I would say people in Osaka are really helpful - at least the ones I've encoutered are as so. If they can't help you, they'll look for someone else to assist you. They're also pretty friendly - and pretty loud. The latter trait tends to put you off if you're the type who easily wakes up at night at the slightest hint of sound. Had to endure old men talking really LOUDLY at the streets at 3 am while in bed.
The trains are still crowded over here in Osaka, but less compared to Tokyo.
There's a lot of good food here - and if you're into takoyaki you can find it at almost every corner of shopping districts. But of course there's more other than takoyakis
