If I could finish my point on Chicago being quite representative of all corners of the US...
My little quip (and it was meant to be that) about the beaches was in reference to Hawaii and South Florida. However, I will point out that Obama was born in Honolulu and lived in Hawaii for most of his adolescence. And it's been said that Miami's skyline is oriented much like that of Chicago's. There's even an eponymous river bisecting the downtown core. Chicagoland and South Florida are also cultural outliers within their respective states as well as situated in geographic corners.
