What is the Chicago personality? (Madison: neighborhood, construction, high school)

[JenniferLynn]

Chiguy1957, I wuz sent by da family, if you know what I mean. (just kidding)

Drover, you are so right about SF being shrill. I guess I was thinking more about the California "laid-back" lifestyle, more associated with the surfer stereotype than the CA city people.

Thanks for all the vivid descriptions. I'm just interested in people, that's all.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by gardener34

Although they are not into "brats" as much as the skit insinuates.

Brats are good, no doubt. But Wisconsin owns that one.

[coldwine]

The Chicago personality can be summarized as follows:

If a volcano were to begin exploding and begin doing so spectacularly, a Chicagoan would stare at it for a moment and think, "Gosh. I'll need to get the kids, I'll call the spouse and have them pack some food and water, we'll need clothing, I'll just bring my debit card and since the roads'll be packed we're just going to bike it out. Well, we'll probably have to get Ms. Simmons too, she can't walk like she used to." There wouldn't be any facial expression and certainly no concessions to fear or panic. This is civilization, after all.

The further west/south from the loop you go, you can replace "food/water" with "tools from my meth lab/guns/assorted drug paraphernalia", the further north it'd be "where's my chopper?"

And then immediately after turning around and stepping on someone's foot would say "I'm sorry".

The march from the city would probably be the most polite, quiet and orderly march mankind has ever seen from a disaster zone. The tolls would still charge. City services would ticket any cars remaining identifiable on the streets after the explosion.

[KateL]

I would agree with hurried and polite and to that I would add curious (nosy) and opinionated (talkative). I find Chicagoans love to give their opinion about any subject, whatever it may be, and are not shy about asking people they barely know very personal questions, but do so with (usually) good intentions - and follow that with their own life story (or someone else's!) or words of advice. So I would say traits of Chicagoans are: curious and opinionated. That has been my experience.

[tribecavsbrowns]

[quote=Steve-o;2474310]Ugh. As funny as that skit was, Ive never met a Chicagoan that was even remotely close (mentality or accent) to the characters SNL portrayed. [quote]

Oh I have. I got kicked out of a bar on Lincoln and the guy called me a jeeagoff. We have a similar accent in Cleveland, but it's a little less strong and less ubiquitous, too.

The Bears skit actually had a Toronto native (Mike Myers) and a New York native (Robert Smigel), so their accents weren't right on. But you can't tell me there aren't (a lot) of people in Chicago who talk like Chris Farley and George Wendt.

[j33]

I have too, I grew up in the south suburbs, and had family friends on the southwest side of the city there are loads of 'dose guys' down there.

... as far a the larger question at hand, I don't really know how to answer that one, being from here it is hard to see it from an outsiders standpoint.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Ugh. As funny as that skit was, Ive never met a Chicagoan that was even remotely close (mentality or accent) to the characters SNL portrayed. Yes, we love our Bears, but cmon.

I think the Chicago personality is a bit of NYC (hurried, rushed) with some midwestern values (kind, courteous, plainly speaking) mixed in. Of course not everyone is that way, but most Ive met fit that bill.

I have met plenty of guys that acted and sounded just like the SNL skit. Where do you live and where did you grow up?

Chris Farley was from Madison ,Wisconsin with mucho experience in Chicago.Mike Myers and Robert Smigel lived in Chicago for a few years as member of 2nd city and other productions. Joe Mantegna and George Wendt are from Chicago and they had a lot to do with creating that skit.

Maybe these guys overblew things a bit, but the skit is a good picture of what Chicago was like before the hipster and yuppie invasion. The dinos still exist in pockets.:-)

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by via chicago

Brats are good, no doubt. But Wisconsin owns that one.

The south side is into brats.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I'd agree with Steve-o's determination

You have not yet. Maybe you never will. But hundreds of thousands of them exist in the area.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by NYrules

Chicago's residents hold much of NYC's personality traits due to the strong influnce from the media producing many shows that are aired in Chicago filmed in NY along with newscasts of which Chicagoans are seeing.

Now we may hold many of NY's traits, but there are some variations such as being more hospitible and willing to offer more of their time to you rather than giving you less than a second to ask your question before the other person is already trying to answer it as NYers often are known to do. Chicagoans are more apt to let you merge in front of them wherever be it in a line at a supermarket or on the tollway, yet will only do that for so long before they let you know you are irritating them by saying something, offering an obscene gesture, honking at you, whatever.

Chicagoans are also known to be very divided in their liking of sports. North siders are known as the Cub fans who hate the Sox and vice versa for the south siders, with people right downtown more likely to like both or either teams, but in the end most come out to support their Bears no matter how awful the team... Oh I'm sorry... Grossman is. Lets not also leave out that we have to hate The Packers with a passion no matter if we can beat them or not. Why that is I have no idea.

Chicagoans are also known to be home of the heavy eatters. hehe Yes, we are known to be using food as our form of entertainment rather than using it as a nessecity in life. We hold food fests in our downtown and burbs celebrating Chicago's wonderful ethnicity and great diversity in it's foods from those wonderful rib tips from the south side hoods along with their chicken wings, jerk chicken, etc, to greek foods coming out of greek town, to the yuppie chains in the loop/gold coast. (My mouth is watering from the thought of those hot wings at "The Taste" lets not leave out those huge watermelon slices and butter corn.. mmmm) Anways, Chicago has a little of something for everyone and at the rate we are going, and with Daley's guidance we will be a little mini NYC without all the filth, rudeness, and hype that NY is known for.

I dont think any real Chicagoans want to be a mini NYC. Maybe you hope that, but I never will. Even when Chicago was the 2nd city, people never thought Chicago was 2nd and never wanted to be like NYC. Chicago has always been proud of being better than NYC and LA for other reasons than total population and pretense.

Hopefully Chicago never will never lose its roots. If it does, I will leave.