Things to do in Chicago when you're young and broke?

August 14, 2004 4:58 AM

I'll probably be in Chicago by myself for a couple days at the end of the month. I'm 21, broke, and not particularly good at talking to people I don't know. Stuff to do?

I've looked at the other askmeta threads on the topic, but I was hoping to get Personal Customized Advice!^TM

posted by Tlogmer to Travel & Transportation around Chicago, IL (17 answers total)

Well, for the low, low price of absolutely free you can wander around the brand-spankin'-new Millenium Park. In fact, walking along the lakeshore is something worthwhile to do even if you're not broke.

Also, Tuesdays are usually free (or deep-discounted) at a fair number of the Chicago museums. The Art Institute is free all day on Tuesday, and is very much worth seeing (although I think they've secreted La Grande Jatte away to a special exhibit that you have to pay for, which is a shame.) The Museum of Contemporary Art is fabulous, if you're into that sort of thing, and free on Tuesday evenings. The Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry seem to have not scheduled any free days during the summer, the better to fleece gentlepersons such as yourself, I suppose.

I'll try to think of other stuff to do on the cheap & post it when I have time late this afternoon.
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:54 AM on August 14, 2004

If you're there on the 24th or 31st, you can see Dragons 1976 at the Empty Bottle for $3. They're good.

Tuesday is also free museum day in Chicago, and the Museum of Contemporary Art is holding free concerts.

Millenium Park might be worth a visit, and depending on when you're there you can catch the Grant Park Orchestra for free.

You can also check Gaper's Block, which me3dia's involved in.
posted by kenko at 6:56 AM on August 14, 2004

The Museum of Science and Industry isn't so great, anyway. If you do decide to go there, you will find yourself in Hyde Park, where you can see a different movie each night from the 25th to the 28th at Doc Films (for $4 or some other low figure). Also you can walk in Washington Park, which is very pretty, for free (but, you know, do it during the day, since it won't be free if you're mugged). Another popular Hyde Park activity is having your soul ground down into a miserable dust, though that really only picks up in the winter and can cost up to $30,000/year!

Also, where will you be staying?
posted by kenko at 7:06 AM on August 14, 2004

Also, if you like American art -- check out the Terra Museum on Michigan. (I think it is always free.) Bonus reason -- it is closing in October, so all y'all other Chicagoites might want to get down there before they close.

Oh, and the Terra is across the street from the Apple store, and they sometimes have free programs and stuff.
posted by moz at 7:28 AM on August 14, 2004

Grr! That was me (the moz comment.)
posted by sugarfish at 7:28 AM on August 14, 2004

Or you could take the blue line to 18th and somethingorother and go to Pilsen, where there are also good eats but of a rather different kind.

AND, the International Museum of Surgical Science! I can't remember how much it costs, but where else can you buy postcards of trepanned Aztec skulls? (Duh—actually reading the linked page reveals it costs $3.)
posted by kenko at 7:40 AM on August 14, 2004

The Lincoln Park Zoo is free. Aminals!!
posted by PrinceValium at 7:57 AM on August 14, 2004

The best advice anyone will give you: Get the hell out of Chicago as fast as you can. Better yet, if possible, DON'T GO.
It's the armpit of America!
posted by lometogo at 8:36 AM on August 14, 2004

Tlogmer, I just read the "how to appreciate jazz" page at E2, so I'm going to redouble the recommendation that you hit up the Empty Bottle. Bonus: on one of those two days I'll be there.
posted by kenko at 9:30 AM on August 14, 2004

Actually, I always called the shithole tiny town in New Mexico where I grew up the armpit of the southwest. In comparison, Chicago is freaking wonderful. Why the hate, Iometogo?
posted by sugarfish at 9:47 AM on August 14, 2004

Oh, the museums. Chicago has great museums.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:03 AM on August 14, 2004

If you like water, Tlogmer, Chicago's most interesting feature is actually a natural one: miles and miles and miles of shoreline, all of it open free to the public. You can walk, ride, skate or otherwise mobilize yourself from Hollywood Avenue in the north to Hyde Park in the south. I may be mistaken but that's something like twenty miles. Along the way there's: beaches (obviously), sporting fields to play and to watch, cafes, cart vendors, marinas, lots of handsome men (if that's your thing), lots of attractive women (if, you know, that first one doesn't work for you), a zoo, a new nature center, Navy Pier with shopping, restaurants and boat rides, a huge natural history museum, a pretty good planetarium, a really good acquarium, the ugliest professional sports field in the colonized universe... You also get the to see Chicago's "frontside" skyline, since there's always a distance between the shoreline and where buildings begin. The walk from Hollywood to the museum campus (which is roughly at the south end of the Loop) is a pleasant, daylong journey if you stop at the various sights along the way.
posted by JollyWanker at 10:07 AM on August 14, 2004

Spin yourself around on your toes until you fall on the floor from dizziness. It's a solid 10 minutes of fun, and many ambulance personnel are cute and lonely.
posted by dong_resin at 10:18 AM on August 14, 2004

I think they've secreted La Grande Jatte away to a special exhibit that you have to pay for, which is a shame.

This is true, temporarily. But the exhibit is all about the making of the painting, including all of Seurat's studies and sketches, and other contemporary paintings for comparison, etc. While I haven't been to see it yet, I do plan to as it sounds quite worth it.
posted by dnash at 11:07 AM on August 14, 2004

Free movies at Grant Park (by Millenium Park) on Tuesday nights. Also, the Musicbox movie theatre is a lot of fun. If you do have any money, there is an architecture boat tour that I have heard universally praised. Plenty of walking tours of Frank Lloyd Wright housing.
posted by xammerboy at 8:32 AM on August 15, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks, for the comments; sorry I've not responded (mefi's been acting up for me all weekend).

More details: I'll be staying in Evanston, from the 22nd to (I think) the 24 or 25th. (The L goes to Evanston, doesn't it?) I'll definitely check out Millennium Park. And the art museums. A walk along the shoreline's a good idea too.

lots of handsome men (if that's your thing), lots of attractive women (if, you know, that first one doesn't work for you)

Er, actually, either's fine. *resists saying something in an Austin Powers voice*

Also, apparently the Empty Bottle has a free night a week from monday. Never heard of the band, but hey.
posted by Tlogmer at 12:28 PM on August 15, 2004

I spent two days on my own in Chicago on a stopover when I was 21 (coincidence, huh..), and despite not being the best at talking to strangers, had a wicked time. I stayed here - the friendliest and cleanest youth hostel I've ever met. The art institute is great, as is just walking around the shoreline. Finally, I took in a soccer game at Soldierfield, where I met the friendliest sport fans I've ever met. Have fun, I did.
posted by ascullion at 1:37 PM on August 15, 2004