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.)