Chicago anyone?

[Fran101]

Well, I am supposed to be starting school in Boston in the fall. I applied to a bunch of places and really thought I had made my decision

Loyola Chicago accepted me.. but keeps coming back with offers and frankly, it is becoming harder and harder to not consider it lol I like the school, the program, class sizes etc.. (overlooking the fact that it is a religious institution. grumble)
but the reason I dismissed the school at first was because of Chicago itself.. I've never been and don't know much about it other than horror stories about the weather

I am trying to measure pros/cons here. Frankly, I love Boston, love the school but living there is expensive.
I like the school in Chicago, and with their offer my education/living and apartment expenses would basically be free.

So.. anybody ever been to Chi town? Likes? Dislikes?

[JessLough]

I may be completely wrong, but somebody lives there... Linds, I think? If so, Traveler is enough reason to go there

[JessLough]

Oh I lied, according to Facebook. Lol

[Beanie]

I'm a few hours south.

Honestly, as a big city girl, I think you would LOVE Chicago. Tons to do, the shopping OMG. If you like concerts and plays and all that stuff you really don't need to look anywhere else. Just about any artist you would ever want to see will play Chicago. One of the best concerts of my life took place in a small old theatre up in Chicago... it was amazing. And seriously, the shopping. Plus all the museums, the zoos, the aquarium, frickin' Navy Pier.
It would also be awesome for you because you really don't need a car. The public transport system will take you pretty much anywhere you want to go. Some of the lines are a bit janky and nasty but it IS Chicago, LOL. You can cab it if you want but there's really no need, plus that's expensive and the public transport is way cheap.

But as a Florida girl you might also hate it, because they do tend to get lots of cold lake effect weather. I will say, however, that Chicago is beautiful in the snow.
When it doesn't look like this.

KIDDING... I'm almost 28 and I can only think of twice in my life, counting last year, that we had snowstorms THAT bad. Chicago always gets more than we do down here but it's not like Lake Shore Drive gets buried in snow every other week in winter. It's really not super common. On the up side, a friend of mine who moved up to Chicago went SNOWBOARDING in the city when it snowed like that. Urban snowboarding. In Chicago. How cool is that?!

And yes... it's a Catholic private university... I think that is something you need to do a lot of soul searching on more than if you think Chicago is going to be too cold for you. Their website talks plenty about diversity and people from all kinds of faiths but it's still a Catholic university. I visited a Christian college years ago and they aren't going to be forcing people to go to church on Sunday and stuff but it's definitely still a Christian college and you can tell.


ETA: Linds lives in a suburb near Chicago. I think we have a few Chicago suburbanites on the forum actually. I have considered Schaumburg personally... it's a nice little place and THAT'S WHERE IKEA IS.


ETA2: The other nice thing about Chicago is you have an international airport there, so you can fly pretty much wherever you want right from there, or people can fly in there. So it will be great for your family. Though I think Boston also has an international airport, so that one isn't any different for you.

It really is a lovely city. I love to visit and play. Something about it just gives me a major thrill and puts "Sweet Home Chicago" in my head, even though I've never lived there or called it home LOL.
I don't know if I could truly live there a LONG time, but I could do a year or two pretty easily before I started wanting some acreage LOL.

[Zoom]

There's a few Chazzers close to Chicago.

The weather does suck at it's extremes, though being from Miami, you'll at least be used to the heat/humidity of summer. Still, lots to do, great art all around, fun bars, Michigan Mile...

[Linds]

Yeah, pretty much ditto what Beanie said.

I am so not a good city person, I don't like it, I avoid it and I do not enjoy it. That being said, I am so spoiled living here because everything I could ever want is at my finger tips. Big names come to Chicago, there are a million stores and things to do. And there is a lot of land outside of it. It's not so built up that you can't find nice forest preserves and places outside of the city atmosphere.

And yes, I live near Chicago! Emily lives in Chicago currently too.

[Beanie]

Magnificent Mile. It's on Michigan Ave, but it's the Magnificent Mile.
http://www.themagnificentmile.com/

I find Chicago to be less humid than it is down here, but it's also usually about 5-10 degrees cooler because of the lake effect so that may have something to do with it.

[Skivvies]

Oh cool...both of my parents went to Loyola!

I'm in the burbs, not the city, but Chicago is pretty awesome. Yes, the winters can be rough (although this year has been really mild), but there's a lot of fun stuff to make up for it. Chicago is seriously the best city to eat in (deep dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs, etc). Great sports, museums, concerts, theater, shopping, architecture, etc. There's always something to do or a new place to visit.

[Southpaw]

I would live there just for the Giordanos pizza.

My sister lived in Chicago for about 5 years so I went down and visited a couple times. I am NOT a city person... AT ALL. So I could never live there, I absolutely hated using public transportation but it's also a city that I would not want to drive in either. Stuck between a rock and a hard place on that one lol.

But I really loved visiting and I wish I had a reason to go back. So much to see and do, lots of fun places to shop at, good places to eat. If you're a big city person, I think it'd be right up your alley!

[Saeleofu]

(overlooking the fact that it is a religious institution. grumble)

I just wanted to say I go to a Christian university and I'm an atheist, and it's really so NOT an issue. Other than the bio teacher last semester rambling on about how you can choose what you believe and blah blah blah (and then going on to teach a FANTASTIC evolution class), I really don't even notice. It's not like they force you to go to church or anything lol. I even got out of religion classes since I already have a BA and am working on my second BA.