Chicago: not New York, dammit
The LJ community uchicago is, well, a community populated by students and alumni of the University of Chicago, a fine institution on the South Side of the city. Normal discussion includes questions about professors, where to get an apartment, and the general whining all students always engage in about their school.

Enter gracchi, who has some misconceptions about the city itself to correct:

First: It makes the city boring to walk around. Walk from, say, East Harlem straight down into UES, down into midtown, down into the East Village there's always something to see, people to talk to. Same for a walk in Tokyo, in London, in Naples. Walk from the Loop out to Wicker Park, up to Logan Square: you get swathes of residential, highway underpasses, some (usually closed!) businesses. There's a good video rental store, sure, and an very nice Costa Rican restaurant (Irazu) on the way: but the walk itself is a horrible bore.

Second: It makes the city feel dangerous. People, lots of people, are the best imaginable security system. When you walk down a long, dark, empty Chicago street, it feels dangerous. Doesn't mean it IS dangerous. I've never been mugged. But there's this residual fear there, at least for me. There's a lot of cops here, but not a lot of people. But that might be for the better, because-

2. The white people are horrible.

Midwestern-Masters of fake nice, white Chicagoans will smile at you and say have a nice day. But they won't chat you up like in NY, and they won't ever surprise you with anything. Sure, there are some crazy oldtimers around - but most every white person younger than 60 is a dreadful bores. You don't hear interesting things on the street (like in NY.) and you want to strangle most of the people you see -- especially around Lakeview.

In short:

I don't 'not like' Chicago: I believe it to be a miserable place, and I take its defenders to be defenders of mediocrity and misery.

The responses are, naturally, a little annoyed:



condescending. that's the word i was looking for.

You've got to look at this post for what it really is: backhand masturbation for New York.

I knew a chick just like that who lived in BJ while I was there. Couldn't stop going on about how stupid Americans were and how terrible Chicago was compared to NYC.

And all I could think was, "Shut the ever-living fuck up and go back East." I've got your "fake nice" right here, pal.

And it comes out that this was such a pressing moral issue, he had to create an LJ to put all those smug people in their place:

Yes, that's right. I've been following the community for some time now (there's often good info here); and decided that the boosterism needed to be countered, a little.

Not to mention the OP's opinion of himself:

On People: I consider myself endlessly fascinating, and ask all of those around me to be the same. Seriously: I don't demand that people cultivate themselves to become living artworks. That would be nice, but it won't happen until we overcome capitalism. What I would like is if people would be more colorful, more engaging, more willing to talk to strangers. I get that in other cities; not here.

(New Yorkers: you guys talk to strangers? Really?)

Favorite side thread is where it derails into a discussion about New Jersey.

Disclaimer: I am an alumna of the U of C, and enjoyed Chicago a lot.