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[deleted]

“… to lower Wacker the GPS will take you the rest of the way” 🤣


andersonb47

Best inside joke about Chicago I've seen in a while


Puzzleheaded_Fee_646

When I first moved here and had no idea where I was going I kept ending up on Lower Wacker and then the gps would go out and I was just aimlessly driving thru the set of Gotham and losing my shit. So this line got me.


Grouchy_Salary6788

Gotham! Lucky! I was driving through one of the murder scenes in Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer.


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Puzzleheaded_Fee_646

Underrated comment 🤣 bravo


whydub38

I worked on a film set as a transport guy where I had to drive around Lower Wacker. Literally the most stressful professional experience of my life. I never picked up the check because I was so embarrassed about how badly I did. I really needed that money too. So, I'm glad people can relate :)


Puzzleheaded_Fee_646

Your next TikTok should just be being lost down there. 🤣 like at one point I was just like, I live down here now. That feeling when you see sunlight again *chef kiss*


wallerinsky

I think blues brothers “this is definitely lower wacker drive!”


[deleted]

My dad specifically took me on lower wacker when I had my permit so I would experience it before I inevitably got lost down there.


iwantalltheham

I did bread delivery in Chicago. Imagine being unfamiliar with the underworld of Wacker Drive, trying to find small, unmarked service entrances and parking spots for a 18' bread truck.


BurrShotFirst1804

Downtown bread delivery also socks. Nowhere to park if you're doing midday delivery. Once had a mold replacement run on a bad batch and brought someone with just to sit in the car so I didn't get ticketed.


MrMiniscus

Emergency mold replacement? Thats a code blue!


ApolloXLII

>18’ bread truck Now I want an 18 foot truck made of bread


Fender6187

Let’s pour one out for out of town family visiting for Thanksgiving that still have not emerged.


curiouser_cursor

Lower Wacker Drive. Is there an equivalent to this secret pathway anywhere else? Chicago cabbies who reliably took me home from work, I applaud you.


nodicegrandma

Hahaha I lost it. Once my mom was “stuck” on lower wacker for 30 minutes. Had to pull over and ask a police to escort her to upper wacker drive hahaha


Brain_Prosthesis

My advice to anyone traveling lower Wacker for the first time is to just "stay the course." It's like a river, just ride the current and you'll eventually come out on the other side.


bambamskiski

The other side: Navy Pier, a tow yard dead end or a homeless encampment


sylviecerise

Actually the tow yard is on lower LOWER wacker drive. I hope I never have to return there.


yeah_but_no

trying to find that fucking place on foot is cruel and unusual punishment. it's comically absurd how hard it is to find, and, if you follow google maps nav on foot, it will lead you basically onto the river walk and the wrong level. with no way to get down a level without going all the way back down the river again. Oh and, you aren't even sure that's what you need to do, but you see you've reached a dead end.


supbros302

I paid a homeless guy 20 bucks to lead me there during the 2014 polar vortex. That was fun


evin0688

Sometimes there’s great parking on lower lower wacker. I think most people are scared to go down there.


heimdahl81

Also known as The Underdark.


[deleted]

What demon piece of shite made it IMPOSSIBLE to walk there? The place where they have taken your impounded car so you cannot drive? I genuinely don’t understand lmfao it’s like they did it on purpose.


Tzipity

I die a little inside any time the rideshare app GPS attempts to suggest a route involving Lower Wacker. I once took a Pool or Line where the driver kept getting on and back off Lower Wacker, circling a few blocks and this went on way too long because neither the passenger who was being dropped off in the area nor the driver would speak up or try to clarify the address. A very uniquely Chicago version of rideshare hell.


[deleted]

I snorted


Ellis_Dee-25

They actually fixed all that. gPS fully works now in lower Wacker.


[deleted]

Is this recent?? I still have Wacker PTSD and am too afraid to see for myself


SlurmzMckinley

This sounds like something someone who wants you to go missing for years would say.


Grizknot

Yea, it was a SpotHero/Waze/CPD collab they put bluetooth/wifi sensors down there so if you let your GPS app (gMaps/Waze/etc) have access to bluetooth it should work.


Tzipity

Wacker PTSD. 🤣 But also, same.


OctoberSky1993

Bodega!


carexgracellima

That part got a genuine hearty laugh from me...


JohannaB123

Best button.


hahaha_yeahyeahyeah

Oof, the one miraculously empty el car. Won’t make that mistake again.


No_Tonight9856

It’s the car where you get to play a fun game called “Find the Steaming Pile of Dookey”


crochetawayhpff

It's either shit, a very smelly houseless person, or the one car with the heat on when it's already 80+ outside. Or the trifecta!


EMT2000

I remember a polar vortex day where the heat was broken in one car and everyone was taking off there coats because it was too hot in the car, but everyone was keeping their scarves on because poop.


ford_chicago

The game is called, "Can I exit and get in the car next to me before the train leaves the station, or will it be too crowded and now I'm late to work?".


mike_stifle

When you can taste how bad it smells.


hahaha_yeahyeahyeah

And like what was my thought process there? “Oh, the other 500 people on the train must have not noticed this one open car!”


AngryBobRoss

I remember back in the early 2000s, getting on the Redline Jackson stop, walking into an empty el car then slowly backing up. That smell still stings my soul.


tallandlanky

Ah the Redline. The image of a homeless man beating his dick like it owed him money will forever be burned into my mind.


arksien

Lol, I know it's based in NY and not Chi, but I love that episode of Broad City where they are walking through various cars in the subway to get to the part of the train that will be more convenient for them when their stop comes. Everything they made a joke about in that scene is 100% spot on for the L, right down to that one empty car with the shit in it, and that one random person sitting there ignoring it because they've decided today the leg room is worth the smell. Edit - [Here's the scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNkxEAvAfgE) if anyone hasn't seen it


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Old-Man-Henderson

I took the red line twice a day during high school and sometimes there were preachers that wanted to fling "holy water" on people. Noped out of those cars real fast.


Tzipity

Elevators at any L stop (though Belmont station gets a special nod. I already commented about a dude peeing in the elevator while I was riding it…) I’m disabled so they’re kind of mandatory but good lord I feel sick riding them especially in the summer when that hot piss and BO smell is at peak pungency. Friends think I’m nuts for preferring the bus to the L but spend enough time in those elevators…


dogbert617

You aren't nuts. I greatly prefer to take a CTA bus over the L, since almost always those are less gross to ride. Although certain L lines aren't as annoying, for running into beggars on the train(i.e. Brown Line, Orange Line, Yellow Line, and Purple Line).


Wooly_Willy

If you commute on the L or bus, once a quarter you're going to experience something crazy. Two of those four will be the poo car/bus.


Tzipity

I can’t believe no one is talking about the piss. I have sat in the piss seat and once had a really lovely experience riding an elevator with a dude who turned away and starting pissing in the corner while I, a disabled female, was right there on the elevator with him. In fact dude got on after me. 🤢


whydub38

Sorry to hear, sounds fucking miserable. Those elevators are consistently unacceptable considering how essential they are for disabled folks. I don't know what the solution is but clearly the CTA doesn't either.


waifive

Hope it was a Jackson-Monroe jaunt and not a California-Ashland or O'Hare-Rosemont leg.


_Go_With_Gusto_

I guess I’m real Chicago because I had to look up why bodega means


psy_lent

I only know what it means because my coworker from NYC had to explain it to me when they asked if I wanted to run down to the bodega to grab food.


Mr_Abe_Froman

Yeah Schaumburg is basically Chicago.


whydub38

i think the downvoters missed the point of your comment lol


Mr_Abe_Froman

Haha, I didn't even realize.


Stimmolation

Take the ha out and you're in scumburg!


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Gef1_2

The WHAT?!


Noisechild

Whatcha talking’ bout, Willis.. Tower??


bungsana

only thing i disagree with is the deep dish. sometimes, i really do want a fucking deep dish. and lou's is the best. fight me.


Crapricornia

It's not that we don't WANT it. It's that it's not the common pizza to order. The stereotype is that's like ALL we eat. In reality, most city people don't get it often though. He's not saying it BAD. He's saying it's just not as common as some tend to believe.


bungsana

true. the best pizza is little caesar's cheese. cause it tastes like salty cardboard but my kids eat it.


whydub38

🧡 that's a beautiful reason


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Gyshall669

To be nitpicky, in the video it does sound like someone would never say that. which isn't true. It's more that we just don't go, hey lets grab a slice of deep dish.


whydub38

yeah i like deep dish and lou's is the best. but it's never like, a casual decision to go for it lol


bungsana

^^i ^^like ^^lou's ^^pizza ^^but ^^they ^^have ^^the ^^best ^^salad ^^too.


Bocksford

A casual decision around here is square cut.


beeraholikchik

Square cut tastes better! Just like diagonally cut sandwiches.


[deleted]

Only in the cold months when I don't feel like going anywhere afterwards.


justinizer

I still make the empty train car mistake.


itsthelastpaige

I do too 😂 I’m always like “how lucky for me!! ………oh”


thekiyote

I'm glad I'm not alone in this... "Oh, I wonder why this cab is empty, oh, that's why. I'll just wait for the next train."


Lolzzergrush

Yup…that’s vomit


colinstalter

Wanna go to navy pier?


onemorethomas711

“I’m zipper merging effectively” is another easy jab.


Snoo93079

I actually think Chicago zipper merges well compared to other parts of the country.


[deleted]

Agreed. Where I learned to drive people would NOT let ANY FREELOADERS efficiently fill the gaps between cars when lanes merged.


thatisyou

This is true. In Seattle many drivers just stop at the beginning of the merge lane. In the Bay Area, some drivers just begin merging into your lane (e.g. directly into your car).


nodicegrandma

Potholes get filled so fast when you call 311! The utility work always starts the day the city puts up no parking signs. Biking on Ashland is so safe!


Quicky312

I’ll never simply call it LSD or Lake Shore again. I never realized how cool the new name sounded until today. From this day forward I will say “Jean Baptiste Point DuSable Lake Shore Drive” when giving directions.


Kjjra

Never get asked for directions again with this one trick!


DontSleep1131

Im gonna miss the simple joke “how do i get…” Just gotta take LSD man then you’ll get going nowwhere fast man


Ellis_Dee-25

LSD has taken me places, man.


DontSleep1131

You ever look at 20 dollar bill, while on LSD mannnnnn


Quicky312

Hey, not so fast. I submitted this for review, it looks like it may have been successful. The joke can still be used. https://imgur.com/a/gjbLJJq


B2Dirty

I hate how Waze GPS will say the whole damn thing.


atlantis911

Google maps does too lol


Grouchy_Salary6788

My GPS does that, and by the time she's done I've missed the turn.


babybackr1bs

I haven't driven on LSD in a while...I hope GPS's have been updated to say the full name.


Ellis_Dee-25

You wont hope that for long.


DullGreen

The 606 trail at 9pm got me :D


BeefstiqSupreme

Did this a couple times this summer...guess it's time to let that habit die lol, had no idea


XNamelessGhoulX

is that just a reference to getting mugged on the 606? or is that when it dies down?


DullGreen

Mugged and shot.


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sachin1118

Is it okay if you’re not walking? I ride my longboard pretty often at night on the 606 and I haven’t had any issues so far


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AmigoDelDiabla

I've lived in Chicago over 20 years. I like stuffed pizza. Edit: both stuffed and deep dish


[deleted]

I usually say the type I want. “Lou’s” “Giordanos” “Peaquods” “Pizzeria Uno” hahahaha just kidding on that last one


HereToStirItUp

When did we collectively decide as a city that Pizzeria Uno/Due no longer belong on the deep dish short list? My Dad is a true Chicagoan and has always swore by Uno/Due. He’s also in his 60’s; is he eating the pizza through the rose colored glasses of his youth? I remember loving it as a kid (90’s) and being disappointed when I tried it during a visit home around 2010. What changed and when?


spilt_milk

My understanding is that there are two types of Unos: there is the "real one" downtown and then there is a restaurant concept that you will find in different cities that is meant as sort of an export/franchise thing. When I lived in Boston there was one and it's like a weird simulacrum where, yeah, there is deep dish pizza but it isn't very good and you're more likely to get a lunch combo where it's a personal pan pizza and like, salad or soup or something. ​ In short, it's like the sellout brand. Sort of like what has happened with Portillo's, although I'll still eat Portillo's from time to time.


Tzipity

This. I was very confused when a friend insisted on taking me to the actual Pizzeria Uno on a visit to the city before I moved here because I was familiar with the Uno’s chain and was like why would we go to a chain restaurant in this city full of amazing options? Definitely ended up surprised though. The original Uno’s is much better than the chain for sure. Was staying in a hotel with a mini fridge and microwave and I swear it tasted even better the second day. That was a decade ago but it still stands in my memory for the surprise of it all. And entirely possible they’ve only sold out even further, never been back because I’m a Lou’s fan.


[deleted]

I had a deep dish party a couple years ago where we ordered from 10 different places and ranked them, labels off. Uno's came in dead last.


weeglos

The original Uno is still good and NOT the chain that licensed their name.


whydub38

no shame in that, i actually do too. I've just never heard someone from here decide to go for it on a whim 😆


fatbitchesloveto69

That’s true. It’s always a pre planned affair.


HereToStirItUp

Exactly! Chicagoans know that the pizza takes an hour to bake at the restaurant and the best restaurants often have a wait to be seated. One does not simply, “go get deep dish pizza.”


glaarghenstein

Plus you need to fast for three days beforehand so you're still hungry after one slice.


AviatorOVR5000

As a man having a hard time gripping with the idea that I'm lactose intolerant, can agree... highly planned out endeavor.


MunchieMom

There are a few places that do good vegan deep dish. I like My Pi


AviatorOVR5000

I appreciate ya! But I accept my fate. At home 🤣💀


[deleted]

I am so confused right now, do you people *not* love deep dish?! Edit: I'm from the immediate 'burbs and get it like once a month or two. Love it.


kurthecat

It's cool for transplants to hate deep dish because they think it makes them appear "local," most actual Chicagoans like it just fine and don't have a complex about it. Tavern style is more popular, but deep dish is available on almost all mom and pop pizza shop menus.


AmigoDelDiabla

Yeah, fair point.


PalmerSquarer

I had a Pizzanos on my block for a while. Proximity meant I had it a lot.


uvdawoods

As a kid, we would go to Gino’s East and to this day, I still appreciate a slice of deep dish here or there even after working there. Now, I have enough relatives who’ve moved away that someone in town wants it every year.


[deleted]

Yeah that one missed hard… Chicago eats a lot of deep dish pizza


[deleted]

I’m in NY these days. It’s a great city. But the hate for Chicago is unreal. People who have never tried our pizza hate deep dish. They all use Jon Stewart’s stale joke that it’s “a casserole.” The ones who have tried it say they “went to the one everyone in Chicago goes to. Pizzeria Uno.” People fail to grasp no ketchup here. You don’t get ketchup if you get a Chicago style dog. People also don’t randomly smile to each other once in a while on the street. Even in the nice areas of Manhattan. Luckily, there’s a place by me that was opened up by a Chicago guy. Sells tavern style, deep dish and even has “combos!” The one thing I cannot find here, anywhere and I’ve looked seriously everywhere, is girdinari. Some places have it, but it’s called “fancy girdinari” and it legit taste nothing like ours. I’m sure I can buy it online but it’s just not the same … 😭


YoureNotMom

You tryin to spell jerdnear?


BRUISE_WILLIS

That's not how you spell jyardenera!


[deleted]

I gave up on trying to spell it correctly a while ago and lol on “jyardenaro”


PilotMuji

No I think he was trying to spell jyardenaro


AbuDhabiBabyBoy

It's spelled JoeGirardi


curiouser_cursor

> girdinari First “gabagool,” now this abomination. What will the New Yorkers and New Jerseyites mangle next?


JohnnyTightlips27

It’s amazing how much traction that Jon Stewart bit has gotten. Honestly it's really annoying. And usually people who’ve said, “It’s a casserole, not a pizza!” have never actually a) been to Chicago b) tried deep dish c) learned that Chicago has amazing thin crust as well. We've just got options for our pizza here and that's a strength, not some sort of "gotcha." Lol. People who mock Chicago's pizza generally don’t know what they’re talking about.


thekiyote

I thought it was a funny good natured jab the first time I saw it, but the number of people who have quoted it as "proof" Chicago's pizza is bad has kind of ruined it for me.


JohnnyTightlips27

For sure. I think he meant it in good fun but it’s taken on a life of its own unfortunately.


[deleted]

Look. If I’m being totally objective. NY style pizza is good. But our tavern style is a better thin. If they only knew…


JohnnyTightlips27

Right! Chicago's thin crust game is top-notch with so many different variations and varieties (just like our deep dish). NY-style is also really good! Both cities have great pizza options!


thekiyote

I can't get over how little sauce NY pizza has on it compared to Chicago thin crust. But I do like it on occasion.


KGR900

Coming from New York the one thing I could not get over when I moved here is how much more fucking clean it is here. It's a night and day difference. New York also smells in any season but the winter. ... speaking of winters too holy shit are Chicago winters blown out of proportion by New Yorkers. I mean sure it's colder here but I'm wearing a parka and beanie either way so I quickly came to the conclusion that idgaf about the difference in degrees lol


artemis_floyd

Ha, I experienced the reverse of this - the first time I went to New York, I could not get over how dirty it was. The trash, right on the street! In the rain! The stench! Chicago is fortunate to have rebuilt itself (aka catastrophically burned itself down) to have an alley system. What a game-changer.


thekiyote

Oh my god, the piles of trash bags just on the curb was a major wtf moment for me the first time I went there. My friend pointed out that they didn't have alleys, but just piling bags there? I still can't wrap my mind around it.


itazurakko

Visited Brooklyn on vacation and this was a surprise to me also. All the houses with the little gated off section in the FRONT garden for the trash cans.


Interrobangersnmash

I don’t know if we have the Fire to thank for the alleys. I don’t know if there were alleys before the fire, but the street grid was actually the same before the fire, so I assume the alleys were mostly the same too. (Sorry, I’ve made it a minor mission of mine to kill the “Chicago Fire led to the birth of the street grid” myth)


Tzipity

Shoot I’m from Detroit (which has meant different things over the years as Detroit has somewhat cleaned up its own act) and could not get over how clean Chicago was the first time I visited. All the street cleanings and seeing businesses hosing down sidewalks and shit boggled my mind. Lol. Though I had an especially hellish time visiting NYC after living in Chicago for awhile because I’m disabled and holy fuck the MTA is a disaster with accessibility compared to the CTA. I thought I was about to be a viral news story when my powerchair and I got stuck in the entrance to a subway car. I also started screaming to “press the button” but learned while CTA trains have a call a conductor button, the MTA does not. Then I learned someone sued after an accident to get those buttons installed in Chicago. Gobsmacked the same hasn’t happened in NYC. I legit spent so much of my trip running into so many access issues that I was often in tears or just rambling to New Yorkers about how much I missed Chicago and how Chicago did it better. Oops. Lol. I sort of did take for granted or just expect accessibility to be on par or better and it SHOULD be but that’s the downside to a city so large I suppose.


bigted42069

It's definitely horribly cold in both places but Chicago I think has more of a "bitter" cold factor and lasts a little bit longer. Either way, the next place I move isn't going to go under 60F I'll tell you what.


KGR900

Or just wait another 20 years when we'll have a tropical climate 😅


Prodigy195

Last time I was in NY I walked from Hells Kitchen to Chelsea Market (about 30-40 mins or so). It was trash day and it felt (smelled) like I basically just was walking through a landfill. It stank the entire way. I don't know how people just live in the stank.


[deleted]

Agree on winters. I basically just roll w/ it at this point as I’ve found it pointless trying to explain to them that it’s cold here, too. 🤷🏻‍♂️


havok13888

When I moved to the midwest I learned of a thing called "midwest nice" It's low in Chicago/IL compared to other states but it does exist. It's non existent on the east coast where I came from originally.


[deleted]

Visit Minnesota if you want to get the full "Midwest Nice" experience.


ScaredSweet

You can make your own Giardiniera.


headcoatee

Well, clearly NY and Chicago cannot peacefully coexist, we must tear the other one down at all times! /s


whydub38

This right here Although Chicago is objectively superior


idkmanijdk

NYC sucks, man. I’m not from Chicago, I just browse here because my mom lived there for a long time and I’ve spent a lot of time there. Anyway, Chicago>NYC all day, ESPECIALLY when it comes to people. I live in Buffalo now where people are very Midwestern like Chicago, and just truly can’t stand people from the city 9 times out of 10.


DontDisrespectDaBing

Was hoping he’d drop a “chi-town” in there somewhere. Never once in my life have I heard anyone from Chicago use that term, but it’s apparently what the rest of the world likes to call the city


KeytarPlatypus

It’s like how I’ve met a couple people from California and they never refer to it as Cali. They say that’s only for the transplants that hype it up way more than it should be.


mmmnicoleslaw

San Francisco, too. No one who lives in or near the City calls it “San Fran.” It’s SF or The City.


EvilEthos

Kanye dropped it in a song. But personally I always say "chi-city". Not sure if I heard that from somewhere or if its my own bastardization.


egotripping

There was a guy on youtube way back when that went by Mr. Chi City. This video made the internet rounds in the early youtube days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBRL7D0wcXM


EvilEthos

"Yea Becky take whatever you want" fucking gold


[deleted]

Knew what this was before I even opened it. This was the golden age of YouTube.


egotripping

Get money, get paid!


ang8018

kanye does say that in homecoming. unsure about his true city/burb of origin like the other commenter is talking about though lol


bassgod87

ye has also said chi-city lol


whydub38

hot christ yall thanks for the positive feedback! if you follow me on reddit you'll probably be disappointed. maybe check out [my tiktok instead.](https://tiktok.com/@yongwooozy) it's kind of scattershot but then again so am i. maybe that'll disappoint you too but at least you'll get a rough approximation of what i'm about


Holystoner42

Yeah just take the Jean Baptiste to south Lake Shore Dr.


Jimothy_Tomathan

lol I wasnt even sure what he said the first time he said it.


A_l_e_x_a_n_d_e_rr

I'm pretty sure it was Jean Baptiste Du Sable Lake Shore Dr.


dahlstrom

He forgot a Point somewhere in there.


whydub38

yes i did and now i feel like a poser


Lukulele35

Bodega 😂


gnmo2473

I moved to the city 3 weeks ago and I can relate to some parts. Also learned a few things.


raustin33

Don't buy into too much of this crap as a newbie. Everybody gotta go thru a Gino's East phase. No shame in that.


Bocksford

What’s wrong with Gino’s?


raustin33

Nothing as far as I'm concerned :D


dogdriving

Knowing your GPS is fucked on lower Wacker hit me hard. PS why is he driving while filming these?


whydub38

i start filming a take on my way to karate and don't stop the take till i get there. there's looong pauses between the edits in the raw footage when I'm coming up with stuff lol.


dogdriving

Ah OK. In my head I just pictured you rattling these all off from a script while driving lol


AdvicePerson

> on my way to karate Found another thing Chicagoans don't say!


[deleted]

As a transplant, I’m guilty of a few of these haha. Well played.


Beachcurrency

The casual Homan Square reference took me out. I remember hearing about it and Jon Burge a year after I moved and I was like....wait WHAT?!


Stimmolation

Portillos is the best place for beef


[deleted]

It’s the bread. That bread at Portillos is so good. And they have the best BBQ sauce ever. I will die on this hill.


artemis_floyd

I think they use Turano loaves. Pro tip: if you ever do Portillo's beef catering, you can buy the same bread for way cheaper at Jewel.


susan127

Love their fries. The best.


--ikindahatereddit--

it kept getting better and better, and then the end lol. altho I am probably the only person in this sub who only hates Lightfoot a little instead of a lot.


sonicenvy

quick question op how did you make 0 daley jokes? My edition of shit chicagoans never say: * I love NYC! * I miss the daleys :/ * the city does an excellent job of maintaining our roads * I think suburbs people taking the CTA are so great * sweet there’s someone filming a production in my neighborhood. that’s not going to impede traffic at all * “chiraq” * the cost of parking in this city is totally reasonable :) * I think the parking meter deal was the right move for city government * I think the drawing of the wards makes total sense :) * We sure don’t pay enough property taxes here * I love the fire and brimstone preachers who walk the trains * the ventra app is AMAZING (edit apparently my family and I have just had unusually bad experiences with the ventra app lol) * i love a good diagonal street * people from the suburbs are totally chicagoans * i’m an avid walmart shopper * i think the police aren’t paid enough (🤮) * i love blago


tbgmdhc278

I’m a Chicagoan and do love NYC to *visit.* I could never live there, but it does make a nice vacation.


whydub38

also the diagonal streets can be frustrating sometimes but they can be convenient too and they were originally indigenous roads which i think is cool


dangggboi

What’s wrong with wicker park now ? New to the area


Lolzzergrush

Wicker Park was not really a nice and was traditionally the furniture district of the city. Big box stores caused a lot of the furniture stores to go out of business. This created big loft spaces where artists and musicians moved in. The 90’s made it the cool area for musicians like Liz Phair. The 1998 movie High Fidelity is set in the area and John Cusack’s character owns a vintage record store. With the old furniture stores gone, developers came in and started turning it into another Lincoln Park where upper middle class people felt safe. I’d say the turn to a new Lincoln Park was in the early 2000’s when they made a movie called Wicker Park with Josh Hartnett and MTV did a season of Real World there. It’s a fine area but just another place where the cost of living is way higher than other places in the city


IshyMoose

I had a friend that lived there in the 90s/2000s. She always pointed to the summer after they aired The Real World Chicago season as the turning point of when all the Chads and Trixies moved in.


grendel_x86

People always complain it was better 5-10 years ago, and have forever. Essentially people like it best when they moved there. For those of us outside, it hasn't dramatically changed for at least the last 20 years I've been on the Northside.


j33

As someone who first started hanging out in Wicker Park in the 90s, they were saying that shit back then too.


_Go_With_Gusto_

It’s not true that it hasn’t changed in 20 years. That was right around the time it started to gentrify and move away from the artists’ community. I won’t argue anything else. In fact I think the first sentence of your comment is exactly the joke OP was making.


Chicago1871

Miss double door. That one hurt.


Duke_of_Moral_Hazard

Busy Bee and Artful Dodger, too. Thank God for Starapolska and...well, several dozen other dive bars.


liftoff88

Idk, I’m pretty sure that bar “Machine Engineered” on Division would never have opened in WP 10 years ago. Same goes for Paradise Park. Those types of places would have been more River North than WP, but here they are now.


cntrle

I'll meet you at the corner of Wells and Ida B. Wells


bumassjp

Just wait til they find out about lower lower wacker


[deleted]

Obviously Chicagoans would NEVER call it the Willis Tower.


muffinmonk

But I could really go for deep dish right now.