A Chicago Experience

My recent trip to Chicago proved to be a lot of fun despite the disappointment I encountered on Thursday. One of the purposes of me extending my stay, was to figure out how I would interact with the city that I love.

Day-to-day, I started to feel immensely comfortable. Not just because of the amazing generosity of my friends James and Laurie for setting me up for a few days, but because I started to find a rhythm in a city where you can’t afford to not have one. I even started having a feeling that I lived here, a few blocks away from my friends. Weird. Public transportation is key in moving around Chicago. I was able to travel, with ease, around town. I didn’t really explore a lot of the town, but I’m starting to get perspective. I’m starting to understand my sense of direction and starting to get a feeling of security on top of that serenity.

Cell services are a bit lacking though. Not to say that I don’t have a signal here, it’s just a bit less reliable. I’m assuming that is due to the number of people on my network. I’m not thinking it’s going to be a major issue.

I was telling friends that the cost of living is just a bit above that of Milwaukee with rent and transit. However, things are more expensive as illustrated by me wanting to buy sponges for painting with Laurie. They were retailing for $3 each at Walgreens. That’s sort of expensive for something I’m just going to throw away. Something to think about I guess.

Overall, I found it very welcoming. Overall people here respond to kindness and gestures of friendliness. But, you have to pull it out of them or initiate it first. I don’t think that will be a problem either. Chicago is a great town and filled with life.

I want to give a shout out and a hearty “thank you” to James and Laurie for being so generous in welcoming me to stay at their pads. (I need to find a time to come down when the weather isn’t so crappy.)

0 Replies to “A Chicago Experience”

  1. I enjoyed reading about an initial perspective of Chicago in 2010 and comparing it to mine which would have occurred circa May 1995. I spent every weekend X approx. 2 years in the “real world” as I like to refer to the Windy City, so I am qualified to have a proper opinion of my own. I am pleased that you picked up on the friendliness, (Not sure what neighborhoods you were in) and had to chuckle about your cell services comment. My old Audiovox from 1995 would probably still work better than my iphone in Chicago proper, as I experienced this same angst on Thursday as well while Eric happily used his smartphone; uninterrupted. October 2007 I spent 3.5 weeks in New York City, immersing myself as best I could in all the nooks and crannies of the boroughs and Initially thought going into that trip what U.S. city could possibly top this? Chicago. I missed Chicago. It’s just more real and sincere to me there. The architecture is better, too! Good luck in your decision, however I’m picking up on how drawn you are to the city already and if you want it bad enough YOU can make it happen!

    1. Thanks for that Rachel. I am very drawn to that city and it always makes me sad when I have to leave and come up to the mundane in Milwaukee. That’s not to say that Milwaukee is all-around crap, it has some amazing attributes. However, Chicago always has had a special place in my heart. My home away from home.

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