Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sounds like I would probably be just as well off in Boston or New york from the sounds of things. Chicago is the farthest away from me of all 3 of these cities and also seems to be the coldest in the winter.
I was just wondering if the people, the jobs, the nightlife and entertainment or the overall vibe would be an improvement over some of the things I hear about the other 2 cities. I've visited Boston many times and tend to like it but if Chicago is a more segregated less friendly version of New York or Boston than I see no reason to travel there and from the looks of this particular thread thus far and the responces I got in the thread I'd have to say my mind is quickly made up on this one. Thanks guys.
When you ask a very superficial question, you should be prepared to get very superficial answers (with an extra dose of snark from me.) But it seems clear that you are content to make important life decisions based on superficial impressions, generalities, and hearsay from a non-representative sample of random strangers on the internet. As Drover said, I'm very happy been able to help you make your decision. Best of luck.
PS: Have you considered rural Alabama? I've heard that life is slower, the weather is warmer, and people are nicer down there. Its exactly like the movie Sweet Home Alabama.
Sounds like I would probably be just as well off in Boston or New york from the sounds of things. Chicago is the farthest away from me of all 3 of these cities and also seems to be the coldest in the winter.
I was just wondering if the people, the jobs, the nightlife and entertainment or the overall vibe would be an improvement over some of the things I hear about the other 2 cities. I've visited Boston many times and tend to like it but if Chicago is a more segregated less friendly version of New York or Boston than I see no reason to travel there and from the looks of this particular thread thus far and the responces I got in the thread I'd have to say my mind is quickly made up on this one. Thanks guys.
So you are basing you decision on where to move based on the comments of people on an anonymous messageboard? Honestly, I'd like to think that most people are smarter than that.
So you are basing you decision on where to move based on the comments of people on an anonymous messageboard? Honestly, I'd like to think that most people are smarter than that.
Architecture and skyline only go so far... the feel is quite different...on the whole...I'd say Manhattan and Boston are a good bit more sophisticated and lively as far as the people you meet and lifestyle...People seem to stick to themselves somewhat... i.e. yes tons work in the loop, but then they all commute way back out ... so many people in several offices I worked for live in the burbs... where as manhattan boston... i think a lot more people have an "urban" attitude... in Chicago it is more of a small town wholesome midwestern attitude, midwest values, but just happen to be living in a big city...
Think ...lots more football and a dog... vs. a night at the art gallery and haut french cuisine
Sometimes I got the feeling that many many people I met didn't realize the actual good amenities Chicago had
More laid back and simple for the most part... vs. fast paced sophisticated.
Not to say Chicago doesn't *have* fast paced and sophisticated... just not on the scale of Boston and NYC as a whole.
What in the end makes a city? Is it the people living there... or what it has to offer...
How long can you enjoy the amenities, before you deal with maybe not so many people who think or like the same things as you?
Just some things to think about...
Architecture and skyline only go so far... the feel is quite different...on the whole...I'd say Manhattan and Boston are a good bit more sophisticated and lively as far as the people you meet and lifestyle...People seem to stick to themselves somewhat... i.e. yes tons work in the loop, but then they all commute way back out ... so many people in several offices I worked for live in the burbs... where as manhattan boston... i think a lot more people have an "urban" attitude... in Chicago it is more of a small town wholesome midwestern attitude, but just happen to be living in a big city...
Architecture and skyline only go so far... the feel is quite different...on the whole...I'd say Manhattan and Boston are a good bit more sophisticated and lively as far as the people you meet and lifestyle...People seem to stick to themselves somewhat... i.e. yes tons work in the loop, but then they all commute way back out ... so many people in several offices I worked for live in the burbs... where as manhattan boston... i think a lot more people have an "urban" attitude... in Chicago it is more of a small town wholesome midwestern attitude, midwest values, but just happen to be living in a big city...
Think ...lots more football and a dog... vs. a night at the art gallery and haut french cuisine
Sometimes I got the feeling that many many people I met didn't realize the actual good amenities Chicago had
More laid back and simple for the most part... vs. fast paced sophisticated.
Not to say Chicago doesn't *have* fast paced and sophisticated... just not on the scale of Boston and NYC as a whole.
What in the end makes a city? Is it the people living there... or what it has to offer...
How long can you enjoy the amenities, before you deal with maybe not so many people who think or like the same things as you?
Just some things to think about...
Yes, you are absolutely right--there are plenty of workers in the Loop who go back to their homes in Wheaton or Lincolnshire, kiss their wives hello, and toss a football in the backyard with their son and dog. However, let us rise above paltry generalizations.
The fact is, most Chicagoans really, truly are "big-city" folk. I mean, have you done any reading up on the city? Do you know about the River North art museum district, or the artist colonies of Wicker Park? How about the dynamic coporate-municipal partnership that gave us some of the best public art in the world in Millennium Park? Have you ever been to any of the yacht clubs, or strolled along Lincoln Park West on a fall evening? Ever visited any of the conservatories or the Lincoln Park Zoo (both are among the oldest in the nation)?
Ever stayed at the Drake or the Palmer House? How about drinking at the rooftop bars like NV Penthouse Lounge? Maybe you should visit the site of the Columbian Exhibition or the World's Fair.
Or if you really want to make things easy on yourself, just do me one favor. Start at North Michigan Ave. at the Chicago River and walk north approximately one mile. That ought to put to rest any notions that New York or Boston (of all places--eesh) are any more sophisticated or cosmopolitan than Chicago.
Chicago has a history as an industrial town, and before that a shipping town, and before that, yes, it was agricultural. If you go back in time far enough, so was every city.
These things I pointed out are not secrets. They're well known, public knowledge. It's difficult to imagine that anyone who has ever spent any significant time in Chicago can possibly describe it as anything less than a dynamic, cultured metropolis.
These things I pointed out are not secrets. They're well known, public knowledge. It's difficult to imagine that anyone who has ever spent any significant time in Chicago can possibly describe it as anything less than a dynamic, cultured metropolis.
That being said...
DA BEARS.
I think your last statement best summarizes your post. DA BEARS that haven't won a Super Bowl in about 40 years and Chicago as "dynamic, cultured metropolis"
chitown i lived in west loop and south loop and uke village over 4 years there and all my family on my moms side is from there... my grandfather went to northwestern... and uncle lives in rogers park... I actually gave walking tours ...
so yeah... I know what Chicago has, and I don't take anything back I've said... just trying to call it like I see it... I never said it didn't have certain things, sure... it does... but for the most part... compared to many other cities across the country as their general populous, not so much.
Demographics, mindset, customs are different than architecture and amenities.
What would be nice is if people in Chicago just admitted that they are nothing more than a large Kansas City or Milwaukee. To take it to the level of international city and try to compare to the centuries old cities of New York and Boston is absurd.
Chicago has some nice pizza and apparently a great Nike store.
To try to compare Lake Michigan to the Atlantic is absurd.
Try to tell me that there is someplace in Illinois or anywhere close that can compare with Gay Head/Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard.
You get what you pay for. That is why Chicago is less expensive - because there is less demand to live there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
what would be nice
