I keep hearing "Toronto is coming close to Chicago" but I dont see it
 

Even with Toronto's massive downtown growth which is incredibly impressive I still think Toronto is a couple decades away from catching up to Chicago, and thats assuming downtown Chicago doesnt grow much...which I doubt. Theres no shame in being number 3 in USA/Canada.

awww - so cute, you are being openly insecure. There there, here is a hug from the Canadian forumers. *Hugs*

Chicago to me is a far more dangerous version of Toronto. Though I do like Chicago.

Toronto and Chicago are very different cities: their reasons for being, their histories, what role they play in their respective countries, how they look, how they feel, the kind of people that are attracted to each, etc.

Catching up in which way?

Both cities are great. But after you spend time in both cities, you notice that Toronto, including the central downtown area, is still much healthier than Chicago, including the downtown area of Chicago.

Chicago has outstanding architecture, which Toronto could sure learn from. But a side from that, I don't know if there is much catching up to do.

Again both cities have great things. But many people tend to hang out on Michigan Ave in Chicago, and forget about all the issues facing the city in other neighborhoods. Not to mention the core loop area which still is struggling to become as vibrant as it once was.

Going to Chicago thursday for the first time, I'm excited!

I think Toronto is definitely a North American metropolis now, but it's still not as big as Chicago. Unless Toronto can pop up a few 300m towers and a 400m tower in the skyline...

Skyscrapers aside, Chicago is beautiful but also has it's really ugly sides. I'd rather live in Toronto if I had to choose, so Toronto shouldn't aspire to become Chicago, but rather to become an even bigger Toronto and make it's own name.

Historical Note: Winnipeg was once called the "Chicago of the North". really...


Can I start a Comparison thread..Winnipeg similiar to Chicago way back when...?

Regardless I prefer Toronto, by far.

Toronto will never be Chicago of Canada at all, everything between 2 cities are much different. Chicago is much older city than Toronto. I rather choose Toronto over Chicago for many different reasons.

Think that was more related to its position with the railways turn of the last century... things have changed.

I did not think this thread will go this far...

Is this true? It would probably be more accurate to say that Chicago got started a little later (~1850) but grew much more quickly for a while.

I've always found this comparison a little odd because the two cities don't seem like they compete very directly. One is the primary business centre for Canada and the other other plays a similar role for the Midwestern US. Economic competition aside, the question of which place is better to live in or visit is more a matter of taste.

It is kind of interesting though that the Chicago-Toronto thing feels real enough that people are making threads about it now. Chicagoans who entertain this comparison are implicitly accepting a change in relative stature between the two cities compared to where they were a few decades ago.

Your quite right Feepa when it comes to what it was and how much it's changed due to it's geographical location in the past.

I just felt this was an odd thread for the Canadian forum, where one could start dozens of threads comparing one specific city in Canada to ___________ any city in the world? It seems more local specific.

Likely not, It just sets a precedent for Moderators. If this thread is allowed to run it's course, there can be no reason not to allow any thread in the future that compares one Canadian City to any other regardless of where it is located, whatever the topic may be. IMHO.

Whatever is decided is cool with me, I don't decide, not my place, but it would open all possibilites to City vs. City threads in the Canadian forum. :)

Meh, the danger is largely confined to certain neighborhoods and largely involves people who know each other and gang members.

It's horrible that such a thing would exist, but if you moved to Chicago, you can have a great standard of living and live with a peace of mind as long as you're not walking around at 3AM in certain neighborhoods in the South Side while showing off your great smartphone or whatever.

Point is that for the average person going there... the likelihood of being subject to danger is extremely low.

I do think the two skylines would seem closer in size if Toronto (and the GTA's) highrises were set up like Chicago's. Chicago has a long, and fairly thin, band of highrises along the lake. Toronto's skyline is basically a thin band perpendicular to the lake (though this is changing) and then a half bajillion clumps scattered across the urban area.

Toronto is probably a few decades of from catching Chicago, but it was 5 million vs. 1 million in 1950, and is now* 8.8 million to 6.3 million, and with nothing in North America in between it makes sense that Chicago is their target.

*2012, the most recent place I could find both on the same list.

If we're talking about the number of skyscrapers in the city, a couple of decades is far too long -- I'd say within the next decade.

This is true. But being an American city, you are still subject to issues that hopefully we never will have to worry about in Canadian cities.

While most of the danger is confined to some neighborhoods, there have been issues in the nice areas. The swarming and attacks on Michigan Ave of shoppers, the beating up of people coming out of gay bars on the north side, school issues, and other concerns.

This is not just a Chicago thing, but happens in most American cities.

Even Milwaukee Ave has lots of gaps, vacant storefronts and suburban looking strip malls not that far from the core. While I love that part of the city, it's not as consistently vibrant as Queen or even Bloor.

As others have mentioned though, Chicago isn't quite as similar to Toronto as it sometimes gets portrayed. The layout and vernacular of both cities are quite different, and each has its pros and cons.

Edit: was reading quickly and misread Michigan for Milwaukee. These don't apply to Michigan, which is gorgeous!

I see quite a bit of similarities between Toronto and Chicago. Chicago has more of the large office buildings while Toronto has more residential towers. I don't think it's a stretch at all comparing the skylines. The two cities at street level are different.