Whats Chicago Like? Coming from a Detroiter (Manhattan, Atlanta: house, neighborhood)

[Drover]

Originally Posted by whatnow

YUCK!!! and NO WAY!!! If you think Chicago is like Detroit perhaps you should go spend a week or two in Detroit.
Are you a native of Chicago/suburbs? I for one love Chicago. I wish I could go visit my family more than once a year just to go into the city. LOVE CHICAGO and I hope the OP will too. Have fun!!

Yes, I live here. Do you? There are whole swaths of Chicago that are just as bad as Detroit in terms of crime and quality of life but the city also has very nice parts.

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

Drover you forgot to add the entire professional population has not fled en masse to the suburbs as it has in detroit.

Some one told me some of their sports venues are even located in the suburbs(like how the texas rangers are in arlington not dallas)..not sure if its true...

[surlycue]

Originally Posted by At1WithNature

Obviously, the big park is millenium park. Then there is Grant Park. There is a nice little "Zen Garden" in front of the Aon Center...it's my secret garden if you will.

I rarely go to the parks in the loop unless I'm cutting through or have to kill time before a meeting so if the OP is looking to venture outside of the box I would recommend Humboldt Park, Garfield Park, the park off of 59th and the lake with the Japanese gardens near S&I and Washington Park. All of them except the one on 59th are in pretty sketchy areas but there shouldn't be any issues in the daylight hours.

ETA: I looked it up, the park on 59th is called Jackson.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by LakeShoreSoxGo

Drover you forgot to add the entire professional population has not fled en masse to the suburbs as it has in detroit.

Some one told me some of their sports venues are even located in the suburbs(like how the texas rangers are in arlington not dallas)..not sure if its true...

Many sports teams across the country are located in the suburbs (for instance the only NFL team that actually plays in the state of New York is the Buffalo Bills and even they don't play in Buffalo) so I don't regard this as a particularly strong indictment of Detroit. The fact that all of Chicago's major sports venues are actually in the city seems to be more unusual than having one or more of them in the suburbs.

[Shrewsbury Road]

Originally Posted by surlycue

I rarely go to the parks in the loop unless I'm cutting through or have to kill time before a meeting so if the OP is looking to venture outside of the box I would recommend Humboldt Park, Garfield Park, the park off of 59th and the lake with the Japanese gardens near S&I and Washington Park. All of them except the one on 59th are in pretty sketchy areas but there shouldn't be any issues in the daylight hours.

You know I'm hearing Zen Gardens and Japanese gardens, are these exclusive parks for wealthy Chicagoans?

[surlycue]

Originally Posted by Shrewsbury Road

You know I'm hearing Zen Gardens and Japanese gardens, are these exclusive parks for wealthy Chicagoans?

Que? No, not at all. The Zen garden is a fairly small city lot in the loop that serves as a nice break for loop workers and a quiet retreat for everyone. The Japanese garden is also small, though larger than the Zen counterpart. It has a bubbling brook with a little picturesque wooden bridge and bonzai trees and cherry blossoms. I love that place because it is right on the lake, near the science and industry museum and a close walk to UofC so it's a wonderful and not often traveled half day for tourists. The Fountain of Time is also about a half mile down 59th from there and has some nice history of its own.

[Shrewsbury Road]

Originally Posted by surlycue

Que? No, not at all. The Zen garden is a fairly small city lot in the loop that serves as a nice break for loop workers and a quiet retreat for everyone. The Japanese garden is also small, though larger than the Zen counterpart. It has a bubbling brook with a little picturesque wooden bridge and bonzai trees and cherry blossoms. I love that place because it is right on the lake, near the science and industry museum and a close walk to UofC so it's a wonderful and not often traveled half day for tourists. The Fountain of Time is also about a half mile down 59th from there and has some nice history of its own.

Thats sounds nice. It must also be a good place to walk a dog. Where are all the country clubs?

[whatnow]

Originally Posted by Drover

Yes, I live here. Do you? There are whole swaths of Chicago that are just as bad as Detroit in terms of crime and quality of life but the city also has very nice parts.

I lived there for 22 yrs (6 to 28), but like a lot of people my job took me out of state. I have a large family in the city and visit at least once a year. One of the best parts of visiting, is I do things that tourists do and have a lot of fun.

[Chicagoland60426]

Originally Posted by Drover

Many sports teams across the country are located in the suburbs (for instance the only NFL team that actually plays in the state of New York is the Buffalo Bills and even they don't play in Buffalo) so I don't regard this as a particularly strong indictment of Detroit. The fact that all of Chicago's major sports venues are actually in the city seems to be more unusual than having one or more of them in the suburbs.

The soccer team is located in the suburb of Bridgeview. Idk if that is consider a major sport around here. And I think the hockey team is located in the suburbs too.

[Drover]

Like I said... all of the major sports venues... And the Blackhawks play in the United Center in West Town.