That's it for Chicago! What a great city. As with the others, we weren't quite ready to leave when the time came.If you aren't familiar with our evaluation scale or why we've creating our own when so many are available, read this first! While in each city, I've been writing about what we like, don't like, and what we've found to experience. All posts on Chicago can be viewed by clicking the Chicago tag at the top of the page.
Favorite posts on Chicago:
Chicago: Never a dull moment!
Chicago: Towering views, lively fountains, beaches for dogs, and boat-shaped restaurants
Quick Quotes 38: Chicago
Chicago: Big Nachos, Big Pizza, Navy Pier, and the Blackhawks!
The Scoring
(1-10 with 5 as average)
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Chicago
Culture: 9Environment: 8
Vegetarian Restaurants: 8
Cost of Living: 4
Transportation/Infrastructure: 7
Climate: 6
People: 8
Pass/Fail: Pass
Notes: A lot of what made Chicago both good and bad was its size. Because of the number of people in Chicago there were more vegetarians and therefore more vegetarian restaurants. The city isn't necessarily more vegetarian than other cities, it's just bigger. Likewise, that many people leads to traffic a majority of the time. It's not that Chicago drivers are particularly bad (like in Dallas).
What was unique to the city in comparison to the other places was how frequently photogenic, friendly, and nice-weathered the city was on a regular basis.
As with any visit to anywhere, our opinions are skewed by the season and where we lived in the city. We might like living outside of downtown and aren't sure if we would ever want to live there in winter, but for six-months it was a great experience. We'll be back and recommend it as a must-visit for anyone who is considering it.
On to California!
