Chicago

[bigwinnner8]

I just got back from a long weekend in Chicago, and I'd like to apologize in advance to any "Windy City" residents, but that place is miserable. We make the 6 hour trip in my vehicle and stayed in a hotel downtown. This was mistake number one. The parking rates anywhere you go in downtown Chicago are worse then Detroit was on Super Bowl weekend. The parking at the hotel we stayed at was $12 for 24 hours, but the 24 hours started and ended at 5am. So in order to get an additional night you had to be down at your car at 5am to pay for the next 24 hours or you were promptly ticketed ($50). We went to the John Hancock building to see the city from above late on Sunday night:

- Parking at a nearby parking structure ($25)
- Two tickets for the "tour" (read: elevator usage): ($40)
- A bottle of water ($5)

We also went to Opening Day at Wrigley Field. I'd never been to Wrigley before and the stadium itself was beautiful. I have, however, been to Lambeau Field in December, and that was warm compared to the weather in Chicago on Monday afternoon. The high was 37, winds were between 25-30mph, and the windchill was in the mid teens. However, I must say the place was filled with the nicest people you'll ever meet who all love baseball and follow their team closely. I was decked out in Tigers gear, which was welcomed on the North side of town because we all share a mutual hatred for the White Sox.

On top of that the road system in Chicago makes no sense. There are intersections with three streets, random one way streets throughout the city, pedestrians who feel they have the right of way no matter what the light says, and crazy taxi drivers everywhere. Other then that the food/shopping was outrageously overpriced, the weather was terrible, I got two parking tickets and just spent my day driving home in pouring rain. I hope y'all had a good weekend too.

[donkeypunch]

as a fellow detroiter, I can feel your pain. But Detroit is not the norm as far as big cities go, every other big city I've been to is like Chicago (NYC, Philly, Boston, Toronto). I personally love the city and I'll be there tomorrow, but the midwest in general sucks hard during April. Do yourself a favor, go in late August/September, the weather is perfect (it can get really hot and humid during the summer though).

I think being from a "small big city" in Detroit we are kinda spoiled, but Chicago really is a great place and I'm sorry you had a bad experience. Wrigley is just awesome, so is the neighborhood!

[bpd67]

Don't drive in Chicago, look online and you can find parking garages much cheaper than the hotel, usually right around the corner, leave your car there for the weekend and take the train or cabs.

Don't go in April, like Donkey said, go in the summer and enjoy it. I have Bears season tickets and hate going up there in the cold weather, looks like 3 December games this year, yeah.

And why would you wear Tigers stuff to a Cubs game????

[donkeypunch]

Originally Posted by bpd67

Don't drive in Chicago, look online and you can find parking garages much cheaper than the hotel, usually right around the corner, leave your car there for the weekend and take the train or cabs.

Yeah, take the train as much as possible too, they have a good mass transportation system (unlike Detroit's which is non-existent).

[Louie]

I knew as soon as I read this post that it would be an unpopular one. Based on the address you gave me previously, I am assuming that you recently moved to a suburb of Illinois?

Sorry you had such a shitty experience. Like yourself, there are a lot of Midwesterners on this board which I would definitely consult with before visiting Chicago or Detroit.

One thing is for sure, traffic is unbearable in every major city. NY, DC, and LA are just as congested. The people are a lot nicer in Chicago and LA then they are in New York that's for sure. Public transportation to get around is the way to go in any major city. Find a good place to park and leave it.

It looks like you just picked a putrid time to visit the 'second city'.

Side note: Personally, I wouldn't visit the Midwest in any months outside of June thru August (sorry packer fans, but I have no desire at all to sit there, freezing my ass off at Lambeau). In my opinion, football is best watched in the comfort of your own living room. Let the vultures attend the games. I'll sit right here and flip through 10 different games on my Sunday ticket.

I read this report a while back that said the average NFL fan that watches the games at home have an average IQ of 50pts higher then the fans who attend the games regularly. I am not saying that all fans that attend NFL games are idiots, but I am saying there are a lot of wackos that go to NFL games.

[bpd67]

I don't have any problem going to a game anytime before late November at Soldier Field. Most of the time I do prefer sitting at home and watching them, I split season tickets so I only get 4 games a year anyway, I and only usually go to 2 or 3 and most are early in the year. I am definitely a fair-weathered fan up there. However, I don't think my IQ is 50 pts lower than your's because I go to a couple games a year, I just happen to enjoy catching a couple games and taking different people every year.

[bigwinnner8]

I live near Detroit, which is no longer a "big city". Like you guys said, there is no mass transport here and you can park for a reasonable price and walk less than a block to your destination because there is so much less here. I just don't enjoy the major US markets as much (DC, LA, NY, Chicago....) as I do the second level cities (Dallas, San Diego, Detroit...) because things are much less congested. As far as game watching goes, the major reason I was in Chicago was because I stumbled on the Cubs tickets at work. I'd never been to Wrigley before, so weather aside it was something worth experiencing. BPD, i was in Tigers gear because it was the warmest/heaviest/most wind resistant jacket I had with me. It was very much just a pick up and go. We really didn't plan it out all that well. I guess I just wasn't prepared for the weather or transportation situations. It never crosses my mind to check on here with you guys before going somewhere...

[donkeypunch]

I went to NYC last year around this time to watch the Tigers play at Yankee Stadium, it was 35 degrees with about a 30mph wind....this year I went to Chicago, weather was 62, 71 and 75 not a cloud in the sky the first two days.

It's so hit or miss, just depends on how lucky you're feeling