Does Chicago feel like the third largest city? (Naperville, Evanston: apartments, homes)

[jman07]

I was wondering if Chicago feels bigger than all the east coast cities other than NYC. LIke if I moved to philly or DC or jersey, would they feel much smaller? What about LA?

[Milwaukee City]

To me it feels like the 2nd largest city.

[tonythetuna]

Oh lord, not again.

[chet everett]

I suppose much depends on what sort of "range" you have in Chicago and the other cities. I have spent some time in Philly and it is tiny -- literally by the time you get as far from downtown as maybe Linclon Park you are into the "mainline" suburbs, and by the time you drive as far as maybe Evanston you are in New Jersey....

With DC it is as bad -- outside of the core of the Federal Government there are very few "real" spots inside the District. The area around Georgetown U is very compact and rapidly falls off. The crossover to suburban Maryland or Virginia is pretty dramatic. Affleunt estate sized parcels dot the Potomic. The greater Metro area spreads out pretty quick, and the relationship between Dulles and Reagan National is not dissimilar between Midway and OHare, with many of the suburban office parks like those along 294 being similar to the Dulles area...

LA is kinda weird , as the real old core of the part of town where the "Dragnet" era police headquarters is located is more like a real small old midwestern town (think Clevland) than Chicago, but they have pockets of moderately recognizanle high rises spread out over an area that is more like the stretch of the burbs from like Schuamburg to Naperville or Oak Brook. Odd mix of overly wide surface streets and ridiculosly over built freeways connect in dozens of ways but still "inside" LA... There are pockets of horrendously neglected older homes and apartments too. Drive inland and you get to burbs (Valley girl) or drive to Pasadena for sections that have a feel maybe a bit like the desirable areas of the north Shore...

[Jandur]

Yes its big. And it will probably "feel" bigger than LA. Since LA is really more like a huge suburb.

[Alacran]

The metro is pretty big.

I haven't been to many other BIG cities so I can't compare...

But compared to Albuquerque, Denver, El Paso, Juarez.... it is big.

[quigboto]

Originally Posted by tonythetuna

and San Jose.

Good one!

[DrJoey]

Chicago is the only metropolis besides NYC in the country.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by quigboto

Good one!

San Jose is an overgrown office park.

[OhAcid]

Originally Posted by durf

Just I as was leaving the post, you guys brought me back in. Chicago doesn't feel like a true urban center since its downtown is a lackluster where people just go and work and then take off! Not happy with its mediocre downtown. Chicago feels smaller than LA and NY. It's not any better than San Jose since San Jose has a nice downtown and Santana Row(it acts like a European Michigan Ave shopping district). I even prefer Boston and LA over Chicago. It doesn't matter because it doesn't matter to Chicagoans. They just want a comfortable city with different neighborhoods with cool people. Most Chicagoans are happy with the way it is. I still like that Gino's pizza even though I make better deep dish myself with Pillsbury dough, lots of Paul Newman tomato/basil souce and slices of cheese on the bottom.

Far from the truth. The Loop is not the center of activity in Chicago outside "business hours" - but it's also not a ghost town after 5 p.m. either. I think the biggest misconception about Chicago (concerning non-residents) is that everything has to, must be, and can only function if it's centered right downtown in the core of everything and any part of Chicago outside of the Loop isn't worth recognizing since it's not dominated by skyscrapers. On top of that, the use of the words "lackluster" and "mediocre" to describe The Loop is enough to keep me laughing for hours, since the area is home to some of the most profound, diverse and spectacular architecture in the world on top of it being adjacent to the coast of Lake Michigan. If anything, the fact that nightlife and urban activity are not concentrated in The Loop is one of the things that makes the city feel like such an urban area - very few cities can boast about such vibrant activity occurring in multiple areas. So as nice as Santana Row is, it could probably be on the same level as Michigan Avenue if it had a few interesting things to look at, iconic history, and more than 1/10 of the shopping and entertainment afforded by Michigan Avenue.

Of course, I could see why that's unimpressive to someone who enjoys the overly suburban appeal of the 27 story cap on San Jose's riveting skyline that could give Evanston a run for its money.