I went to school in Manhattan for ~11 years and took a short trip to Chicago in the summer of 2024. I’ve been really interested in municipal governance since learning about Robert Moses, and I want to do some research to understand what could lead to some of the differences.
Obvious
Chicago is smaller
NYC is way more internationally diverse
Midwest vs East
Chicago feels less rushed and the people feel generally nicer
Vibes
Affluent Chicago feels nicer than affluent NYC but the grimy parts of Chicago also feel worse?
the river and being able to see buildings clearly and from a distance instead of having to crane your neck upward like you do in NYC probably plays into this
The affluent parts of Chicago seem to have generally wider streets, open space, especially around the river
I think my opinions here are highly biased by the fact that I was just extremely charmed by the river area
Potential Reasons:
Fire and having to rebuild?
The total area of nice Chicago is just much smaller than nice Manhattan, so all of the best buildings are kind of in the same general area?
Something about the restaurants and stores just seems different
The pizza is so much better
The more everyday thin crust is better and deep dish is freaking phenomenal
Might be a factor of Chicago being a less international city
Chicago transit is awful compared to Manhattan
From what I could tell, it feels a lot more necessary to have a car in Chicago (but you can still do fine without)
Outside of the more affluent Chicago areas, Chicago definitely feels (and is objectively) less safe than NYC.
I definitely don’t have a representative view of Chicago (or Manhattan for that matter → I’ve only really spent a lot of time in a couple of neighborhoods) so I should probably watch a couple of “life in Chicago” videos