Why are so many people living in Chicago?

What brought people there in the first place? What does Chicago Illinois have to offer?

The railroads and the proximity to water started the settlers that came here. It was a good jumping off point for the rest of the country. And as to what it has to offer now - pretty much everything - great culture, great public transportation, great museums, great art, music, and restaurants.

It's a big city just like any big city there is jobs

It starts want an "M" ends with and "oney" and it rhymes with "money"

Chicago is a HUGE business center, and that means tons of opportunity and money

It has everything New York and Boston have, but at much cheaper rents and prices, and much cleaner. For most of the late 90's and early 2000's, it was the big city to move to if you wanted to live in the North. It still is to some extent, but the population is starting to really get up there, especially in the suburbs. Chicago and its nearby suburbs used to just be called "Chicagoland," but then you had the 6-county area, and now the 9-county area. Sprawl is starting to look a bit like L.A., but it still has the well-defined downtown like New York does.

It's the best city in the whole world PERIOD.
And it's also very overlooked in my opinion.

One word..... OPRAH.

we love Winter weather...especially days like today!

Chicago was a major trading post (if you want to go that far back) and one of the first settlers, Jean Baptiste DuSable, settled near the river not too far from where the Tribune Tower is now. But its location made Chicago popular: right near a major body of water (Lake Michigan) which was good for shipping things in and out. As for what brings people here now, it's business. The city is a hub of major business activity.

It's clean, fairly safe for a big city, and while it's not by any means cheap, it's definitely less expensive than say, New York. It's got lots of colleges, business/job opportunities and good shopping and the water is pretty. Plus it's Midwestern people, and they tend to be friendly.

The people here are nice, the lake, tons of shopping, and great food. If you have never been here, come see for yourself before you judge us.

They like shitty weather ?