Glad I found this thread since we are considering the opposite.

Anonymous wrote:Ugh, you first! I’ll stay in NoVA. Better college options in the Commonwealth, too.

To be fair, Illinois is no slouch in the education department, and especially if you look at the private heavyweights (UChicago and Northwestern), it trumps VA.

Ugh, you first! I’ll stay in NoVA. Better college options in the Commonwealth, too.

Anonymous wrote:Chicago is extremely segregated, so the DMV definitely has the diversity edge. I hated the weather growing up there and I find the DMV’s weather an improvement. I hated the hyper focus on sports and drinking in Chicago, though alcoholism and drug use abound in DC too. I don’t miss the madigan, Blago, vyrdolyak corruption of days current and past but at least northern Virginia is pretty together, DC and MC not so much.

Agree.

I’d still move back, though.

- Former Chicagoan.

I wish DC area drivers would drive like in Chicago. In Chicago, the driving is very fast, even if you're a terrible drive. Here, the terrible drivers do it slowly in front of you.

Chicago is extremely segregated, so the DMV definitely has the diversity edge. I hated the weather growing up there and I find the DMV’s weather an improvement. I hated the hyper focus on sports and drinking in Chicago, though alcoholism and drug use abound in DC too. I don’t miss the madigan, Blago, vyrdolyak corruption of days current and past but at least northern Virginia is pretty together, DC and MC not so much.

I'm from Chicago. I have to live in DC because I love DH.

But I h a t e DMV area every single second of every day. I am resigned to being here and travel when we can - we have kids so it's based on school calendar. I take us on exquisite holidays because I hate DC so much. We live in Arlington. Think I hate it more than DC. But not as much as Fairfax. Lol I think MD has nicer folks but I could never live there - such a conservative state but VA is soul less. But the money, convenience and jobs are in VA. Chicago is special though. I think if I were from anywhere other than the CA/NY and Chicago, Arlington would be fine.

NOVA as a whole is just very bubble esque - Arlington has a lot of money, it's very suburban and tries to be cool but DMV lacks true taste. It's a political city and intellectual so they can't do art, business and finance the way they do in NY, LA, Chicago. They try and culturally their talent is law and foreign policy globalism which is very different than people who live real life. It's like a blanket of heaviness here. I would say Arlingtin is the best you're gonna get compromising on culture, location, opportunity and convenience however. People here are not as nice as MW for sure. Everything is either hella $$ or dirt cheap it's hard to find the food in Chicago where there's true diversity.

This is not a city like Chicago is there's no landscape nor culture supporting that feel. There are parts of DC that are somewhat cooler - small pockets of neighborhoods but the key word is pockets. But if you have kids like us, Arlington prob more conducive overall. I'd still take Chicago over anything here but there are worst places to be. You just need to be prepared and manage your expectations.

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Chicago and have lived here 20 years. There are certainly things I miss, but I wouldn't move back. Weather is part of it, sure, but I feel like people greatly overlook the other negatives. First and foremost-- racism. The segregated history of the city runs deep and it's just not the environment I want to be in.

I met my spouse here. Driving down into southern Virginia to meet the in-laws, I saw more confederate flags than I could count. I was visibly shaken and a bit frightened.

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Anonymous wrote:I haven't even lived in Chicago and visited from the DMV once a few years ago pre-pandemic. There was a coffee shop across from our hotel, and the barista would say some version of, "Welcome back! Great to see you again, what can I get for you this morning?" I was just so stunned, in a good way. Nobody in NOVA was ever that nice in the ten years I lived there, certainly nobody ever said "welcome back". Everyone was just so nice. It was hard to come back to the DMV!

+1. Chicagoland really is a whole other level of normalcy. You don't realize just how toxic and unnecessarily rude people are out east until you spend some time in the Midwest. And Chicago really does offer the best of both worlds in that it's Midwestern and friendly, but also a huge, cultured, historic city.

I moved from DC/NOVA to Chicagoland and am shocked at how uneducated and vacant people are. I'm not a snob and I thought it would be nice to get away from some of the NOVA snottiness, but man sometimes I miss people not being dimwitted and clueless.

I don't find this to be true in the slightest.

Same. I went to Northwestern (years ago); the biggest difference was that people were much less concerned with international (and even national) politics, but that’s about it. The DC area is absurdly highly-educated, so Chicagoland doesn’t have the same concentration of PhD/intellectual types, but there are just so many different people there. If you can handle the cold, you can find your people there. I miss it so much and would move back in a heartbeat, but we’re pretty settled here.

Maybe I'm in the wrong area. I'm in the Western suburbs near Hinsdale. Perhaps Evanston is better.

Yes, it’s the area you’re in. I grew up in the Western suburbs and agree with you. Go to Oak Park or Evanston or the northern neighborhoods of the city (Lakeview, Lincoln Square, Lincoln Park).

I grew up in Chicago and have lived here 20 years. There are certainly things I miss, but I wouldn't move back. Weather is part of it, sure, but I feel like people greatly overlook the other negatives. First and foremost-- racism. The segregated history of the city runs deep and it's just not the environment I want to be in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't even lived in Chicago and visited from the DMV once a few years ago pre-pandemic. There was a coffee shop across from our hotel, and the barista would say some version of, "Welcome back! Great to see you again, what can I get for you this morning?" I was just so stunned, in a good way. Nobody in NOVA was ever that nice in the ten years I lived there, certainly nobody ever said "welcome back". Everyone was just so nice. It was hard to come back to the DMV!

+1. Chicagoland really is a whole other level of normalcy. You don't realize just how toxic and unnecessarily rude people are out east until you spend some time in the Midwest. And Chicago really does offer the best of both worlds in that it's Midwestern and friendly, but also a huge, cultured, historic city.

I moved from DC/NOVA to Chicagoland and am shocked at how uneducated and vacant people are. I'm not a snob and I thought it would be nice to get away from some of the NOVA snottiness, but man sometimes I miss people not being dimwitted and clueless.

I don't find this to be true in the slightest.

Same. I went to Northwestern (years ago); the biggest difference was that people were much less concerned with international (and even national) politics, but that’s about it. The DC area is absurdly highly-educated, so Chicagoland doesn’t have the same concentration of PhD/intellectual types, but there are just so many different people there. If you can handle the cold, you can find your people there. I miss it so much and would move back in a heartbeat, but we’re pretty settled here.

Maybe I'm in the wrong area. I'm in the Western suburbs near Hinsdale. Perhaps Evanston is better.

Chicago is the third largest metro area in the country. Making sweeping generalizations about a region of 10 million people doesn't come off as terribly educated. One might even say vacant.

Dimwitted and clueless, perhaps? Lol.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I haven't even lived in Chicago and visited from the DMV once a few years ago pre-pandemic. There was a coffee shop across from our hotel, and the barista would say some version of, "Welcome back! Great to see you again, what can I get for you this morning?" I was just so stunned, in a good way. Nobody in NOVA was ever that nice in the ten years I lived there, certainly nobody ever said "welcome back". Everyone was just so nice. It was hard to come back to the DMV!

+1. Chicagoland really is a whole other level of normalcy. You don't realize just how toxic and unnecessarily rude people are out east until you spend some time in the Midwest. And Chicago really does offer the best of both worlds in that it's Midwestern and friendly, but also a huge, cultured, historic city.

I moved from DC/NOVA to Chicagoland and am shocked at how uneducated and vacant people are. I'm not a snob and I thought it would be nice to get away from some of the NOVA snottiness, but man sometimes I miss people not being dimwitted and clueless.

I don't find this to be true in the slightest.

Same. I went to Northwestern (years ago); the biggest difference was that people were much less concerned with international (and even national) politics, but that’s about it. The DC area is absurdly highly-educated, so Chicagoland doesn’t have the same concentration of PhD/intellectual types, but there are just so many different people there. If you can handle the cold, you can find your people there. I miss it so much and would move back in a heartbeat, but we’re pretty settled here.

Maybe I'm in the wrong area. I'm in the Western suburbs near Hinsdale. Perhaps Evanston is better.

Chicago is the third largest metro area in the country. Making sweeping generalizations about a region of 10 million people doesn't come off as terribly educated. One might even say vacant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't even lived in Chicago and visited from the DMV once a few years ago pre-pandemic. There was a coffee shop across from our hotel, and the barista would say some version of, "Welcome back! Great to see you again, what can I get for you this morning?" I was just so stunned, in a good way. Nobody in NOVA was ever that nice in the ten years I lived there, certainly nobody ever said "welcome back". Everyone was just so nice. It was hard to come back to the DMV!

+1. Chicagoland really is a whole other level of normalcy. You don't realize just how toxic and unnecessarily rude people are out east until you spend some time in the Midwest. And Chicago really does offer the best of both worlds in that it's Midwestern and friendly, but also a huge, cultured, historic city.

I moved from DC/NOVA to Chicagoland and am shocked at how uneducated and vacant people are. I'm not a snob and I thought it would be nice to get away from some of the NOVA snottiness, but man sometimes I miss people not being dimwitted and clueless.

I don't find this to be true in the slightest.

Same. I went to Northwestern (years ago); the biggest difference was that people were much less concerned with international (and even national) politics, but that’s about it. The DC area is absurdly highly-educated, so Chicagoland doesn’t have the same concentration of PhD/intellectual types, but there are just so many different people there. If you can handle the cold, you can find your people there. I miss it so much and would move back in a heartbeat, but we’re pretty settled here.

Maybe I'm in the wrong area. I'm in the Western suburbs near Hinsdale. Perhaps Evanston is better.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't even lived in Chicago and visited from the DMV once a few years ago pre-pandemic. There was a coffee shop across from our hotel, and the barista would say some version of, "Welcome back! Great to see you again, what can I get for you this morning?" I was just so stunned, in a good way. Nobody in NOVA was ever that nice in the ten years I lived there, certainly nobody ever said "welcome back". Everyone was just so nice. It was hard to come back to the DMV!

+1. Chicagoland really is a whole other level of normalcy. You don't realize just how toxic and unnecessarily rude people are out east until you spend some time in the Midwest. And Chicago really does offer the best of both worlds in that it's Midwestern and friendly, but also a huge, cultured, historic city.

I moved from DC/NOVA to Chicagoland and am shocked at how uneducated and vacant people are. I'm not a snob and I thought it would be nice to get away from some of the NOVA snottiness, but man sometimes I miss people not being dimwitted and clueless.

I don't find this to be true in the slightest.

Same. I went to Northwestern (years ago); the biggest difference was that people were much less concerned with international (and even national) politics, but that’s about it. The DC area is absurdly highly-educated, so Chicagoland doesn’t have the same concentration of PhD/intellectual types, but there are just so many different people there. If you can handle the cold, you can find your people there. I miss it so much and would move back in a heartbeat, but we’re pretty settled here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I haven't even lived in Chicago and visited from the DMV once a few years ago pre-pandemic. There was a coffee shop across from our hotel, and the barista would say some version of, "Welcome back! Great to see you again, what can I get for you this morning?" I was just so stunned, in a good way. Nobody in NOVA was ever that nice in the ten years I lived there, certainly nobody ever said "welcome back". Everyone was just so nice. It was hard to come back to the DMV!

+1. Chicagoland really is a whole other level of normalcy. You don't realize just how toxic and unnecessarily rude people are out east until you spend some time in the Midwest. And Chicago really does offer the best of both worlds in that it's Midwestern and friendly, but also a huge, cultured, historic city.

I moved from DC/NOVA to Chicagoland and am shocked at how uneducated and vacant people are. I'm not a snob and I thought it would be nice to get away from some of the NOVA snottiness, but man sometimes I miss people not being dimwitted and clueless.

I don't find this to be true in the slightest.