TRAVEL THREAD: UNITED STATES

[*charisma*]

Assalamu Alaikum

Post anything about the USA here that would interest muslim visitors. This can include your favorite halal food joints, parks, activities to do, warnings, places to avoid, must-see's, top educational institutions, hospitals, halal business etc. Pictures are a plus

I'll update this post with information as it comes in for easier navigation. You can start out with your local cities/states and let us know how they are!

 

[cooterhein]

Illinois- as a state, in general- has the largest Muslim population in the US per capita. (Not in raw numbers, but as a percentage of the state's population). Of course this is not happening everywhere in Illinois, which has some incredible urban density and suburbia and vast farmland that's near a whole lot of rivers. It's really just certain areas. May I point you to a specific part of Bridgeview, one of the suburbs of Chicago. Here's an article, a particular area near 87th Street and Harlem Avenue is known as Little Palestine.

http://chicagoreporter.com/they-call-it-little-palestine/

If you do happen to find your way to this Chicago suburb, I'd also like to make a plug for the Chicago Fire. They used to play at Soldier Field in the city right on the lake, but now their permanent home is at Toyota Park, a soccer specific stadium in Bridgeview. The team used to be really good but they've been one of the worst in the league for the past couple of years. Their season will be mercifully over this Sunday....but there are signs of improvement, we'll see how the new coach works out long term, and I will say this. In terms of fan experience, the Fire take care of you like no one else. In terms of fan experience, and especially if you have some sort of group event, the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park in Bridgeview are frequently rated as he best overall fan experience of Any North American sports franchise, and they're Always in the top two or three. This means the fan experience there is being compared to all sports teams across the MLS, MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, and the CFL and Liga MX along with them, and the Chicago Fire are right at the top of this rather large list. They take very, very good care of their fans.

So if you're planning on doing anything in the US, keep an eye on this particular Chicago suburb. If you have some sort of group activity you want to do, the Chicago Fire will take great care of you any time between March and October, it's very reasonable in terms of price, and you've got Little Palestine right there in the neighborhood as well.

 

[*charisma*]

I've been to Chicago quite a few times since I live only 2 hours away. To add to what you've said, some great sites to visit are the various art and historic museums and the ethnic neighborhoods, such as little italy and china town to name a few. There's also the beautiful navy pier which is great for families. It has fun boat rides, ferris wheel, carnival food, and lots of different restaurants including seafood. There's also the infamous sears tower and big bean. And I don't think you can leave Chicago without trying the deep dish pizza.

 

[cooterhein]

I've been to Chicago quite a few times since I live only 2 hours away. To add to what you've said, some great sites to visit are the various art and historic museums and the ethnic neighborhoods, such as little italy and china town to name a few. There's also the beautiful navy pier which is great for families. It has fun boat rides, ferris wheel, carnival food, and lots of different restaurants including seafood. There's also the infamous sears tower and big bean. And I don't think you can leave Chicago without trying the deep dish pizza.

Yeah, the downtown area is quite nice. If you're around any of those museums while the Blackhawks are making a deep playoff run, one of the funnier things you'll ever see is some of the iconic statues wearing Blackhawks helmets- like the lions at one of the museums, and there's a giant Picasso sculpture that likes to support them as well. There are some nice free events at certain times of the year, Movies in the Park started out small but became quite popular....there used to be more free stuff when the city was hoping to host the Olympics, but there's still plenty going on.

FYI, if you want to do skating at Millennium Park in the winter, find a way to bring your own skates. Borrow a pair, rent them from somewhere else, just make sure you're arriving with skates in hand. Even if it's not on a weekend, you'll have to wait in line for two or three hours in order to walk up and get a pair of rentals.