Well the first post I did about our trip to Chicago peaked little to no interest in the 13 people who read. I think 2 of the views were me checking to see if my counter was working. So what did I do? I decided to go back to it!
The most scenic views of Chicago for me were along the main stem of the Chicago River. The water had a beautiful blue/green color to it. The bridges were all ornate and interesting to look at. The river walk let people get up close to it and enjoy a little bit of nature and beauty. The buildings along the river are some the best in the city. There were architectural tour boats on the river. There were people running and biking along the river walk. There were tourists (including myself) taking pictures from the bridges. There were outdoor cafes and restaurants. This is what I picture it looking like when you are lucky enough to have a river run through your city. You can't be close enough to it... there can't be enough balconies and windows overlooking it.
You may not be able to see it clearly in the picture below but the downtown area around the main stem of the river is dense and built up. A lot of the landmark buildings in the city are either right next to it or have some sort of water view. The Magnificent Mile crosses over it at one of the more beautiful bridges you'll ever see. It is the natural centerpiece to a wonderful urban plan... Plus it helped divert sewage that was being emptied into the Chicago river away from Lake Michigan which is the source of the city's drinking water.
Then there's our river... which from above looks as if it's so toxic that it's killing anything 90 yards from it's shores. We do little to nothing to take advantage of the Cuyahoga river and it's been that way for 50 years. As soon as industry started to go away from the city, our flats area began its slow slip into imminent death. The sad thing is... no one cared. Other than at the north edge... there is nothing. Hell we didn't see any worthwhile new construction along the river until the 2000's. Rock piles take up prime land along Cleveland's river while tall beautiful (expensive) buildings and walkable paths snug Chicago's river right up to the shore.
I pointed this out long ago but sometimes people need reminded... Cleveland and Chicago both have:
- A Great Lakes shoreline
- A river that runs through it
- Windy, snowy, and frigid winters
- Top 10 violent crime spots for multiple years running
- Rapid transit
- Major sports franchises
- Beautiful parks
- A history of political corruption
- Historical buildings
- Highways and suburbs and marinas and airports and do you want to know the difference between the 2 cities when it comes down to it's core?!?!?!
P-R-I-D-E
Ohioans have pride for their stupid Buckeyes or their misguided political affiliations or the size of their eco-killing SUVs or how green and trim their suburban yard is but they have NO PRIDE in where they live. They have no self esteem when it comes to where they're from or where they're at or where they go. The city is a whore that they go to when they need to have fun but then they treat her like shit when they've used her up and deny her when questioned afterwards. Chicagoans had their city flag all over the place including t-shirts! Their celebrities and well-to-do citizens both live and work there. The city provided for them and they in turn keep the city going. I know every place has there issues but I feel like if you traded 25 Chicagoans for 10,000 NEO suburbanites who bitch about the winter and how the democrats are ruining their lives and how if there weren't so many ethnics on Public Square, maybe they'd go downtown more >>> CLEVELAND WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE!
You chicken shits take your money to the suburbs and blame the schools or the crime or the lack of a yard and without even thinking about it you contribute further to the problem that you're scared about in the first place. You let those cancers spread! You did nothing but live in fear and in turn destroyed the 5th largest city in the country in 1950. FOR WHAT?!?! So you could stare out the window at a parking lot and a highway for 8 hours a day before you go home and slowly die in front of the TV???? We have things that all other cities have. What happened?... God it's so depressing to look back and see that Chicago was #2 and we were #5 and then we just circled the bowl for 50 years. Today Chicago is #3 and we're below Columbus. Awful...
Look, Cleveland is a hot chick who just lost a bunch of weight and went through a bad break up. She's way out of your league now but you have the opportunity to take advantage and pump a baby into her before she figures it out! If you and ten of your friends each bought a house on the same street in this city, you could change a whole neighborhood! They'd write about it in the paper and probably elect the Realtor that sold all of those houses to Mayor for life. If you got 5 of your friends to move their businesses (no matter how big or small) to this city, you might be elected as King of the city for as long as you wanted to rule. Try doing that in Chicago! You can move in and out and no one will even notice.
You can buy a house in this city for $10,000 and have to invest $50,000 at most to make it livable. Know what $60,000 can buy you in the suburbs? A shitty 70's split level that'll need $35,000 in additional work and a 45 minute drive to anything fun and worth doing. I went from a $1,200 a month mortgage to almost half that in rent. I can buy a double in Cleveland, live in one half, and not have to pay mortgage out of my pocket as long as the other half is rented out. Why does this not make financial sense to anyone? Oh ya, the government has been feeding you this home ownership line of bullshit since the 50's. Add up 10 years of your city taxes and then get a quote on repaving the street in front of your house and repairing the water and sewer lines just for shits and giggles. Oh and don't forget the sidewalks and the trees in the tree lawn. Do you have a entrance to your neighborhood? You get to pay for a part of that too. How far are the police and fire departments from your house? How many kids do you have? Have you blown past your 10 year tax number yet?...
This city has no tanning places or nail salons (per Gina). We don't have enough laundromats. I have 1 place to buy nice men's clothes. Find me 5 places that serve an honest to god breakfast and not just brunch. Where would I buy a kayak in Cleveland? Do I really have to go all the way to Larchmere Blvd to buy yarn? What I'm getting at is that if you have an idea for a business that's not a bar or restaurant, Cleveland and Clevelanders need it and will use it! Are you a dime a dozen business in Strongsville? Get into a storefront on Lorain or Waterloo or Larchmere and they will appreciate you and buy from you! Again, you're just gonna get lost in Chicago's competitive everything market.
Now I let my thoughts wander a bit but in a weird way that only my mind understands, I stayed on point. We ran as fast as we could from Cleveland after our river caught fire. Their city pretty much burned down and they used that as the turning point in their history. Now they have iconic buildings along the shores of their river and we have... piles of stone... lots of them... might even be a record or something.
The point is when the going got tough the cowards of Cleveland ran screaming for suburbs while Chicagoans doubled down. Our river will forever be our scar because we let it. Their's is a crown worn proudly and celebrated.
::Sigh:: I'll tell ya I just can't get anyone to listen let alone care. I give up for today.
BUT... for the sake of balance I'll say that Whacker Drive shouldn't exists right next to the river. Buildings should butt up against rivers, not roads. Also, North Lakeshore Drive shouldn't butt up against the lake shore. Same principle. They should know better.
No, Cleveland... I love -> you! I just can't stand your friends. Goodnight and go Browns!
You chicken shits take your money to the suburbs and blame the schools or the crime or the lack of a yard and without even thinking about it you contribute further to the problem that you're scared about in the first place. You let those cancers spread! You did nothing but live in fear and in turn destroyed the 5th largest city in the country in 1950. FOR WHAT?!?! So you could stare out the window at a parking lot and a highway for 8 hours a day before you go home and slowly die in front of the TV???? We have things that all other cities have. What happened?... God it's so depressing to look back and see that Chicago was #2 and we were #5 and then we just circled the bowl for 50 years. Today Chicago is #3 and we're below Columbus. Awful...
Look, Cleveland is a hot chick who just lost a bunch of weight and went through a bad break up. She's way out of your league now but you have the opportunity to take advantage and pump a baby into her before she figures it out! If you and ten of your friends each bought a house on the same street in this city, you could change a whole neighborhood! They'd write about it in the paper and probably elect the Realtor that sold all of those houses to Mayor for life. If you got 5 of your friends to move their businesses (no matter how big or small) to this city, you might be elected as King of the city for as long as you wanted to rule. Try doing that in Chicago! You can move in and out and no one will even notice.
You can buy a house in this city for $10,000 and have to invest $50,000 at most to make it livable. Know what $60,000 can buy you in the suburbs? A shitty 70's split level that'll need $35,000 in additional work and a 45 minute drive to anything fun and worth doing. I went from a $1,200 a month mortgage to almost half that in rent. I can buy a double in Cleveland, live in one half, and not have to pay mortgage out of my pocket as long as the other half is rented out. Why does this not make financial sense to anyone? Oh ya, the government has been feeding you this home ownership line of bullshit since the 50's. Add up 10 years of your city taxes and then get a quote on repaving the street in front of your house and repairing the water and sewer lines just for shits and giggles. Oh and don't forget the sidewalks and the trees in the tree lawn. Do you have a entrance to your neighborhood? You get to pay for a part of that too. How far are the police and fire departments from your house? How many kids do you have? Have you blown past your 10 year tax number yet?...
This city has no tanning places or nail salons (per Gina). We don't have enough laundromats. I have 1 place to buy nice men's clothes. Find me 5 places that serve an honest to god breakfast and not just brunch. Where would I buy a kayak in Cleveland? Do I really have to go all the way to Larchmere Blvd to buy yarn? What I'm getting at is that if you have an idea for a business that's not a bar or restaurant, Cleveland and Clevelanders need it and will use it! Are you a dime a dozen business in Strongsville? Get into a storefront on Lorain or Waterloo or Larchmere and they will appreciate you and buy from you! Again, you're just gonna get lost in Chicago's competitive everything market.
Now I let my thoughts wander a bit but in a weird way that only my mind understands, I stayed on point. We ran as fast as we could from Cleveland after our river caught fire. Their city pretty much burned down and they used that as the turning point in their history. Now they have iconic buildings along the shores of their river and we have... piles of stone... lots of them... might even be a record or something.
The point is when the going got tough the cowards of Cleveland ran screaming for suburbs while Chicagoans doubled down. Our river will forever be our scar because we let it. Their's is a crown worn proudly and celebrated.
::Sigh:: I'll tell ya I just can't get anyone to listen let alone care. I give up for today.
BUT... for the sake of balance I'll say that Whacker Drive shouldn't exists right next to the river. Buildings should butt up against rivers, not roads. Also, North Lakeshore Drive shouldn't butt up against the lake shore. Same principle. They should know better.
No, Cleveland... I love -> you! I just can't stand your friends. Goodnight and go Browns!
Let me know if you noticed that I had a typo here at this point for a few posts and went back to fix it before anyone said anything...
in the Comments Section below.
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