I'm glad you straighten him out about the hot dogs🤣 Kids put ketchup on hot dogs up til a certain age *then* they're expected to ditch it. The Dibs in the winter is no joke. Hipsters think they can buck the trend. *Umm* *Nope*. I lived in Wicker Park for 20 yrs. I seen a few hipsters with egged cars or cars immersed in ice-cause they parked in a shoveled spot l also learned- if I got home late. I better prepare to hunt for a parking spot-perhaps blocks away. Chgo is 1-of the *Realest* *Cities* in the u.s. It's the real city (Where) if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere (No Disrespect to N.Y.)
Another shock of Chicago is its inconsistent weather especially in the spring time. For example one day it will be 82 degrees and a few days later it’s only 55. Witnessing three or all seasons in one week isn’t uncommon. Wait a minute that’s what is happening now. Saturday felt like summer, Sunday was like spring today feels like fall and in a few days it’s going to be in the low 40s so winter like weather. You got to be prepared for it all when it comes to weather here.
I live very close to Chicago too, about an hour away in Indiana by the lake It's been super weird weather this year and a few weeks ago it was snowing and a couple days before that it was in the 70s or maybe 80s The past few weeks in general have been weird. Fluctuating between basically summer weather and 40 degree weather. So happy it's balanced out for the next week or so in the 50s and 60s, though I wish it was a bit warmer
@@juliasings6131 I live close to the Indiana border so I am in Indy all of the time as Indy has better sales tax and gas prices. 😁 Yes, you guys basically get the same weather!
How do you mention the cost of parking and “multi-lane switches” without once mentioning that Chicago has arguably the nation’s best transit system outside NYC? Much of the city is not best explored by car.
I’ve lived here(Chicago) my entire life, and I love it. We don’t have the best transit system. I guess it’s better than LA, and some others, but it is nowhere near the best.
I've watched a few of these Chicago video tours and I'm very surprised that nobody talks about how many unbelievable music venues Chicago has. All the big-time bands come through but you can attend some excellent live music event for relatively little money. And Chicago has every kind of music you can imagine with festivals every week. Pre-covid-19 there was not one single weekend all summer long where some neighborhood was having a festival of some sort.
What shocks me is, barring I-94, Chicago is really easy to get around. I don't think the traffic approaches the soul-deadening levels of an city like Atlanta. Also, I love me some Italian Beef, specifically Johnnie's Beef. Finally, not once have I felt unsafe in Chicago. A great American city.
1st thing @running4kabob *Hardly* *ANYONE* uses interstate designations. Dan Ryan, Kennedy, Ike, Bishop Ford, Edens etc,. We have to *think* when you say *I-94* 🤣 Good Lord. I used to live off North Ave for many years. Now I live South in Beverly. Whenever, I go up North, I gotta get Johnny's or Al's for Italian Beef/Lemonade. Jimnys for hot dogs & a trip to Roeser's Bakery. *Good* *Times* 😋
Not according to the department of transportation! LA, Chicago, Boston, DC are constantly the worst cities for traffic so I certainly wouldn’t say it’s easy to get around! Not gonna argue with you about the crime statistics, but you obviously didn’t drive much in Chicago ha ha…..
@@FrankRizzo7080 I mean, I've been to Chicago every year for the past decade. Still, I can't deny the statistics. Maybe there is just something exciting about the city that prevents me from getting riled up while sitting in traffic.
It gets real bad for the commute with Suburb to City or vice versa workers. So the Edens, Dan Ryan etc. are pretty bad around 7-10am and 3-8pm. But the rest of the time, it sorta moves, there are zones of speed and people will pass slow cars to get ahead. Just make sure your breaks work and don't leave too much room between you and the car in front of you or you will just infuriate people behind and around you.
Giordano's isn't really Chicago Style pizza, it is made in a pan and looks similar to Uno (the original Chicago deep dish pizza) or Lou Malnati's (my personal favorite), but Giordano's is a stuffed pizza and really is its own thing. Also, Chicago has two styles of pizza, not just one. In addition to the deep dish is pub style, which is a thin crust pizza cut into squares. For many of us who grew up in and around Chicago, pub style is the pizza we grew up eating and deep dish was something special you got when you made a trip downtown or if you were lucky enough to live in the northern suburbs where Malnati's originated.
2:25 I had a job where I commuted on the blue line from River North to Logan Square and then back in the afternoon. And I always sat in the last car because it was closest to the exit at the station I got off at. I would often literally be the only non-tourist in the car. They all had their suitcases with the airline stickers and would be reading through brochures or trying to look stuff up on their phone, or confused on where to go...the amount of time I spent helping them...I kinda felt like the board of tourism should've been giving me a stipend or something. But when you hear people having a conversation thats like "I think its (incorrect statement)." "no, I think its (also wrong). "You're both off, its (wrong again)." and you know the correct answer, its hard not to chime in. I guess thats the teacher in me. There were times it felt like I was doing a Q&A session or something.
The Chicago Cultural Center is really good. I can also recommend the free Chicago Greeter tours (unfortunately cannot post a link), which are really free and individual tours. My son and I did a tour of Polish Chicago (my great-grandparents married at St. John Cantius, a Polish parish at the time) and the downtown (including the former Iroquois theater, site of one of the worst fires in US history). Chicago is a wonderful destination, except in the summer (too humid) and winter (possible polar vortex).
If you can drive in Chicago, you can drive anywhere. I’m bias but I think Chicago has the best drivers out of all the major cities in the US. We love driving fast with awareness as much as we can
Another addendum to the parking problem is that lots of tourists get towed because they don't see the "temporary parking notices" that are posted on the utility poles on many streets in Chicago. These are limited date and time notices that state you cannot park in a particular place on certain dates at certain times. We once saw more than twenty cars get towed on Milwaukee Avenue in a single night. Many were tourists visiting Nick's to hear blues. If you don't want to add $200-$300 to your rental bill, take Uber or Lyft - and NEVER take an "independent" cab.
There's a parking problem here. Get a "transit pass", travel this way is very easy and affordable. If in a car you might have to park blocks away, or go around to find a parking spot - locals never use parking garages, too expensive - taxi cabs are also too expensive.
@@1Skorpia the busses are better now but in the summer there's crowding and they do two busses in a row, the train is easy, rides are expensive. I would just rent a car and search for parking, but I learned to drive here, so I can fit the small spaces. There's parking eventually
We don't park top, we always take someone with us to sit in the car while we run in to take care of business. In a pinch there's an alley that runs between Wells and LaSalle right in front of City Hall.
@@charlesandrews2360I'm talking overall at the end of the day residential when they all come home. It got much worse from when I was a kid, not every neighborhood but most, especially in winter. I wouldn't park in alleys, good way to get towed. Been there.
@@charlesandrews2360 yeah if you have someone to drive that's how we do business downtown sometimes. The Northside is creeping south to eat up the parking spots.
Local people born in Chicago are very pleasant but had to grow up with street smarts, so being too familiar with someone is a bit strange here. But everyone will stop to help you, just ask and they will take time to help (friendly people). Chicago didn't used to be such a nice place, so this did two things - made us be kind and help one another and made us a bit tough. Nowadays the transportation is better and there are more people from other places.
People were pissed that chicago was being seen in a negative light from the shootings. Thats not what the city is. Thats a small part of a VERY huge city. Chicagoans came out of their shell. Once they scan ya and see your not a threat they are quick to help. Street smarts made em not to trust at first glance. There are pickpockets and thugs -like any large city.
@@1Skorpia I'm in Chicago and was born here. More than half of it is quite dangerous. We have always been friendly, but there are alot less locals here now. It's pretty tame on the north side. And so gentrified.
The parking shock is true in the loop but in all other areas of the city, you can get street parking without much of an issue. You may have to pay for it, but it's far more reasonable than the numbers you're talking about in downtown parking garages.
Please tackle the misconception about "Chicago-style" pizza. Yes, Chicago is notorious for it's deep-dish pizza, but I'd like to argue that tavern-style is just as much Chicago-style pizza as deep-dish is. I feel like it doesn't get enough credit or recognition, especially when exposing tourists to Chicago's pizza scene.
And anybody who thinks Malört (really, am I the only one who remembers the umlaut?) tastes bad NEVER DRANK LA CROIX. There are FAR more disgusting drinks than Malört. And Chicago got its "Windy City" nickname BEFORE that nickname was applied to politicians.
Biggest shock:... property taxes. Dont be shocked that they can go up 4 to 6 thousand in a year, for a blue collar neighborhood. Yikes. But still Chicago is awesome.....most of the time.
Wolter you are usually one of my go to channels when traveling but this video and your don'ts of 4 years ago seem like a 2000s email forward of, "You know you're from Chicago if....." Born and raised in Chicago and I love ketchup on my Chicago dogs and have never been lashed for asking for it in any restaurant. Unless they save that for the tourists. $12-17 for parking up to 8-12 hours in downtown does not seem bad to me when that's what I've paid in cities like Philly/Pasadena/SanFran for 2 hours. The pizza debates are a standard in most cities that have pizza even if you're not Chicago/NYC/Rome those debates happen. Morlort is a shock even to me. That sounds like a Wrigleyville area thing and does not exist in the south or west sides. Which leads me to my question of....did you have a chance to explore the south and west sides of chicago? The NW side?
Moved here in 1987. If I could afford it, I'd live ANYWHERE but this hell hole of a crime-infested assault on the citizenry. This city used to be nice. It's now a special little hell on earth.
There's good and bad people in any city but I'd vote for Chicago. There's a Midwestern hospitality you don't find in NY. I used to work in hotels in Chicago and people visiting from cities like NY, LA and Boston would always mention how people were much friendlier in Chicago
There are lots of kids in my Chicago neighborhood! Mark and I filmed another video about visiting "Chicago with Kids" that went up on my channel at the same time this video went live. 😀
I was born and raised in the Midwest but did not visit Chicago until after I had moved away. What a fabulous city! We LOVED the Museum of Science and Industry and taking a harbor tour - fun to see the city from the water.
Was on the L as a cubs games was coming out, some Jamaican guy was on it drinking Hennessy and a cubs fan, clearly already drunk, shouts “yo let me get a shot” and he hands the bottle over, tells him to keep going, then later offers him more. Then as the Jamaican guy gets off the L he does a flip on the bars from the top of the train. Love Chicago!
Assuming there would be any "shocks" it would be for first time visitors-rookies. So it's a big miss to not include the miles and miles of beautiful lakefront, including perfect white sand beaches walking distance from Michigan Ave/downtown. That's very rare in the heart of big cities.
What will shock you, Chicago style pizza is NOT thick, deep dish. It is super thin, called tavern style pizza. What he showed is often known as “tourist pizza”, natives know it is NOT thick pizza. Sure, locals occasionally eat it, but tavern style is what Chicago style pizza is all about, cut in small squares. The farther away from downtown, the better the pizza. She must not really be a native if she doesn’t know Chicago pizza is super thin.
I guess that depends on the Chicagoan. I've lived in Chicago all my life and I definitely mean Deep Dish when I'm talking about Chicago-style. The other kind I have had, but honestly it's the opposite over here, that kind is only popular at schools or events to feed a lot of people. Usually Deep-Dish is way more popular, not counting the cheap pizza places like Dominos, Pizza Hut, etc.
@@IreneShardaForever perhaps, and never said not eaten, but without question deep dish less frequently eaten by majority of locals, with exponentially more pizza places (locals, not chains) serving thin crust pizza.
Mark, I'm starting to think that you are from Chicago. As somebody that spent the first 30 years of my life on the west side, you pronounce 'Chicago' just the way that many Irish people that I know used to say it. There's one major thing that you need to talk about with regard to Chicago. That's Italian beef sandwiches!!!! The first thing that I do when I get into town from Ireland is go straight to Portillos. Not quite as good as the old-time neighborhood Italian beef stands, but those beef sandwiches are to die for!!! Thinking about the au juice is making my mouth water as I write these words. In fact, when I was a kid I used to mow the McCarthy's grass next door. First thing after I got paid was ride my bike up to Connie's Beef to get 2 beef sandwiches. Pizza and hot dogs are fine, but Italian beef is truly Chicagoan! Great job as always!
Yes! Jocelyn and I mentioned the Italian Beef sandwiches in the "Eats of Chicago" video that went up on her channel this morning! So true, it's a must-try!
When I went to Chicago the first time, I was in shock that there was a drive thru McDonalds right downtown. I thought that part of Chicago would be kinda like Manhattan and wouldn't have drive thrus.
As someone who lived in NYC for eight years before moving back to Chicago, I can say that it's really nice how much easier it is to drive downtown! I guess there's more room for things like drive-throughs when the city isn't built on a small island!
@@MeansToTravel Except of course for the fact that the entirety of the Loop is an island! I think the thing that confused me a bit when I started working in River North was how hazy the concept of "Downtown" is here.
So interesting to learn that square cut was invented on the South Side, since I always associated it with STL and not Chicago! I just looked into the history a little and it sounds like square cut was invented by bars on the south side in order to easily give pizza away for free to customers so they'd keep drinking! Too funny. I've personally never paid for square cut pies, because I like to be able to hold it by the crust as part of the eating experience. :)
I left the Southside back in 1972. Have not been back, I am still a Chicagoan. The video shows how things have changed but the core of the City has not changed. Reason for leaving was two fold. 1) got excepted to Grad. School at San Jose State U. In Recreation, this was after I grad. From S.I.U back in 1972 in Outdoor Rec. & Education. 2) was the arthritis that I grew up with, if I did not leave I would have ended up in a wheel chair. I worked as a Park Ranger for four different Fed.Agencies. Been retired for over 17 yrs. What I learned growing up on the Southside help me to deal with people, when I was a Park Ranger.
I live in California now but lived in Chicago for 25 yrs and it's always gonna be my second home as my siblings still lives there. Love your shocking list. Laughing so hard at the amount of potholes in Chicago. There's hardly any here in California. But the worse drivers in my opinion are not from Chicago, California wins that! And everyone who lives outside of Chicago, lives in the suburbs. Chicago is a top notch town. So pretty especially in the summer. People are so friendly.
I'm glad you mentioned the "right kind of Chicago style pizza." People don't realize that there's a difference between Chicago deep dish pizza & Chicago style pizza. 🍕 🍕
I live in Chicago and my style of pizza is the one that is thin crusted, full of stuff on top, you hold a slice with one hand, fold it until the oil drips out, then put it in your mouth and eat it, in one smooth move, get it?
@@johnplampin7274 Ah, ah, ah, I learned this "folding " thing from a guy in Queens and also some people in Brooklyn, decades ago, I tried it and it was OK, but only on " thin crust ", don't knock it till you try it!
@@dc10fomin65 another example of New Yorkers trying to impose their ideas on the rest of us. Of course true Chicago thin pizza is in squares not foldable wedges.
@@johnplampin7274 I am 73 years old, there used to be a time when all pizzas were " pie cut ", I don't really even remember when they started cutting pizzas in "squares", so, if I want to " fold " I ask the pizza to be pie cut, very simple. I don't mind being influenced by others, that;s how we " learn " things! best regards to you !see you later, alligator!
Best Chicago memory: the Field Museum Worst Chicago memory: coming home from a different vacation and having our first plane get so delayed that we couldn’t make our connection so we had to get a hotel at midnight.
Haha My worst Chicago memory was a time we visited a friend for a shopping trip in the winter. I got sick in the middle of the day walking around and had to deal with it for a long part of the day before we went back to our friend's apartment (obviously, all before covid haha)
I used to live in Chicago, one thing I hear people mention all the time is the violence. This is only in a couple neighborhoods in the south and west. It’s not nearly as bad as the media makes it out to be. Love Chicago
Same way where I'm from. I had an in law say I was from a "ghetto area". There are two parks in the town next to mine where there are drugs and shootings. His neighborhood has a hooker trailer park and a know drug abuser on his street.
Individuals are robbed at gun point in front of their condo bldg at N Michigan and Walton at mid day. Or carjacked down town during daytime, or downtown looting, shooting and robbing 24/7 and visitors think that's only in a few neighborhoods. Or just look at places like Water Tower Place....Empty.!!! Go ahead and risk your life; not me. The CPD won't be there for you either.
Folks in Chicago do not drink Malort. It's a drink Chicagoans get visitors to drink as a joke. We are known for deep dish pizza but we have other styles also, all good. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Chicago's best trick on tourists is traffic reports. No one will give interstate numbers, every highway has a name that only the locals know. Truckers hate Chicago because of this.
I always watch your ‘don’t’ videos before going to anyyy place.. ❤️❤️😀we went to chicago and felt few things as well.. 😊😊😊Thanks for putting everything together 🔥🔥🔥 for ‘chicago baby’
Deep dish pizza isn’t “Chicago style” the best pizza and what all chicagoans eat is thin crust cut tavern style (squares) everyone has their favorite and they’re everywhere in the neighborhoods Leave that cheese lasagna cake for the tourists
Born and raised on the Northwest side. Many of us pronounce the name of the city as Chicawgo. The sound of the middle syllable sounds like what a crow says "caw." When I hear people say Chicago with the hard "ca" sound it hurts my ears.... Seriously. And if you live in the suburbs, please, do not say you are from Chicago. Instead, please, state that you live in a Chicago suburb!
Lolol Wolter is absolutely right. I live in Chicago. Pequod's Pizza!!!! Also Chicago pizza is deep dish, but locals eat tavern style so please try that too. Deep dish is only for when people visits us! Malort sucks. But you can’t visit Chicago and not try malort. Might as well not come. Try a polish dog. Maxwells. And lastly…… NO KETCHUP. Lol
Other shock about Chicago is how segregated it is! Most in the country and by this video it’s evident! Chicago also have some of the best soul food in the country! Let’s also talk about the old fashion donuts on 113th Michigan in the Roseland neighborhood excellent! We also have a beautiful dance out of the south side of Chicago called Steppin!
people from Chicago don't eat deep dish. Thin crust in squares is the ONLY Chicago pizza. Also.... the cultural offerings (it's the Art INSTITUTE , btw) aren't shocking 😶 born, raised and lived in Chicago for over 30 years, I've NEVER heard of Malort (tha fuq is that?!) None of this information is "shocking" other than the potholes
Only thing missing from this fun and informative clip....is the "soul" food. Doesn't get any better than that....than in Chicago. Yeah, I'm a Chicagoan!
Lifelong Chicagoan here. I came in to say something clever like "Chicago, come for the food and museums and stay because you got shot" or "if you don't like the weather in Chicago, just wait a few minutes......it will change"......but you guys did a good job with this video. Cheers.
I moved out of chicago and my biggest shocks. 1. No blinkers ,people weaving in and out of lanes like maniacs. 2. Weight gain- the food is pure heaven. You cant resist. 3. Prices of anything in downtown. Or tourist hotspots. Complete ripoff. Bring a backpack with essentials. Umbrella/pack of tissue-toilet/ water bottle you can fill up free at spots at the beach/ snacks/flip flops(highly reccomend running shoes /croc sandals if you walking downtown -switch out when going to beach)/towel/meds like tylenol. 4. If your going downtown for the day-your gonna walk. Alot. Thats why i love eating and walking there. Burn it off. The weather changes. Layer up. Dress comfortably with comfortable shoes. 5. Shock for me - alot of traveling. You can just go 2 places and there goes the whole day. 6. To me the variety of people in chicago rivals new york. I joke chicago is the lil brother of new york. Chicagoans are earthy and love to have fun. Quick to dance if the beat is good. 7. One on my favorite memories was driving in june and my block had music blasting and barebecues from 3 different houses. 1. played old school house music 2 .played mexican music 3 . played 90s r and b. Of course the smell is amazing. The vibe that day was so great in the hood. My mom and i sat on the front steps guessing songs and catching up. I put it as a shock because i live far up north and i forget how "cool" my city is. Just stay out of the sketchy hoods at night and you will be fine. Nobody goes there anyway. Its far from downtown. Chicago IS HUGE!!
