"Cleveland ... poised to be the new Chicago," says a Chicagoan... True?

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by maxmodder

"Own vibe" is an understatement. We can start with the simple fact that folks in Chicago know what it's like to win in sports. You are talking about a group of people that were able to ride on the coattails of Michael Jeffery Jordan, not to mention the greatest team in football history, the 85 Bears.... You can stand on the top of terminal tower and still not be able to touch the tip of a Chiagonians raised nose when it comes to accomplishments in sports and the positive vibe that comes with that.

So ya, they definitely have their own vibe....

Clevelanders haven't won anything in sports in over 50+ years. There is a TON of pressure right now on Lebron James and Dan Gilbert to bring that chip to Cleveland. It's going to be an exciting year in Cleveland for sure but all the work of the Cavs front office means nothing if no ring comes of it.

I love sports, but they really don't matter, and these "winners" you speak of are incredibly annoying. I know, I had to be in Boston through deflate gate and the Super Bowl and everything. Insufferable. I hope clevelanders never become like that.

And let's not ignore the considerable number of Ohio state fans and alumni in Cleveland. Buckeyes are winners.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by andrew61

Was in Lakewood yesterday and I noticed that on the stretch of Arthur Avenue between Detroit and Hilliard, they had completely removed all those ugly utility poles with wires in the air everywhere and replaced the street lighting with short "vintage"-looking light poles where all wiring is underground. I was stunned! If Lakewood does this with all its streets, it could look just like Evanston!

I lived in Evanston for several years back in the early to mid 70's. It's one nice looking city or it was then. I haven't been back in decades but I bet it still is so that would be a good thing.

As far as the culture goes though, I think that would be different.

[steeps]

I don't think most are getting what the THREAD is saying in "Cleveland ... poised to be the new Chicago," says a Chicagoan... True? Then the OP posted this post early in the thread. Before someone too it to Chicago debt in post after post. By the OP below......

Originally Posted by TheProf

Yeah, when this subject comes up folks seem to break into 2 camps: 1. Clevelanders who get insulted that, somehow, this comparison belittles Cleveland as some kind of little brother, or inferior Chicago, and 2. Chicago boosters who laugh and think Cleveland people are saying Cleveland is exactly like Chicago, or that it has exactly everything that Chicago has... it doesn't.

The subject keeps coming up because, to new unbiased Cleveland visitors' (like the Urbanista's) naked eye, Cleveland offers many of the cultural, entertainment, transit and natural assets that Chicago has, but in a smaller, less expensive, more accessible and more laid back/down-to-earth setting. And yes they also, in part, share the same Midwestern heritage as you note (less pretentious, ethnically diverse, sports crazy -- both Chicago and Cleveland are huge in sports bars and micro-breweries).

The one BIG ASPECT is Both are Big Cities on the Great Lakes. Sharing a Shoreline and Downtown along one.

One became a Top 2 then 3 Biggest cities in the US. The other not. Both cities share being Rust Belt cities and losing industrial base.

But Downtown Chicago blossomed and boomed in the past decades. Gentrified neighborhoods and large influx of Young Urban Professionals and people living in its downtown.

Cleveland not so much. So the now to say Cleveland Poised to be the New Chicago..... is to point to;

• Increased attention to downtown living more construction start-UPS in its core and neighborhoods around it.
• Rising influx of Young Urban Professionals in Gentrification.
• Revival of some older neighborhoods.
• Perhaps more Improvements to Cleveland's Downtown Lakefront as Chicago had many decades of creating theirs.

Early in the thread... someone tried to keep it on Chicago negatives and especially its Debt from Pension issues. But it was not about adopting or gaining Chicago-style negatives.... but aspects of Positives.

As long as it is seen as positives in the Downtown and Gentrification and Shoreline continuing as Chicago's did..... it is being take the RIGHT WAY. As MANY ARE POINTING OUT, CLEVELANDS NEW POSITIVES. Even if it is not linking it.... to a as Chicago did.

Both cities have their share of negative stereotypes and past blemishes ,and overcoming them is ongoing.

In Reality, both cities have their own Vibe and Style. Really not about becoming alike in that way.

Just the way I see it.....HOPEFULLY THEY DON'T DERAIL THE THREAD AGAIN IN STUPID HIGH SCHOOL SLIGHTS.. I've been reading... Or it probably will be Closed.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by maxmodder

"Own vibe" is an understatement. We can start with the simple fact that folks in Chicago know what it's like to win in sports. You are talking about a group of people that were able to ride on the coattails of Michael Jeffery Jordan, not to mention the greatest team in football history, the 85 Bears.... You can stand on the top of terminal tower and still not be able to touch the tip of a Chiagonians raised nose when it comes to accomplishments in sports and the positive vibe that comes with that.

So ya, they definitely have their own vibe....

Clevelanders haven't won anything in sports in over 50+ years. There is a TON of pressure right now on Lebron James and Dan Gilbert to bring that chip to Cleveland. It's going to be an exciting year in Cleveland for sure but all the work of the Cavs front office means nothing if no ring comes of it.

Uh, that's not the kinda vibe I was referring to. I don't like the Chicago vibe, sports winners or not.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by Minervah

I lived in Evanston for several years back in the early to mid 70's. It's one nice looking city or it was then. I haven't been back in decades but I bet it still is so that would be a good thing.

As far as the culture goes though, I think that would be different.

Evanston has turned into a boomtown. Chicago Avenue, which had little other than car dealerships in the 1970s, is packed with Trader Joe's, Whole Foods type stores, new mid-rise condo buildings, and is also the rug district. The traditional downtown has a number of new high-rises. Re-integration (white people moving into neighborhoods that first became integrated then black) is proceeding in West Central. The Central Street business district, always well thought of, has become a yuppie haven.

It's a good model for Lakewood but expensive. (I live there.) Be careful what you wish for. It's beautiful, but artists and hippies can't afford to live in Evanston any more.

[TBideon]

There were some problems from the hoodrats in northern Rogers Park in the early 2000s. Multiple student muggings a week. Hopefully that's gotten better.