I'm simply obsessed with Chicago

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by pip

To jump on the clean bandwagon. Just got back from a month in Boston. Chicago is clean, it's always the first thing I notice. And not just downtown. It's also cheap to own. Literally to duplicate my place in Boston in a comparable neighborhood the price would triple. Chicago is also vibrant, not just in the tourist areas.

“Vibrant”. I guess that’s what got me. I knew I’d like the city, beautiful architecture, city scape all that. And of course I was aware of their civic pride, their attachment to their communities and local culture, but I didn’t expect the city to be so full of life. I imagined it would be a little more dull.

On the previous year I went to Buenos Aires and I was afraid Chicago would feel more dull in comparison, but it was the opposite. To go there on the summer might have helped though.

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by Yuri

On the previous year I went to Buenos Aires and I was afraid Chicago would feel more dull in comparison, but it was the opposite. To go there on the summer might have helped though.

That's actually quite impressive. Other than NYC, I wouldn't have expected anywhere in NA north of Mexico would be comparably vibrant to a large Latin American city.

[Yuri]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

That's actually quite impressive. Other than NYC, I wouldn't have expected anywhere in NA north of Mexico would be comparably vibrant to a large Latin American city.

Yeah. I went to BA on winter and my expectations were high in this regard. Don’t get me wrong, the city is so beautiful, they have one of the strongest urban cultures I’ve ever seen, people like to be out of home, but it seemed a bit laidback.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by Yuri

Yeah. I went to BA on winter and my expectations were high in this regard. Don’t get me wrong, the city is so beautiful, they have one of the strongest urban cultures I’ve ever seen, people like to be out of home, but it seemed a bit laidback.

It's a generalization, but it's a truism from what I've found...from my anecdotal experience, Mediterranean, temperate, or warm weather cities often suffer from activity if the weather is less than ideal. People in these climates know they just have to wait a few hours, days, or weeks to get more preferable weather just around the corner for them to really soak up their preferred weather. A 50°F day in Los Angeles, Atlanta, or Dallas may have people preferring to stay indoors. A 50°F day in Chicago, Stockholm, or Warsaw in March, and you will have many running out the doors to go on long walks.

This will even extend to less ideal days in the summer in the northern cities when it's very hot or cooler, and they will not be deterred from non-ideal weather. People from northern climes who know they have 6-8 optimal months to enjoy their climate will not fail to take full advantage when the opportunity arises.

[LA21st]

LA is def quieter in from Dec-March when its in that 50-60s range and rainy/gloomy.

I tell people all the time, its not the same city. Locals just dont want to be out as much. Even in places full of people usually. Not saying its dead but its quieter.
Im sure San Diego is the same way.

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by Dale

Chicago Med. Chicago Fire. Chicago PD. Can’t think of another city so featured on the Telly.

I also think that Michael Jordan and The Bulls' dynasty years helped boost Chicago's profile. I don't think that it's possible for a single athlete to do that again for any city. The media environment is simply too fractured.

[DCReid]

Originally Posted by jmecklenborg

I also think that Michael Jordan and The Bulls' dynasty years helped boost Chicago's profile. I don't think that it's possible for a single athlete to do that again for any city. The media environment is simply too fractured.

Also Oprah did.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Yuri

“Vibrant”. I guess that’s what got me. I knew I’d like the city, beautiful architecture, city scape all that. And of course I was aware of their civic pride, their attachment to their communities and local culture, but I didn’t expect the city to be so full of life. I imagined it would be a little more dull.

On the previous year I went to Buenos Aires and I was afraid Chicago would feel more dull in comparison, but it was the opposite. To go there on the summer might have helped though.

I've been to Buenos Aires several times and to Chicago countless times. They both feel like big ass cities. Chicago probably gets quite a bit more tourism than Buenos Aires. BsAs is built much more densely than Chicago, with a lot of apartment buildings spread over a huge area. Unlike Chicago BsAs doesn't have a "downtown", so the city doesn't feel oriented around a center of gravity like Chicago. Both cities have a ton of pedestrian activity. But the nightlife in BsAs is nowhere near as vibrant as Chicago. BsAs isn't an early shutdown city but it's not really a late night city either. You can find restaurants open at 10pm but the bar and nightclub scene feels absolutely sleepy compared to Chicago.

[nomarandlee]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I've been to Buenos Aires several times and to Chicago countless times. They both feel like big ass cities. Chicago probably gets quite a bit more tourism than Buenos Aires. BsAs is built much more densely than Chicago, with a lot of apartment buildings spread over a huge area. Unlike Chicago BsAs doesn't have a "downtown", so the city doesn't feel oriented around a center of gravity like Chicago. Both cities have a ton of pedestrian activity. But the nightlife in BsAs is nowhere near as vibrant as Chicago. BsAs isn't an early shutdown city but it's not really a late night city either. You can find restaurants open at 10pm but the bar and nightclub scene feels absolutely sleepy compared to Chicago.

That's surprising. I would have assumed that the Latin/Iberian/Italian tropes about late evenings and nightlife would have extended to BA. I would speculate that it is more due to economic conditions than anything else.

As much as American millennials and Gen Z complain, they often have more disposable income compared to their global peers, especially in major U.S. metropolitan areas. Argentina's long-standing economic instability has been well-documented.

....Which leads me to further thinking, whether in Thailand, Mexico, or Italy, there was seemingly little like the widespread bar culture that exists in the U.S. in major metros, to the same extent. There are nightclubs and eateries open late in those places for sure, but stand-alone bars seem (outside of some segregated districts) to be fewer and farther between. In the U.S., it is a very middle-class activity to visit a standard neighborhood bar between 9pm-1am.

Maybe it is a factor of more single women in the U.S. are inclined to visit bars with friends, or even alone, which doesn't carry a similar stigma as in some other places around the world in more traditionally minded societies? Add in more disposable income to indulge in large bar tabs on random nights in the U.S., and that may make for more establishments.

[Wigs]

There's no doubt about it, Chicago (despite its well documented flaws, perceived shortcomings) is one of the best cities in North America.

[downtownpdx]

I was under a naive assumption Chicago was kinda rust belt status when I visited over 20 years ago. I absolutely loved it though. Full of life like others have pointed out, with a lake front that felt like being on a vibrant coastal beach. I visited in the winter as well and there were still tons of people out in the middle of the snow fall. All I could think was “if this was Portland everyone would be hiding inside”, ha! But of course Chicago gets snow all the time, so you have to deal, while it’s only a couple inches over a year in the PNW. Anyway it’s a wonderful city and I need to get back for a visit soon.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by nomarandlee

That's surprising. I would have assumed that the Latin/Iberian/Italian tropes about late evenings and nightlife would have extended to BA. I would speculate that it is more due to economic conditions than anything else.

That's why stereotypes are dangerous. Argentineans think of themselves as the least Latin of Latin America. Much of the population is ethnically German, French, Italian, or other. Ethnic Spaniards are a minority. Buenos Aires feels to me like it could be a French city.

But even in Europe you don't have huge nightlife scenes outside of a handful of major cities and tourist traps. In most places where they do siestas, things will open up around 8pm and be closed by 1am. After that there may be a handful of bars and nightclubs open but you're not likely to find anything to the scale of nightlife in Chicago, except in a handful of places.

[manchester united]

Chicago is a fantastic city!

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

I was under a naive assumption Chicago was kinda rust belt status when I visited over 20 years ago.

And Chicago absolutely still is "kinda rust belt".

At least much moreso than any of the coastal biggies, other than possibly Philly.

[llamaorama]

Originally Posted by Crawford

It's a world-class city, an American gem and extremely well-rounded, doing quite well in almost everything.

It isn't remotely clean (never understood that one) and its comparatively low(er) RE prices are pretty self explanatory. Chicago has had terrible RE returns; easily the worst among the biggest U.S. cities.

Late to the party but here's my take:

I have always perceived Chicago to be clean and friendly too. I think the obvious answer is that the downtown tourism areas are really, really well maintained.

Chicago is unique I think in that it's this really big traditionally urban behemoth but also I think it's leaders know if that they let it slip the city would enter a downward spiral that it could not recover from because it's no longer one of the elite economic center of the universe type cities that it used to be.

[Steely Dan]

We go over this "Chicago is so clean" thing time and time again on this forum.

I will forever maintain that the root of that very common perception from outsiders is the fact that Chicago is probably the most thoroughly alleyed major city on the planet.

It's not that the city is actually clean, it's just that virtually all trash collection is done in the alleys in back of the buildings, where it is largely out of sight/out of mind for most visitors. The ubiquitous alleys make for a very pronounced front-of-house/back-of-house dichotomy not usually found to such degree in most other major cities.

Spend an afternoon exploring Chicago by alley and you WILL NOT walk away from the experience thinking "wow, Chicago is so clean!"

Afterall, there's absolutely a reason why Chicago "wins" the most rat-infested city in America award year after year.

[LA21st]

This is true. There's some wonderful smells in the Loop alleys. Specifically by my old office on LaSalle.



Had to traverse it for some office deliveries here and there.

[twister244]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Currently in Chicago for work—first time back since 2018—and wow, this might be the cleanest major city in America. Even the CTA trains feel well-kept.

The people are friendly, the vibe is unpretentious, and the downtown/architecture is epic (no news there). What strikes me about the buildings is how absolutely colossal in scale they are. I'm also happy to see the Loop busy post-pandemic...I'd heard a lot about how it had become a ghost down for a while, but from what I can see, the downtown feels very busy and vibrant again with plenty of office workers about.

I also love the endless lakefront parkland that goes up the coast. It's very well maintained and manicured.

I’ve been staying up in Lakeview and now Ravenswood—so many young people around. And the affordability here is wild. Yesterday I grabbed a sandwich for $12. In LA that same sandwich would be pushing $20.

I genuinely don’t get why this city isn’t more of an international destination or why more coastal folks aren’t moving here en masse. Real estate is shockingly affordable by comparison. Yes, the winters are harsh, but come on—bundle up and deal with it. I'm strongly considering buying a condo here (I've seen prices for condos $200k-$400k in really nice areas) and renting it out since I can't afford real estate in LA at the moment.

Chicagoans, you should be proud. This city is so underrated for the punch it packs. Hope to spend more time here in thanks to new clients that I have here.

Yep.

Everytime I meet someone in another country that has been to Chicago - They have absolutely nothing but amazing things to say about it.

It's just an amazing fucking city. It's big enough you have the large dense downtown area, but small enough that you can easily escape the downtown density and find yourself in a low-key neighborhood with small restaurants and bars. You have the lake front, the architecture, the food (minus Malort), and a pretty damn diversified economy that has been able to withstand headwinds from multiple directions over the decades.

Honestly, One of my top concerns for the future of Chicago is if the genie gets out of the bottle and suddenly Chicago goes into an insane growth period again where it loses some of the things that makes it amazing (I.E. affordability). I was at our Tech week a couple weeks ago, and it seems to be getting larger every year with the growing momentum behind quantum computing. Hopefully any large scale growth (assuming it happens) can be managed.

BUT....... This is a city that has the infrastructure of a city of 3.5 million plus with only the population of 2.7 million - So theoretically we should be able to absorb significant growth.

Oh, and on the weather front - Climate change is helping on that front. Our winters are getting more mild, severe cold doesn't last as long, and our Falls seem to be getting more mild.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Yuri

I walked on literally every single street of the Loop and we don’t see any rubbish on sidewalks. Not even a tiny thing. That’s remarkably clean for a busy Downtown of a big city.

Not that I’m obsessed about spotless clean cities. Downtown SP is very dirty and I love it. Ditto for very interesting neighborhoods in Berlin or London.

I'll be in Chicago in three weeks, staying in the most touristy location possible. I'll admit I'm not regularly surveying community cleanliness on my travels but I'll look for the allegedly pristine streets.

I'm pretty sure this is nonsense and the "clean" thing is just a metaphor for other marginally related things (well organized streetgrid, the lakefront parks, lots of greenery downtown, not many vendors or street commerce, etc.).

[twister244]

Originally Posted by Crawford

I'll be in Chicago in three weeks, staying in the most touristy location possible. I'll admit I'm not regularly surveying community cleanliness on my travels but I'll look for the allegedly pristine streets.

I'm pretty sure this is nonsense and the "clean" thing is just a metaphor for other marginally related things (well organized streetgrid, the lakefront parks, lots of greenery downtown, not many vendors or street commerce, etc.).

No - It's not nonsense or a metaphor. While the layout of downtown and the lakefront makes it standout compared to other major cities in the country, all of that starts to fall apart of there was trash all over the place with vagrants. You tend to see less of that when you are walking through downtown Chicago, Grant Park, the lakefront, etc.

That's not to say we don't have any of those issues, we just don't let it get out of hand here.

Hence - People tend to enjoy the city streets and parks much more during the Summer (as noted by Yuri).