Thinking of moving from San Francisco to Chicago, advice?

Hey everyone....I've lived in San Francisco for the past year and am now thinking about attending school at Columbia College...the thing is; letting go of a great city like SF will be hard and I just want to know what I'm gaining/giving up...

I'm a young kid (20) who wants to do contribute to the literary world and the music industry, I like being in a comfortable place with friendly people...I also like my fair share of eccentric folk...and I am into music, writing, running, art and a little bit of everything else. What are Chicago's pros and cons as far as "young adult" living go? I pretty much feel as though I'm pretty stagnant here in San Francisco...and need to shake things up, and get on a good path...sooo any advice would help. thanks :)Thinking of moving from San Francisco to Chicago, advice?
Not to worry, Chicago's got its fair share of eccentric folk as well. Not to mention, Chicago is less expensive, a major plus on its side. Sports? You're covered. (and you don't have to drive to San Jose to watch hockey, either) You'll love running along the lakefront, a very nice pathway goes for about 20 miles from Jackson Park on the south side up to Andersonville on the north side. You'll have to learn to play softball with a much larger ball and no mitt, but you'll adjust.



Truthfully, other than mild winters, you won't be giving up much. Actually, you'll give up a few hundred less on the rent each month, and you won't have to drive to as many places if you find an apartment near good transportation. (which is pretty easy) Columbia College is a good school; my best friend graduated from there and they helped her get into Air Force officer training. (she's in Iraq now)Thinking of moving from San Francisco to Chicago, advice?
pros of Chicago life are the friendliness,The clubs,place to hang out,The scenic sights such as the tallest building in the United States,and the Water ToweR(a building that survived the Great Chicago Fire).

The cons are the unpredictable weather.Thinking of moving from San Francisco to Chicago, advice?
Moving from SF to Chicago i think would be a good move. I live in Chicago and I love the city. My aunt went to Columbia for photography, and she loved it. I'm sure you'll enjoy it too. Pro's and Con's of "young adult" life is, most people your age like to party and go to clubs and concerts. Chicago are friendly people. If you are into writting and the art cultrure. Chicago is the right place.Thinking of moving from San Francisco to Chicago, advice?
Bring a HEAVY jacket.
Man, this is a tough one. I just went to SF for the first time this past summer and loved it. Well, except for the hills. Hey, that's one advantage of Chicago right there: virtually no hills downtown!



Seriously, chicago has as much if not more than SF in terms of cultural activies like music, museums, nightclubs, etc. Chicago has live music in bars every night of the week, and many of the bars don't close until 4 a.m., or 5 a.m on Saturdays. There are bars that specialize in any type of music you want. Name it and you can find it going on in the middle of the week. There are tons of live theaters, from small storefront theaters to big stage musicals.



Yes, Chicago has winter, but the summers are kick ***! Tons of street fairs as well as big city sponsored festivals downtown with major national and international musical acts playing.



As far as literary events there are tons of live open mike poetry venues as well as the weekly poetry slam at the Green Mill (where the poetry slam was invented, by the way). In addition, many new prose venues have opened up with reading by local authors.



You're 20 now but hopefully you'll turn 21 by the time you move here. The drinking age to get into these places is 21.



There's rrealy too much to name. The best advice is to visit here for a week or so and see for yourself.



Oh, and I went to Columbia college myself and thought it was great. I received a degree in journalism and worked for a couple of newspapers here as well as wrote a piece or two for some magazines.