Comments on: Sweet Home Chicago

By: Jeremiah G

Jeremiah G — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:42:00 +0000

Wow lots of Chicago people are commenting.

I guess you would have to explain more what American city means. I personally think Boston is far and away the best city. History, culture, past and future. But I’m biased towards it, so what can ya say.

And to the New Zealand person (Sarah in Chicago) – welcome! :) You’ve probably been here (here as in the US and/or the whatever blog) for a while, but welcome anyway :) I love NZ. Auckland and Rotorua are my favorites.

By: Tim

Tim — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:01:43 +0000

John, you have echoed what my old buddy Mike used to say: “New York City is the most international city in the U.S., but Chicago is the most American city in the world.”

The five years I spent living in the city were awesome. I miss it a lot, though I don’t miss living in a place with such insane taxing (the city + Cook County = Ouch) and politics (Todd Stroger is a lying punk).

Being in Kane County means it’s only a $5 all-weekend Metra pass to the Loop. Awesome.

Oh yeah, Chicago is THE greatest summer city around. The beaches, the cool lakeside temps, the street festivals, the various music fests in Grant Park, etc.

Yeah.

By: Steve T.

Steve T. — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:51:23 +0000

Wow, your post just reminded me that it’s eleven years to the day that I came to settle here. I hadn’t realized it until just now.

I’ve found great communities of actors and writers here. Very down to earth folks, and hard working.

Happy eleven Chicago years to me.

By: Kirk

Kirk — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:45:11 +0000

John- I loved the post. I have lived in all three cities, so I would make a couple of adjustments (other than some made previously).

1. The Chicago area as a whole has a strong division based on racial lines (which has always surprised me). I don’t live there now, but if the whole city is proud of Barack, maybe they can or have broken down these barriers (I don’t live there now).

2. New York City doesn’t really look to Africa — at least not based on the population. I would say that they look to Europe and Central America based on who you see on the streets and working in the businesses (well, if ou exclude the financial district which is still mainly white).

3. No one looks at Canada (sorry, this is based on a reply, not the original post).

By: jasonmitchell

jasonmitchell — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:29:10 +0000

correction – best in US – among the best in the world

By: jasonmitchell

jasonmitchell — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:28:00 +0000

Funny, I’ve never been to NY or LA other than their airports – being a Chicago native I’ve never felt the need. But I am a frequent visitor to the Bay Area, London, Rome, Paris, other US Cities – I don’t know if Chicago is the most ‘American’ or ‘best’ American city (I’m not even sure what that means) but I can say, without resevation, that Chicago is a world class city. In addition, we have the worlds best symphony orchestra:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97291390

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:16:53 +0000

I’m glad to see from these comments that I’m not the only non-native and non-former-resident who nonetheless has a deep and abiding love for Chicago. Thanks for the post, John. Unfortunately it and the comments have made my withdrawal symptoms even worse – gotta find some excuse to take a trip up there soon!

By: David J. Batista

David J. Batista — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:11:02 +0000

As a New Yorker, I take exception to this entry. :-)

Actually, I have nothing against Chicago. Of all the American cities, it’s the one that reminds me of NYC the most. Philly is quaint, but kinda boring after hours (compared to NYC).

But, yeah, us New Yorkers don’t get worked out of shape about this sort of thing, because deep down we know everyone knows what the *real* American city is.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:36:12 +0000

Steven (46) Yes, we all know about the Great Chicago Fire, but as an East Coaster (whose wife is from the CT burbs of NY no less), picking on Chicago is just good sport (I actually have quite a few friends living in Chicago…I need to get back there for a visit again, it’s been almost two years).

By: KayTi

KayTi — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:20:01 +0000

@BukaHobbit – Chicago looks toward *Michigan*, not Canada. Everyone who lives here knows the city points toward the lake. We send all our best weather that way, too (along with the right dewpoints to screw with them in NW Indiana and SW Michigan. They’ve had huge snowstorms this week, we’ve had flurries.)

I used to work in that office building, too. The walls on the lower levels are something ridiculous like three feet thick, in order to support the weight of the upper stories. It was one of the first “sky scrapers” – back when the sky was considered to be 12 stories up (or is it 15 that the Monadnock building has? If I weren’t so lazy, I’d let wikipedia tell me.) There are these beautiful staircases in that building. Nothing like the Rookery (designed by a little unknown architect from Oak Park) – but still beautiful. Made going to work each day less a chore.

It’s an exciting thing, to be the home city to a president-elect. Nothing like this has ever happened to Chicago before.