Chicago V.S. Toronto (best suburbs, move to, public transportation)

[evanusc]

Many people compare these two cities. I have been to Chicago twice and like it a lot, and am planning to move to Toronto next year. Can anyone on the board who have spent time in both cities give some info about the similarities between the two? Something like climate, size, urban planning, economy, employment, lifestyle, public transportation etc? Thanks!

[KevK]

They are both about the same in all those areas. People are a bit nicer and the cops a bit more courteous in Toronto.

[RxMarcus]

I have spent some time in both cities, moreso in Chicago, and like both very much. But I like Toronto better.

Both cities are similar in size (Chicago a bit bigger), climate and overall asthetics, and both are thriving arts scenes and are good sports cities. Toronto has better public transportation, a more accessible downtown that is more walkable than Chicago's, is cleaner and more inviting. Plus, when it is bitterly cold in Toronto there are 27km of underground paths downtown, so you can avoid the cold somewhat, not so in Chicago.

That said, I like Chicago's suburbs better. Most of the Toronto burbs have I been to have been more rundown than those around Chicago. Although I think Chicago has some of the best suburbs of any city that I have spent time in.

[Atticman]

IMO Toronto is much more liberal, hip and bohemian than Chicago.

[grmike]

if you want to give them a fair comparison then you can't go by the mainstream data that most sites quote. Those fact books show that both cities cover a similar area and have around 3 million people. When greater areas are compared for some reason Chicago is allowed to cover 11 thousand square miles while Toronto's only given 2700 square miles (even though over 8 million people are in the golden horseshoe area whose size is similar to 'Chicagoland' which is quoted as having 9.5 million people.

If you compare economies, again the greater horseshoe area has most of Ontario's 600 Billion dollar US GDP.

Toronto and Chicago are about equal. their city and regional populations are almost exactly the same and their economies are almost the same size.

[evanusc]

Thanks a lot of the info, folks. I really like those downtowns that are walkable. I was in LA for three years, everything is fine (the weather is devine!) but you have to drive ALL THE TIME!

What about the skyline by the lake? Chicago's skyline is quite impressive!

[Cornerguy1]

The vast majority of Toronto's skyscrapers are located in the downtown core within 1/2 mile of the lakefront.

I'm sure a Google Image search of Toronto skyline will bring up enough images to give you a good idea.

[Atticman]

The bulk of Toronto's skyline runs Northward away from the lake while Chicago's skyline runs along the lakefront.

[RxMarcus]

I think Chicago has a prettier skyline, with a little better architecture, but I like that Toronto's buildings are more condensed.

[Rocky1315]

Not sure about Chicago but Toronto is a very bike-friendly city. In the nicer temps, I bike to work everyday... takes the same amount of time (30 mins) as taking public transit