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by bbarn 3444 days ago
The Author should spend time in Chicago. We've got ridiculous taxes on everything, general sales tax itself is almost 11% now, and nothing in this city works. The trains barely function close to on time, the streets are riddled with potholes, and the police are afraid of PR problems so much crime is escalating.

Also, the weather sucks.
5 comments
brianwawok 3444 days ago
Chicago is fantastic. You should try a few other cities and report back.

Source: Moved out and now want to go back.

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arcticfox 3444 days ago
Really? I mean, if you have money and can make sure you're in specific areas of the city enjoying specific things, I can see it being great.

But a blanket statement like that about Chicago is very surprising given all of the negative things about its situation (unbelievable gun violence, for one).

Also I can never get over the hilariously bad 75-year lease of its parking meters where they got $1B up front in exchange for eschewing massive amounts of ongoing revenue (the lessees have made $650M+ in revenue in 6 years while sapping the populace dry). Now Chicago actually has to lose money and pay Abu Dhabi any time they want to shut down a street for maintenance or public festivals. Fantastic!

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brianwawok 3444 days ago
> (unbelievable gun violence, for one).

Gun violence does NOT happen in the "good" parts of the city to "good" people. I mean yes I am sure it happens. But the good parts of Chicago have being shot by a gun odds as lower or lower as any other major American city. (Look at say the Violent crime rate in Lincoln Park or Oldtown).

Deal with drugs or live in a bad area? Yes, not that safe. But I am lucky to avoid both of those.

Parking meter was total robbery. But Chicago has good income. The small town I moved to is like the city in this story. Too many roads that cannot be paid to maintain. My city literally has 0 debt. Not low debt, but like literally 0 debt. But he average salary is 35k, and each year the city crumbles a little bit more. Chicago with the average salary double that, even with debt, is a more attractive place to live.

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cozzyd 3444 days ago
That parking meter thing is terrible but it probably wouldn't have been politically feasible to raise parking fees to sane rates otherwise.

Also, I really like Chicago. It's a great place to live downtown (and unlike other NYC, Boston or SF, living downtown is not out of reach for people making under $100k).

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Salgat 3444 days ago
What? I've lived in Chicago for about a year and its public transit is one thing it does right.
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dagw 3444 days ago
I've only been as a tourist, but I found the public transport to be among the better I've experienced in the US.
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pdovy 3444 days ago
Yeah as a transplant Chicagoan I'd have to disagree, on balance our infrastructure is pretty good. CTA works well enough for me to commute daily for the last 8 years without owning a car, and they've been systematically replacing water and gas lines around my neighborhood for the past few years. Not to mention new green / public space investments like the 606, Maggie Daley Park, etc.

Road resurfacing is pretty good where I am, but oddly is largely a function of how effective the alderman for your ward is, since a lot of the cost typically comes out of their budget.

The real problems with the city IMHO are massive unfunded pension liabilities and a huge segregation problem between the north/south sides.

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jandrese 3443 days ago
Maybe you should try moving to the north side of the city?
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