Chicago

Chicagoans constantly deride other 'hoods as rife with striped-shirted I-bankers, vinyl-toting hipsters, and victorious, stroller-pushing Trixies -- even as they proclaim their own turf interminably super. See how yours really stacks up, with Everyblock.com.

EB filters TV/radio/web news and collates it by neighborhood, dropping knowledge on everything from restaurant reviews to crime reports, allowing you to retort, "I see your swanky comfort-food-Belgian-beer-joint and raise you a patronizing-a-prostitute." Search by address/zip/hood/block and pore over liquor licenses granted, streets closed, and eateries busted for health code violations (chocolate mouse). For the socially-minded, EB also serves up geo-tagged Flickr sets and Craigslist posts for Lost and Found and Missed Connections, which can highlight an area's romance, and its multiculturalism: "merci beaucoup for the empanadas. You rapping in a German hip-hop song made me think … damn, I wanna know more." (No, you really don't.)

Unique to the Chicago EB: spot where movies're being filmed -- so you'll know which Pilsen corner to avoid, lest your stroller'd baby's screams interrupt production of The Time Traveler's Wife.

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