Is investing in Chicago brilliant or ridiculous...go!

[Meghan McCallum]

Everyone thinks they know the best places to invest, Ca, the south east, Cincinnati, your back yard...

But, there is NO city that I hear more contention on than the city of Chicago. The third coast has ample opportunity...and haters. As one of the 20 Amazon finalists we need to re-examine the question, "Chicago, STUD or dud?"

[John Casmon]

There's a lot to like about Chicago, but the tenant friendly laws and high taxes scare many people off. However, Chicago is Chicago. The 3rd largest city in the country. And major employers like McDonalds and Dyson moved into the city (not the burbs, the city). While I agree with a lot of points from @Mike H. (facts are facts), I will call out that Kraft Heinz, ADM, Motorola and the golden arches all moved to Chicago recently. 

Young people, especially across the midwest aspire to live in this city and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Summertime Chi is the best city in the country (if not the world), but winters are brutal and the south and west sides have stretches of blight, violence and a lack of hope. 

The city is a "choose your own adventure" with plenty of opportunities, blended with many challenges. It's not a stud or a dud,  it's anything and everything. It's not as dire or rosy as many want you to believe.