Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans: Not done yet, Chicago

Monday, August 6, 2012

Not done yet, Chicago

If you would have asked me at the beginning of this summer if I would move back to Chicago after graduation, I would have smiled & said no. Why did I limit it out so quickly? The idea of living in Chicago seemed like the "easy" thing to do, rather than where I truly wanted to be. (Side note: We live in an economy where you go for the job before the location, and the fact that I even considered this is pretty ridiculous. What a Millennial mindset). It's the simple routine for a North Shore young adult- go to high school, receive a good college education, find a job in downtown Chicago, get an apartment there with some high school/college friends and take the Metra back to your parents' house when you need free food or a car. Pretty straightforward, right?

Over the past few years, I started to fall in love with some U.S. cities I have visited and considered them places to move after graduation. The opportunities I've had to travel throughout college pointed out how other people live and feel compatible in the cities they reside in. Cities like Boulder, DC, Kansas City, Boston, San Diego and New York all have very different feels and I made a conscious effort to observe how people find comfort there. I could envision myself living and working in some of them, but thought of others as livable, but a place I'd rather keep as a vacation spot. Particularly, I fell in love with San Diego for its west coast feel, diverse culture, medium-sized town feel and proximity to Mexico.

When you travel or vacation somewhere, you spend a lot of time becoming acquainted with the area and trying all the best-of-the-bests. Studying abroad in Buenos Aires taught me the true meaning of this. My roommates and I bought travel books and made efforts to hit every attraction and restaurant we could. We would choose a burrow of town and explore it in and out--its art museums, parks, churches, food--and create an impression from there. I applied this travel mindset to every city I went to and explored the streets of them as well. After my parents decided to transition to Milwaukee, Chicago really became out of the picture for next summer's job search. But, working a wonderful internship this summer in Chicago right on Wacker & State Street has changed my mind.

As I sat on the Metra train commuting from the suburbs to the city everyday for ~80 minutes, I pondered about my last few summers in Argentina and at Project Mexico. I can tell you every cross street, where to eat, where the places to be are and what I like about each section of town. And while I can do that with the North suburbs of Chicago, I definitely cannot do that with the city. And that is not okay.

I'm familiar with the tourist areas from showing friends around, and could easily navigate Michigan Avenue, Millennium Park, Sheridan Avenue, Navy Pier or Evanston. But the fact that I couldn't tell you which bars to go to in Lincoln Park or Lakeview, where to eat in Wicker Park or what's in Lincoln Square is pathetic. Being "from the suburbs" is not a valid excuse. So having a lot of good friends working downtown--we made it our goal to see as many areas of the city as we could and just EXPLORE. Any unfamiliar territory was game--for happy hour, dinner or even just roaming around.

Our attempts at reaching this goal have been pretty successful. Driving down Lake Shore Drive puts a smile to my face. I've killed the River North area, went through most of the Loop, gone through Grant Park, the strip by North Avenue Beach and gone out in Lincoln Park. But the feeling sparked me that there was so much more to see. I wasn't done yet.

So stay open-minded about where to live and don't feel like you're settling if you're staying where you're grew up. There are still places to see--in both the city and the suburbs--and just because it was routine when you were younger doesn't mean there's not more to life there.

Check out some photos of some of the Chicago adventures this summer!