities in the country. One cannot dismiss that.
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