Chicago
I know I am reviving an "old" thread. But I feel it is still relevant.
My 2 cents on Chicago after 4 years of living here :
Pros :
1. Reasonable job growth
2. Vibrant downtown - lots of crowd even during the weekends
3. People are friendly in the suburbs
4. Culturually very diverse - I have seen people from all color, race, country mixing with each other
Cons :
1. Winter is harsh and long. Starts on Sep and ends on May.
2. Cost of living is high - for finding $ 250 k single family 4 bedroom houses, you need to live atleast 35 miles from downtown.
3. Job growth could be better
I got my GC recently and am planning to move to another place esp. due to Cons 1 & 3. After two winters, cannot tolerate the weather anymore. As much as I like Chicago, there is no reason why I should pay more price for house and tolerate terrible weather. I am thinking of moving to Atlanta/Raleigh, NC or Tampa. All these places are cheap(er) with good weather. They will be near to east coast too where I have many relatives/friends.