Chicago 2016: Our credit rating is lower than your credit rating

hey i am sorry i missed you ned. mh, hmu if u are around.

Hey there! Long since returned but I can assure you that while on the river architecture tour I was tickled to note the Britannica building.

oh, cool!

i have never actually done that boat tour but have heard great things.

2016?

So I'll be in town MLK weekend. What's the best way to get around and take in the sights in mid-winter?

Music-wise: Looks like I'll be missing Tortoise and Advance Base shows by a day.

CTA
Cabs/uber
Walking
Driving

Really kind of depends where you are and where you want to go, too.

Overheard some thing on NPR the other day arguing that, as abysmal a mayor as Emanuel may be, having a total dick in office may help offset some of the potential federal-level dickishness that's almost certainly headed everyone's way (I think this discussion was specifically about maintaining Chicago's sanctuary city status). Feels a little like aligning oneself with the least malignant gang in prison or huddling in the cave of the post-apocalyptic warlord least likely to eat your family but there may be some sad truth to the notion.

cold comfort imo

Thanks dan m! We're staying downtown but will be up for exploring Bucktown, Wicker Park, Lincoln Park (and the neighborhoods NW up Lincoln). The L Blue Line looks pretty integral.

don't forget about buses. sometimes it's more efficient to take a bus than the train.
don't feel bad about missing advance base, i'm not in the band anymore (jk advance base is still great even though i'm not in the band anymore)

really liked the metra and how they have an app you can buy passes with

Haha, I had no idea you were in AB!

I'll be taking the Metra at least once (don't ask).

CTA Bustracker has bus/train times -- def comes in handy during the cold.

http://www.ctabustracker.com

gotta suggest taking the Lincoln bus for Jeff

We have been remarkably snow free so far. Snow truly affects the best ways to get around. Also Sub-Zero temperatures, or lack thereof. It is about 40 degrees right now. In a couple days it is supposed to be 5. The first is fine to walk in, the second you want to avoid.

having visited chicago in january when it was raining and several inches of snow were dissolving into slush, if you can't line up a good train/bus combo during wet weather that gets you within a couple blocks of your destination, it's very reasonable to take a cab or uber the last stretch

I normally don't balk at slushy walks but while doing so I accidentally got turned around and went two blocks out of my way, followed by stepping it what seemed like a small amount of water but ended up being a four inch deep puddle

Also, beware of falling ice. I don't walk anywhere without adhering to a totally unpredictable zig-zag pattern.

Got everything planned out?

I'm driving from Decorah, IA to DeKalb, IL tomorrow than transferring to a METRA to meet my wife in River North (tourist hotel centroid #1)

Thank you for asking btw, does anyone like the Cubbies? Does f/redwell still inhabit this particular dimension?

Is this the most recent Chicago thread? Looks like I'm going to be visiting in late August for 5 days or so. Where should I stay? I'll be staying downtown for work for a couple days, but I could stay elsewhere for the other days. I'm inclined to find an Airbnb in a different neighbourhood.

Unless you got your eyes on a specific neighborhood, probably best to stay centrally located. Easy to get to most popular hoods via public transit.

yeah downtown is def the spoke for the el, so it's convenient for getting out to the various neighborhoods. if you stay somewhere on the north side you might find yourself going back downtown to go back out to another neighborhood on the train, or having to figure out buses (which isn't that hard)

my counterpoint as a non-Chicago resident would be that staying in/near downtown means you're going to have fewer neighborhood amenities. if you're in an airbnb, it can be nice to have some restaurants/bars/stores (or a grocery store if you have a fridge) you can walk to in the evening and morning, even if you're checking out sights or touristy junk during the day

I might just be having flashbacks to the time I arrived early sunday morning on memorial day weekend and got downtown only to realize *nothing* was open. couldn't even find a good brunch open until 10AM :(

Yeah, downtown Chicago hardly city-that-never sleeps-y, more just plain sleepy, barring a couple of bars and other places. But it does indeed make a good hub, and there are more than enough museums, stores, bars and places to eat to keep you busy for a few days. The alternative would be an Air bnb in maybe Lakeview, which is just a bit north of the city and has more than enough stuff of its own nearby.

xpost Yeah, the Loop kicks the bucket altogether on holidays. I had to work on Easter once, and when lunchtime rolled around I wound up walking for blocks until I finally found an Arby's that was open. Sucked.

Walked through block after block of closed restaurants, I should specify. I wasn't on an Arby's Quest.

I realized I'd never been to Navy Pier, figured I could at least look at the lake

ended up eating a breakfast sandwich at mcdonalds, and staring directly into a bank of fog that obscured any view whatsoever

Navy Pier has gotten better but it's still lame. The best way to see the lake is ... anywhere else by the lake. Museum Campus, perhaps, by the Shedd is a pretty great view. Or any of the beaches.

But xposting, 5 days is a good hunk of time, what kind of stuff do you hope to see or do here?

Thanks everyone. Looks like I'll be there from Friday night until Wednesday. I'm at a conference downtown Mon/Tues. Probably catch a Cubs game one of those nights. I like to explore different neighbourhoods... just walk around without a plan etc. so maybe downtown would be best? Otherwise I'd like to check out some microbreweries. Record and book stores if those still exist. Its all in the planning stage right now.

Airbnbing in the west loop would be nice, I think. Easy enough to get straight downtown by green/pink line or cabs, or plain walking. Plenty of food and booze of all kinds to be had.

I always tell visitors to rent a bike and go for a lakefront ride.

NB: I have no idea if there are airbnbs in the west loop.

tourist me says west loop would be pretty ok

i had a visiting friend who was staying in a beautiful airbnb loft apartment accross the street from soho house - def very lively in west loop & river north 6-7 days a week

soho house is west loop

Hit Revolution or Lagunitas for beer.

Never thought of Chicago as a wander around the neighborhood city, imo. But wander around the lake front is A+.

Don't waste your time going all the way down to Laguintas for beer. The place is a spectacle, but for the best use of your time I recommend hitting several smaller but quality breweries in Ravenswood/North Center. In particular Dovetail/Begyle/Half Acre. They're all super close to each other and high quality.

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/chicagos-ravenswood-brewery-corridor-great-craft-beer-crawls-are-only-a-train-ride-away-431266.php

Yeah, thanks. That's exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Plus there's a whole lot more to do up there than down by Lagunitas, unless you have a reason to be down by Lagunitas.

Yeah if you're looking to just go on a drinking binge just start up there and drink your way down Lincoln Ave. Some great beer bars in the Fountainhead, Bad Apple, Northdown, Northman (cider bar), Green Lady, Bitter Pops, Beermiscuous, Delilah's, and the new Lakeview Whole Foods (seriously). Many more.

lol

I'm headed to WF right now!

The one time I met Josh in Chicago it was in a different Whole Foods.

The best Whole Foods! You can shop by Kayak.

All drafts $4 on Thursday's! Including Bourbon county, abraxas today.

https://twitter.com/jheath/status/857716400772796417

going to have to come back to town to check out these different whole foods stores to determine the best

Never thought of Chicago as a wander around the neighborhood city, imo. But wander around the lake front is A+.

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, April 27, 2017 12:12 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Dude, you have some neighborhood wandering to do! This was all I did when I first moved here and was totally broke. So many different neighborhoods with their own distinct flavor. It's the best. Now I just want to leave work and amble.

But yes, this also included walking for miles up and down the shore.