At least people in Chicago tend to have all their teeth. . .
Sorry, had to. Seriously though - go visit. Some locations (particularly in the suburbs) are more. . . well. . . suburban than others. I personally think the north suburbs are kind of a "generica suburban hell" and would NEVER live there, but that's a gross generalization I know. I lived in one of the western suburbs for about two years (Westmont) and actually kind of liked it. The key is to find an area that isn't all "master planned communities" and actually has some semblance of an identity. The city certainly does, and certain suburban locations do also, but you have to look for them.