<p>Im comparing going to college in Chicago or NYC, but I want to know about the cities. Compare them as students. Thanks</p>
<p>Chicago has a ton of campuses and is a little cheaper as a place to live. People in Chicago are generally a friendly bunch. Some of the stereotypes are true: we are a little (lot) on the chunky side, we love sports, we are a funny bunch (greatest number of sketch comedy spots in the US) and we know how to survive real winter. When 4 inches of snow doesn’t slow down anything, you know you are in Chicago.
New York is an amazing city, but I have never felt that it is a place that is comfortable with those that “wander”. College is about figuring out who you are and what you want. New York is where you move when you want to make it happen. That being said, there are amazing colleges in both cities.</p>
<p>I already have chosen a college for each city, so you don’t need to sell me on which has more college choices</p>
<p>Hmm. Ive been to both (family).
NYC-Great theater/art/music scene, more vibrant ethnic neighborhoods, better restaurants (except chicago has Rick Bayless, the master), more big firms, high taxes, etc
Chicago- Friendlier, cleaner, less polluted, Lake Michigan, some big firms, decent culinary scene, solid music and art scene </p>
<p>I prefer Chicago. If you’re from a rural/suburban area and want to be in a big city, Chicago is better. Not as heartless and individualistic as NYC.</p>
<p>Jw which schools? UChicago and Columbia? NU and NYU?</p>
<p>Chicago and NYC are both great and large cities. NYC is more fast-paced and significantly larger while Chicago is more laid back and cozier. Generally speaking (and this is truly a generalization), Chicagoans are friendlier and less stressed than New Yorkers. NYC has more of everything; more great restaurants, more shopping venues, more museums, more shows etc…, but pound for pound, Chicago is just as impressive.</p>
<p>Alexandre is right. If you are a urban lightweight (meaning you arent froma big city) I think you’d like Chicago better. NYC takes some getting used to.</p>
<p>The colleges I’m considering are Chicago and NYU (I know Chicago is way better, but I’m weighing environment too)</p>
<p>I’m from the suburbs but I have absolutely no problem with cities, no matter how big or hectic</p>
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<p>Not only are Chicago and NYC extremely different, but UChicago and NYU are located is VERY different neighborhoods within their respective cities. As cities, Chicago and NYC are both large and urban and have plenty to do, but their feels are completely different. At NYU, you are in the midst of the hustle and bustle, and essentially live as a New Yorker who takes classes. There is not much of a campus at all. Just NYU buildings in the middle of Greenwich Village. Does that appeal to you? Maybe, maybe not. (By the way, I’m not saying there’s no community at NYU or anything; just that’s it’s not a very “campus-like” university).</p>
<p>UChicago, on the other hand, is located on the south side of Chicago in a pocket that is somewhat wealthier, but if you go three blocks the wrong way, can get quite shady. Your walking options (of stores, restaurants, etc.) from UChicago are not even in the same universe as they are at NYU. But, UChicago gives you more of a campus feel, although it’s still urban (and there’s enough to do and public transportation to get downtown is easy enough).</p>
<p>In any event, these are two VERY different schools even if you disregard locations. NYC doesn’t really appeal to me *personally *as a college student since I’m relatively poor and the vast majority of time is spent on campus in my experience. However, somebody else may have a different take and dream about living in Manhattan in age 18. NYC does appeal to me after one graduates, however. (Although it’s still insanely expensive). But, again, on top of the fact that NYC and Chicago are very different cities, NYU and UChicago are in very different neighborhoods of their respective cities.</p>
<p>My advice - visit and decide which vibe you like more. Nobody on this site can really say that one is better than the other. You’ll just have to go with what your gut tells you. Good luck!</p>
<p>Bluedog hit the hammer on the head.
UChicago is like 15-30 (traffic) mins from the Loop (I guess the “Times Square” of chicago lol). So it’s not like every day you are going to walk through the city.
I dont know how frequently uChicago kids go to the city. Probably not too frequently, there’s a lot of stuff to do on campus.</p>
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<p>Some try to hit the city every weekend with their friends. Others of us, myself included, would like to but are simply buried under too much work and so don’t ever really get the chance to leave the campus at all after fourth or fifth week. :D</p>
<p>I’ve lived in both cities and love them both, but they’re very different places. For a student I think the most relevant differences are highlighted in posts #8 and #9. The University of Chicago has a real campus and is at the heart of a real neighborhood; most students spend most of their time on campus or in Hyde Park, with only occasional forays downtown or into other neighborhoods. NYU has virtually no campus and the city is smack in your face, lots of stuff within walking distance or easily accessible by public transit. At NYU you’ll mostly be drawn into the city and away from the school. To my mind that’s a negative, but others may disagree. My own D, who spent quite a few years growing up in New York and would love to return one day, refused to even consider NYU because she thought it would be too distracting to be in the city, too tempting to be away from campus, and it would get in the way of her education.</p>
<p>The other big difference is money. Partly because U of C students spend more time on campus and partly because Chicago is just a lot less expensive than NYC, the NYU experience is likely to be a lot more costly. (My exclamation point on my daughter’s statement about the distractions of NYC is that most of those distractions cost money, and I had no interest in paying extra thousands of dollars for her to play in the city at the expense of her college education). When we lived in New York I always felt that every time I left our apartment, it was as if I had just walked down the street handing out $20 bills. It adds up in a hurry. I’d never want to live in New York without a handsome enough discretionary income to really enjoy it. In Chicago you can get by on a lot less.</p>
<p>That said, while Chicago has just about everything you’d ever want in a city, New York has just about the very BEST of everything—except for those things where it has the very WORST. It’s a city of extremes, intense, noisy, congested, high-energy, stressful, but it’s got the best theater, best art, best music, best food, best shopping, highest incomes, poshest residential districts. It’s also truly a world city, a mecca for immigrants and visitors from every corner of the globe. Chicago is also ethnically diverse and IMO has the NEXT best theater, art, music, and food after New York; it’s also less dense and a little more laid back, and much of what it has is more accessible to someone on a limited budget (i.e., cheaper). To me a peak Chicago experience is a morning bike ride in the park along Lake Michigan, an afternoon baseball game at Wrigley Field, a backyard barbeque, and a night at a blues bar on the South Side, all for maybe $30 or $35. A peak New York experience is a walk through Central Park, an afternoon at MOMA, a high-end dinner, and a Broadway show, all for, what, $300? Sure, you can get by cheaper in New York, but you’ll feel like you’re missing something. And you can spend more in Chicago—or opt for the Art Institute, a fancy restaurant, and some of the most compelling theater in America, if you prefer. But even if you choose the latter route in Chicago, it’s going to cost a lot less than in NY.</p>
<p>I was going to say NY hands down, but reading through the responses, I’ve got to agree with those who say it’s probably not the best place for a college student. Both my d’s went to high school here, but neither one even considered it for college. These posts are really making me want to visit Chicago.</p>
<p>Chicago is great.
I remember as a 15 year old walking through the loop, downtown, uptown, Water tower, etc
Man, it’s very walkable, the locals are friendly, it’s safe (for a big city)</p>
<p>Of course there are rough parts. Projects and public housing up in the north side. And south side. And west side. Hell, everywhere except the east near lake michigan is somewhat shoddy 
But anyways, it’s better, IMO, for college kids than NYC.</p>
<p>And its clean. I remember counting the number of cigarette butts on the ground…
Let’s just say there are just as many used condoms on the sidewalk in my native town as there are cigarette butts in downtown chicago.</p>
<p>jumping on the bandwagon…</p>
<p>I’ve lived in both these cities, I would have prefered Chicago as a college student, for reasons previously stated by others.</p>
<p>In Greenwich Village, you are a casual stroll away from satisfying nearly any human need you can imagine. If that’s not enough, you are an athletic walk away from China Town. In contrast, if you choose the University of Chicago, the city of Chicago will be at most a side-show. You’ll be living in a large, austerely beautiful, castle-like compound where you will be encouraged to forget your human needs and lead “the life of the mind” almost every waking hour. Escape will require more planning, more bundling up against the winter elements, and an athletic walk to public transportation, plus a wait, before you are even on your way to the temptations of the Loop or the Near North Side.</p>
<p>I like to visit NYC, but for living and going to college? I’d pick Chicago - no doubt about it.</p>
<p>It is not a perfect analogy, but I might submit that strictly from a campus look and feel standpoint, DePaul::City of Chicago is closer to NYU::NYC than UChicago::City of Chicago is.</p>
<p>That’s something that we pointed out earlier. Chicago is probably a better city for college kids than NYC. But UChicago isn’t exactly IN the thick of it. So it’s hard to compare.</p>
<p>If not being in the thick of it means students are more inclined to stay based more of the time on or near campus, so that there is a greater sense of college community, that is an additional plus, not a negative. All those things that are drawing people away cost money at a level that is geared more for the budget of working professional than for students.</p>
<p>I agree with monydad. I enjoy the sense of community with campuses. Hence I prefer campuses that arent integrated into the city. But some love that kind of campus, or else why would so many people apply to NYU?</p>