to me the one BIG observation about chicagoans is they oftentimes dont see the need to leave the US. overall. which - yes if you dont want to do that, it is sort of unsophisticated bc you lack curiosity.

I went to summer camp in Wisconsin with a lot of boys from Chicago, and they literally would not shut up about how Chicago was as good as NYC (I lived in a suburb of NYC).

It was incessant. I don't think of people from Chicago as hicks, but they certainly have a complex about it... which then makes you start thinking maybe they are hicks.

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.

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.

This is so funny to me, because I don't consider Boston a real city at all. The dinky little T!

Anonymous wrote:It's a great city but a bit provincial. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

This.

Yes. I have lived in cities on both coasts as well as in Chicago.

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.

No

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Google hit for 'Chicago unsophisticated' got this juicy story. A billionaire and his now ex wife had an allegedly violent argument when discussing their pre-nup because she wanted the freedom to move to San Francisco or New York City in the event of a divorce because she found the Windy City “unsophisticated,” according to a court filing: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2015/02/20/ken-griffin-wife-found-chicago-unsophisticated/

The ex wife's bio: Born in France, undergrad at Georgetown, MBA from Harvard: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Dias-Griffin

Ok, if you're a French Harvard MBA mom who hangs with billionnaires and married one, I will give you a free pass to call Chicago unsophisticated. That's the kind of person who might be equally grumpy about LA or NYC.

She now lives in Miami, according to her online bios. I've been told Chicago feels like a podunk small city to people from California and East Coast. Possible relevant data point, very few out of state students at Northwestern or UChicago remain in the region after graduation.

OOSers like to go home + weather + bigger job markets for high-paying jobs are more common on coasts

Big 10 people go to Chicago because for them it's close to home, the weather is familiar, and the job market is comparatively big in-region.

Anonymous wrote:I think of it as cold, windy and where the midwest goes to party. I have no desire to go there for any reason. Why would I when there are cities on both coasts that are way more fun.

+1. It seems okay, probably more fun than DC, but I would never purposely go there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only people who can be more obnoxious than New Yorkers are the Parisians.

As a Parisian, I concur!

...but we're toning it down for the Olympics.

Paris is looking spectacular! The Los Angeles committee must be shaking in fear! Paris has the Seine, the Eiffel Tower and LA has the 105 and Burbank.

No.

Not at all

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only people who can be more obnoxious than New Yorkers are the Parisians.

As a Parisian, I concur!

...but we're toning it down for the Olympics.

Anonymous wrote:The only people who can be more obnoxious than New Yorkers are the Parisians.

As a Parisian, I concur!