Entry-Level Mega Cities

[park123]

Of course this will unfortunately be totally subjective, but for me, there are some cities which are clearly world-class large. Mega cities. Everyone will have a different list. For me for example, it would obviously include NYC, Tokyo, London, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, and others. Buenos Aires, Sao Paolo, Mumbai, there are quite a few, especially in the developing world.

I'm from the USA, and America is sparse when it comes to those kinds of really large cities. Obviously. Most people would say just NYC. For me, for example, San Francisco, while not a small town, definitely doesn't feel on remotely the same scale as say NYC or London.

But what about Chicago? How does it feel to you? For me, I think it just might be what you could call an entry-level mega city. The greater downtown is quite large and very impressive looking, Michigan Ave is a world-class shopping street, there are a lot of outer neighborhoods where most of the nightlife and dining action are concentrated... all in all Chicago felt like a definite step up from SF or Boston or DC. And if you squint just right and use your imagination, something a little similar to NYC. So I guess I could call Chicago an entry-level mega city so to speak. Maybe on par with Osaka Japan (although in a different way, with Osaka much busier and Chicago much grander).

In North America, if I'm honest and include Chicago, I should also include Toronto. Toronto is not as grand as Chicago, but it's growing much faster and just feels more international and dynamic.

What do you think? Would you classify Chicago that way, or is it really not too different than SF for example? Any other cities like that, that come to mind?