City foks, educate me

I've never lived in a really large city, although I've always wanted to do so. There is a population about 150,000-200,000 where I live now. However, opportunity may be knocking for our family and we might be moving to a much larger city. (Keep your fingers crossed!)

What will I like the most about living in the city?

What will I dislike most?

Go ahead, tell me everything!

need more info

It depends on which place is chosen by Mr. CornField's company. I've visited all three and already know a few things I like and dislike about each one.

Better climate on the left coast.
If Chicago, check out the burbs along the Chicago & Northwestern commuter line. Easy commute to the city.

I can't imagine any place being colder than Iowa. LOL!

Assuming that you really move INTO the City. The "Burbs" are ok -- but they're burbs -- Burbs are burbs whereever.

Chicago, the City, is the most amazing city I've lived in or visited (and I've lived in/visited quite a few (tho - not Portland).

The city runs well. The trains run on time.

It's the cleanest big city in the world.

The people (other than a very few) are "midwest/down to earth" people.

The cost of living is ok for a big city -- my expenses DECREASED compared to living in the DC area.

The weather, contrary to all the hyperbole - ranges from fantastic to OK - with a very few exception days that are painfully cold and windy.

The culture is great

The "inland sea" is fantastic

I LOVE Chicago. I live in the city - in Lincoln Park. Walking out my door - I walk 1/2 block north into Lincoln Park, 1 block east to get into the (free) Zoo, and 2.5 blocks east to be on the Lake. Turning west, within a 3 block area is EVERYTHING one needs to live a good life: restaurants of all kinds, drug stores, diners, shoe shines, dry cleaners, salons, bars ... it's amazing.

What is there to hate? Uhm -- finding parking if you have a car and don't have a parking space. That's the only bad thing I've experienced. But - I got rid of my car, so ... not bad any more :)


On Edit: And YES -- BLUEST CITY IN THE COUNTRY .....

I LOVE Chicago.
~Tesibria
-----------------------
www.democracyiscoming.com
www.cafepress.com/tesibria (T-shirts, etc. - "Proud Member of Moral Minority"-"Hitler had a mandate"-What would Jefferson Think-Count the Votes-Great Quotes-much more)

I love Chicago! We love the museums... the huge library... the aquarium... pretty much all of it. Exactly where we move will depend on where they locate the offices. We'd love to be somewhere where a car was no longer necessary for transportation.

The only thing I have against Chicago is the weather... it's pretty much the same stuff I have to live with now. :)

... I really don't.

I've lived here since Jan 1, 2000. There have been less than 30 "TERRIBLE" days. The summers are spectacular. The springs and falls are gorgeous. The winters are less severe than those of Western PA/MD where I grew up.

Yes -- when we get a 'noreaster - which has happened once since I moved here -- it's snowy and cold.
And yes -- it's still cold in March, usually.
And yes -- if you get stuck in the "skyscraper alley" downtown when the wind's blowing -- it's REALLY blowing.

But those are really the exceptions. MOST of the year, the weather is PERFECT.

trumps WET and cold in my book anytime. i would rather it was 10f with snow than 36 with rain. so canada looks kinda nice. except that this year the great lakes were the horrid weather sucking machine. but then i am north of chicago in milw.

and just remember, now NK's bad boy can send missiles to seattle/portland..
WAY TO GO GEORGE!

than just about anyplace in the US, the exception being California.

Chicago gets a bum rap, weatherwise.

I don't live near the L - but there are busses and cabs all the time. It's awesome.

When i was a kid, my "image" of being rich was having a driver take me everywhere (go figure!!). Well -- it's someone different every day -- but I've MADE it :) :) :)

Seriously - having a car here - if you don't have a house with a garage - is the worst thing. Least where I live, you can never get parking on the street. You have to rent a spot (at $200/month) or buy, literally, a parking condo (at $15K/30K). THEN, if you drive to work (or to play/shop), you have to pay another $17-20/day to park at work.

The only reason to have a car is to be able to leave Chicago to go visit family or whatever, but (a) you don't NEED it in the city and (b) it's too expensive to maintain in the city (unless your house has a garage/parking).

~Tesibria
-----------------------
www.democracyiscoming.com
www.cafepress.com/tesibria (T-shirts, etc. - "Proud Member of Moral Minority"-"Hitler had a mandate"-What would Jefferson Think-Count the Votes-Great Quotes-much more)

A lot depends on the choice of neighborhoods. A friend recently relocated from a mid-size city to Philly, initially got a loft apartment in a "gentrifying" neighborhood, and found it a major downer. There were those who tried to intimidate her -- and the friend is a woman whose weekends are spent kayaking, and who is buff enough to portage her kayak when she needs too. I wouldn't try intimidating this lady! But even so it is damned unpleasant to be in that situation, so she broke her lease, got a rowhouse in Wilmington, Del, and walks to the train station to get to Philly -- and has all those conveniences you have heard about from the other posters.

Point being: a really good public transportation system widens your choices and can come close to letting you "have it all" even if you can't find an in-town neighborhood that is homey. In Chicago, that is a real possibility. Some of the old suburbs are very urban-homelike and very accessible by train.

(If you are looking in-town, it has been my experience that Italian-American "little Italy" districts often maintain the urban home atmosphere better than most others. )

Seattle and Portland -- I love 'em both, but I don't think they have the public transport systems that open that up. My brother-in-law lived in the Queen Ann Hill district in Seattle 20 years ago -- that place has gotten hugely pricey, though, so you could find yourself back in a place without the urban amenities but with the long commute in a place with a traffic crisis. Portland may still have better possibilties within some reasonable financial range.

For instance, if it were Seattle, we'd move into the city proper. (Who wants to fight a commute like that everyday?) Mr. CornField lived there while attending the Art Institute, so he's familiar with the various sections of the city.

If it is Chicago... it will probably depend on price, schools and other such stuff. It would be great to get close to the commuter lines if we have to be outside the city proper.

Portland... I think this is my first choice. I love Canon Beach and Seaside. Ironically, this is one of the places where I don't think I'd want to live in the city proper. (Because of the schools mostly.) There's still the possibility of using the commuter train, depending on where we settle.

happiest years of her life at Seaside -- I'm sorry to say, before she met me. She was 10-12, I think. Astoria is her family's home, and we have talked about retiring there.

BUT that's not Portland, exactly -- and I haven't lived in or near Portland myself. But that said, my impression is that it would offer a good range of choices for an automobile-commute city.

The GOOD-

A true world-class city. Outstanding museums, shopping, restaurants, sports (if that's your thing). Really diverse culture- something for everyone.

Really nice people. The first time my wife visited my hometown she said it was like New York City without the assholes. :-)

Excellent medical facilities: good university hospitals with Northwestern and University of Chicago, and many of the smaller community hospitals are very good, too.


The BAD-

If you're living in the city and you have school-age children, the public schools are not that good.

If you're living in the suburbs and you want to get into the city, be prepared for a rough commute. Traffic has significantly worsened over the past decade, and even pouring $3 billion into widening roadways hasn't helped. And once you get into the city, be prepared to pay a good chunk of change for parking. Commuter rail lines from the suburbs are a pretty good alternative.

Suburban sprawl- the suburban area is getting larger and larger, with McMansions sprouting up left and right. The further away you get from Chicago (>25 miles from Downtown), the more homogenized and "Truman Show-like" the towns begin to feel.

-MR

I think I would choose Portland or Seattle. I love Chicago and its real mass transit system, but the cold weather would do me in.

But it can often be a real shock, weather wise, coming from Iowa.

and stumbling back (just kidding). I also like sitting on the front porch and people watching (sound familiar?). It does depend on the city and where you live in that city.

Oh and you WILL get used to the noise. I almost find it alarming when we go to my folk's house and you can hear the cows moo at night but then within a day I am used to it.

I've found that I love the convenience of having many things nearby, a wide range of food and cultural and shopping options, and events to attend. I dislike the noise, the constant light, the lack of stars, and the lack of trees and woods. Pretty straightforward, for me. But like Matcom said, different cities offer different things. Where are you thinking about going? There may be a DUer there who would let you visit/tour for a couple days, even!

I live in Manhattan.

24 hour Public transportation rocks.

24 hour food delivery rocks.

24 hour supermarket hours rock.

so many bars and restaurants and clubs...at least open till 4 am if not after hours

live music/theater/art every day of the week

i could go on forever...

the dislikes are few-- sometime noise, sometimes expense/rent, but really the good outweighs all bad..

i love me some big city

;)

And living in a sea of blue is just the icing on the cake!!!!

When the President of the United States comes to your town, most places it's considered a big honor.

Here in NYC, it's just a pain in the ass. :D

people actually take time from their "busy" lives to protest his ass!!!

you can't even walk within a 5-block radius!

Asshole...I wish he'd stay out of our city. :mad:

screaming at the resident to go home.

I agree....fucking explotative repukes....stay the hell out of our city or :nuke:

Probably off dining in our restaurants. Fucker.

There are protests all the time in Union Square, though. :)

so many thinbgs to protest, so little time

and your share of tax money.. It's a win-win..and you'll end up in a much better environment..:)

FINANCE YOUR OWN WELFARE

leaches...

;-)

Which one, if I may be so bold?
I've never lived "in" a city, but I've lived less than an hour's drive from Chicago and Boston. Chicago was OK, but I like Boston best.
The first thing that comes to mind is FOOD. Especially ethnic foods. You'll find stuff in and near big cities you just can't get in Podunk.

And most of the people I knew there aspired to get out and live in the burbs but they couldn't afford it. I guess most big cities have their good and bad parts. So do your research before you settle in.

I grew up outside a small town of about 10,000.

What I love about being in a city (Minneapolis/St.Paul):
* SO MUCH you can do. Museums, concerts, etc.
* Convenience. Anything you need can be obtained within minutes in most cases.
* Food. Lots of choices.

What I dislike:
* No more stars. I miss seeing a sky full of stars at night.
* No forests. Where I grew up, we lived on an acre that was mostly wooded. I like being surrounded by trees. Granted, MPLS/STP has a LOT of trees for a metro area, but it's just not even close to the same.
* Almost constant noise. There are always noises - airplanes, road noises, etc.

We love to bike and hike. Right now I can hop on the bike and be in the woods within 10-15 minutes. I'll miss that.

I also like the quiet & I guess the telescope can be sold. LOL!

One really nice thing about the Mpls/StP area is that some of the old rail lines, instead of being totally abandoned, were cleaned up and made into trail paths. Makes for a really nice ride and in most sections you really wouldn't be able to tell you were inside a big metro area. I bet the other cities you are looking at have similar options.

Italian. Polish. German. Greek. All kinds of Chinese. Japanese. Thai. Korean. Vietmanese. Real Mexican. Indian. Middle-Eastern.

They make their own bread, their own pasta, their own beer, their own sauces and their own soups.

All this is within a 15 min drive. At one end of my block, I've got the best pizza in town & the best Cantonese take-out. At the other end I've got the best Indian food & the best fish fry (which is a local Buffalo thing. You might have that in Catholic Chicago, too)

Restaurants offering all the world's cuisines & modern mixes of same, at every price level. Yeah, the museums, symphony, etc. are great--but you can eat out every day of the week. How many times a week do you go to the opera? And you can buy any kind of food for home cooking.

One serious note: Whichever city you choose, don't buy in a hurry. Make planning trips or consider renting for a while. Will you find a good city neighborhood you can afford? Or a suburb with excellent transit?

Sounds like you've got a big adventure ahead of you.

but i love everything about larger cities....the crowds, the pace, the million things to do etc

We all bike.....there is an abundance of places to hike at. Fairly low crime rate. Ski on Saturday....go to the coast on Sunday. Restaurants that are to die for. Very liberal town...:)

It has a cool "vibe" that you can tap into that just doesn't exist out in the sticks.

I grew up in a tiny town in rural NC, but I couldn't go back to that.

Stuff I love about city living are:

Being anonymous amongst millions
The diversity of opinions and attitudes
Art museums and concerts
Art film theaters (thought where I went to college, Asheville, NC, has a great arts scene)
Good restaurants
A true live and let live attitude
Gay pride parades
Liberal politics are the norm

And so many more things. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but it's hard to imagine myself anywhere else.

over the summer I lived in NYC and absolutely fell in love with the city.
Positives:
1)public transportation/walking is so great and easier than driving--you can really get a lot done in the morning commute if you don't have to worry about driving.
2)diversity. It freaked me out at first that so many ethic groups could actually get along and act like decent human beings. I hadn't realized just how "white" I was until I went to NYC, and it has made me a better person.
3)there's always somewhere to go and something to do. Lots of information about events and happenings, and it's easy to get there thanks to public transportation!

Negatives (for me):
1)those stars--it was so weird to not be able to see all the constellations when I went outside and looked up at the sky.
2)fresh air. the first thing I did when I got back home was take a deep breath and enjoy the comforting smells of clean air. Smells can be okay, but I could never get used to the stench of homeless person urine in the subways.
3)this might just be a local thing, but it seems like everywhere I went, no one ever held the door open when i followed a person into a store. Only things that come close are revolving doors, and that's just because they require moving to get into somewhere. Little things like what I would consider to be manners don't seem to exist. Sometimes, they do. But from my experience it was pretty rare. A little footnote: people are generally nice and I'm not calling all you city-dwellers snobs. It's just something that sticks out in my mind.