Who's Coming to Chicago-And Who's Leaving

[Xing]

Originally Posted by The North One

The relationship with Chicago and Detroit are middle-class college kids from suburban Detroit who either go to school in Chicago or go for a job looking to explore a bigger urban city and then end up coming back to their families. The poor in Detroit aren't moving to Chicago and suddenly moving back, that makes no sense. The lower incomes of Detroit are usually moving South to Charlotte or Atlanta. I imagine this is the same for St. Louis.

Yep, and while some stay, many go back . If anything, it's a good way of spreading culture.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by The North One

I've heard the opposite from people who move to SoCal, the constant sunny days get depressing because there is no change, just the same thing over and over again.

I have a mild sensitivity to light and I live in Arizona, so our UNRELENTING SUNSHINE can get kind of irritating without a pair of sunglasses. Then again, where I live (Flagstaff) just got five inches of snow between Saturday and Monday, but its currently sunny and 32F.

Anecdotally, I've seen migration between Arizona and Washington/Oregon. They get tired of the clouds/rain, we apparently get tired of the sun.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by The North One

Drink some tea, light the fireplace, watch the snow fall. Winter is meant to be enjoyed in different ways. I've heard the opposite from people who move to SoCal, the constant sunny days get depressing because there is no change, just the same thing over and over again.

i get depressed in a way down here in st. louis when we have endless 95 degree days and brutal sunshine. janufeb is second to that feeling. at least we have swings all the time up into very mild weather in jan/feb.

socal generally has a mediterranean climate so thats not as much as an issue as say texas/ a huge swath of the united states south of st. louis/DC. as i get older, i find myself less tolerant (mentally) of extreme (humid) hot weather and too much sunshine.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

i get depressed in a way down here in st. louis when we have endless 95 degree days and brutal sunshine. janufeb is second to that feeling. at least we have swings all the time up into very mild weather in jan/feb

Cincinnati, from what I remember growing up there is sort of similar, in that it straddles the line between humid continental and humid subtropical climates with typically warmer weather than the rest of the Midwest and violent weather swings from one extreme to another.

I was in Cincinnati for a conference in August 2010 when it was 90F and nowadays will do anything I can to avoid going back to visit family from May to September. I can't stand humidity.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

Cincinnati, from what I remember growing up there is sort of similar, in that it straddles the line between humid continental and humid subtropical climates with typically warmer weather than the rest of the Midwest and violent weather swings from one extreme to another.

I was in Cincinnati for a conference in August 2010 when it was 90F and nowadays will do anything I can to avoid going back to visit family from May to September. I can't stand humidity.

st. louis and cincinnati have very similar weather. though, if it is 96 in cincinnati, it's 98 in st. louis. if it's 32 in cincinnati, it's 30 in st. louis. it's a tad sunnier, here, and rain is concentrated into more downpours separated by slightly longer dry spells than southwest ohio.

[BrandonJXN]

Originally Posted by The North One

Drink some tea, light the fireplace, watch the snow fall. Winter is meant to be enjoyed in different ways. I've heard the opposite from people who move to SoCal, the constant sunny days get depressing because there is no change, just the same thing over and over again.

Not really. Fall brings the howling Santa Ana winds (which I happen to love). Winter brings cool, wet, and crystal clear skies. Spring is when the jacarandas blossom and summer brings gray, gloomy mornings (up until about 11 am when the gloom rolls away and the sun comes out). Micro climates too. It can be 80 in Santa Monica and 102 in Van Nuys (which are separated by 17 miles). But trust and believe me when I say that I would much rather be in an environment where it's sunny every day than be a shut in for 4 months out of the year because it's so damn cold that you can feel your nasal cavity freeze. My first winter here was the Polar Vortex. No one can ever say to me that they're cold. I know what cold is.

January 3rd, 2014


January 23rd, 2014


From my experience here, Chicago does have a regional culture. Hell..Chicago has it's own language. But there's something lacking in Chicago that I can't quite put my finger on. Los Angeles (actually all of SoCal) has this sort of energy that is almost palpable. Maybe it's because it's sunny all year around and people are more prone to being outside more but I find it boring as hell to sit and drink tea and watch the snow fall.

One other thing that I've noticed is that Chicago is sort of in the middle of nowhere. The closest major city outside of Chicago is Milwaukee (which I still want to visit). In SoCal, San Diego, Orange County, the mountains, ocean, desert (both high and low) are all roughly 90 - 120 minutes away. I love road trips but I also like having somewhere to go. I've been to Peotone. Least I can say that.

But I will say that Chicago is the most American city I've ever been in. For better or for worse.

But I love these videos. Both of them are 100% accurate. Although Chicago needs to calm down with the whole no ketchup on hot dog thing. It's not that serious. Yes ketchup is gross but tone it down buddy. Lol.

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[the urban politician]

^ I can't appreciate totally what you're referring to, but I can say that the last time I was in San Diego I spent the day at the beach and was like "holy shit!"

Other cities, particularly Chicago with its beautiful beaches, just don't have the beach culture like they do down in SoCal. I loved it. You can't put a finger on it, but just th same I really loved how it felt. Of course, I was on vacation so that was at least a part of it.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by BrandonJXN

I find it boring as hell to sit and drink tea and watch the snow fall.

that's because you're doing it wrong.

next time, dump that tea down the toilet and crawl into a bottle of laphroaig instead.

that's how professional midwesterners do it.

Originally Posted by BrandonJXN

Chicago needs to calm down with the whole no ketchup on hot dog thing. It's not that serious. Yes ketchup is gross but tone it down buddy. Lol.

NEVER!


people who put ketchup on hot dogs are worse than nazis.

hell, people who put ketchup on hot dogs aren't even people.

Originally Posted by BrandonJXN

The closest major city outside of Chicago is Milwaukee (which I still want to visit).

seriously? you've lived here for 5 years and you haven't found the time to make the short 90-mile trek up I-94 to brew city?

do yourself a favor before you head back to LA and check out milwaukee. it's like a mini-chicago, with way less douche bags.

[Buckeye Native 001]

When I lived in Orange County, I could handle the traffic, ridiculous cost of living and even the occasional small earthquake. I could not handle the f*&$#ing Santa Ana Winds. Didn't help that when I lived there (2002-2007), the winds usually exacerbated wildfire situations.

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by The North One

I've heard the opposite from people who move to SoCal, the constant sunny days get depressing because there is no change, just the same thing over and over again.

I wouldn't say we get depressed by the consistent sunny days, but more like bored. I like big weather events. It's awesome when we finally get some rain as was the case a couple days ago.

Also, if you live along the coast, there's actually a little more weather in the form of the marine layer. I used to hate the marine layer, but now I love it. First half of summer is cooler, 72 degrees, second half of summer Santa Ana conditions can dominate which make for excellent beach weather, dry 80 degrees but air quality declines and some have issues with that.

Originally Posted by BrandonJXN

January 3rd, 2014

-17 F isn't really that cold...

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

When I lived in Orange County, I could handle the traffic, ridiculous cost of living and even the occasional small earthquake. I could not handle the f*&$#ing Santa Ana Winds. Didn't help that when I lived there (2002-2007), the winds usually exacerbated wildfire situations.

I like the hot and dry conditions that come with the Santa Anas, but it's the particulates in the air from the off shore breeze that bother me a bit. I love the transition from Santa Anas to an onshore flow, it almost always translates to dense fog once the pattern breaks down. Water vapor has plenty of nuclei to cling to from all the particulate matter suspended in the atmosphere.

Speaking of Santa Anas they're in the forecast for the next few days.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Leo the Dog

I wouldn't say we get depressed by the consistent sunny days, but more like bored.

i can see that to a degree. i touched on it earlier in the thread when i talked about my year round daily bike commuting. i genuinely do enjoy riding chicago's weather rollercoaster. the variety of it all absolutely does add to the sense of adventure i get every morning when i hop on my trusty steed and roll out. it helps keep my everyday, same-old 5 mile commute to work and back from being boring. the route is always the same, but the given day brings something new to it. some days can absolutely be more challenging than others, but a little challenge now and then is good for you; it builds character and puts hair on your chest.

now, i don't begrudge anyone who prefers sunny beach weather 356 days a year. if that's what you like, then that's what you like, and there's nothing wrong with that. i just wish that the warm weather people could respect the fact that some people actually do enjoy living in a place with a crazy, wild, and highly unpredictable climate where shit is always changing up on you. as they say, variety is the spice of life!

[The North One]

Originally Posted by BrandonJXN

Not really. Fall brings the howling Santa Ana winds (which I happen to love). Winter brings cool, wet, and crystal clear skies. Spring is when the jacarandas blossom and summer brings gray, gloomy mornings (up until about 11 am when the gloom rolls away and the sun comes out). Micro climates too. It can be 80 in Santa Monica and 102 in Van Nuys (which are separated by 17 miles). But trust and believe me when I say that I would much rather be in an environment where it's sunny every day than be a shut in for 4 months out of the year because it's so damn cold that you can feel your nasal cavity freeze. My first winter here was the Polar Vortex. No one can ever say to me that they're cold. I know what cold is.

From my experience here, Chicago does have a regional culture. Hell..Chicago has it's own language. But there's something lacking in Chicago that I can't quite put my finger on. Los Angeles (actually all of SoCal) has this sort of energy that is almost palpable. Maybe it's because it's sunny all year around and people are more prone to being outside more but I find it boring as hell to sit and drink tea and watch the snow fall.

One other thing that I've noticed is that Chicago is sort of in the middle of nowhere. The closest major city outside of Chicago is Milwaukee (which I still want to visit). In SoCal, San Diego, Orange County, the mountains, ocean, desert (both high and low) are all roughly 90 - 120 minutes away. I love road trips but I also like having somewhere to go. I've been to Peotone. Least I can say that.

But I will say that Chicago is the most American city I've ever been in. For better or for worse.

But I love these videos. Both of them are 100% accurate. Although Chicago needs to calm down with the whole no ketchup on hot dog thing. It's not that serious. Yes ketchup is gross but tone it down buddy. Lol.

I don't think Chicago is any more isolated than LA, Chicago has easy access to almost all great lakes cities, it sounds like you don't even have the motivation to explore. There's also plenty of options if you like nature, drive up to Milwaukee and take the ferry to Muskegon. Some of the best beaches in the country are on Michigan's west coastline, you can also go a bit further to the sleeping bear dunes and Traverse city. I get that you don't have mountains right in your backyard but you have lake Michigan which essentially offers everything an ocean does and what is there to do in the desert? I don't think that's a drawback.

Micro-climates, winds and variations in warm temperature aren't comparable to seasons. Does LA have enough Jacaranda trees all around the city to really notice a difference? They're not even native to the area. It's nothing like the transformational changes that seasons bring; fall Colors, majority of trees flowering in the spring, white snow covering the landscape in winter, etc. I like changes in the mood, rainy and snowy days are comforting to me. Obviously, there is much more to do in Winter than drink tea , but those are just simple pleasures that I like that can't be enjoyed the same way in summer or in warmer climates.

[Via Chicago]

winter of '14-15 legit almost destroyed me. there was a period at the worst of it where i didnt leave the house for 5 or 6 days except to take out the trash. at one point i tried to walk to the end of my alley just to alleviate the cabin fever and take some pictures of the snow, and within about a minute i felt my fingers go completely numb despite wearing gloves, and i realized i could fall into a snow drift an that oh, this is how people actually die.

around the same time i was looking out my kitchen window and my neighbor across the alley made the mistake of trying to get his car out to go to work. just spun his wheels on an ice drift maybe for 45 minutes, rocking back and forth. at one point he had his car door open while trying to see what his tires were doing, and the car lurched forward, the door got stuck on some snow, and you could hear the hinges snap. he screamed incoherently at the sky for a solid 30 seconds and then reparked the car. he did not get to work that day.

it was absolutely relentless. seemed like every weekend was a fresh snowstorm, followed by a week of sub zero temps. in spring lots of ducks were dying because the lake was still frozen solid well past march, and they couldnt dive for food.

ill probably have PTSD for the rest of my life from those months.

[the urban politician]

Yeah that winter did a number on a lot of us.

But it's a bit of comfort to know that it was the worst winter Chicago has ever had since we've been keeping records.

So it's an extreme example that we may not see again in several decades

[Via Chicago]

it was also the year that finally forced nearly my entire social circle out of the city. in the ensuing months i lost close friends to Seattle, LA, DC, NY, San Diego, and Austin. they all said they'd never do another winter like that again. its nice having crash pads all over the US now, but at the same time it kind of added additional insult to injury.

[Leo the Dog]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Yeah that winter did a number on a lot of us.

But it's a bit of comfort to know that it was the worst winter Chicago has ever had since we've been keeping records.

So it's an extreme example that we may not see again in several decades

Apparently Russia has been having an extremely cold fall. It is thought that the massive pool of sub-zero arctic air will make a move in Dec/Jan to North America. Whether that happens or not is another story.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

it was also the year that finally forced nearly my entire social circle out of the city. in the ensuing months i lost close friends to Seattle, LA, DC, NY, San Diego, and Austin. they all said they'd never do another winter like that again. its nice having crash pads all over the US now, but at the same time it kind of added additional insult to injury.

ouch. that would definitely make winter sting a lot harder.

i guess that's one big advantage of being a native. a big giant chunk of my social circle is fellow natives, people that i grew up, that i've known for decades. these are generally not the type of people who are gonna let a little cold and snow chase them away from the the greatest city in the world.

that's not to say that i haven't had friends leave chicago over the years, but the vast majority of them have been transplants who all saw chicago more or less as a transitional place to drink away their 20s until they either moved back home to michigan or wisconsin to settle down or onwards to cities further afield.

of my closest childhood friends that i still have, only 3 have moved away, one to milwaukee, one to denver, and one to NYC (but he ended up moving back to chicago a couple of years ago after about 12 years living out there).

[austlar1]

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And the winner is LA!

[Tom In Chicago]

I often dream of moving out of Chicago to other parts. . . L.A., Texas, Florida. . . then I think to myself, "Where would I get a good pizza?!?"

That's when I stop dreaming and get back to work. . .

. . .

[Steely Dan]

^ that's an exceedingly good point.

We are blessed; God's chosen pizza people.