Every year hordes of folks leave Illinois for sunny California. But occasionally, there are folks going the other direction too. I had no choice when my parents left Chicago for Cali in 1970. After 31 years, one day I just up and moved back. Was I crazy, or was it a smart move?
Greeting! When I first moved to Chicago from California, one of the first responses I received from people (besides WHY???), was how do you like it here? Now that I have over a year under my belt, I feel that I can make a fair comparison.
What I LOVE about Chicago:
* Seasons! I know that it is cliché, but I love the new fallen snow, the spring lilacs, the orange, brown and gold autumn leaves. True, in Southern California they have brown air and orange hair, but that is more of a year round thing! Besides, we have those here too!
* Diversity. California is proud of its diversity and rightly so! But I am happy to report that Chicago is just as diverse. I can celebrate my own heritage with pierogi parties, polka pandemonium and slavic soirees of every sort. I can taste Polonia and still have taiko and tandoori, dim sum and Dia de Los Muertos; all the things I would truly miss if Chicago was not as wonderfully cosmopolitan as it is!
* Down to earth people! This is not a cliché, people in California (mainly Southern California) are a tad too obsessed with the body beautiful. One time I actually clocked how much time my co-workers spent talking about some aspect of their physical appearance. No exaggeration, it was almost 100%. O.K., fessing up, about 20% of that time was spent talking about the kind of cars they drive. But most of it was diet babble! What they ate, what they did not eat! What they could have eaten but shouldn't. What they should have eaten but couldn't. Of course, what you ate, what their sisters ate, what their best friend ate, what their accountant's dog's massage therapist/feng shui consultant ate. And if they are one of those New Age Californians, they will go through the whole thing over again for past lives, future lives, and alternate dimensions. Healthy is good but so is perspective!
* Real men. As a general rule, Chicago men rock! First of all, they have old fashioned courtesy. They hold doors open for you. Feminist that I am, this used to bother me a bit. Deep down I felt this quaint custom was a sneaky patriarchal tool for maintaining control of the door. Now I just go with it. They are also good at doing stuff, like fixing their own furnaces and changing their own engines. Or maybe I am just blown away because I can not even remember to have my car serviced at Jiffy Lube or find my furnace. The best thing about Chicago men is that you don't have to be a Barbie doll to get a date. You don't even have to be an Emme doll. Just a nice person will do. Or in my case, a nice person Monday thru Friday from 1 to 1:15p.m. and alternating Lonely Aunts with Many Cats Days. (Yes, there really is such a holiday, it is Oct. 5 and it gives me something to look forward to in old age.) Until the day I die, I will reject unrealistic appearance standards as a means of oppression against women. But here when I say ' if you don't like my derriere kiss my cellulite," I actually have takers.
Nothing is perfect though, so here is what I DON'T like about Chicago:
* Revolving doors! In California, entering and exiting a building is very simple. Doors open, they shut, you go in, you go out! No special talent, training or batteries are required. Downtown Chicago is a different story. Now I am not the world's most graceful person. I tend to avoid things that require timing and physical coordination. That is the number one reason I have not taken up sky diving or Filipino pole dancing. Truth be known, I even eschew highway merging. Which is why revolving doors are so problematic for me. One has to dart into these horrific metal and glass spindles with death defying agility! (O.K. bruise defying agility.) It is double Dutch all over again!!!! And there is always someone pushing because I don't go fast enough! Hey, If I wanted someone behind me grumbling about how slow I am going, I'd drive through the door, O.K.?
* Parking stickers. Many cities in Illinois require you to pay them to park your car in your OWN driveway or parking spot. The city of Chicago actually charges $75 a year. I do not live in city limits, but if I did, I would probably not mind too much. This is because the city of Chicago sponsors so many things that are way cool. Social programs like free spaying and neutering. Free dance lesions in Grant Park every summer weekend. Landscaping downtown to live up to the motto "City in a Garden." Support for the arts, like the world famous Chicago cows. The city even painted its manhole covers with Starry Night and Sunflower themes to celebrate the Van Gough exhibit. . I think this is all great!!! Art, joy, love, those are the real reasons we are here and everything else is illusion. However, as I said, I do not live in the city of Chicago, I live in a hugh suburban sprawl know as Schaumburg. It is famous for Motorola and having the largest mall in the state. It perpetually looks like the parking lot in Dodger Stadium after a game. It is as generically suburban as generic suburbs get. Nothing quaint or whimsical here. Schaumburg has never revved up my rhumba or limited Lily's libido. I doubt a single Schaumburg sewer ever shouted joie de vivre! Simply stated, the Schaumburg surcharge stinks!!!!!
* Chauvinistic midwesterners. The kind of people who, immediately after they find out I am from California, tell me how much they HATE California. Like it is my fault they got lost on the freeway or spent hours waiting in line at Disneyland. Just as there are many "Chicagos," there are many "Californias." You can not judge the entire state by the Jaywalking segments down Hollywood boulevard! Besides, what are you telling me for? I moved back! Duh!!!!!!
By now I have probably managed to offend both Californians and Chicagoans! But that is o.k. I can always move again. By the way, for those of you who are frustrated by the fact that my address keeps changing from year to year, I can only say to get a good eraser because next year is anyone's guess!