The Windy City was named 9th best in the US in the data-driven study.
Over the past year, COVID-19 restrictions have kept us stuck inside and at times unable to leave the city, travel to other states, let alone venture abroad to other countries. We’ve had our opportunities to be outdoors and breathe the fresh air limited more than ever before. But as a thriving metropolis and the third biggest city in the United States, many people in Chicago often reject our connection with nature and play down the opportunities available regardless of the current circumstances. Until now.
Not only is Chicago close to an abundance of stunning natural spectacles but a meticulous study carried out by Wilderness Times has now determined our beloved city one of the top 10 cities in the United States for an outdoorsy lifestyle.
The Windy City came in at number 9 in the study with a 7.02 out of 10 score based on several different criteria. The scoring system took into account housing, weather, air quality, population density, national & state parks, nearby hiking & biking trails, and the number of parks within 10-minute walking distance.
The study revealed that 98% of Chicago residents live close to parks and the city has 608 miles worth of nearby trails, as well as 31 nearby National and State Parks. Meanwhile, with only 121 days of good air quality, Chicago was some way behind the others, with the exception of Los Angeles which has just 66 a year.
Chicago’s median price of residential property of $275,616 was also the second cheapest place to live of the 25 finalists, behind only Grand Rapids in Michigan. San Francisco, California, led the way by quite some margin with a median of $ 1,385,625 by comparison.
Seattle, Washington, came in top place overall followed by Boston, Massachusetts in second, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, in third.
[Featured image from Shutterstock]