I've lived in both multiple times, and I couldn't agree more. Love me some Chicago, but some of it, not so much. When I lived in NYC, people from Chicgao ALWAYS asked my thoughts on how Chicago and NYC compare, and my answer was always the same.. Chicago is more of a modern day big Detroit, not NYC. They typically didn't like that much.
I'm the opposite of empty nester.. as we recently welcomed our son into the world in November '22. Congrats to all you parents and grandparents for a job well done!