Dallas is not comparable to Chicago in any way, except perhaps total population in that Dallas is so NEW compared to Chicago (and Chicago is not old) It is similar in that it's neighborhood based and that is where you find the true character of the city. The city has never been more beautiful and taitai gave some great responses. Chicago does have the "energy" of NYC but to a much lesser extent. Visit the Gold Coast for the gorgeous mansions, Lincoln Park/Lakeview/Wrigleyville all border each other and have great shops, restaurants, the lakefront and the zoo. Wicker Park/Bucktown has a more eclectic feel but has fantastic shops and restaurants (IMO the most NY of the listed neighborhoods).

Having grown up in the Midwest and lived in Chicago for 20 years, I much prefer Chicago. One thing no one has yet mentioned is the friendliness of the people in Chicago. To give you a real life example, when I asked for directions from a policeman several years ago in NYC, he said "get lost, don't have time for you". First trip to Chicago, asked directions from a policeman, he said "it's not a safe neighborhood to walk in, I'll escort you there". In Chicago, it may be a big city, but the people have a Midwestern orientation. Up until recently, when NYC finally cleaned up their city, it was MUCH cleaner in Chicago as well. There is no beach in NYC, but you can go swimming within a few hundred feet of massive skyscrapers (Oak Street) and there are boats in city harbors within view of the city as well. Granted, I never lived in NYC, but Chicago was a very manageable big city to live in. There are many ethnic neighborhoods in Chicago. Go to a Cubs game and check out the neighborhood "joints" Lincoln Park aqrea was mentioned, boutiques and shops on Halsted St. on North Side, Wrigleyville, don't have recs for South Side neighborhoods, but I am sure someone can help with that. Good idea, walk around, talk to people, and eat the food. You will love Chicago too!

Since when are there no beaches in NYC? Did Brooklyn finally secede from NYC?

Aliska I love Chicago and NYC but I don't think you've seen enough of NYC.

I'll agree with GoTravel... NYC has plenty of beaches... ever heard of Jones Beach?

Also, I'll disagree with swalter518... it's possible to compare Dallas and Chicago... it's technically possible to compare Chicago with any other city in the world... perhaps a better statement of his/her point is to use the word "equivalent" instead of "comparable".

It's true, Chicago is larger than Dallas or Miami... but my claim is that Chicago, Dallas and Miami belong to the same CLASS, or category, of cities... Chicago is merely a larger example of the same class.

Thus, Chicago will have more and somewhat better museums, more shopping and restaurants, due to its larger size...but not inordinately so.

Essentially, Dallas has whatever Chicago has, except in smaller quantities and perhaps a little inferior in quality.

In comparing Chicago to New York and LA, however, both NYC and LA have social and cultural and urban institutions that Chicago lacks. Chicago is just simply not a "small NYC".

Folks, let me make another point... I'm not attacking Chicago, or trying to diminish its stature, or trying to brag about my home city of Dallas. I'm merely trying to make an intelligent discussion of what cities are and where they stand.

I was saddened to hear of the recent death of Jane Jacobs... when I began to read her in the 1960s, it kindled an interest in urban life and vitality that, fortunately has never left me.

It's certainly possible for visitors to enjoy all the wonderful things that Chicago has to offer without comparing Chicago to New York.

Chicago is different. It is on a large lake and NOT on an ocean, yet was a huge shipping and distribution center long before Dallas. It was primarily rebuilt the second and third times much after the small scale former century's ocean cities of the coastal USA.

It's a city's history that contributes immensely to the "feel". Chicago is different than any of the others mentioned on this thread. It's not about population size either.

For better understanding of the qualities and quantities of which I post- try to access PBS's great video-
"Chicago- the City of the Century." Almost all libraries and some Video rentals have it.

Chicago was built at a time of robber barons- when there was this rather small window of opportunity for a rather unique phenomenum to occur. A tremendous ability, time and means all met to sculpt a city beyond the former human scale spatial units of earlier abilities or choices. It just wasn't about beauty nor necessity either, as it has been most other places- and this was coupled with almost no regulation. Kind of like having a immense "Miracle Grow" for concrete fueled by an endless supply of enthusiastic sweat and labor. Something 2006 knows so VERY little about and does not tend to admire or emulate.

And just as a heart of a body has it's own central location and is the most connected to the flow of the inside essences that feed and connect us all, Chicago has it's "apart" location in the USA's middle. It is separate and distinct.

If it's the heart muscle, New York is a brain, and LA is a face.
Washington D.C. is like shoulders or hands. I've never been to Dallas.
Just my opinion.

And my suggestion is to go to LaSalle St. Station on a weekday morning and/or visit the Board of Trade that's right there as well. Note the grain and other symbols that decorate the various facades. Feel the rush, look at the game faces. It's not just about shopping. It's always been about business and not just the clean and pretty trades either. And NOT about thoughts, but about actions.

And yet I do think that there is an almost provincial quality that still coats Chicago and its peoples. I totally agree with the poster who said we do not have the cultural or current "pop" etc. connections that the coasts have. We don't.

Thank God. Because I think there is an entire facade layer that has been left off most Chicagoans in the process.

Maybe it got further scrapped off in the crux of the biggest labor movement explosions and human rights based migrations in USA history.

"however, both NYC and LA have social and cultural and urban institutions that Chicago lacks." I think your lack of knowledge about Chicago is showing.

It is a close call for me. I love both cities. I give a slight edge to Chicago because of all the activity on the water. Lake Michigan feels like an ocean on the city's banks. I love the thriving Blues and improv scene. On the other hand, no city is as sensual at night as NYC. I could walk through Grand Central every night and never get tired of it. And as a jazz lover, I have never found anything close to NYC. In a real close call, I'll go with Chicago.

JJ5,

I liked your post...

aliska - I just had to reply to your post. I'm from Canada and the experience I have had every time I have visited New York City couldn't be more different than yours. The willingness to help guide and make suggestions has been wonderful - several times I've even had New Yorkers come up to me to ask if I need help when they noticed I appeared lost. I note that you mentioned "several years ago" and I only started visiting the city a few years ago so maybe things were different prior to that but I have always felt welcomed with great hospitality by pretty much everyone I've encountered in New York.

GoTravel, yes, I have been to NYC about a dozen times, have lots of family in Manhatten, Queens and on Lon Giland (their pronunciation). In terms of people, it's similar to whether/not you enjoy the East or West Coast of Florida. Lots of family in both NYC & East Coast, but people are nicer, not as pretentious, friendly, more helpful in Chicago and West Coast. There's a reason why the cowboys in the Pace salsa commerical laugh when they find out the product is made in NYC.

Then where did you get that there are no beaches? I'm confused?

Agree w/ Aliska about attitudes and friendliness in Chicago vs. NYC. I grew up in Chicago and have lived in NYC for the past several years. I'm almost suspicious of clerks and waitstaff when I go back home to visit Chicago because they are so nice, like they're up to something:-)

In my rather narrow experience, the people I encounter socially and professionally in NYC (Manhattan in particular)are much more pretentious than my group of friends in Chicago. I think it has to do with the fact that there are relatively few industries in which my peers are employed (finance, marketing/advertising/PR, law) so it makes it easier to benchmark yourself against others, which tends to breed insecurity and jealousy. Also, we pay so much to live here, and everyone is OBSESSED with what neighborhood others live in and how much they pay in rent/mortagage. It's very easy to compare your material and professional accomplishments in Manhattan, and some people spend a lot of their time doing just that.

It's refreshing to go home to Chicago and not have to deal with it as much, but I still wouldn't trade my life in NYC for any other place.
Remember, this is my own experience and I fully understand that I'm not speaking for anyone else.

<i>So Chicago is closer in size to a city like Dallas... or even Miami or Philadelphia... than it is to New York.</i>

'Metro Area' is bullhockey dreamed up by small-citiers to make their cow towns seem more impressive than they actually are.

Judge by city size only, please:

1. New York 8,017,078
2. Los Angeles 3,703,930
3. Chicago 2,895,444
4. Houston 1,958,258

Big D is #8 at 1,190,334. Put another way, there are SEVEN New Yorkers for every ONE Dallasite, and THREE Chicagoans.

Of course the Metro area is larger, it includes FORT WORTH. I'm sure Boston would love to include Providence in their population figures, too. Dallas isn't even close to being the largest city in Texas, much less a dominant national locale.

I would say Chicago is closest in size and layout to Toronto (old boundaries).

<i>On comparing Chicago to New York and LA, however, both NYC and LA have social and cultural and urban institutions that Chicago lacks.</i>

Nonsense. I live in NYC. Chicago clearly has museums that compare very favorably to what we have here- the Art Institute has an exceptionally good collection. We don't have anything like the Museum of Science and Industry. The University of Chicago is as good as or better than any University in NYC. There are dozens of notable skyscrapers in Chicago, it is well known as a center for architecture. Charlie Trotter is famous in NYC for his food. Oprah, too.

Also, no beach in NYC? Uh, no, I can name off the top of my head:

Coney Island
Manhattan Beach
Brighton Beach
Rockaway Beach
Orchard Beach

QC, the reason the federal government uses metro areas to evaluate the relative importance of cities... that is the most appropriate measure.

Since people normally drive... or rail commute... all over a metro area, that is the unit of population that is most important.

For example, take London. The &quot;City of London&quot; has a population of about 4,000 people... but the London metro area has a population of 10 million or so. Of course London is divided into many different municipalities, such as Kensington and Merton and Enfield.

The DFW area... one contiguous area of streets and buildings... is divided into many independent municipalities. Just as is greater Chicago or greater NYC. The bottom line... NYC is the largest metro area in the US, LA is second, Chicago is third, DFW is 4th. Houston is, maybe, 8th.

So by your criteria, Washington DC would not be as &quot;relatively important&quot; as Dallas? I think when evaluating 1st tier cities, I can think of several other criteria to just the relative importance of cities:
-Influence on goverment at a national level
- Presence of multi-national business
- Financial activity (exchanges, banking centers)
- Centers of education (top tier universities)
- World class cultural offerings (museums, symphonies, etc.)

And the list goes on...

I was just in Chicago at a huge convention a week ago. I talked to people from all around the globe. To a person, they all said they were really enjoying Chicago. Some (many) were there for their first time, and all said they'd like to return for a better look around.

Clearly the title of this thread is wrong. It should be: Comparing Chicago to NYC to Dallas.

QC and others, I took that &quot;lack&quot; comment to mean that Chicagoans don't have the &quot;social&quot;/urban pop scene that LA &amp; NYC has. The kind of &quot;kiss-kiss&quot; next to your face, we get into the line and go right in while you watch, kind of icon thing; entertainment media and pop culture figures coming out of the woodwork etc. Look at the difference in social scene this way, Oprah vs. (put any of 1000 &quot;in&quot; names here.)Not that we don't have multiple celebrities, but it's just different. Frank Sinatra LOVED it here for that reason.

When all becomes water under the bridge, all that celebrity hoopla doesn't mean squat here in comparison to the coasts. Not that we don't have some pretension or class barriers but nothing on the (IMHO)scale of the coasts.

I didn't take it to mean Museums or architecture at all. Ours are better, and that has floored me the most in the last 4 or 5 big city coastal trips. I was under-whelmed by several in SF and in NYC especially- but I refrain from stating why and where- because it sounds like bragging.

And not just in Art, because our Aquarium rocks everyone else's out of the water. Although I still haven't seen the new Atlanta.

The confusion about beaches is probably the common one that many people make. And that is considering all of NYC as primarily Manhattan or the Manhattan scene. You can't believe how many young people I've meet everywhere who think NYC is just Manhattan.

I'll jump in....

I love both cities madly. New York is the epicenter of East Coast history. Chicago is the epicenter of the Midwest. New York &quot;feels&quot; older and more-established without surrendering a millivolt of its wild energy. Chicago is younger but doesn't impart the nervous excitement I feel when I'm in Manhattan; it's a big town, but I can relax there. Maybe because I live in a high-energy urban area in the West.

Bottom line: You MUST experience Chicago. The museums, the fantastic architecture, the down-to-earth people, the whole Midwestern culture thing.