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I'm surprise no one mention Michigan bordering a Foreign country with many access points to it as well being 4 hours away from Toronto if living in the Detroit area.
Id still pick Illinois though because it has more job opportunities and has a big city environment (Chicago.) Plus there's a crap load of Michigan people living in Chicago, so it be like I never left Michigan.
Location: Oklahoma(formerly SoCalif) Originally Mich,
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jwo85
I'm surprise no one mention Michigan bordering a Foreign country with many access points to it as well being 4 hours away from Toronto if living in the Detroit area.
Id still pick Illinois though because it has more job opportunities and has a big city environment (Chicago.) Plus there's a crap load of Michigan people living in Chicago, so it be like I never left Michigan.
I'm biased so Illinois for me. I admit with Michigan having two peninsulas(upper Michigan and the larger Lower Michigan) makes it a more interesting state. Illinois is more racially and ethnically diverse with having the largest Hispanic, black, and Asian community in the Midwest and has the better major city, Chicago> Detroit.
We're quick enough to know that the 10 million (really 9.7 million) figure you are siting for the population of the Chicago area INCLUDES parts of Indiana and Wisconsin in that number and is NOT a true indication of the percentage of the population of Illinois that live in the Chicago Metro area. Try again.
8.4 million live in the 6 county region(Cook, Dupage, Lake, Will, Kane, and Mchenry) of Chicagoland. The other 1.3 million is center around NW Indiana and Wisonsin. 65% of Illinois live in 6 counties
I'm biased so Illinois for me. I admit with Michigan having two peninsulas(upper Michigan and the larger Lower Michigan) makes it a more interesting state. Illinois is more racially and ethnically diverse with having the largest Hispanic, black, and Asian community in the Midwest and has the better major city, Chicago> Detroit.
As much as Chicago is in far better shape, in every single way in the 21st century, and as much as I absolutely don't blame anyone for picking Chicago over Detroit, it is nonetheless important to point out that as far as ethnic and racial diversity, the two places are not that different.
Mainly because for most of the 20th century Chicago did not have a LARGE advantage over Detroit as an attracive places to move to. From the 1910s to the 1970s (one can even push this to the mid1980s) there wasn't a huge difference between what would attract immigrants.
It is important to point out here that first off, I assume when you are talking about ethnic and racial diversity, I assume you are comparing Southeast Michigan to "Chicagoland." Outside of these respective areas, most of Illinois and Michigan are of course not that diverse.
First off: African_American culture. Obviously no difference there between Chicago and Detroit.
2nd: white European ethnic. For most of the 20th century Chicago and Detroit attracted immigrant from Poland and Italy to work in low-skill manufacturing. Chicago had much more Irish (largely because Chicagos initial growth coincided with the potato famine than Detroit (although Detroit had a significant Irish pop. that went into politics: Cavanaugh: mayor during the 60s, Corktown, etc.).
Other eastern Europeans were attracted equally. (Czechs more in Chicago, Hungarians more in Detroit, Russians later in both). Now in the last 20-30, yes Chicago remains much more of an immigrant destination attracting fresh Polish, although there were Bosnians, Albanians that came to Detroit after communism which also coincided with the 90s when SE. Michigan looking at bit more on the upside. Type in Hammtramch into wikipedia.
Asians: No doubt Chicago has that beat in the city. Although Detroit did have a small Chinatown, but again after the riots that all changed. However in the white-collared Oakland County and Ann Arbor area, Asians are probably pretty similar percentage-wise as you find in Chicagos white-collared suburbs. Also, there is one Asian group you find in the upper (colder) midwest that you really don't come across at all in Chicago. Hmong (Minneapolis_St. Paul and a tiny bit in Detroit).
Hispanics: Well no question there. Metro Detroits hispanic population is quite small and is really only found in SW Detroit in large numbers. Although, Chicago hispanic population is overwhelming Mexican with some Puerto Rican, and a few Cubans and South Americans that have found an entrepreneurial niche. Calfornia and New York-New Jersey has everywhere else beat when it comes to hispanic diversity.
Arabs/Middle-easterners. Obviously Detroit/SE Michigan all the way. the area has the largest Arab population in the U.S.
The only areas where you find a concentration of Arab Americans in Chicago is Bridgeview and Albany Park.
So, yes, Chicagoland has SE Michigan beat in terms of diversity, but its not quite as big of a difference as you might think. And the differences there are, are mostly due to the last 20-30 years. (Those crucial years when Chicago and Detroit really when down very different paths).
As much as Chicago is in far better shape, in every single way in the 21st century, and as much as I absolutely don't blame anyone for picking Chicago over Detroit, it is nonetheless important to point out that as far as ethnic and racial diversity, the two places are not that different.
Mainly because for most of the 20th century Chicago did not have a LARGE advantage over Detroit as an attracive places to move to. From the 1910s to the 1970s (one can even push this to the mid1980s) there wasn't a huge difference between what would attract immigrants.
It is important to point out here that first off, I assume when you are talking about ethnic and racial diversity, I assume you are comparing Southeast Michigan to "Chicagoland." Outside of these respective areas, most of Illinois and Michigan are of course not that diverse.
First off: African_American culture. Obviously no difference there between Chicago and Detroit.
2nd: white European ethnic. For most of the 20th century Chicago and Detroit attracted immigrant from Poland and Italy to work in low-skill manufacturing. Chicago had much more Irish (largely because Chicagos initial growth coincided with the potato famine than Detroit (although Detroit had a significant Irish pop. that went into politics: Cavanaugh: mayor during the 60s, Corktown, etc.).
Other eastern Europeans were attracted equally. (Czechs more in Chicago, Hungarians more in Detroit, Russians later in both). Now in the last 20-30, yes Chicago remains much more of an immigrant destination attracting fresh Polish, although there were Bosnians, Albanians that came to Detroit after communism which also coincided with the 90s when SE. Michigan looking at bit more on the upside. Type in Hammtramch into wikipedia.
Asians: No doubt Chicago has that beat in the city. Although Detroit did have a small Chinatown, but again after the riots that all changed. However in the white-collared Oakland County and Ann Arbor area, Asians are probably pretty similar percentage-wise as you find in Chicagos white-collared suburbs. Also, there is one Asian group you find in the upper (colder) midwest that you really don't come across at all in Chicago. Hmong (Minneapolis_St. Paul and a tiny bit in Detroit).
Hispanics: Well no question there. Metro Detroits hispanic population is quite small and is really only found in SW Detroit in large numbers. Although, Chicago hispanic population is overwhelming Mexican with some Puerto Rican, and a few Cubans and South Americans that have found an entrepreneurial niche. Calfornia and New York-New Jersey has everywhere else beat when it comes to hispanic diversity.
Arabs/Middle-easterners. Obviously Detroit/SE Michigan all the way. the area has the largest Arab population in the U.S.
The only areas where you find a concentration of Arab Americans in Chicago is Bridgeview and Albany Park.
So, yes, Chicagoland has SE Michigan beat in terms of diversity, but its not quite as big of a difference as you might think. And the differences there are, are mostly due to the last 20-30 years. (Those crucial years when Chicago and Detroit really when down very different paths).
The Hispanic population led to a noticeable difference between Illinois and Michigan. 2008 census said Illinois has almost 1.6 million Mexicans and close to 2 million latinos all together. Latinos are now the largest minority in Illinois surpassing blacks. Outside of Chicagoland, Champaign-Urbana has a good amount of Asians.
Michigan has always reminded me of a southern state in the north.
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