91–100 of 111 posts
I have only two problems with Chicago: 1. Winter 2. It's in Illinois. Which will take a century to dig itself out of a century of being the most corrupt state government in the US.
Louisiana is the most corrupt state and has been for quite some time.
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You're making me miss my hometown. Everything there is just amazing, I love the city and the people in it. The people are so kind and the transportation is stellar, and you can listen to Fred & Angi on your way to work.
Hey, I can help with your home sickness. It's brutal winter here for 8 months followed by a manic, hot four months of summer. No spring or fall. It takes two hours to get to anything that could reasonably be called nature. The people are great, but their main form of socializing is heavy drinking. It's cold? Let's drink about it. It's hot? Let's drink about it. It's great, but no city is perfect.
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> it’s written into the state constitution Which can be amended if there is popular will. I don’t think state pensions are enforceable under federal law.
But isn't the population of Chicago (like the rest of the US) getting older? Aren't the demographics shifting against the political popularity of cutting pension payments?
I've lived in Chicago for nearly 10 years and will continue preaching its advantages to anyone who will listen. Crime isn't as big a problem as people think it is (it's isolated to a few long-disadvantaged neighborhoods), it's affordable, cars are optional, and we have two airports to escape the winter weather.
I tried living in Chicago without a car… I wouldn’t say it is as optional as you suggest.
Chicago compared to anything not east coast is a life changing experience in terms of transit.
Yes, it's getting harder and more expensive. When I first moved to Chicago in 2004 though, it was cheap ($1100/mo for a 2BR apartment) to live a few stops from the loop off the blue line. That is rapidly changing, but still plenty of cheap transit-friendly locations if you're not super picky.
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Lake effects winters are nothing to scoff at. Cold temperatures, wind, and excessive snow/freezing rain make for some really miserable times.
Sitting here in the middle of a heatwave, I have to ask: are they really that bad when you can just add warm-weather clothing? Or when even just moving will generate some heat? I've heard in Wisconsin you have to breathe a certain way to warm the air before it gets to your lungs, so maybe that's the problem? I've only lived in hot climates, so I have no concept of true cold. But with how summers have been getting hot…
For others who generally stay indoors all year anyways, it's pretty easy.
Most are somewhere in between. I will say the winters here can get long some years, but Chicago has to be either the best, or among the best summer cities in the world. Yeah you get a few super hot muggy days, but those almost let you appreciate winter more. It's an absolutely gorgeous and fun city in the summer - and in the winter if drinking is your thing it's not so bad. If you hate drinking, you might not make it.
The one really weird thing about Chicago (coming from MN) is that the house construction is utterly horrible for cold weather. If it hits negative temps you can expect plenty of your friends to have pipes freeze. This may be getting better as units get rehabbed but it really contributes to the misery.
I've lived in Chicago for nearly 10 years and will continue preaching its advantages to anyone who will listen. Crime isn't as big a problem as people think it is (it's isolated to a few long-disadvantaged neighborhoods), it's affordable, cars are optional, and we have two airports to escape the winter weather.
I tried living in Chicago without a car… I wouldn’t say it is as optional as you suggest.
I'll take the train instead.
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But isn't the population of Chicago (like the rest of the US) getting older? Aren't the demographics shifting against the political popularity of cutting pension payments?
If the tax burden makes young people leave, they'll have to raise taxes even more on the remaining young people, causing more to leave, in a vicious cycle.
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I tried living in Chicago without a car… I wouldn’t say it is as optional as you suggest.
> I tried living in Chicago without a car Really depends on where you live and want to be. This is true everywhere (NYC, SF, Seattle, etc.)
I spent many years in NYC and only knew 1 person who owned a car.
By contrast, when I lived in Chicago, I was the only person without a car.
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The article specifically mentions Boston, San Francisco, Washington and New York as other skyscraper cities. I think their "definition" of skyscraper city is a more about density than just the number of 40+ story buildings. I think possibly the only legit "skyscraper city" that has been left out according to the article's "definition" would be Philadelphia which is affordable still.
Wikipedia doesn't show anything in Washington, DC, higher than 15 stories, for what that's worth. I certainly have never thought of it as a "skyscraper city".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_City,_Arlington,_Virgi...
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Sitting here in the middle of a heatwave, I have to ask: are they really that bad when you can just add warm-weather clothing? Or when even just moving will generate some heat? I've heard in Wisconsin you have to breathe a certain way to warm the air before it gets to your lungs, so maybe that's the problem? I've only lived in hot climates, so I have no concept of true cold. But with how summers have been getting hot…
Overall it's really not as bad as people make it out to be. Of course I've lived here all my life. There are periodic cold snaps where it gets way below freezing, but typically it is in the 20's (F). The trick for winter is to embrace it, and wear appropriate clothing. For snow removal you may need heavy machinery (I just use a sleigh shovel, works great). For clothing, a good flannel shirt with a vest jacket and hat…
Also you forgot to mention for clothing to wear something under your jeans (my trick was sweatpants) to protect yourself from that Chicago wind whipping through them :)