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Have you been to Chicago? The two cities, as about 90% of people have stated, are really NOTHING alike except for the tall buildings.
I don't understand the "if you like Chicago, you'll love NY, but if you like NY, you won't really love Chicago".
That's like saying, if you like peanut butter and jelly, you'll love tunafish sandwiches, but if you like tunafish sandwiches, you don't really love peanut butter and jelly"
Yes, I've spent a lot of time in Chicago. Downtown, Rosemont, Des Plaines/Park Ridge, Oak Park, Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park... Everyplace there reminded me of a part of NY. Oak Park was like Park Slope, Wrigleyville was a lot like Greenwich Village, Lincoln Park was like SoHo. Downtown Chicago was like a different version of Midtown Manhattan. Rosemont/Des Plaines/Park Ridge area were like the suburbs next to NY right over the border in Long Island or Westchester (like Yonkers).
A big difference is that comparatively Chicago lacks any large asian populations. NYC is probably the only non-west-coast city to have such large populations of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipinos, etc. Aside from Chinatown, there is a huge Asian population in Flushing, Queens as well as in the NJ suburbs along the upper Hudson, i.e. Pal. Park, Edgewater, Fort Lee, etc.
It's very similar to NY although it has its own twist on everything. It's also scaled down compared to NY.
In NY we have an old, historical American League team that has a history of winning; in Chicago, you have old, historical National League team that has a history of losing. The Cubs are your Yankees, they're the more popular and hip team.
Of course each city has a unique history and culture, but there are correlations. They are similar cities, not identical ones. It's not peanut butter and jelly vs. tunafish sandwiches; it's more like Chicago hot dogs vs. NY hot dogs. They're both hot dogs underneath it all, so they're similar, but each one has very unique characteristics. As for which is "better", that's up to each person. In the case of hot dogs or pizza, I like both versions, NY and Chicago.
And why I say that if you like NY you'll like Chicago but not LOVE it is because of the sheer difference in size and variety. NY does have more variety and is bigger.
Don't forget though, while Chicago dwindles in size comparison to New York City, places like Starved Rock, Garden of the Gods, Giant City, Door County, Cedar Point, Wisconsin Dells, Upper Peninsula, etc. all offer great outdoor gems that people often overlook. You get the city life - but even better you can get rural rather quickly if you live in Chicago. (This of course is not everyone's forte, but it should not be overlooked).
The Upper Peninsula is seven hours from Chicago. It isn't remotely close or convenient to Chicago.
This is like saying rural Kentucky or the Quebec North Woods are close and convenient to NYC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pez7387
New York City is undoubtedly a world class hub for many reasons, but because of it's size and grandeur, many other cities such as New Jersey, Philadelphia, Newark, etc. huddle around NYC. A drive to a rural setting will be a bit longer - but still feasible.
NJ isn't a city.
Heavily forested rural areas are actually closer to NYC than to Chicago because of the Upstate Watershed. There are permanently unspoiled areas beginning 35 miles north of Times Square, because the lakes and rivers supply the drinking water for the city.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pez7387
Chicago has a beautiful lakefront. New York has an ocean and rivers, but its just not possible to go swimming in Manhattan.
Why are you comparing the entirety of Chicago to only the core of NYC? It isn't possible to swim in Chicago's Loop either.
The fact is that NYC has great Atlantic Ocean beaches within ciy limits, which are far better than the Lake Michigan beaches in Chicago.
Everyplace there reminded me of a part of NY. Oak Park was like Park Slope, Wrigleyville was a lot like Greenwich Village, Lincoln Park was like SoHo. Downtown Chicago was like a different version of Midtown Manhattan. Rosemont/Des Plaines/Park Ridge area were like the suburbs next to NY right over the border in Long Island or Westchester (like Yonkers).
I'm not really getting any of these comparisons.
Oak Park is all detached 20th century suburban homes with yards. Park Slope has no detached homes nor yards, and is overwhelmingly 19th century.
The Chicago equivalent to Park Slope would be Lincoln Park.
The NYC equivalent to Oak Park would be Montclair, NJ.
Wrigleyville is filled with postcollegiate crowd and frat bars, and has urban strips with quiet side streets. Greenwich Village has a totally different, denser vibe, with a much older crowd.
The Chicago equivalent to the Village? It doesn't really exist, but I guess Gold Coast or Old Town would be closest.
The NYC equivalent to Wrigleyville would be Hoboken.
And Lincoln Park is nothing like Soho. Lincoln Park, as stated previously, has a Brooklyn-like feel (different look unique to Chicago, but similar scale and feel). Soho is super-dense and urban, and is filled with cast-iron loft buildings.
Also, Lincoln Park is almost entirely residential, while Soho is almost entirely commercial.
The Chicago equivalent to Soho? It doesn't really exist, but River North would be closest.
Yes, I've spent a lot of time in Chicago. Downtown, Rosemont, Des Plaines/Park Ridge, Oak Park, Wrigleyville, Lincoln Park... Everyplace there reminded me of a part of NY. Oak Park was like Park Slope, Wrigleyville was a lot like Greenwich Village, Lincoln Park was like SoHo. Downtown Chicago was like a different version of Midtown Manhattan. Rosemont/Des Plaines/Park Ridge area were like the suburbs next to NY right over the border in Long Island or Westchester (like Yonkers).
A big difference is that comparatively Chicago lacks any large asian populations. NYC is probably the only non-west-coast city to have such large populations of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipinos, etc. Aside from Chinatown, there is a huge Asian population in Flushing, Queens as well as in the NJ suburbs along the upper Hudson, i.e. Pal. Park, Edgewater, Fort Lee, etc.
It's very similar to NY although it has its own twist on everything. It's also scaled down compared to NY.
In NY we have an old, historical American League team that has a history of winning; in Chicago, you have old, historical National League team that has a history of losing. The Cubs are your Yankees, they're the more popular and hip team.
Of course each city has a unique history and culture, but there are correlations. They are similar cities, not identical ones. It's not peanut butter and jelly vs. tunafish sandwiches; it's more like Chicago hot dogs vs. NY hot dogs. They're both hot dogs underneath it all, so they're similar, but each one has very unique characteristics. As for which is "better", that's up to each person. In the case of hot dogs or pizza, I like both versions, NY and Chicago.
And why I say that if you like NY you'll like Chicago but not LOVE it is because of the sheer difference in size and variety. NY does have more variety and is bigger.
it depends on what neighborhoods you go to. If you were driving in, lets say, 103rd n king there are absoluteley no asians there. however if you were go to bridgeport, which is also on the sout side you'll see a sizable asisan pop over there. but all in all most asians live on the north side and the near south side but those specific nabes are shared with latinos, Black people, europeans, ect
The Upper Peninsula is seven hours from Chicago. It isn't remotely close or convenient to Chicago.
This is like saying rural Kentucky or the Quebec North Woods are close and convenient to NYC.
NJ isn't a city.
Heavily forested rural areas are actually closer to NYC than to Chicago because of the Upstate Watershed. There are permanently unspoiled areas beginning 35 miles north of Times Square, because the lakes and rivers supply the drinking water for the city.
Why are you comparing the entirety of Chicago to only the core of NYC? It isn't possible to swim in Chicago's Loop either.
The fact is that NYC has great Atlantic Ocean beaches within ciy limits, which are far better than the Lake Michigan beaches in Chicago.
Since when was the Upper Peninsula seven hours from Chicago??
And New York City beaches?? (not suburban and Jersey Shore) lmao!
There are a handful of okay beaches within NYC's boundaries. Breezy Point and the surrounding places are fairly nice and Coney Island has interesting activities. Nothing I'd ever consider great, but not terrible. Also, aren't there a few beaches right outside the Loop? I think some of the better Chicago beaches are fairly close to the Loop--at least much closer than the better beaches of NYC are to Midtown and Downtown Manhattan.
As for the Asian population, Chicago isn't comparable to NYC though fares much better than other East Coast major cities. It's about the same in terms of percentage, but what's really important in forming a community is more absolute numbers than anything.
As for beaches I do not think any major city has beaches downtown like Chicago. At least not to the same extent.
As for New York, everyone knows Coney Island, The Rockaways and Orchard Beach. Less known are Staten Island and even some nice wild beaches along Jamaica bay in Brooklyn where you can go horseback riding. The Bronx even has some sections of rocky coastline but I think Queens has the best beaches of the 4 outer boroughs.
When I was a kid I used to go to Riis Park, which is a National Park that reminds me sort of a poor man's Jones Beach. Anyway we sometimes would walk westward towards Fort Tilden where you would find a clean uncrowded ocean beach complete with sand dunes and beach grass. It felt like a million miles away from New York City.
Of course as kids we were more often interested in playing in the abandoned forts then anything else.
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