Quote:
Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright
No, it's not a matter of accurately knowing what life is like elsewhere, it's about the manner in which their expectations tend to be inaccurate. Certain places tend to be over-exaggerated and certain places tend to be under-exaggerated. You always hear the tales of immigrants from Europe expecting the streets to be paved with gold in NYC. People tend to underestimate Chicago in many ways while also overestimating some of our negatives like crime. And, Chicago, still being a relatively young city, perpetually feels like it has something to prove when it comes to the other great cities of the world. So we take it personal when people underestimate us and we collectively seem to feel the need to correct that. That's why we're the windy city, it really hasn't changed much at all from the days of the Tribinue and other paper chiefs on the next train to NYC the day after the fire. Always boasting, but usually backed up with the facts. Always the city on the make, trying to prove itself.
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This is what I was getting at really. People know about the city, at least in the US, but their perceptions are at least 2 decades behind. There are many people who expect the entire city to be something like Wrigleyville with a bunch of uneducated people walking around. The city has come a long way since 20+ years ago in both of these regards.