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You forgot to read this post. Chicago has 4 suburbs (tie with SF if I am not mistaken) listed among 25 top-earning towns in America according to CNN-Money, the most trusted name in news.
Too add to that, they recently bumped up population requirements for being on the list so a few Chicago suburbs were taken off.
There aren't many commuter rails that run as often and as quick as the LIRR. Where I'm moving to, that line runs nearly every 10-15 minutes out of Penn station. The trains also run 24/7.
Is that a good thing? The number of trips per day for the LIRR compared to the number of stations proves how congested the area is. No wonder New Yorkers are so over the top, rude, and animalistic (on average compared to the people of other regions). I would never want to live in an area like that. You can't go anywhere without running into a mob of people. new yorkers don't know what relaxing really is because there is no room to breath.
I would agree with Pittsteeler about the western compared to the northern burbs compared to Long Island.
Lake County and the older parts of Cook County have a LOT of forested areas. Aside from the communities with dense trees in those areas, Cook County has actually set aside over 68,000 acres of forests and forest preserves, or a little over 10% of the county.
Get out to the new spraw areas though on the Western/Southern/Northwestern areas and you have tens of thousands of houses going up on what was farmland until 10-20 years ago. Here obviously there are no original trees, so right now many areas look pretty empty. People will plant trees, but for the time being Chicago has quite a bit of "farmland" looking burbs around the edges. Just the way it is.
I think Chicagoland is also much more sprawled than much of NYC Metro. There's just so much land here, and nothing blocking you from using it. People grew up in cramped Chicago, and then they wanted room to breath. Throw into the mix that 10% of the central county is preserved, and you have an everygrowing patchwork of development.
I think Chicago could have put some planning growth into effect through the 9 suburban counties to stop this massive construction over thousands of square miles.
One thing that I have NEVER experienced in/on/near Lake Michigan that I HAVE seen in the Tri-State area is needles and garbage strewn about on various beaches. I know it's pretty uncommon even there, but that is one thing you don't have to worry about in Lake Michigan.
The thing with NYC metro areas beaches is that they are all so different from one another. Chicago just has the same lakefront for miles. We have the scenic north shore LI beaches that are very private, the crowded white sanded beaches of the south shore where the waves are enormous, and the NJ shore that has lots of shops right by the water. can't forget the boardwalks along the beaches on LI and NJ.
Lake Michigan has many diversified areas. Wetlands, sand dunes large and small, forested beaches, diverse kinds of sands and towns by the lake.....
New York city beaches are beautiful, but I'm sorry to say, so are Chicago's....
Is that a good thing? The number of trips per day for the LIRR compared to the number of stations proves how congested the area is. No wonder New Yorkers are so over the top, rude, and animalistic (on average compared to the people of other regions). I would never want to live in an area like that. You can't go anywhere without running into a mob of people. new yorkers don't know what relaxing really is because there is no room to breath.
THAT is the BIGGEST MYTH about NY'ers. Trust me, if they were "rude", I'd say so, but they ain't! You want rude and nasty people? Go to Philly or Boston! (especially Philly!)
NY'ers are some of the most outgoing and friendly people you'll ever come across.
I would agree with Pittsteeler about the western compared to the northern burbs compared to Long Island.
Lake County and the older parts of Cook County have a LOT of forested areas. Aside from the communities with dense trees in those areas, Cook County has actually set aside over 68,000 acres of forests and forest preserves, or a little over 10% of the county.
Get out to the new spraw areas though on the Western/Southern/Northwestern areas and you have tens of thousands of houses going up on what was farmland until 10-20 years ago. Here obviously there are no original trees, so right now many areas look pretty empty. People will plant trees, but for the time being Chicago has quite a bit of "farmland" looking burbs around the edges. Just the way it is.
I think Chicagoland is also much more sprawled than much of NYC Metro. There's just so much land here, and nothing blocking you from using it. People grew up in cramped Chicago, and then they wanted room to breath. Throw into the mix that 10% of the central county is preserved, and you have an everygrowing patchwork of development.
I think Chicago could have put some planning growth into effect through the 9 suburban counties to stop this massive construction over thousands of square miles.
Thank you. That's all I've been trying to say. In no way, can some 'new subdivision' compare with the older burbs that have 'mature' lots. Not in Chicago, not ANYWHERE. Those new subdivisions look like 'anywhere America'. I personally hate 'em myself, cause they have no real character.
Areas like Evanston, etc., now they're beautiful.
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