chicago was just voted the second most beautiful city in the world.

[mopinko]

an online poll from timeout. statistically crap, i am sure.
but i love my city w all my heart. i think there is no better place to live. we have everything civilization has to offer, and a fair bit of wild, too.
also voted friendliest, again. 2&3 in a bunch of categories.

https://www.timeout.com/chicago/news/chicago-was-just-voted-the-2nd-most-beautiful-city-in-the-world-090921?fbclid=IwAR3BtiWlxh0_U-64mGZeJAiRijeR3hHkPJquD-6dntr5fK9fcBN0XEmiEmo

[Elessar Zappa]

1. I like Chicago.

I’ve only been once but I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.

[Dream Girl]

2. I love Chicago, but I can easily rattle off ten cities that are more beautiful. I don't find anythin

Remarkable about it. Nice architecture, waterfront but that’s about it. No mountains or amazing landmark, museums and parks are great. But for beauty I’m thinking San Francisco, Sydney, Cape Town. Rio de Janeiro,. Even Charleston and New Orleans Washington DC, are more beautiful. Chicago second more beautiful city in the world??? Mind boggling!!!

[Elessar Zappa]

5. I found Chicago

much more beautiful than DC or New Orleans. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[mopinko]

16. it's in how much of it you see, too.

it's a big city. full of hidden and not so hidden gems.
you have to spend years here to rly see it. a short trip wont do it.

[Dream Girl]

18. For me, charm is key. New Orleans has charm and local flavor. SF has charm galore with its unique

Archicheture and hills, not to mention it’s stunning views of the bay and ocean…and then there’s views of making landmarks Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Bay Bridge. SF has gone downhill a bit, but it is still a gorgeous city. Chicago is nice, but not especially charming.

[mopinko]

22. you sorta have to get out into the hoods for charm.

never been to nola, but it's high on the bucket list. what i have seen in pics/movie, yes, charming is a good word for it.
been to san fran many times. nice place, but the charm wore off for me pretty quick. driving there, i mean, bloody hell. big thing about chi is it's easy to navigate.

[Dream Girl]

27. Charm and food. Nola is so delicious, when I'm there I get sad that I can't eat more. I have to

Pace myself. SF is a walking city. I lived there for years and hardly ever drove, but it’s not that bad if you avoid the really steep ones. But living there, hills = views! I’m about 15 miles south and hardly ever go now. I still have views though, right now I can see the bay and over to Oakland from my window.

[mopinko]

30. yeah, when i get to nola, trust me

i'll be wearing comfy pants.

chicago is soooo delicious, tho. cuisine from everywhere. from white linen to corner storefront to food trucks.

[smirkymonkey]

40. I agree, Chicago was nice, but I thought it was sort of bland.

Nothing really stuck out for me. Of course, I didn't really go much beyond Chicago proper, but I can think of many other cities, both in the US and abroad, that are much more beautiful and charming than Chicago.

[mopinko]

8. i assume it's in part a factor of how many people have been here

as opposed to those other cities.
but i totally disagree. no other place has a lakefront like ours. it is beautiful for it's entire 20 miles, and open to the public. a good bit of the river, as well.
not sure what you mean by landmarks, but there are many, many. we've done a pretty good job of preserving our history here. and we invented the skyscraper.

again, totally meaningless w that methodology. but deserving of the honor. it is truly beautiful. but you sort of have to see the whole thing.

[Peregrine Took]

21. Thanks to Daniel Burnham and others who protected our beautiful 20 mile long PUBLIC lakefront.

To this day developers would sell their souls to get their mitts on it.

[mopinko]

28. yup. and friends of the parks.

that's who sues over this when it comes up.
they kept lucas out.

[cate94]

29. Have you been to all the cities

That you say are more beautiful than Chicago? I’ve been to a few that you mentioned and I wouldn’t say they are more beautiful. New Orleans and D.C. definitely not. San Francisco is interesting and I love some of it’s neighborhoods, but the city itself ?

Architecture makes a city. The waterfront is spectacular, much of it hugged by parks open to the public. Some of the museums are landmarks, having been built for the World’s Fair. I don’t know if it’s the second most beautiful city. I haven’t seen all of them to know, but it is beautiful. And it is super friendly.

[mopinko]

31. the lakefront is almost completely open.

i live on the north corner, the last hood.
the few private beaches are here. 'street end beaches' are technically owned with the property of the last building. but they cant fence them off.
been the scene of many a bloody battle, tho.

[cate94]

39. Yep

It’s beautiful. My brother lived on Sheridan close toEvanston. His condo faced the lake.we watched the fireworks from the building’s roof, about 2 years before he passed.

I live in the suburbs, but love visiting the city.

[MLAA]

3. Congrats!

I’ve been there a couple of times mostly for work. If it is ever safe to travel will go just for fun.

[Tomconroy]

4. The last time I was in Chicago I was just walking along the

Street and some guy came up to me and started seriously hitting on me. Friendly indeed!

[mopinko]

10. for a big city, we actually have a pretty low crime rate.

i've live here 40 yrs, and had very little bad shit happen.
got my car stolen a couple times, but always got it right back.
had my house broken into and the cops caught the guy a block away.

actually was the victim of more crimes in the town of 30k i came from, just in the year before i moved.

people srsly are friendly, tho. ask a stranger for directions or help, and they WILL help you.
people talk to strangers here.

[Tomconroy]

34. I mean he was seriously interested in me!

[mopinko]

35. well, yeah, it happens.

nobody's perfect. and dont even get my started on the cops.

[Casady1]

6. Paris n/t

[Dream Girl]

15. Forgot about Paris!

[chia]

7. I've never been there, but I love that you love your city with all your heart ❤️

[Aristus]

9. I'm putting in a bid for Seattle:

[mopinko]

12. well, sure. but seattle didnt build the mountain.

seems like the natural landscape shouldnt count for much when you talk- cities.

our lakefront is most def a big part of our beauty, but it is almost all public land, beautiful parks, and backed by an amazing skyline.

when i moved here it wasnt like it is today. it was still gritty and rough. but in 40 years, it has rly changed. esp during the tenure of daley the younger.
his old man went on a rampage after a rape spree in the downtown parks. back then there place was completely dead by the time the 6:30 train left. it was creepy. the old man started ripping up the shrubbery in the parks, because a victim was found in a hedge.
i think that's why ritchie was so intent of making it a city in a garden again. he not only built new parks, he invested millions in aalllll the parks. rahm kept that up.

[broiles]

11. My granddaughter just moved to Chicago from Texas

because she's a Cubs fan. That's carrying fan devotion to extremes.

[mopinko]

13. esp for the cubs. lol

raised a fan, but married a sox fan, so....

tho now that i'm divorced, sports are way out there somewhere.

[Haggard Celine]

14. I spent about a week there about 25 years ago.

I was visiting a friend who relocated up there. She lived in Lincoln Park, and I liked that area of the city. I did like a lot of the city's architecture; I can see how people would think the city was beautiful. In just about every city I've ever visited, I have seen beauty and ugliness, sometimes right on top of each other, so it's kind of hard for me to say which city is the best or worst. I like New Orleans a lot, and San Francisco was great the last time I saw it, which was about 30 years ago. L.A. was great, too. It's been so long since I've done any traveling that I'm sure most of the cities I've seen are much different now.

[mopinko]

17. it's gotten a lot prettier in 25 yrs.

the whole downtown has really bloomed. millennium park and all that.
mentioned above that when i moved here downtown was empty by the 6:30 train. srsly creepy.
jane byrne turned that around.
but old man daley had a bug up his ass about rapists hiding in the bushes in that parks, and devastated them. i think that's why ritchie was obsessed w the parks.
he poured millions into them, and it still shows.

[Haggard Celine]

19. That's great!

I'm going to go back one of these days. I had a great time there, and the people were great; I'm sure that hasn't changed. It's not that long of a flight from here.

[mopinko]

24. well, hopefully some time next year

i'll be opening a b&b on the far north side. a lot up in the air, but...

[Haggard Celine]

25. Well I'll have to stay there whenever I go.

Good luck with it! Hope you have as much business as you can handle.

[mopinko]

26. trust me, if/when it happens, y'allll are invited.

i'll make sure the word gets out.

[kysrsoze]

20. I lived in the city for almost 20 years. Still miss it. Best restaurants and skyline in the world

There are so many great little shops, concert venues and restaurants you can walk to, or take a short cab/bus/train ride. Then there's the lake and everything around it. I love going back to visit.

Luckily, I have a few little pieces of Chicago out here in LA - a Portillo's in Buena Park, Gino's East in the valley and a new Girl and the Goat location. I also found tavern-style pizza in a local chain (run by ex-Chicagoans, of course).

[mopinko]

23. my son is in colo springs.

was just talking to him about a pizza truck.
the kid makes GREAT pizza. we cooked like mad in my family. i was in the biz for a bit, and the hubs dad was a cook.
pizza was his fave thing to cook. i've never understood why people seem to have such a hard time replicating chi za. esp north of the border. i mean, cheese world, and i've never had a decent pizza in wisconsin.
which is to say- could be a gold mine.

[kysrsoze]

32. Yeah, pizza is huge for us all - I'm finally able to replicate both thin and deep dish.

I was frustrated b/c there's so much really bad pizza, not just California but everywhere. I'm sure it's the same for Wisconsin. So I found a forum where people tried to replicate Chicago style, and was able to figure out a recipe the whole family likes. I grew up on Aurelio's thin, and I can get pretty close to it. I've made it for some friends here and they enjoyed it - said they never had anything like it.

If your son can make it work, that would be a great business.

[mopinko]

33. my middle kid is the gm of a california pizza kitchen.

worked her way up from server in 8 yrs.
never worked the kitchen, but went through 2 wk training and managed the back of the house. cuz we gave her such chops, she could hop in to any station.
she transferred stores, and she said all her cooks, mostly former gang members, balled like a bunch of babies.

[Jim G.]

36. Did Every Other City Tie For First?

[NNadir]

47. No, there were 317,811 first place winners and Mumbai came in third.

[North Shore Chicago]

37. Pfffft!

It's the #1 most beautiful city, to me.

[mopinko]

38. ikr?

such an amazing place.
the thing about it is that there is amazing stuff from everywhere. a lot of cities have great local cuisine. but you can get every.damn.kind.of.food.there.is here. and everything from pushcarts to white linen.
the same goes for architecture, museums, parks. churches.
went to fla once and couldnt believe the lack of access to the beaches. truly is the third coast.

[electric_blue68]

41. I'm still hoping I get to visit Chicago first time! ...

I'm an NYC'r. I love my city.
I also love visiting other cities!

Been to San Fransisco, Philadelphia, DC, Boston, Atlanta, San Juan, Paris.

A bit of Alburquerque, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Baltimore.

A matter of some disicipline of saving up. Maybe in a year, or about 1 1/2 years. Not the Summer, late-ish Spring, early-ish Fall.

I'm thinking museums, parks, eateries, looking at the architecture.

And for me fascinating reversal of land to water. As a visual artist I love drawing landscapes with or w/o city aspects.
I lived on Manhattan Island near the skinnier top end, and worked right near the southern semi pointed end!
Plus less than a mile from Brooklyn's water edge.
Now I'm in the western Bronx not very far from the Harlem river

But Chicago bends around a (very, very big) Lake. Very different! Fascinating.

Good Luck with your plans! 👍

[mopinko]

42. we have no east side, mostly

until you get way south. so, the lake is our east side. helpful navigating, too. the lake is always east.
i've been to nyc a few times, and do love it, too. chi is a lot like it, just on a more manageable scale. my middle kid is there. runs a chain restaurant in queens.
she was living in the bronx. moved out there for a guy. but they broke up. she just moved closer to work.

i like old cities, esp river cities. love phili and pittsburgh, too. probably cuz i grew up in one.
i do have to thank my ex for all the traveling we did. i'm a grumpy traveler, and he sorta dragged me around the country. but so glad i did it.
there's a small town on the edge of the mississippi, straight west of here, galena. the most charming old town, and full of old hippies. a gem.

lemme know when you want to come. i have a big ole house here, and i love company.

[Danmel]

43. I was struck by how friendly people were

When we visited.

[mopinko]

44. people here are honestly very friendly.

at least until you get to know them.

[Danmel]

45. Lol

I'm a born and bred New Yorker. I think New Yorkers get a bad rap as unfriendly but Chicagoans were super friendly.

[mopinko]

46. been to nyc a few times. agree w you.

people were nice, no one got weird.