This Memorial Day weekend marks my three-year anniversary of moving to Chicago. As I sit and look out my window (metropolis-brewed cup of coffee in my hands) I can see the lake, the loop, Wrigley Field, and the far reaches of northern Chicago and I couldn’t be happier. I’m so moved, I decided to write about it.
As a girl, born and raised (somewhat) in New York, I didn’t even know where Chicago was. True story: I knew my husband was a keeper because, when we met in DC, he told me he was from Illinois and later mentioned living in Chicago, to which I replied “oh my gosh, you lived in Illinois and Chicago – how many places have you lived?!” I never thought I’d find another city better than New York but – and I’m sorry to all my Yankee friends – I really do think that Chicago is the best city in the US. It’s clean, flowers abound, the people are downright friendly, and there’s no question in my mind that we have the best food-and-drink scene. I know some of you might be scoffing at this but here’s why: it’s smaller which means it’s more attainable but it never gets boring; it’s not pretentious although we have enough big-names to have some pretense; it’s affordable, most of the time, but you can splurge when desired; BYOB (‘nuf said); community gardens are taking over along with the local-sustainable-seasonal movement staying strong; the neighborhoods lend themselves to a culinary feast that takes you around the world without ever having to leave the city. When I first moved here, I thought, “you could eat somewhere new every day and never run out of places to eat.” Last night, driving through Ravenswood, on a street I know we’ve driven down before, we spotted three new places that looked interesting/tasty/worthy of a return trip. I just love that!!
I’ll stop here because I think you get the point (I’m certainly not going to list 40 reasons although if you want to see someone else’s list, go here) but I just wanted to express how happy I am to be here. So now, we’re off. Heading out for a run along that beautiful lake, through Lincoln Park, to Green City Market where we’ll grab a bunch of locally sourced goodies for a picnic this afternoon.
Thank you, Chicago, for being this truly amazing place that I am so proud to call my home.
