Chicago or Atlanta - City Preference Forum

[descartesb4thehorse]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was almost certain that Chicago was in the midwest.

wut.

[d00d]

Atlanta's housing costs are really cheap right now. Finding a job is tough considering ATL is a hub city in the south and it is a target of graduates of most of the southern law schools. Traffic is pretty awful and the transit system is limiting.

[mattviphky]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was almost certain that Chicago was in the midwest.

wut.

why would you not be completely certain?

[dixiecupdrinking]

I think the point is that it's also in the north. It's in the northern Midwest. But we should probably nitpick about it for a couple more pages anyway. God damn.

[descartesb4thehorse]

I think the point is that it's also in the north. It's in the northern Midwest. But we should probably nitpick about it for a couple more pages anyway. God damn.

This is a level of mad I so rarely see outside of people talking about rankings.

[vissidarte27]

I grew up in Chicago and did my undergrad there. I am going to law school in Atlanta. Here are some of my reasons why:

1. I hate the cold. I hate having to stand outside and wait for the bus or the El in 5 degree temperatures with the wind whipping in my face.

2. It feels crowded and stressful. Not like NYC, of course, but enough for me to avoid living there.

3. Summers are hot and humid because it's right by the lake. You're not escaping 90+ degree summer heat by moving to Chicago.

4. It's very flat and there is very little natural beauty anywhere even remotely within driving distance.

5. Cost of living is higher in Chicago. We're thinking about buying a house in Atlanta and we're finding lots of decent houses under $200k. You won't find that in Chicago.

That's just my two cents, but I'd choose Atlanta any day.

[romothesavior]

Chicago. I would never live in the South.

Atlanta. I would never live in the North.

Could you guys give some reasons as to why you dislike the regions

Bunch of no good confederate sympathizers in the south.. Should have shot most of em for treason when we had the chance.

[honeynutt]

I just did the drive from Chicago to UIUC a couple days ago and it is almost 3 hours. Also, UIUC is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cornfields. It is a couple hours from Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis...

you drive slow. It's closer to 2 hours than 3.

Ya maybe. Got a ticket two summers ago on the 57 so now I'm more cautious. Still 2 hours does not make UIUC that close to Chicago.

[rayiner]

ATL It's warmer. The food is better - if you like southern food. And I like southern hospitality.

troll take your flame outside tyia. Chicago's food options are second only to NYC. Atlanta has a solid secondary food scene, it's better than most of its peers size-wise, like Cleveland, but you really cannot compare the options you'd get in a place with barely 400k residents vs. a place with 2.8 million.

However, I'd definitely take into consideration the 3 years you'd be living in a college town in the midst of cornfields. If you're not particularly a fan of such a setup, 3 years is a long time to hate your environment.

Obviously you do not understand the implications of metropolitan area population. Atlanta's is 5.5 MILLION which is a far cry from the actual city population. By that same logic San Diego is a MUCH bigger city than San Francisco. Atlanta is still not as big as Chicago but unless you are a fan of brats the food is MUCH better in Atlanta.

The food options are different. Chicago has a lot more high-end options (not just expensive food, but legitimately good expensive food), and a pretty wide variety of ethnic options as long as you're willing to go into the ethnic neighborhoods. Atlanta has a lot of great smaller, cheaper places, especially for its size, and a nice up-and-coming food scene.

That said, Chicago's urban core has over 2.5 million people compared to Atlanta's 500 thousand people, and that just makes for a broader variety of food options.

[rayiner]

The main thing you need to think about is your taste in weather. The two areas have VERY different weather. Chicago is brutally cold (I'm talking damn single digits) and has very long winters (apparently it doesn't regularly get above the 50s until late May...that would kill me). Atlanta is going to essentially have the weather of whatever season it is (Fall is going to be temperate, Winter is going to be cold, Spring sunny, and Summer is going to range from sunny to really hot--90 degrees and higher at times). So I would think long and hard about that before you commit.

Yes, Atlanta definitely gives you the full four season experience. Chicago, in a typical year (this one has not been typical), has only three seasons: Spring (May - August), Fall (September, April), Winter (October - April). You'll have to have a sweater or sweatshirt handy most of the year, since the evening low temperature only breaks 60 degrees in June, July, and August.

On the flip side, southern humidity fucking blows.

[Pricer]

Chicago. I would never live in the South.

Atlanta. I would never live in the North.

ATL It's warmer. The food is better - if you like southern food. And I like southern hospitality.

Atlanta. The people are nicer. The weather is better. Sweet Tea.

Atlanta, 100% nicer place, nicer people, easier time getting a job, better school connections

I grew up in Chicago and did my undergrad there. I am going to law school in Atlanta. Here are some of my reasons why:

1. I hate the cold. I hate having to stand outside and wait for the bus or the El in 5 degree temperatures with the wind whipping in my face.

2. It feels crowded and stressful. Not like NYC, of course, but enough for me to avoid living there.

3. Summers are hot and humid because it's right by the lake. You're not escaping 90+ degree summer heat by moving to Chicago.

4. It's very flat and there is very little natural beauty anywhere even remotely within driving distance.

5. Cost of living is higher in Chicago. We're thinking about buying a house in Atlanta and we're finding lots of decent houses under $200k. You won't find that in Chicago.

That's just my two cents, but I'd choose Atlanta any day.

BUT...

Atlanta's housing costs are really cheap right now. Finding a job is tough considering ATL is a hub city in the south and it is a target of graduates of most of the southern law schools. Traffic is pretty awful and the transit system is limiting.

Besides the transit system being limited, this is true.

Also, the southern hospitality thing is a little over-hyped. While that is true in much of the southeast, Atlanta is quite different than any other place in Georgia and the surrounding states. I lived in Georgia for 23 years, and five of those years was near Atlanta, so I'm pretty familiar with the region, state, and city.

[littlepanda]

pretty even split so far with lots of reasons for each city. this is interesting.

[romothesavior]

pretty even split so far with lots of reasons for each city. this is interesting.

They're both great cities, just different. Chicago has much more of a "coast" feel to it than Atlanta, whereas Atlanta is very southern. Chicago is also a much larger city, so it depends on how you feel about that. And as mentioned, the weather in Chicago can get really cold. Although, I dunno why TLS always harps on Chicago's weather but lays off the NYC and D.C. winters, which are very similar to Chicago.

[de5igual]

pretty even split so far with lots of reasons for each city. this is interesting.

They're both great cities, just different. Chicago has much more of a "coast" feel to it than Atlanta, whereas Atlanta is very southern. Chicago is also a much larger city, so it depends on how you feel about that. And as mentioned, the weather in Chicago can get really cold. Although, I dunno why TLS always harps on Chicago's weather but lays off the NYC and D.C. winters, which are very similar to Chicago.

NYC and DC winters might be similar temperature wise, but they lack the windchills that drop it below the thermometer reading.

[rad lulz]

.

[lobolawyer]

ATL It's warmer. The food is better - if you like southern food. And I like southern hospitality.

troll take your flame outside tyia. Chicago's food options are second only to NYC. Atlanta has a solid secondary food scene, it's better than most of its peers size-wise, like Cleveland, but you really cannot compare the options you'd get in a place with barely 400k residents vs. a place with 2.8 million.

However, I'd definitely take into consideration the 3 years you'd be living in a college town in the midst of cornfields. If you're not particularly a fan of such a setup, 3 years is a long time to hate your environment.

Douche I'm not a troll, I lived in ATL and frequent CHI. I stand by my post.

[romothesavior]

pretty even split so far with lots of reasons for each city. this is interesting.

They're both great cities, just different. Chicago has much more of a "coast" feel to it than Atlanta, whereas Atlanta is very southern. Chicago is also a much larger city, so it depends on how you feel about that. And as mentioned, the weather in Chicago can get really cold. Although, I dunno why TLS always harps on Chicago's weather but lays off the NYC and D.C. winters, which are very similar to Chicago.

Atlanta feels much less other Southern cities like Savannah, Nashville, etc.

True, but compared to Chicago its super southern. Hell downstate Illinois feels southern compared to Chicago.

[rayiner]

pretty even split so far with lots of reasons for each city. this is interesting.

They're both great cities, just different. Chicago has much more of a "coast" feel to it than Atlanta, whereas Atlanta is very southern. Chicago is also a much larger city, so it depends on how you feel about that. And as mentioned, the weather in Chicago can get really cold. Although, I dunno why TLS always harps on Chicago's weather but lays off the NYC and D.C. winters, which are very similar to Chicago.

Chicago is a thousand miles away from any coast!

[romothesavior]

pretty even split so far with lots of reasons for each city. this is interesting.

They're both great cities, just different. Chicago has much more of a "coast" feel to it than Atlanta, whereas Atlanta is very southern. Chicago is also a much larger city, so it depends on how you feel about that. And as mentioned, the weather in Chicago can get really cold. Although, I dunno why TLS always harps on Chicago's weather but lays off the NYC and D.C. winters, which are very similar to Chicago.

Chicago is a thousand miles away from any coast!

"Coast feel" is not the same as "being near a coast." Maybe others would disagree, I just see Chicago as having a much different vibe than other midwestern cities.

[rayiner]

pretty even split so far with lots of reasons for each city. this is interesting.

They're both great cities, just different. Chicago has much more of a "coast" feel to it than Atlanta, whereas Atlanta is very southern. Chicago is also a much larger city, so it depends on how you feel about that. And as mentioned, the weather in Chicago can get really cold. Although, I dunno why TLS always harps on Chicago's weather but lays off the NYC and D.C. winters, which are very similar to Chicago.

Chicago is a thousand miles away from any coast!

"Coast feel" is not the same as "being near a coast." Maybe others would disagree, I just see Chicago as having a much different vibe than other midwestern cities.

I've never heard of this "coast feel" and I grew up on the east coast.

[ze2151]

by "coast feel" i'm pretty sure he's trying to convey to an international student that chicago is most definitely not standard "flyover country." it's high culture, high art, good food, architecture, big business, fast-paced, etc...

and believe it or not, there is shoreline there that chicagoans certainly use the same way east and west coasters use coastal shoreline. it definitely has a coastal feel at least as compared to atlanta. so stop snarking.

all that said, i voted atlanta. i live here. i love it. can't imagine moving.

[rayiner]

by "coast feel" i'm pretty sure he's trying to convey to an international student that chicago is most definitely not standard "flyover country." it's high culture, high art, good food, architecture, big business, fast-paced, etc...

You mean "urban?"

"Coast" is just a non-sensical term to apply to it. The midwest is, as a whole, for more "coastal" by your definition than the south-east coast. Atlanta and Charlotte are the only legitimate big cities between DC and Jacksonville. The upper midwest, meanwhile, has Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Indianapolis, Columbus, Detroit, and Milwaukee, each of which has an urban area of 1M+ people. Plus, the cities are connected by a rail network, which makes them an integrated urban region, while Atlanta and Charlotte are islands of urbanization in seas of suburbia.

[romothesavior]

by "coast feel" i'm pretty sure he's trying to convey to an international student that chicago is most definitely not standard "flyover country." it's high culture, high art, good food, architecture, big business, fast-paced, etc...

Yeah, this is what I meant. Let me put it this way: as a native of a smaller city in Illinois, I find both the city of Chicago and the people of Chicago to be more like the cities/people on the coast than I do cities/people around the rest of the Midwest. For both good and bad.

[Betharl]

You people complaining about the Chicago cold are just wimps! I also think you are exaggerating. I mean, yeah, it's pretty cold from December-February, with November and March being on the cooler side but still very tolerable. The other 7 months are fairly pleasant, even if it does get a little too warm in the summer sometimes. Can you really not just tough it out and wear more clothes for 3 months out of the year? Also, for those 3 months, does it really matter if the average temperature is 15 degrees in Chicago vs 30 in NYC? It's not like you'll be hitting the beach either way.

Average Temperatures for Chicago
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimat ... h/USIL0225

EDIT: Remember to take the wind into account when looking at the above temperatures. It definetely does make it feel colder in the winter, but I still maintain Chicago weather is really only "bad" for about 3-4 months out of the year.

[BruceWayne]

You people complaining about the Chicago cold are just wimps! I also think you are exaggerating. I mean, yeah, it's pretty cold from December-February, with November and March being on the cooler side but still very tolerable. The other 7 months are fairly pleasant, even if it does get a little too warm in the summer sometimes. Can you really not just tough it out and wear more clothes for 3 months out of the year? Also, for those 3 months, does it really matter if the average temperature is 15 degrees in Chicago vs 30 in NYC? It's not like you'll be hitting the beach either way.

Average Temperatures for Chicago
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimat ... h/USIL0225

EDIT: Remember to take the wind into account when looking at the above temperatures. It definetely does make it feel colder in the winter, but I still maintain Chicago weather is really only "bad" for about 3-4 months out of the year.

I'm sorry but a place that only regularly experiences temperatures above 50 degrees from June to July is not pleasant weather wise. There's a reason why people retire in Florida/the rest of the South. You probably grew up in a climate like that so to you it's no big deal, but to people who are accustomed to all four seasons it's rough. Particularly if you're used to cold weather being finished by March. It's a real adjustment to go from that to it being 40 degrees in April. When I think March I think spring break and sunny weather. That's just not what you're going to get in a place like Chicago in March (and in fairness as someone pointed out not in NYC or DC either). Plus women look a hell of a lot better in Summer/spring clothing--which you will only see from for 3 months in Chicago. After that it's turtlenecks and uggs.