Our Mission
Chicago is…a lot of things.
You’ve probably heard the stereotypes that Chicago is an extremely dangerous city. Our team has noticed that this leads to a phenomenon in which visitors and new residents don’t make the most of their time here, as they’re worried about straying off into a dicey situation. We’re not here to tell you that this city’s crime reports are made up, but we have detailed knowledge about what goes on in this city so you can see almost anything you want with few worries.
Chicago is truly a city of neighborhoods - 77 official ones in fact, nearly all of which have quite the distinct vibe. To put it into perspective, pretty much every photo you’ve seen of Chicago’s skyline includes just four of them. While the city’s vertical architecture is magnificent in its own right, there is a cultural richness to the city’s more lowrise neighborhoods unlike just about anywhere in the world. While racial segregation is real and substantial, cultural overlaps are nonetheless a standard part of life manifested in endless combinations and most strongly in numerous neighborhoods across the city that are indeed exceptionally diverse.
Why choose us?
Our network contains a ridiculously diverse array of voices that can speak on the countless institutions operating in this city both overtly and covertly. Among us are consultants, broke artists, teachers, former convicts (of nonviolent crimes), and the flag shops would have a field day representing all of our cultural backgrounds. We skew young, but our roots in the city and surrounding areas provide us with generations of wisdom including from folks who have been known to provide some tours of the city in their own youth. In the unlikely event that we truly don’t know enough to conduct a tour of an area, we’ll be upfront about it, and we’ll do our best to defer you to the right resources and leads on more knowledgeable local voices.
Our goal
There’s so much of the “real deal” of this city that gets overlooked, even by many who live here for a while. Beyond the flashy buildings we’ve got an incredible mosaic of parks, innovative arts scenes of various genres, unique fusions of dozens of global cultures, rich history pivotal to the nation’s development, and vibrant communities worlds apart from the postcard views.
We want people to understand this place as the eclectic adventure you would expect out of nearly 3 million immigrants and their descendants from all corners of the Earth. So much of what the city’s most interesting neighborhoods have to offer is far beyond what one would expect to find if sent out to look for.
We also aim to bring attention to community initiatives outside of ourselves, boost excellent businesses off the beaten path, and foster connections that lead to a stronger society. We don’t wish to ignore the city’s challenges, rather we attempt to elevate those most involved in positive contributions to their community.
We hope that one day Chicago will be a place where opportunity doesn’t depend on what part of the city you live in. That’s why we want to break existing social boundaries to show the best things around regardless of how “trendy” the location may be.
We don’t expect anyone to understand everything going on, and it’s a never ending learning process for ourselves too. But we’re here to accelerate the process of what could be a lifetime of learning and experiences.
Our In Depth Map
We’re not going to give away all our secrets about the best exact spots to hit, but our custom map gives a look at some of the most notable neighborhoods of Chicago across a wide range of factors. Click on any of the colored neighborhoods for more information. Let us know if any places interest you enough to want to check it out!
Please note that, just because we haven’t covered every bit of the city, doesn’t mean we think any less of the areas left out. They’re mainly residential neighborhoods across the socioeconomic spectrum that aren’t easy to make a day out of if you don’t have a place to stay there. We’re not in the business of aimlessly gawking at locals, so we want to focus on spots that would be of interest to outsiders and nearby residents alike.
Any more questions about what we or the city have to offer? Contact us for a real live person to chat with!