Bleh. We've been living here since 2016, my wife is getting her Masters in Fine Arts from the School Of The Art Institute here. Our time here is up in June (Thank goodness). We're European, I'm Italian & she's Swedish. We live in Lisbon.
I was pretty excited to move to Chicago for 2 years. That excitement was drained about 2 months in. I'm not a fan of the US in general though, and Chicago is probably the US's most "American" major city. Very dim-witted, low IQ, "durrr sports fan" Midwestern aesthetic to the place. As much as Chicago likes to refer to itself as a "world class metropolis", the fact is that it's located in the Midwestern United States, and the vast majority of it's transplant residents are atypical cornfed, culturally-void Midwestern lugs. It has some world class elements to it, do not get me wrong, but they are the exceptions to the greater rule, and the city itself seems to be trying to move away from the arts & solidify itself as a purely corporate city.
It's also absurdly expensive for what you get in return. ie: Los Angeles is similarly priced, except you get to be in a natural wonderland, with direct access to beaches, mountains, forests, etc, as well as all the trappings of big city life. So high taxes make sense there. You need to travel at LEAST 3 hours outside of Chicago to experience any real nature, and even then, you're still in the Midwest.
Some good restaurants though. Especially restaurant row (along Randolph in the West Loop). A word of advice: stay away from the downtown area. Stay in a neighborhood. Preferably Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Pilsen, West Town, West Loop, Logan Square, Wicker Park, or Bucktown (where we live).
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