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Old 10-21-2015, 04:07 PM
 
Location: IL
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well, I guess it feels more east coast than west coast. Chicago is urban and big with tall buildings...pretty dense. I think that makes it stand out from most of the Midwest.
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Old 10-21-2015, 04:13 PM
 
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Originally Posted by almost3am View Post
well, I guess it feels more east coast than west coast. Chicago is urban and big with tall buildings...pretty dense. I think that makes it stand out from most of the Midwest.
Correct, that & plus the hustle bustle & abundant public transportation also makes it different from the rest of the Midwest. The way folks even commute in from the burbs to downtown is much like folks commute from the surrounding areas of Manhattan.
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Old 10-21-2015, 04:51 PM
 
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To me CHicago feels nothing like an east coast city, Chicago is midwestern the same way New York City is east coast, they are both the center of their regions, but not really like any other city in their region.
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Old 10-21-2015, 04:54 PM
 
Location: South Central Michigan
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Out of curiosity, what does this forum consider "Midwestern"? Big chains everywhere, with no local or ethnic variety of cuisine or culture? If that's so, Chicago is not "Midwestern."
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Old 10-21-2015, 04:59 PM
 
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Originally Posted by PerseusVeil View Post
It's a city in the Midwest primarily populated by people born in the Midwest, so the answer to your question is yes, it's very Midwestern.
I strongly disagree with this. While certain areas of the city might feel very Midwestern the city overall does not feel Midwestern. Most Midwest cities, and I am talking the larger ones like St. Louis, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Cleveland, etc, have nowhere the diversity that Chicago has. In those cities it tends to be pretty White, Black and Mexican (I know it's not a race).

No other Midwest city has such a significant Puerto Rican population. While not the majority, Chicago also has ample Colombians, Guatemalans and Cubans. Those are very rare, if non-existent, in other Midwestern cities. With the exception of Detroit, no other Midwest city has a Middle Eastern population like we do and such a mix of Jordanians, Syrians and Lebanese folks. No other Midwestern city has such a significant Indian population. No other Midwestern city as such a mix of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese populations. What about the Polish population we have in Chicago? There are areas where only Polish is spoken.

The point is while other Midwestern cities are not just "white" they are NOWHERE near as diverse and international as Chicago. Neighborhoods like Albany Park, Roger's Park, Pilsen, Mayfair, Uptown, Irving Park, Edgewater, etc, don't exist in other Midwestern cities. Sorry they just don't. Chicago is more East Coast with a secondary flavor of Midwest. Chicago is like San Francisco in the sense that while they have some semblence of their respective regions, in terms of city life, pace, diversity and city build up they feel more East Coast than the regions they actually are in. LA and San Diego feel straight up West Coast. Indianapolis and Cleveland feel straight up Midwest. Chicago does not feel THAT Midwestern.
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Old 10-21-2015, 05:02 PM
 
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Originally Posted by FAReastcoast View Post
To me CHicago feels nothing like an east coast city, Chicago is midwestern the same way New York City is east coast, they are both the center of their regions, but not really like any other city in their region.
I disagree. Chicago doesn't feel like NYC (no other US city does), but I find Chicago has a lot more in common in vibe, pace, diversity and infrastructure with cities like Philly, Boston, and DC. I mean you can't really think that Chicago feels more similar to Indianapolis than it does to Philly?! If you think Chicago is more like Indianapolis than Philadelphia then you are straight up lying.
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Old 10-21-2015, 05:13 PM
 
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Originally Posted by UrbanCheetah View Post
I disagree. Chicago doesn't feel like NYC (no other US city does), but I find Chicago has a lot more in common in vibe, pace, diversity and infrastructure with cities like Philly, Boston, and DC. I mean you can't really think that Chicago feels more similar to Indianapolis than it does to Philly?! If you think Chicago is more like Indianapolis than Philadelphia then you are straight up lying.
To me, Chicago feels absolutely nothing like Philly, Boston, or DC. You disagree, the world will still revolve.
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Old 10-21-2015, 06:07 PM
 
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Originally Posted by FAReastcoast View Post
To me, Chicago feels absolutely nothing like Philly, Boston, or DC. You disagree, the world will still revolve.
I can agree to disagree. I just think in terms of vibrancy, pace, diversity and energy, Chicago has a lot more akin to Philly, Boston and DC, than it does to Cleveland, Boston, DC. I don't think Chicago looks like those East Coast cities, but culturally, I think they are much more familiar. I will just leave it to that.
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Old 10-21-2015, 07:25 PM
 
Location: Edmonds, WA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FAReastcoast View Post
To me CHicago feels nothing like an east coast city, Chicago is midwestern the same way New York City is east coast, they are both the center of their regions, but not really like any other city in their region.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UrbanCheetah View Post
I disagree. Chicago doesn't feel like NYC (no other US city does), but I find Chicago has a lot more in common in vibe, pace, diversity and infrastructure with cities like Philly, Boston, and DC. I mean you can't really think that Chicago feels more similar to Indianapolis than it does to Philly?! If you think Chicago is more like Indianapolis than Philadelphia then you are straight up lying.
I think you're both right. Chicago is different from other Midwestern cities most obviously by virtue of its sheer size. In many ways, Chicago is in a class shared only by coastal cities. Other Midwestern cities are in lesser leagues so to speak. I don't think it makes Chicago any less "Midwestern" which, interestingly, has yet to be defined in this thread. Maybe that's because Chicago helps shape the definition of Midwestern.

However, yes, I would attend to agree with UrbanCheetah - in many regards, Chicago is a better comparison to a Philly or a San Francisco or a Boston than it is like an Indianapolis or an Omaha or a Kansas City. Sure, there are many factors where it may be more similar to the latter cities, and may be markedly different than the former cities. But in most of the truly significant factors, it does compare more relevantly to coastal cities. But I will say this is largely a function of its magnitude, and not of some inherently special qualities that set it apart from the rest of the Midwest. Let's keep in mind Chicago has a metro of 10 million. Nothing remotely similar to that number is found anywhere else in the Midwest. #2 is Minneapolis with 3.8 million, a fraction of the size of Chicago.

Last edited by Bluefox; 10-21-2015 at 07:38 PM..
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Old 10-21-2015, 07:52 PM
 
Location: where the good looking people are
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Originally Posted by Bluefox View Post
But I will say this is largely a function of its magnitude, and not of some inherently special qualities that set it apart from the rest of the Midwest.
Agreed. I really didn't see much of a cultural difference when visiting relatives in Cleveland vs Chicago. The difference was largely related to the size.
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