I learned last week on the absolutely wonderful Chicago Architectural Foundation boat tour that Chicago was known in the 19th century as a really hard-drinking town. Our docent said something about Chicago having more bars per capita than in all of the states of the southern U.S. combined. So it’s no surprise that Chicago is a great place for drinking beer.
Today it’s also no surprise that it costs a lot to enjoy a tasty cold beverage in Chicago. The best example of this that I’ve seen recently is this: A beer tasting in Chicago costs $65; a beer tasting in Montana costs $25. Sure, the Chicago event features more than twice the number of beers, but really, how many different beers can you taste at one event?
When I moved here the interwebs told me that the cost of living would be 45% higher in Chicago than in Montana. To my dismay, I’m pretty sure the interwebs were right.
