Both London and Chicago: Urbanized area population of ~9 million people, which makes sense because the Midwest and the UK both have ~ 70 million people Objectively peaked in global importance a century ago and are obviously in decline Greasy unhealthy food Old money aristocracy that is hard for outsiders to break into that fund all the high culture and arts Big social emphasis on pub culture and heavy drinking and after hours underground electronic music More of a loose archipelago of *many* insular neighborhoods than a unified citywide vibe Culture heavily shaped by extensive post war immigration from eastern and southern Europe Economy that became increasingly reliant in the 90’s on financial sectors that entered structural decline in the 2010’s Two world class research universities ~1-2 hours away from the city center that are about two hours away from each other Lots of other parallels too!