(06-02-2011 04:15 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote: What didn't you like about it Stanley? Been to Minneapolis.. one of the few cities I would consider moving to, but that was only because I felt as home there as I do Chicago.
It's not that I don't like the
idea of Chicago, which I would describe in so many words as the Great City of Big Shoulders Gleaming on the Lake, it was that the reality of Chicagoland proper was much more frustrating than a leisurely stroll around Buckingham Fountain before having dinner at Ginos.
Maybe a better way to describe what I didn't like about Chicago was that Minneapolis was less gritty, less dirty, less expensive, less crowded and not as dangerous.
Now that reality hasn't been 100% borne out for me in Minneapolis over the last 6 years; I've been burgularized, I've had a car window broken, and just this week a garage on my block was burned down by punk kids, so it's not perfect up here. And I live in what would be described by any Minneapolitan as a perfectly safe, middle class neighborhood. It's just city livin' I guess.
I live in the city proper, in an original 1914 Mission style house with golf course view and within 5 min walk of a lake. Is that (normally) possible in Chicago? Or even Chicagoland? It would not have been possible for me if I returned, that's for sure. We would probably be looking at a condo in far west Naperville, or maybe a small house in St. Charles / Geneva etc along the Fox River corridor. Not what I was looking forward to, considering my company was in Oakbrook.
Simply put, the quality of life that I have here vs having in Chicagoland is quite measurable to my family and I. It was a no brainer.
If you are ever up here, drop me a line. I'll give you the tour.