Chicago

[Sidnami]

Greets. J and I are going to Chicago in June for 3 days and two nights. We are looking to goto Neo while out there and checking out both The Blue Men Group and China town. We prefer to travel by car, but know that it is expensive to park. Taking the train means less time to do stuff and no way to secure luggage while not using hotel. Not only am I looking for suggestions of what is worth checking out, but the best means of travel or free, secured parking while there before we have to leave while not using the hotel. Any suggestions, please?

Also....Any places worth checking out store-wise or places for a Cyber goth to hang out at?

[lullaby1031]

I thought Neo closed down?!! Hit the Alley shop - that place is nice! <~ two floors of gothic/metal type shit! Hard Rock Cafe is there and if your into sports they have that Nike basketball/ shoe store. (shrugs) not my thing but ya know. As well as The House of Blues. Everytime we went, we would just carry around a backpack. If you can do that - try and take the subways - its way easier, they take you in a circle around the city. But if you need to park, look for the car park lots. Sometimes people will key the cars, that happened to a friend of mine a few times when we went to visit her brother. Plus, gas in chicago is always expensive and the subway is cheap!

[bellbottoms]

oh man i love china town!!! if you like bamboo buy it in china town it's DIRT cheap!! when u book your hotel look into if they have free parking - most hotels do but it depends on where u are staying. The L is best way to get around in chicago - and it's cheap like 1.75 a trip.

I LOVE CHICAGO! I go ALL the time my friend lives there so i can stay for free

[Sidnami]

According to DJ Jinx and the internet, Neo is still active. http://www.neo-chicago.com/ The train is looking better and better at this rate, but I'll have to add one more day for this trip to do everything we want. Is there any gothic forums for Chicago's night life?

[Onyx]

Is there any gothic forums for Chicago's night life?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

yes! Here you go:

http://www.americangothicprod.com/

http://www.gothicchicago.com/

[lullaby1031]

Ha - she bet me to the web adresses - But yea back like a year and 1/2 ago I went out to Chicago to hang out with some friends and he was talking about all the b.s. from that place and there was talk of it closing - I don't know what kinda crap they where having to deal with but I'm glad its still open! Definently hit there! And like I said earlier, Don't forget about that shop called The Alley - its a little walk off the train - but not that far.

[Soulrev]

Yeah Neo hasn't shut down. Exit is a cool joint, too.. www.exitchicago.com

I live 40 minutes away from Chicago, and I'll tell you, don't ride the El.

If you get a hotel downtown there's almost always a parking garage for the hotel. Use taxis, they're not that bad, but check out a street map and give the taxi driver directions yourself, some of those bastards will take a longer route to run up the meter, though not always.

Sears Tower and Navy Pier are pretty cool to check out. There's also the Art Institute, the Museum of Science & Industry, the museum of natural history, and since you'll be going there in June, Lincoln Zoo is pretty cool to check out.

Most of all you're best off just walking around town.. It's really not that bad, I almost never take a taxi in Chicago.. I take a train to Randolph street and walk around a lot...

Have fun, wish I could go to Chicago but unfortunately I'm in Wyoming for a while longer.. :(

[Sidnami]

Why do you not like the El?

[Daevion]

chicago rawks!! havent been there in forever

[Soulrev]

The El breaks down all the time and there's a lot of creepy mother fuckers on there.. And I don't mean fuckers like us. Even I wouldn't ride that shit without packin..

[Daevion]

The El breaks down all the time and there's a lot of creepy mother fuckers on there.. And I don't mean fuckers like us. Even I wouldn't ride that shit without packin..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

can't be worse than NY's subway, although the cabbies scared me worse than creeps in the subway.

[lullaby1031]

aww come on! The El is no worst then Detroit public transportation - if you can handle there or NY, you can handle it in Chi-town - Chicago does have many bums and many creepy looking bastards who are on the El but ignore them & watch your ass - How hard is that? I've been to many BIG cities and I've always went with one to three people and the only real problem I seen was the bums. The only city I'll ever really be nervious about visiting is L.A. and we're going there soon.

[Daevion]

Don't get me wrong, you gotta watch yourself wherever you go, but I think the idea that you should be "packin" seems alittle extreme. Unless your looking for trouble, than yes you should be "packin" , lol

[bellbottoms]

i always take the L and i have never had any troubles. my friend that lives there takes it after work at like 1 or 2 am. i have taken it at 5 or 6 am after the bars closed never had any troubles...i have layed down on the floor one time NOW that is just gross!!!! LOL altho i don't remember the train ride so i think that may be a good thing

[lullaby1031]

haha I bet that WAS nasty - it's probably a good thing you don't remember - :laughing

[Sidnami]

Was there any stores worth considering checking out there? No Hot Topics or anything else that I could find here.

[bav]

Was there any stores worth considering checking out there? No Hot Topics or anything else that I could find here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sid -

Take the L to Clark/Belmont stop. I think it's the Red Line. That part of town is a big counterculture/"edgy" area for Chicago.

Not sure what kind of shopping you're looking for, but down there you have the Alley which is 2 or 3 different stores. The clothing area has a decent leather goods part, a shoe/boot part, a woman's club fashion part, a men's part that has a lot of workshirts and t-shirts. The other part of the Alley has a lot of sculpture, plaster castings, and decorative knick-a-knacks, heavy on Buddhist, African, and Oriental themes.

Other stores in the area are an Army surplus shop that can be hit or miss depending on what yer looking for and what is in stock...they also carry "outdoor" themed stuff on the bottom floor, if I recall correctly. There's a couple of sex shops in the area, tattoo parlors, Clarkes (which I recommend for reasonable food and really good shakes. They are also open late), some CD stores, and other sundry places.

For things to do at night, I also like the Exit as well, but I'm not sure how much you'd enjoy it. The dance area is located upstairs and is EXTREMELY small (maybe half the size of the Necto's dance floor at most but probably a good bit smaller). Haven't been there in a couple of years, so I'm not sure on how good the DJ is. Downstairs has pool tables and a pretty cool punk jukebox. It's a great place to go grab some beers with friends, not so hot on full-on clubbing experience.

You may also want to see if there's any good shows at the Vic Theatre or the Metro going on as well.

And if you find yourself looking for a late-night place to go, about a half-mile up Clarke Street from Clarke/Belmont is an all night coffee shop called the Pick Me Up Cafe. It's over by Wrigley Field. Ask Jinx about the Pick-Me-Up in Chicago sometime =)

[gothicmom]

Make sure you post an update of how your trip went! Bishop and I have talked about getting over there. I think we haven't is just lack of knowlege of where to go and all.

Any good thrift shops out there??

[Sidnami]

Less then a week away before Chicago. Any advise?

[Sidnami]

Chicago was great. It all started off with a visit to the Body Works exhibit at the http://www.msichicago.org/index.html Museeum of Science and Industry. It was very educational and awe inspiring. Here is some pictures of what we saw.

Then we checked out the rest of the place which was quite a walk.

That evening, we went to see the Blue Men Group. It was like mines with technology. Just beware of the Twinkles! Due to a slight case of sleep, we didn't make it to Exit.

http://www.blueman.com/videoimages/video/ifeellove_h.shtml

The next day consisted of shopping in Chinatown, shopping in Bulmount and getting together with the others for a night on the town. I can't remember what restaurant was called, but J, chris_is_chris, kalliope713, Thaylnn, Laura and I had a great time. That night was off to club Neo for late night fun.

After that was the Navy Pier and the Taste Fest.

It was a lot of walking and shopping. I hope I didn't do too much damage there.

Now I have to decide what to do for both J and I for our birthday weekend. Friday night is fight night and maybe the Venue. Saturday is CC. Sunday is the park, then a movie (both for J), and then Sal's party if it is still a go. Monday only has Necto for the evening. Still in the planning stage right now.