To those born and/or living on the coasts, do you perceive Chicago to be "unsophisticated"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the thing about chicago is it's not near anywhere else most people would ever want to go. NYC/ Boston/ DC are near each other and new england, plus closer to europe. Cali has the whole 'west' scene. where do you go for a road trip from chicago? wisconsin? indiana? It feels sort of isolated from other good options. which is a different but unrelated issue from being unsophisticated.

“closer to europe” has to be one of the dumber things i’ve read on DCUM and that is saying something. the flight time from JFK to Paris is about 7 and a half hours. O’Hare to Paris is 8 hours. Those 30 minutes must be quite meaningful to you

But, but the Midwest is closer to Hawaii.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s full of obnoxious state school hicks who grew up <300 miles away and are scared to move more than a few hour drive from hometown. It’s also on the decline, so much so that Nashville is eating its lunch as a middle class weekend vacation destination. Sophisticated people flee Chicago and never go back, ex Obamas.

Imagine being so unsophisticated yourself that you think 300 miles is a few hours in the car while trying to crap on everyone who lives in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry coasties, but what city on the East Coast other than NYC compares to Chicago on sophistication and cultural offerings? DC? Boston? Philly? No, no, and no. But nice try getting a bash post in on the Midwest. You seem to only give us respect when you want to send your kids to our state schools because most of your state schools suck so much.

Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Born and bred East coaster here who has lived in NYC, Boston, DC and Philly. I love Chicago. To me, sophistication is having the best of everything which you can definitely have in Chicago in terms of food, museums, theater, architecture, education, airports that can get you almost anywhere direct. It’s not really a career hub for many glamor/power fields even though it’s an overall great job market and I think that dings it a bit.

Another born and bred east coaster who has lived in the same cities - hi, friend!

I don’t feel similarly about Chicago. I don’t dislike it either. I just don’t think about it. Ever. Like if I were daydreaming of somewhere to move, or thinking where to spend a weekend away, or picturing my kids moving someplace once adults, Chicago just never enters my mind. If I had to call to mind a city where I picture doing or eating or enjoying something unique, Chicago never comes to mind. To be honest only cities on the east and west coasts do.

This is its own brand of provincialism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Chicago and lived there my first 40 years. Trust me when I say, no one in Chicago cares one little bit what anyone in NY or anywhere in California thinks of them.

Yeah they do. It’s incessant and pathetic.

I’m a New Yorker who has lived near Chicago for 26 years. The subject of NY or SF never comes up except regarding sports.

I’d say this is because in Chicago they don’t talk about other cities or regions they way they do in DC, for example. They are provincial and comfortable with that. But I do hear lots of talk about Michigan and Wisconsin. They vacation there and/or grew up there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Chicago and lived there my first 40 years. Trust me when I say, no one in Chicago cares one little bit what anyone in NY or anywhere in California thinks of them.

Yeah they do. It’s incessant and pathetic.

I’m a New Yorker who has lived near Chicago for 26 years. The subject of NY or SF never comes up except regarding sports.

I’d say this is because in Chicago they don’t talk about other cities or regions they way they do in DC, for example. They are provincial and comfortable with that. But I do hear lots of talk about Michigan and Wisconsin. They vacation there and/or grew up there.

And in DC, there is similar talk about Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Your point?

[Anonymous]

There are some very insecure people living in the DC area, apparently. No one brings up DC, ever. No one cares. Chicago is an actual city with gorgeous lake front. Longest continuous harbor system in the nation. There is a reason Chicagoans that winter in Palm Beach bring their yachts back up for the summer. But I guess Chicago is too hickish for a suburban east coaster living in their 800k house surrounded by highways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some very insecure people living in the DC area, apparently. No one brings up DC, ever. No one cares. Chicago is an actual city with gorgeous lake front. Longest continuous harbor system in the nation. There is a reason Chicagoans that winter in Palm Beach bring their yachts back up for the summer. But I guess Chicago is too hickish for a suburban east coaster living in their 800k house surrounded by highways.

Literally no one in the rest of the country talks about Northern Virginia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s full of obnoxious state school hicks who grew up <300 miles away and are scared to move more than a few hour drive from hometown. It’s also on the decline, so much so that Nashville is eating its lunch as a middle class weekend vacation destination. Sophisticated people flee Chicago and never go back, ex Obamas.

Imagine being so unsophisticated yourself that you think 300 miles is a few hours in the car while trying to crap on everyone who lives in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country.

Do you know what <300 miles means? Look where the Big Ten universities are located. Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State, Ohio State, plus all of the lower tier state schools in that region. For all the bumpkin midwits 30 to 300 miles away from Chicago, it's easy to move there after college with your high school friends. Mom and dad are just a car drive away. In contrast, moving to the West Coast or the District, New York or Boston requires guts, a better job, and more ambition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A work colleague based in Manhattan on zoom earlier today called it a gorgeous city "but unfortunately, it's rather unsophisticated." Others on the zoom nodded and chuckled in agreement, including people from Chicago who now live elsewhere.

People in Manhattan think anyone not in Manhattan are unsophisticated rubes. So it’s more about them than it is about Chicago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a guy in medicine who turned down a job offer in Chicago with an eye-popping bump in comp to remain in Boston. He said Chicago felt isolated. Very Midwest. Very cliquish and full of Big Ten state school alums. Accent is also nails on a chalkboard.

I guy from Boston said this about the Chicago accent? You're kidding, right? Boston? Bahh-stin?

He is not from Boston, he works in Boston. Boston is a full of transplants from all over, Chicago is full of Midwest hicks.

There is a gorgeous influencer in Chicago my daughter follows. She went to USC for college and then back to Chicago to begin her career. She is so pretty, blonde... but then she opens her mouth and has an awful Chicago/Midwest accent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s full of obnoxious state school hicks who grew up <300 miles away and are scared to move more than a few hour drive from hometown. It’s also on the decline, so much so that Nashville is eating its lunch as a middle class weekend vacation destination. Sophisticated people flee Chicago and never go back, ex Obamas.

Imagine being so unsophisticated yourself that you think 300 miles is a few hours in the car while trying to crap on everyone who lives in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country.

Do you know what <300 miles means? Look where the Big Ten universities are located. Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State, Ohio State, plus all of the lower tier state schools in that region. For all the bumpkin midwits 30 to 300 miles away from Chicago, it's easy to move there after college with your high school friends. Mom and dad are just a car drive away. In contrast, moving to the West Coast or the District, New York or Boston requires guts, a better job, and more ambition.

Yeah, it takes guts and ambition to move to Fairfax, VA and push paper for a living! Screw all of those “bumpkin midwits!” that you are secretly jealous of! Lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s full of obnoxious state school hicks who grew up <300 miles away and are scared to move more than a few hour drive from hometown. It’s also on the decline, so much so that Nashville is eating its lunch as a middle class weekend vacation destination. Sophisticated people flee Chicago and never go back, ex Obamas.

Imagine being so unsophisticated yourself that you think 300 miles is a few hours in the car while trying to crap on everyone who lives in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country.

Do you know what <300 miles means? Look where the Big Ten universities are located. Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State, Ohio State, plus all of the lower tier state schools in that region. For all the bumpkin midwits 30 to 300 miles away from Chicago, it's easy to move there after college with your high school friends. Mom and dad are just a car drive away. In contrast, moving to the West Coast or the District, New York or Boston requires guts, a better job, and more ambition.

Here we have it, folks: the epitome of cosmopolitan sophistication. May we all aspire to meet your standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know a guy in medicine who turned down a job offer in Chicago with an eye-popping bump in comp to remain in Boston. He said Chicago felt isolated. Very Midwest. Very cliquish and full of Big Ten state school alums. Accent is also nails on a chalkboard.

I guy from Boston said this about the Chicago accent? You're kidding, right? Boston? Bahh-stin?

He is not from Boston, he works in Boston. Boston is a full of transplants from all over, Chicago is full of Midwest hicks.

There is a gorgeous influencer in Chicago my daughter follows. She went to USC for college and then back to Chicago to begin her career. She is so pretty, blonde... but then she opens her mouth and has an awful Chicago/Midwest accent.

I’m sure that she would be so much more attractive with a Philly, Boston or NY accent because those accents are just music to the ears.

[Anonymous]

The biggest reason I couldn’t live in Chicago is the winters. I have never thought of whether it is “sophisticated” or not. It has great commuter rails and nice suburbs. I wish DC had these things. Though it also has its rust belt parts, which aren’t awesome.