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I lived in Japan for a time about 10 years ago, and it's ridiculous how true this is when Chicago came up. If they mentioned Capone it was always with a little tommy gun hand gesture.
Man, I was in a bar at Narita on a layover once, some old Japanese grandpa asked where I was coming from - I said Chicago. He goes "Oh, bang bang" and makes the tommy-gun-from-hip gesture. Normally I'd feign some sort of offense for a joke "Oh, we're more than that, you know" but I was so delighted by the smiling old Japanese guy that I was like "Fuck it, bang bang"
It really depends on where you're traveling to. I talked to some kids about Toni Kukoc when I was in Croatia and Obama when I was in Ghana.
Obama was so big in Ghana that his image was used to advertise everything from a local bar to biscuits (cookies).
100% makes sense. I think *when* also matters - I got "Obama" a lot in early 2009 in Istanbul because he'd just won the election. My black friend was with me and people would hug him and give him free stuff, as if *he* was Obama. It was hilarious and strange.
I mentioned it to a guy once and he said "Oh, the Windy City! Is it really that windy there?" and I told him we had straps on the bus stops to hold on to in order to avoid getting blown away and he was amazed.
Called Windy City for the politicians ability to waver from one position on an issue to another easily. greasing palms and shadiness, etc. you know, classic Chicago politicians.
But it’s pretty dang windy too.
Edit: My lore comes from born and raised southside to a couple cop parents. We referred to it as politicians views changing, with a brisk wind, and some money... to the point where our politicians looked like whacky inflatable waving arm tube guy. But I've been told that a lot of folks challenge that with the blowhard factor, the long windedness of politicians.
First, its lore. Like O'leary's cow tipping the lantern. It's never truly able to be factual, it's story passed on so there can be many versions. I like my version better, and it makes more sense than oh ya old blowhard lets name a whole city nickname off what all politicians do everywhere always. I like my old man 30 year Chicago Cop's version, rest his soul, it made more sense and it's a better version. Like the Cow, ya know?
This is a decent and short read about it:
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/6.html#:~:text=The%20power%20of%20the%20name,Chicago%20with%20loquacious%20politicians%2C%20thus
Just traveled to Europe and anyone I told I was from Chicago would always respond positively. Comments about the architecture, food, and cleanliness were the most common.
I was in Spain but spoke with people from France and Germany too.
A friend used to work at a law firm that had a lot of UK business, and he said the most common thing they would mention is how clean Chicago is. Alleys are such a game changer.
I lived in Brooklyn for 3 years and it still makes me feel grossed out that when I took out my trash I’d literally set it out on the sidewalk piled on top of other bags of trash. What a stinky, dirty eyesore.
I lived in France for a few years, and when I would mention I was from Chicago, they almost always responded saying it was the top US city they were interested in visiting - along with San Francisco, both for the architecture.
When I lived in Italy on the other hand, everyone was unanimously desperate to visit New York or Miami (lol). Funny how different cities hold different appeal to different cultures.
This! I was an exchange student with a French family in high school and I was surprised when their first family vacation to the US was to Chicago. For context, I am a reformed East Coast snob.
Yeah I live in Ireland now but used to live in Chicago and everyone here only has positive things to say! They do all however bring up how much they can’t stand Trump😅
I’ve talked about this a few times on here before, but because of my job I basically can travel the world for basically free, and I use those benefits a lot. So it’s kind of fun the difference in regions.
Western Europe you get a lot of people saying they’ve been and loved it, or they want to go but have only been to NYC. Rest of Europe you hear “cold” or “Michael Jordan”. Asia you hear about The Bulls/Jordan. Mexico they reference the cold. South America is the cold. But my absolute favorite thing i never expected was the Central American response, they fucking love the Chicago shows. This was for a while pre Covid, don’t get it as much anymore, but I got a lot of comments referencing the shows. It was kind of surprising to me!
Wasn't it publicized that during the Cubs 2016 WS run there were a lot of Central American fans of the Cubs, all because WGN was broadcast there?
Do you think that could be the basis for what you experienced?
WGN has slightly different programming on cable. It’s likely that they air the Chicago shows instead of stuff like the morning news when you’re watching in Baltimore, for example.
I've gotten the Chicago shows response in Central America and the Middle East. I'm surprised every time because I never image people in other countries watching those shows so much.
I was in a hostel in Vietnam and saw a guy wearing a white Sox hat. I pointed at it and said yo man are you from Chicago? And he responded in a thick Irish accent “i saw easy e wearing it mate”
I'm going to Italy this fall. I'm a guy who wears hats 95% of the time. All varieties. I was trying to think of what baseball cap I could wear in Italy that wouldn't be an immediate giveaway that I'm American. I settled on bringing one of my Bulls hats, because I have heard before that due to the Jordan-era Bulls, they are quite popular in Europe. The Bulls logo is the 2nd most recognized American sports team logo, next to the Yankees.
It’s pretty hysterical spending a couple minutes outside of the house if you’re ever in Winnetka. People from everywhere visit it, it’s like a shrine. Around the holidays it gets super busy.
I had a very nice German man on a plane ask if there was a lot of German influence in Chicago. It gave me pause because the first thing that came to mind was the German beer riots, which didn’t feel like the right answer. But sure the Chicago hot dog has German origins.
2 summers ago, I went to Gleneagles resort in Auchterarder, Scotland. While I was there, we did quite a bit of skeet shooting. The firearms instructor had actually spent some time in Chicago, and he said the same thing. Are we talking about the same guy?
I have a nice one! I visited London last year with family. We were struggling to figure out how to get back to our hotel on the tube and a very friendly British guy helped us out and was thrilled to hear that I lived in Chicago.
He had visited Chicago in the middle February to visit a friend. That friend then bailed on him. He didn’t know anyone and he wasn’t dressed for a Chicago winter.
He said that that the Chicago locals were so friendly and kind. They let him borrow a coat. He was invited into their homes for dinner. He was completely blown away by how friendly and generous all the people he met were.
I think the kindness he experienced here made him eager to help us hapless Americans navigate the London tube.
I recently got two men in Florida saying, “Oh, Chicago? So you live with all the thugs and gangs, huh?”
I, petite and fairly young woman, responded, “Yes. I actually lead a gang. I am very violent. Don’t visit.”
Other than that it’s usually, “Oh! Have you been to the Bean?!”
I love you lead a gang! On vacation in Mexico, I told an American couple I was from Chicago and the wife gasped and asked “Oh my, everyone gets shot there, right?” And I responded, “Yes, they do. In fact, I’m a ghost.” Maybe we can start a ghost gang?
My husband and I usually play up this angle too. “He was shot three times last week on his commute, but no way we were going to lose our non-refundable deposit!”
I had a coworker from a different city (Dallas) say that to me as well, lol. Then he proceeded to talk crap about me just because I’m from Chicago…like sir really? It was so bizarre.
When I studied in Slovakia in 2010, I got a lot of "Blackhawks! Marián Hossa!" There have been a few Slovaks on the team: Handzuš, Pánik, Kopecký, Bondra, Jurčo, and Daňo, so it was fun to see how people followed their favorite local to the US. I was especially happy when Pánik joined since he was from the area where I lived.
Edit. Of course the older people remembered Mikita, but a lot started watching the Hawks again when Hossa joined.
They say "me too"... Literally, I run into Chicago people everywhere I travel... One time it was so absurd I was on a hiking tour, to a dormant volcano, in Iceland, with only 12 other people and one of the guys lives in the town where I grew up... It's bonkers... Can't get away from Chicago! 😂
I had this happen this week at a hostel in Costa Rica. I heard one of the employees giving a tour and thought "Now THAT is a Chicago accent". Turns out she's from Rogers Park.
Haha. This happened a month ago... I was driving in New Mexico and randomly pulled off at this giant Pistachio statue roadside attraction/gift shop thing. Turns out they have a pistachio farm and they give little golf cart tours for $3 so we say, what the hell let's do it, 4 old ladies are in our golf cart, 2 of them grew up/lived in in Andersonville for many years, I live in Ravenswood... Like seriously, it's absolutely insane how often this happens.
I remember one time I was on the side of a mountain in Switzerland and my sister and I were walking about and taking photos/video. My sister was wearing a bears shirt, and when a Swiss guy bikes past us on the mountain trail he yelled "da bears".
I went to Osaka to visit a friend a while back, and didn’t realize we were sister cities until I was walking through one of their underground subway/shopping mall areas and came across a display of art on loan from the Art Institute lol
I often jokingly compare Chicago to a Swiss city because it has a river and a lake.
Once in Italy, a Zurich citizen was shocked by the comparison, looked at a map on his phone and thought our fair city was on a ocean
I was trying to describe our lake in my terrible high school Spanish to Guatemalans at Lake Atitlan who were also using Spanish as a second language. My intention was to say we have a lake too but it’s so big you can’t see the other side and they were looking at me and clearly thinking my Spanish was beyond help.
A lot of concerned relatives telling me not to go outside at night in case the gangs are out... In Lakeview East. Or they took the architecture tour once in college and thought it was super cool
In 2017 I had a fun night singing karaoke in Berlin. A girl heard I was from Chicago, so she put “everybody needs somebody to love” from the Blues Brothers into the machine. I was a little miffed for about a second, but as soon as that Dan Aykroyd spoken word bit started I was up at the mic
I'm Asian. Generally, whenever I tell people in other countries I'm from Chicago, the only reaction I get is 'how?'.
They imagine some tragic or convoluted backstory that explains how I came to be. Abandoned Chinese baby, rich white adoptive parents, something like that.
Nope. Sorry to ruin your psychodrama, but it's just a diverse and multicultural city. And it's great, and I feel sad if yours aren't the same.
Chicago the musical or Al Capone, Michael Jordan, Bulls. Although shockingly many people haven’t heard of Chicago, particularly when I lived in Asia. Crazy
Currently abroad in a few different Asian countries. In all of them, people have expressed they wouldn’t come to Chicago because of fear of being shot. Everyone is pleasant and is happy to talk with me, but I find it sad that this is our reputation. Tbh even across the US this is our reputation.
Chicago has a strange mix of international prevalence and anonymity if that makes sense. I’ve met plenty of people that know LA or NY but not Chicago. In SE Asia I’ve seen several people wearing Bulls jerseys that didn’t recognize the name Chicago on their chest. They just liked the colors. China has 43 cities larger than Chicago. I’ve been there and I only recognize the names of the ones over 10 million. Wuhan being at the bottom of that list, wouldn’t have known that without covid. The other half I only recognize because they had massive industrial accidents. Why would they know Chicago?
Over twenty years ago, I was studying in Europe. While in Germany, I told someone I was from Chicago, and their IMMEDIATE reaction was all about Jerry Springer lol.
Otherwise, lots of Al Capone references.
The musical, Chicago.
I was in Tokyo and stopped at a place called Asakusa Chicken. The employee wanted to know where I was from and I told her Chicago. Right away, she was like "ooohhhhh Chicago the musical!" She also mentioned Michael Jordan.
I live in Oak Park, I was visiting Italy and someone asked where I'm from. I though it'd be the one time it'd be okay to say I'm from Chicago. The person followed up with "are you in the city or the suburbs." 😬
Non-Americans generally react positively to Chicago, because they’re less likely to be reactionary assholes brainwashed on right-wing media.
Also, the sorts of folks I meet know about the radical labor history of Chicago, which has drawn a lot of international solidarity.
I was in Vegas in 2011 and asked where the bathroom was and got called out immediately for my accent. Aussies I’ve met said they liked my accent and asked “isn’t Chicago dangerous”? But then they came back 3 years later to visit and I showed them around, they were amazed by how big and beautiful our city is and said it was similar NYC for them.
International reactions would I assume be more based on old stereotypes of gangsters, political corruption, sweeping skylines, and harsh winters. But I can't speak to those as I haven't traveled abroad since moving here.
But the reactions I get *domestically* when traveling to somewhere that isn't a coastal metro are priceless.
They just kind of say "Chicago??!!!" Incredulously while trying to figure out why I don't look like swiss cheese from all the stray bullets.
While back I bought a pastry from a dude in a U-Bahn Station in Berlin and we got to talking. I told him I was from Chicago. His eyes brightened, he stood up a bit and said, in a genuinely earnest tone, "oooh-la-la! Chicago! Very nice!"
Hands down the best response I've ever gotten. I'll never forget that man or his enthusiasm
I was in Italy recently and got a lot of “Chicago, ah, the Windy City” or “my brother/cousin/etc lives there”. I thought my friend’s answer (California) would get more reactions, but Chicago definitely got more!
I always mention to visitors where the garage was where the St. Valentine's Day Massacre happened (they are always disappointed), and the townhomes where the lookouts waited.
There are some fun tours with actors who talk about where things happened and where the liquor was hidden and moved during Prohibition. Everyone loves sticking their finger in the Holy Name Cathedral bullet hole. They eat that stuff up!
It's been a mixed bag. I flew to Ireland around the time of the Highland Park shooting and the first thing the customs guy said was, "you picked a great time to leave." I had no idea it had made international news. Sometimes I get "what is O block like?"
Someone in Atlanta tried to tell me their ears were ripped by the wind here when it was below freezing. Only problem was I was talking to him and his ears were fine…
Back in the 80s it was still "Oh, Al Capone!" Once in a while it was "Can you do the Super Bowl Shuffle?" In the 90s it was "Hey, Michael Jordan is my favorite basketball player". I don't recall if during the early 2000s anyone said anything specific about Chicago. But for the last 10 years or so, it's all "Man, how do you live in such a rough city?" And I used to be able to explain that the violence that makes the news is usually contained to only certain parts of the city. I really can't say that anymore.
I was in India about 15 years ago and told people I love in towns near Chicago (they didn't understand suburbs), first thing they said was "oh wow the birthplace of house music!".
Thought that was really cool and didn't think people in India would ever know that then. Given a lot of them were in the DJ/rave scene but still cool.
I did some volunteer work at an orphanage in Bogotá after high school. One kid who spoke English said, "Oh, you from Chicago? You gangster. Bang bang!" (Just like you mentioned)
Every time we'd come around a corner we'd be met with, "Capooone!"
What in the Sam Hill? Many of them were only there because their parents recently got sploded. *We're* gangster?
The other group with us was from Northern Ireland. I wonder if the kids had heard of Michael Collins.
Al Capone, bang bang! A classic across Europe and Asia both. They also have a popular Chicago gangster costume I've seen a number of times, the brim of the hat makes it clear what you're looking at by saying 'CAPONE - CHICAGO GANGSTER'
Part of me always wonders if they hear current Chicago news via skynews and think 2024 gangs look like that.
“Capone- Bang Bang!“ with a machine gun imitation was what I heard when I was young. Later it was “Michael Jordan! “ I’ll be in Europe this fall and am planning on wearing a Chicago T shirt some days. I’m curious about what I’ll hear now.
Honestly, I almost never get much of a reaction. A girl from Texas once was like “oh, what’s in Chicago?” and my mind went blank for some reason and I said “uh the bean”
Not even internationally but I was in Baltimore taking the train downtown I forget how I got into a conversation but I was having one and I mentioned I was from Chicago. Not only this person but like 3 other very muscular men (I am a small women) BACKED UP from me and one even goes "naaaah you guys from Chicago are on some crazy shit".
I was in Paris 15 years ago and at the time their train system was shut down due to a worker strike. I was talking with a local about the inconvenience it caused and when they found out I was from Chicago they made a comment about the strength of unions in Chicago. I always thought about how unique it was to know Chicago by its culture around unions.
Had an apartment in Florida with a guy from Baltimore, New York (Long Island), Jersey (on NYC border), me from Chicago, and this guy from Virginia. Ole Virginia boy was amazed none of us had ever been shot or robbed... He didn't last long in the apartment.
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Definitely “Capone (bang bang)”, Michael Jordan, and Obama.
I lived in Japan for a time about 10 years ago, and it's ridiculous how true this is when Chicago came up. If they mentioned Capone it was always with a little tommy gun hand gesture.
Man, I was in a bar at Narita on a layover once, some old Japanese grandpa asked where I was coming from - I said Chicago. He goes "Oh, bang bang" and makes the tommy-gun-from-hip gesture. Normally I'd feign some sort of offense for a joke "Oh, we're more than that, you know" but I was so delighted by the smiling old Japanese guy that I was like "Fuck it, bang bang"
My brother visited Macao 15 years ago and had the same reaction/gesture given to him
And they pronounce it “Caponay.”
I moved out here from Tokyo around the same time, about 10 years ago, and my aunties were all worried about me running into “Capone bang bang” 😂
Well, have you?
撃たれ死にました
I had the same experience both times I visited Japan. The other name that came up was Oprah (my first visit was pre-Obama).
I got "Al Capone! Bang bang!" a couple times in Paris.
It really depends on where you're traveling to. I talked to some kids about Toni Kukoc when I was in Croatia and Obama when I was in Ghana. Obama was so big in Ghana that his image was used to advertise everything from a local bar to biscuits (cookies).
100% makes sense. I think *when* also matters - I got "Obama" a lot in early 2009 in Istanbul because he'd just won the election. My black friend was with me and people would hug him and give him free stuff, as if *he* was Obama. It was hilarious and strange.
Those are the big 3 I get
I mentioned it to a guy once and he said "Oh, the Windy City! Is it really that windy there?" and I told him we had straps on the bus stops to hold on to in order to avoid getting blown away and he was amazed.
Just make sure those straps are not smeared with 💩💩💩
that post will forever be burned into my mind 🫠
Stealing this
Lmaoooooo
Doesn't work in NZ. Windy Welly takes the cake.
Called Windy City for the politicians ability to waver from one position on an issue to another easily. greasing palms and shadiness, etc. you know, classic Chicago politicians. But it’s pretty dang windy too. Edit: My lore comes from born and raised southside to a couple cop parents. We referred to it as politicians views changing, with a brisk wind, and some money... to the point where our politicians looked like whacky inflatable waving arm tube guy. But I've been told that a lot of folks challenge that with the blowhard factor, the long windedness of politicians. First, its lore. Like O'leary's cow tipping the lantern. It's never truly able to be factual, it's story passed on so there can be many versions. I like my version better, and it makes more sense than oh ya old blowhard lets name a whole city nickname off what all politicians do everywhere always. I like my old man 30 year Chicago Cop's version, rest his soul, it made more sense and it's a better version. Like the Cow, ya know?
This is a decent and short read about it: http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/6.html#:~:text=The%20power%20of%20the%20name,Chicago%20with%20loquacious%20politicians%2C%20thus
All of that, but also the Blues. Especially from older Brits.
Gen X Europeans and Brits will say House music
There’s even an electronic music (more tech oriented when I went) club in Amsterdam called Chicago Social Club, lovely place, great vibes :)
Just traveled to Europe and anyone I told I was from Chicago would always respond positively. Comments about the architecture, food, and cleanliness were the most common. I was in Spain but spoke with people from France and Germany too.
A friend used to work at a law firm that had a lot of UK business, and he said the most common thing they would mention is how clean Chicago is. Alleys are such a game changer.
I lived in Brooklyn for 3 years and it still makes me feel grossed out that when I took out my trash I’d literally set it out on the sidewalk piled on top of other bags of trash. What a stinky, dirty eyesore.
I called coming home on trash night "walking the rat gauntlet."
Thank you Great Chicago Fire!🔥
Got the same reactions from Parisians when I visited a couple years ago.
I lived in France for a few years, and when I would mention I was from Chicago, they almost always responded saying it was the top US city they were interested in visiting - along with San Francisco, both for the architecture. When I lived in Italy on the other hand, everyone was unanimously desperate to visit New York or Miami (lol). Funny how different cities hold different appeal to different cultures.
This! I was an exchange student with a French family in high school and I was surprised when their first family vacation to the US was to Chicago. For context, I am a reformed East Coast snob.
Yeah I live in Ireland now but used to live in Chicago and everyone here only has positive things to say! They do all however bring up how much they can’t stand Trump😅
I’ve talked about this a few times on here before, but because of my job I basically can travel the world for basically free, and I use those benefits a lot. So it’s kind of fun the difference in regions. Western Europe you get a lot of people saying they’ve been and loved it, or they want to go but have only been to NYC. Rest of Europe you hear “cold” or “Michael Jordan”. Asia you hear about The Bulls/Jordan. Mexico they reference the cold. South America is the cold. But my absolute favorite thing i never expected was the Central American response, they fucking love the Chicago shows. This was for a while pre Covid, don’t get it as much anymore, but I got a lot of comments referencing the shows. It was kind of surprising to me!
Wasn't it publicized that during the Cubs 2016 WS run there were a lot of Central American fans of the Cubs, all because WGN was broadcast there? Do you think that could be the basis for what you experienced?
This is the answer. WGN broadcast to Central America for a long time.
Does WGN play the Chicago shows? I don’t think I’ve ever seen them on there.
WGN has slightly different programming on cable. It’s likely that they air the Chicago shows instead of stuff like the morning news when you’re watching in Baltimore, for example.
I've gotten the Chicago shows response in Central America and the Middle East. I'm surprised every time because I never image people in other countries watching those shows so much.
“The shows?”
Chicago PD, Chicago fire, Chicago med, and Chicago justice.
Well they aren't wrong about the effing cold lol.. just don't forget the 90 degree days opposite time of year where you can swim through the humidity
The summer is when Mother Nature reminds us we built our city on a swamp
House music - “it’s in my blood”, France
Ohh!! I just remembered a former colleague from London who loved Chicago House. European rave scene, man.
One time I was crossing into Canada, and they asked if I had a gun in the car. When they found out I was from Chicago, they asked again.
[удалено]
I’m also a flight attendant and I just have to laugh when my Atlanta coworkers want to talk “aren’t you afraid to walk around” in Chicago like bruh
In Asia I’ve gotten a bunch of I/my sibling/my friend studied at a bunch, but otherwise matches my experience
Me as a fellow chicagoan: let's get some Italian beefs and Mallort fool
I was in a hostel in Vietnam and saw a guy wearing a white Sox hat. I pointed at it and said yo man are you from Chicago? And he responded in a thick Irish accent “i saw easy e wearing it mate”
I was in a beer bar in Berlin and there was a guy wearing a Sox hat. He was from Chicago, and the only other person in the bar.
😂
I laughed so hard at this 😂
Normally someone tells me that their brother lives there. Also, any crowd with over 100 people anywhere in the world has Bulls gear on.
I'm going to Italy this fall. I'm a guy who wears hats 95% of the time. All varieties. I was trying to think of what baseball cap I could wear in Italy that wouldn't be an immediate giveaway that I'm American. I settled on bringing one of my Bulls hats, because I have heard before that due to the Jordan-era Bulls, they are quite popular in Europe. The Bulls logo is the 2nd most recognized American sports team logo, next to the Yankees.
Any baseball cap is a dead giveaway you’re American lol.
Fine. What about a basketball cap?
bulls gear is facts, mix that with a possible cubs or sox hat (fashion wise)
Sox hat in Paris was all over the place.
“Home Alone! Great movie!” That was in Japan
I was chatting with a British man a few months ago and he was so excited to go see the house from the movie.
It’s pretty hysterical spending a couple minutes outside of the house if you’re ever in Winnetka. People from everywhere visit it, it’s like a shrine. Around the holidays it gets super busy.
I love your accent. It’s so hot. Me: huh? Edit: this was in a London club XOYO
I think we all need to know where you encountered this and how much are plane tickets?
LMAO
Michael Jorden and Obama. I had a bartender in Berlin buy me a shot because I was from Chicago because he visited once and liked it.
People from Berlin seem to really like Chicago, I always assumed it was the house music and seasonal depression
That seasonal depression got to me lol
I had a very nice German man on a plane ask if there was a lot of German influence in Chicago. It gave me pause because the first thing that came to mind was the German beer riots, which didn’t feel like the right answer. But sure the Chicago hot dog has German origins.
Wicker Park has a lot of homes/mansions of former beer magnets.
People of German descent were the largest ethnic group in Chicago at one time. Also - Brachs candy!
“One of the greatest cities in the world!” From the firearms instructor guiding us through a skeet shooting course in Scotland.
I just get finger guns from people : (
2 summers ago, I went to Gleneagles resort in Auchterarder, Scotland. While I was there, we did quite a bit of skeet shooting. The firearms instructor had actually spent some time in Chicago, and he said the same thing. Are we talking about the same guy?
I have a nice one! I visited London last year with family. We were struggling to figure out how to get back to our hotel on the tube and a very friendly British guy helped us out and was thrilled to hear that I lived in Chicago. He had visited Chicago in the middle February to visit a friend. That friend then bailed on him. He didn’t know anyone and he wasn’t dressed for a Chicago winter. He said that that the Chicago locals were so friendly and kind. They let him borrow a coat. He was invited into their homes for dinner. He was completely blown away by how friendly and generous all the people he met were. I think the kindness he experienced here made him eager to help us hapless Americans navigate the London tube.
That Chicago hospitality always appears when it's needed most.
I recently got two men in Florida saying, “Oh, Chicago? So you live with all the thugs and gangs, huh?” I, petite and fairly young woman, responded, “Yes. I actually lead a gang. I am very violent. Don’t visit.” Other than that it’s usually, “Oh! Have you been to the Bean?!”
I love you lead a gang! On vacation in Mexico, I told an American couple I was from Chicago and the wife gasped and asked “Oh my, everyone gets shot there, right?” And I responded, “Yes, they do. In fact, I’m a ghost.” Maybe we can start a ghost gang?
My husband and I usually play up this angle too. “He was shot three times last week on his commute, but no way we were going to lose our non-refundable deposit!”
I had a coworker from a different city (Dallas) say that to me as well, lol. Then he proceeded to talk crap about me just because I’m from Chicago…like sir really? It was so bizarre.
Texans are really a fragile bunch.
“Michael Jordan!” That was a Moroccan cab driver in 2009 or so.
Most unique one I’ve had was a “Michael Frolik!” in Prague circa 2015
When I studied in Slovakia in 2010, I got a lot of "Blackhawks! Marián Hossa!" There have been a few Slovaks on the team: Handzuš, Pánik, Kopecký, Bondra, Jurčo, and Daňo, so it was fun to see how people followed their favorite local to the US. I was especially happy when Pánik joined since he was from the area where I lived. Edit. Of course the older people remembered Mikita, but a lot started watching the Hawks again when Hossa joined.
In Croatia nobody says Michael Jordan. Everyone says, “oh Chicago! Tony Kucoc!”
I miss Fro
Yup, throw in some “Windy City” and “Al Capone” and that pretty much covers it.
They say "me too"... Literally, I run into Chicago people everywhere I travel... One time it was so absurd I was on a hiking tour, to a dormant volcano, in Iceland, with only 12 other people and one of the guys lives in the town where I grew up... It's bonkers... Can't get away from Chicago! 😂
I had this happen this week at a hostel in Costa Rica. I heard one of the employees giving a tour and thought "Now THAT is a Chicago accent". Turns out she's from Rogers Park.
Haha. This happened a month ago... I was driving in New Mexico and randomly pulled off at this giant Pistachio statue roadside attraction/gift shop thing. Turns out they have a pistachio farm and they give little golf cart tours for $3 so we say, what the hell let's do it, 4 old ladies are in our golf cart, 2 of them grew up/lived in in Andersonville for many years, I live in Ravenswood... Like seriously, it's absolutely insane how often this happens.
Michael Jordan and Obama are the big ones. In Japan I got “Oh! Yu Darvish!” back when he was on the Cubs.
Al Capone (was in Italy) and “isn’t it dangerous” from an Austrian
I remember one time I was on the side of a mountain in Switzerland and my sister and I were walking about and taking photos/video. My sister was wearing a bears shirt, and when a Swiss guy bikes past us on the mountain trail he yelled "da bears".
“Where is that?”
[удалено]
I got this one a lot when I was in Asia haha.
Yeah, a lot of people don’t know!
They also don’t care.
Yeah I’ve always been shocked when they haven’t heard of it
Was living in Japan for a min and got that all the time. Kinda humbling lmao
I went to Osaka to visit a friend a while back, and didn’t realize we were sister cities until I was walking through one of their underground subway/shopping mall areas and came across a display of art on loan from the Art Institute lol
Surprised as Chicago is probably one of the few cities that fits really well with their writing system. チカゴ sounds straight out of Japan
Wouldn't it be SHI JA GO not chi?
Shi ka go, yes. シカゴ
I often jokingly compare Chicago to a Swiss city because it has a river and a lake. Once in Italy, a Zurich citizen was shocked by the comparison, looked at a map on his phone and thought our fair city was on a ocean
Then asked “but where are the mountains?”?
I was trying to describe our lake in my terrible high school Spanish to Guatemalans at Lake Atitlan who were also using Spanish as a second language. My intention was to say we have a lake too but it’s so big you can’t see the other side and they were looking at me and clearly thinking my Spanish was beyond help.
"ahh, the Rome of America!"
I just want to know if that was a compliment or insult lol
I choose to assume it's a compliment about our beautiful and efficient urban planning.
“All roads lead to Rome” kind of comment?
... crumbling slowly?
A lot of concerned relatives telling me not to go outside at night in case the gangs are out... In Lakeview East. Or they took the architecture tour once in college and thought it was super cool
In 2017 I had a fun night singing karaoke in Berlin. A girl heard I was from Chicago, so she put “everybody needs somebody to love” from the Blues Brothers into the machine. I was a little miffed for about a second, but as soon as that Dan Aykroyd spoken word bit started I was up at the mic
In Athens, a couple from Houston said “Oh I’m sorry” - said the same thing right back Greeks though asked about the tall buildings
I'm Asian. Generally, whenever I tell people in other countries I'm from Chicago, the only reaction I get is 'how?'. They imagine some tragic or convoluted backstory that explains how I came to be. Abandoned Chinese baby, rich white adoptive parents, something like that. Nope. Sorry to ruin your psychodrama, but it's just a diverse and multicultural city. And it's great, and I feel sad if yours aren't the same.
Changing the narrative one person at a time!
I feel like a lot of Europeans ask about Chicago house music
I always just end up running into other chicagoans all over the damn world. Damn near every place I’ve been I just find more Chicagoans…
Chicago the musical or Al Capone, Michael Jordan, Bulls. Although shockingly many people haven’t heard of Chicago, particularly when I lived in Asia. Crazy
Croatians get excited as hell and want to talk about the Chicago Bulls. Toni Kukoc is still pretty famous there.
Currently abroad in a few different Asian countries. In all of them, people have expressed they wouldn’t come to Chicago because of fear of being shot. Everyone is pleasant and is happy to talk with me, but I find it sad that this is our reputation. Tbh even across the US this is our reputation.
Meh, it keeps the weak people away.
They ask me about "Fiddler on the Roof" (but only in Russia)
Do you work at Sears?
“Michael Jordan” or “ohhh very dangerous huh?”
“Do you like the Bears/Bulls/Blackhawks/Cubs/Sox?”
I got pulled over outside Krakow and told the officer I lived in the US near Chicago. He responded “Oh, Little Poland!”
When I visited Guadalajara, people there LOVED Chicago and it was so nice to hear.
Currently vacationing in Paris, and people love Chicago here!
I don't think I've ever been to Europe and not seen Bulls and Jordan jerseys. It's the only thing I ever here when I mention I'm from here.
In my experience in Japan, the reaction was mostly “oh wowwww cool!” and various other similar responses
Did you go to Japan per chance? I definitely got “Al Capone (Tommy gun sound)” and “maikuru jōdan”
Chicago has a strange mix of international prevalence and anonymity if that makes sense. I’ve met plenty of people that know LA or NY but not Chicago. In SE Asia I’ve seen several people wearing Bulls jerseys that didn’t recognize the name Chicago on their chest. They just liked the colors. China has 43 cities larger than Chicago. I’ve been there and I only recognize the names of the ones over 10 million. Wuhan being at the bottom of that list, wouldn’t have known that without covid. The other half I only recognize because they had massive industrial accidents. Why would they know Chicago?
I got “Ohh, Texas!” when I was in Mexico, so there’s that.
Over twenty years ago, I was studying in Europe. While in Germany, I told someone I was from Chicago, and their IMMEDIATE reaction was all about Jerry Springer lol. Otherwise, lots of Al Capone references.
Omg I would just started chanting "Jerry! Jerry!" Right there and then lol
“MICHAEL JORDANNNN!”
The musical, Chicago. I was in Tokyo and stopped at a place called Asakusa Chicken. The employee wanted to know where I was from and I told her Chicago. Right away, she was like "ooohhhhh Chicago the musical!" She also mentioned Michael Jordan.
I live in Oak Park, I was visiting Italy and someone asked where I'm from. I though it'd be the one time it'd be okay to say I'm from Chicago. The person followed up with "are you in the city or the suburbs." 😬
Women clutch their pearls and purse, men check for their wallets.
Always gotta watch your personal belongings around those pesky Chicagoans.
Non-Americans generally react positively to Chicago, because they’re less likely to be reactionary assholes brainwashed on right-wing media. Also, the sorts of folks I meet know about the radical labor history of Chicago, which has drawn a lot of international solidarity.
Ya know, that's true. It's the Americans who say cHiCaGo HaS tOo MuCh CrIiIiIimE
My dentist overseas in my town of origin always asks me if I run into any “mob like characters”. lol
I was in Vegas in 2011 and asked where the bathroom was and got called out immediately for my accent. Aussies I’ve met said they liked my accent and asked “isn’t Chicago dangerous”? But then they came back 3 years later to visit and I showed them around, they were amazed by how big and beautiful our city is and said it was similar NYC for them.
The moat insightful comment I heard is that it is a "young" city. Not young people, but fairly new compared to Old World cities
International reactions would I assume be more based on old stereotypes of gangsters, political corruption, sweeping skylines, and harsh winters. But I can't speak to those as I haven't traveled abroad since moving here. But the reactions I get *domestically* when traveling to somewhere that isn't a coastal metro are priceless. They just kind of say "Chicago??!!!" Incredulously while trying to figure out why I don't look like swiss cheese from all the stray bullets.
While back I bought a pastry from a dude in a U-Bahn Station in Berlin and we got to talking. I told him I was from Chicago. His eyes brightened, he stood up a bit and said, in a genuinely earnest tone, "oooh-la-la! Chicago! Very nice!" Hands down the best response I've ever gotten. I'll never forget that man or his enthusiasm
“Lots of shootings, no?”
I was in Italy recently and got a lot of “Chicago, ah, the Windy City” or “my brother/cousin/etc lives there”. I thought my friend’s answer (California) would get more reactions, but Chicago definitely got more!
Most often I get the machine gun imitation. Only once was the person’s reaction was knowing the museum of science and industry was there.
Ohhhh Michael Jordan!!!!!!!!
The Bulls!!
My ex father in law in Peru would say ahh! Michael Jordan! Al Capone! Sears tower!
Michael Jordan. That’s what China knows us for.
They know where it is usually
I always mention to visitors where the garage was where the St. Valentine's Day Massacre happened (they are always disappointed), and the townhomes where the lookouts waited. There are some fun tours with actors who talk about where things happened and where the liquor was hidden and moved during Prohibition. Everyone loves sticking their finger in the Holy Name Cathedral bullet hole. They eat that stuff up!
It's been a mixed bag. I flew to Ireland around the time of the Highland Park shooting and the first thing the customs guy said was, "you picked a great time to leave." I had no idea it had made international news. Sometimes I get "what is O block like?"
Someone in Atlanta tried to tell me their ears were ripped by the wind here when it was below freezing. Only problem was I was talking to him and his ears were fine…
Back in the 80s it was still "Oh, Al Capone!" Once in a while it was "Can you do the Super Bowl Shuffle?" In the 90s it was "Hey, Michael Jordan is my favorite basketball player". I don't recall if during the early 2000s anyone said anything specific about Chicago. But for the last 10 years or so, it's all "Man, how do you live in such a rough city?" And I used to be able to explain that the violence that makes the news is usually contained to only certain parts of the city. I really can't say that anymore.
I was in India about 15 years ago and told people I love in towns near Chicago (they didn't understand suburbs), first thing they said was "oh wow the birthplace of house music!". Thought that was really cool and didn't think people in India would ever know that then. Given a lot of them were in the DJ/rave scene but still cool.
I told a man in Poland and he stood up and yelled in heavily accented English “CHICAGO IS GREAT POLISH CITY”
I spent summers in Warsaw as a kid in the 90’s and *everyone* mentioned the Bulls.
Windy City and Michael Jordan
Definitely Michael Jordan and bulls. Then Al Capone...
You must hear gunshots all the time. Sadly yes.
Been to 30+ countries , it’s always Michael Jordan or gun violence
I did some volunteer work at an orphanage in Bogotá after high school. One kid who spoke English said, "Oh, you from Chicago? You gangster. Bang bang!" (Just like you mentioned) Every time we'd come around a corner we'd be met with, "Capooone!" What in the Sam Hill? Many of them were only there because their parents recently got sploded. *We're* gangster? The other group with us was from Northern Ireland. I wonder if the kids had heard of Michael Collins.
“Al Capone!!” “The Bears/Cubs/Blackhawks!!” “Michael Jordan!” “Shootings!” It’s usually one of those (I spent a lot of time in Asia and South America.
I would always lie and say I’m from Chicago, while secretly being from Addison.
It's okay if you're out of the country.
Al Capone, bang bang! A classic across Europe and Asia both. They also have a popular Chicago gangster costume I've seen a number of times, the brim of the hat makes it clear what you're looking at by saying 'CAPONE - CHICAGO GANGSTER' Part of me always wonders if they hear current Chicago news via skynews and think 2024 gangs look like that.
I don't know where the hell you guys travel to but of all the places I've gone people just usually say "oh wow " that's all
Comments about the Bulls and guns
“It’s really cold there?”
“Capone- Bang Bang!“ with a machine gun imitation was what I heard when I was young. Later it was “Michael Jordan! “ I’ll be in Europe this fall and am planning on wearing a Chicago T shirt some days. I’m curious about what I’ll hear now.
Everyone says “Michael Jordan”. Everyone.
my family always asks me if i ever go to the south side...i always tell them no
In a small village close to San Pedro de Atacama, Chile I got a "Go Cubs!" from one of the locals.
“It’s cold there!” Is the typical for me
When I visit family back home in Eastern Europe, people usually mention the Bulls or the crime rates in Chicago 😬
Honestly, I almost never get much of a reaction. A girl from Texas once was like “oh, what’s in Chicago?” and my mind went blank for some reason and I said “uh the bean”
In Boston, a guy replied, "oh, I've been to Chicago. You guys have that arch, right?" That'd be St. Louis sir.
Not even internationally but I was in Baltimore taking the train downtown I forget how I got into a conversation but I was having one and I mentioned I was from Chicago. Not only this person but like 3 other very muscular men (I am a small women) BACKED UP from me and one even goes "naaaah you guys from Chicago are on some crazy shit".
I was in Paris 15 years ago and at the time their train system was shut down due to a worker strike. I was talking with a local about the inconvenience it caused and when they found out I was from Chicago they made a comment about the strength of unions in Chicago. I always thought about how unique it was to know Chicago by its culture around unions.
I was in France when Trump was inaugurated, and I got, "Ah, Chicago, the home of Obama! Is that why you are here? Have you been exiled?"
Had an apartment in Florida with a guy from Baltimore, New York (Long Island), Jersey (on NYC border), me from Chicago, and this guy from Virginia. Ole Virginia boy was amazed none of us had ever been shot or robbed... He didn't last long in the apartment.
Ahh cause he got shot
Oh you know Michael Jordan
“I love Chicago “
The think it’s a warzone.
“Al Capone country!”