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Chicago seemed very trashy to me. Living in DC you never really hear about Chicago that much. Once you get away from the downtown area and Navy Pier it seemed to be nothing more than hard-core ghetto. No wonder they have more crime than both New York and LA. I thought Philly was bad. Very disappointing Chi-town.
Louisville: run-down, not nearly as much to do as in other comparably-sized cities like Nashville, Memphis, or Salt Lake.
Sacramento: the single most boring, blandest city I've ever visited.
San Diego: desert wasteland. I was expecting a lush tropical paradise similar to Honolulu. I guess it's my fault for not investigating it more.
Seattle: I made the mistake of visiting Vancouver first. Compared to Vancouver, Seattle is a dump.
Cities that I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy:
Saint Louis: great nightlife, beautiful urban neighborhoods, a ton of civic pride
Baltimore: hip neighborhoods, nice downtown, easy to get around
Sacramento? I loved it when I visited. Granted, I was only there for 3 days.
It's pretty cool seeing all the different kinds of trees everywhere and they have a crystal clear river thats runs through Sac.
To be honest with you, the bad parts of Chicago were more vast than what I have ever seen in DC, and I have lived in the nations capital for most of my life. DC is really cleaning up and growing at a good pace. I thought in the last census report it was reported that Chicago was loosing population, while places like DC actually grew? Maybe I'm wrong? If this is true, I would imagine this it is due in large part to the ever growing amount of poverty that blankets the entire western and southern portions of the city, and even some of the suburban locations. I believe that this is a midwestern trend that can be seen in other cities also like Detroit, Milwaukee, and St. Louis. Chicago isn't the only one suffering when it comes to lose of population, and rising crime. The sunbelt phenomenon has attracted the nations population trends into their backyards while leaving midwestern locations in trouble.
What? Maui is way more commercialized. It's all sprawling resorts with a few towns in between. Honolulu is an actual city with immigrants, not just tourists and rich kids who asked mom and dad if they could be beach bums.
I said commercialized meaning... city. It's more big beautiful resorts and you don't have to deal with crazy people and conjestion everywhere. So in a sense, you kind of answered my question, that's what we would like next time we go. As for your little generalization that they are all spoiled rich kids, well... good for them, if someone has worked hard for their money and vacation, they have a right to take their kids on a good vacation. Don't know what made you so sour anyway!
To be honest with you, the bad parts of Chicago were more vast than what I have ever seen in DC, and I have lived in the nations capital for most of my life. DC is really cleaning up and growing at a good pace. I thought in the last census report it was reported that Chicago was loosing population, while places like DC actually grew? Maybe I'm wrong? If this is true, I would imagine this it is due in large part to the ever growing amount of poverty that blankets the entire western and southern portions of the city, and even some of the suburban locations. I believe that this is a midwestern trend that can be seen in other cities also like Detroit, Milwaukee, and St. Louis. Chicago isn't the only one suffering when it comes to lose of population, and rising crime. The sunbelt phenomenon has attracted the nations population trends into their backyards while leaving midwestern locations in trouble.
As as disclaimer, I've lived here for about two weeks, and I've yet to go to the ghetto (nor have I been to DC's ghetto), but.....
Chicago actually gained population in the 90s and the loss this decade has been very slight. The metro area - a truer reflection of a city's health, IMO - has been growing a a decent clip. The bad areas are huge, but the city itself is huge, and crime is actually going down (and its still considerably lower than crime in DC).
DC's been doing great lately, but I often wonder how much of that is related to the growth in government post-9/11. Not that I wouldn't want the trend to continue - just a thought.
BTW, I happen to like both DC and Chicago quite a bit. I'm originally from NYC, so I'm all about the BosWash. Just figured I'd clarify some of your stats.
Chicago seemed very trashy to me. Living in DC you never really hear about Chicago that much. Once you get away from the downtown area and Navy Pier it seemed to be nothing more than hard-core ghetto. No wonder they have more crime than both New York and LA. I thought Philly was bad. Very disappointing Chi-town.
I'm sorry you felt like that. Did you go to the south side or north side. I'll admit the south and west sides can be "trashy" looking to people who aren't used to that urban style of living, looks like detroit, stl. The north side is happening and beautiful, with a skyline that stretches all the way to evanston!!! HUUUGE!
You're the first person i've ever heard saying chicago was trashy. The cost of living here is high with great condos and row homes. 450,000 minimum for a small house or condo in uptown. Come and check the chicago beyond downtown/touristy things. Theres so much culture and diversity to find here. There's really NOTHING else like it in the US...except NYC.
Louisville:
Cities that I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy:
Saint Louis: great nightlife, beautiful urban neighborhoods, a ton of civic pride
Baltimore: hip neighborhoods, nice downtown, easy to get around
Saint Louis and Baltimore are very similar cities. I've heard them to be one of the most similar cities in the US without the other "knowing it", meaning the majority of their populations dont realize how similar they are...size, culture, esp the city and county difference thing.
I'm sorry you felt like that. Did you go to the south side or north side. I'll admit the south and west sides can be "trashy" looking to people who aren't used to that urban style of living, looks like detroit, stl. The north side is happening and beautiful, with a skyline that stretches all the way to evanston!!! HUUUGE!
You're the first person i've ever heard saying chicago was trashy. The cost of living here is high with great condos and row homes. 450,000 minimum for a small house or condo in uptown. Come and check the chicago beyond downtown/touristy things. Theres so much culture and diversity to find here. There's really NOTHING else like it in the US...except NYC.
I think the reason I was so disapointed was because we actually were looking forward to spending some time there. I have been to Chicago probably hundreds of times, but only as an overnight, airport-hotel stay and never took the time to really explore the city. We always laugh because in DC there are only three US cities that you here people talking about on any given day: DC, NYC, and some more DC! Oh, and Baltimore. But I won't be rude and repeat what I have always heard about them. Everyonce in a great while you'll here about something on the west coast or even Houston. But all throughout my years in DC I never really heard about the Windy City. In fact, I was quite shocked at how big it was! Shows how much I really care. We wanted to like Chicago, we really did, but the whole time we felt like we were in smaller and cheaper version of NYC, with more crime and less things to do. When you are in NYC you feel as if you are in the center of the world, and that everything is at your fingertips. I just didn't get that vibe in Chicago. Of course this works well for some people, and probably fits the midwestern agricultural mind-set quite well. But for us, if we want NYC, we want NYC. We don't want a substitute. That is just our views though. I know that I do not speak for everyone.
Last edited by SC Valley; 01-24-2008 at 04:08 PM..
Reason: repeated statement
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Don't know what made you so sour anyway!
. Just figured I'd clarify some of your stats.
