1. Friendly locals: One of the first things that stood out to me when I visited Chicago was how friendly and helpful the locals were. They were more than willing to help out lost souls (like me) while wandering around their city.

2. Food Halls: I’ve never seen so many access to food halls as much as I did while I was in Chicago. In Orange County, I only know of 1 which is the Packing District in Anaheim. Chicago had endless options from Eataly to Revival Food hall.

3. Cleanliness: Chicago keep their streets very clean. I was fairly surprised how they managed to keep it clean considering there are over 2 million people living there.

4. Rooftop Bars: I thought L.A. had plenty of rooftop bars, Chicago seemed to have more and with better views. Londhouse Rooftop Bar was one of the nicest views I’ve seen that overlooked the Chicago river and various points of downtown.

5. Architectecture: Chicago is famous for their architecture tours. Having been able to experience it, I’d say it is one of the best I’ve seen. Never miss this when visiting Chicago.