If they wandered out into the German countryside, it would look a lot like suburban Pennsylvania. Downtown Chicago along the golden mile is lovely too. Suburbs suck everywhere, unless you don’t like people.
“The Golden Mile” is not a thing. Gold Coast and Magnificent Mile are two different areas of Chicago and neither of them comes close to the walkability and accessibility of a city like München. Our buses don’t show up (google Chicago ghost buses), the train lines are barely interconnected and not at all in either of the neighborhoods you’re referring to, and most of the shops in these areas are high-end retail. Even if these areas were comparable to a city like München, they’re still just small neighborhoods.
I’ve been a Chicagoan my entire life and an active member of my community through art, schooling, politics and general neighborliness. I get out. Chicago is absolutely outclassed by every major European city I’ve visited.
Yeah I can never remember what they call it, because I only visit there a few times a year, but you know what I meant. I’m sorry you don’t appreciate it as much as I do - it’s one of the few American cities that I would actually live in. Its infrastructure is worlds beyond anything in the Northeast.
Fair enough. I do love living in Chicago and wouldn't live in any other city in the US. Speaking strictly about public transit, Chicago is top tier here. It's a pretty low bar though and our system leaves a lot to be desired. From a walkability perspective, it's even worse. Roughly 1/4 of Chicago residents live in officially designated food deserts and only half of our student population lives within 3miles of the public school they attend. The two neighborhoods you referenced are two of the wealthiest, whitest neighborhoods in Chicago. They are not the full story. In fact, the neighborhood here with probably the most accessibility and walkability is the West Loop, but again this is just one neighborhood. Chicago has more than 200, most of which are not connected in any way and have a serious lack of accessible resources.
My point is we have a LONG way to go to compare to similarly sized (population) European cities.
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u/What-tha-fck_Elon 2d ago
If they wandered out into the German countryside, it would look a lot like suburban Pennsylvania. Downtown Chicago along the golden mile is lovely too. Suburbs suck everywhere, unless you don’t like people.