Carrie

Tom, I am sorry if I offended you in some way. I do not hate Chicago and I still live here. My post said I was looking to move this summer . . . Chicago has wonderful museums, gourmet restaurants, and a beautiful lakefront. I also like shopping at Bloomies here. If the winter only lasted six weeks here I'd be staying. I just dislike the length of the winter and not having the convenience and use of my car on a daily basis to go to work and the store.

It is sunny today but still cold. We are almost into April and I am still wearing my heavy winter coat and scarf and we have had snow the last two days, something about that jsut isn't right. Oh well, to each his own

AD

The reason Chicago has long winters is to keep people like Carrie from moving here.

Susan

Geth, I agree, I wouldn't move away from family either. With kids it's really nice to have that extended family around. We did some moving around before we had kids, and I feel lucky to have settled in a place that "fits" now that we do.

I don't think the problem when a move doesn't work always lies with the mover and not the place. They really have to fit together. Different strokes for different folks. Just because someone wasn't happy in your town doesn't mean you need to bash that person.

But I do think it often takes a year or more to really get the flavor of a place, make friends, start to feel like you belong.

noname

I am a former Chicagoan, now living in Tennessee. The Atlanta girl who moved to Chicago, sorry about the weather, and I bet none of the men there hold doors open for you either. People, don't move to Chicago (unless from MI, WI, MN, SD, ND or Buffalo) without visiting in the winter first. There are sunny days in the winter, but those days are the really cold (10, 20 30 degrees below zero) ones. There were days when people didn't even walk erect, they walked in a huddled curve, just to save some warmth in their bodies from the icy wind. There were nights when I came home and actually cried I was so cold. LOVE Chicago, but I could never go back. Now Tennessee winters even seem too cold to me.

To the guy who hated towns just because conservatives live there... you are so typical: everyone who isn't liberal like you must be a bigot. You must be really happy in the new Republican South.

Jane

The most effective method I've found for breaking through all of the garbage when people start talking about which town/city is the best place to live is this: look for those people who have to resort to talking about how close their town is to other, good towns and cities. That's the clincher. As in, one woman on another thread was saying how wonderful Buffalo, NY, is because it's so close to Canada, and they can get to the airport in a hurry to fly to NYC or DC. Hmmm.

Kakk

Noname, you are a craven idiot. You clearly didn't read anything very carefully (just look for the words that set you off), and you have no idea what you're talking about. One "guy" said he hated living with all the liberals; another said that was no different than saying someone hates living with conservatives -- it's bigotry BOTH ways.

And jeepers, you think NC Republicans are too liberal for you? Well, get out of that car because the wheel hasn't been invented yet where you live.

H

Carrie -

I've lived in the Lakeview neighborhood for almost 10 years and work in the Loop. I'm puzzled about what it is that's preventing you from using your car.

dc

You people are all absurd. I was trying to get some feedback about a Kauai vacation, and somehow I stumbled across this post. You are all a bunch of pitiful whiners who obviously have nothing better to do with your lives! I guess September 11th taught you nothing. Be thankful for what you have! (It may not be there tomorrow.)

cathy

dc - be quiet.

This thread is so interesting. I always find it fascinating when people decide to "pack it all up and move to another town so that they can fix their lives". It's interesting how they often find the same problems. Many of them personal.

My favorite thing is when people move to a new town, and they're not happy, so they start comparing it to another town. For example: "God, Washington doesn't have any good clubs - NEW YORK sure is better." Loozas.

Carrie

Nothing prevents me from using my car, it is just inconvenient to do so. I live at Diversey and Sheridan and parking is very constricted. I am lucky enough to park in a garage and pull in and out when I want to, but most stores and restaurants in that area do not have parking. It is not like pulling up to somewhere, parking and hopping out. IT is more like tooling up and down the streets to find a parking spot (could easily spend 30 min. doing this) and then when you do find a spot you are 2 or 3 blocks away from the place. With all of this in mind, it is just not feasible to drive everywhere you go. Now I don't mind walking 3 or 4 blocks every now and then but it is a pain when you have to do that everywhere you go especially if it is cold/snowy/rainy/windy. I also cannot AFFORD to drive to work downtown everyday. There is a garage attached to my building and parking is $19 for a day. I will not spend $100 week on parking even though if I drove to work I would be there in 15 min. <I suck it up and pay if it is snowing rather than walking 4 blocks and spending 20 min. on the el.

JHC

I heretofore decree that DC and Carrie shall be forever shackled together, and left to wander the garden of eden that is...........Amarillo!!! (Thunder)

ThomR

I moved from Dublin, Ireland to Bensalem, PA and I hate it.

Bensalem is an ugly, dump of a town with nothing to do but sit in a sports bar and smoke.

Jim

Thom, so move back.

Susan

We spent a forgettable year in Lawrence, Kansas, having (insanely) moved from the SF Bay area.
I had some idea about wanting to live in a small town so my husband took a job with the government, which sent him to Kansas. We were soon longing to return to Calif. but had a year's committment.
The weather was atrocious: We sat outside all of one day in the summer - it was just too hot & insects kept dropping on us from overhead trees. We thought Fall would be lovely but it lasted only 2 weeks - then came a long long winter with everything a deadly dull brown (the snow didn't stay on the ground for long). Spring lasted 2 weeks & we were off to the deadly humidity & heat again.
The most exciting event of the year was the "grand opening" of a WalMart.
We took a "scenic" drive (nothing but flatland) and, after an hour of driving, realized we'd gone full circle as we came across the same dead dog in the road! A Kansas landmark?

Chukker

ja,
I live in Edmonton, have for my thirty seven years, and would LOVE to have the variety of options that Americans have in choosing a place to live. Sure we have a bit of culture, a beautiful river valley (many cities have areas of natural beauty but we tend to think that millions of tourists will rush up to the end of the world to visit a mall and a river valley), and nice people (although too many rednecks).
But after these five and a half months of winter, the now-insane real estate market (this is Edmonton for crying out loud - a huge Fort McMurray, really, not exactly a charming city), the ugly strip-mall ambience and continous urban sprawl, a pathetic, ugly downtown core full of bums and high school students that spit all over the sidewalks, a city that requires a car to get around and King Klein as premier...how I wish I had more options than Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax. Even then there is the six months of winter to deal with.

Merritt

I moved from New Orleans to Ithica NY (college). I hated every damn day! It was dirty, grey and lifeless. People had ceased to be happy just because they were alive. Moved back within 6 months. Back to my cozy little French Quarter cottage and Tulane!

webster

Merritt, perhaps you'd have been happier if you'd followed the advice of others here to get to know the area before you move there. Even simple matters, such as knowing how a town's name is spelled, can help you feel at home.
But maybe orthography is something IC leaves to Cornell students.

H

Carrie -

Why on God's green earth did you drive an hour to some "SuperKMart"? There's a Target Greatland on Elston between Wrightood and Diversey. There's a very new, enormous Jewel/Osco with a 24 hour pharmacy at Wellington and Ashland. Both have very large, free parking lots.

Skibum

Frisco Colorado. We moved from Detroit (don't EVER move there) and bought a small business. The town government was a joke, totally ineffective. People dumped garbage all over the place and had no respect for the neighbors. One of our neighbors ran an insulation business out of their home and parked diesel trucks on our property, running, at 5 am each day. Tourists would ride snowmobiles at 2 am through our backyard. The cost of housing was ridiculous, and getting worse. Everyone seemed to hate everyone else. We moved our business and our house to Breckenridge and never looked back. Frisco is a dump! But, unlike Detroit, no one tried to kill us. I was robbed at both knifepoint and gunpoint there.

ang

I moved to Chicago 3 years ago from Kentucky and admit I still dislike the winters as well. However, there are so many good things here as well I am learning to adjust and have mad some really good friends here. Perhaps you should give it more time Carrie?

To the other Chicagoans, please not the Target Greatland on Elston does not sell groceries and the large Jewel/Oscos sell pharmacy and grocery items only and their selection is certainly limited. The nearest all-in-one shopping location is the large
K-Mart at Devon and Lincoln which I think may still be considered inside the city but I am not sure on that. As for the car thing, I understand coming from a car culture. My friends here tease me because if something is more than 6 blocks away, I drive or cab it. I am probably the only person who uses their car more than on a weekend basis, but I am used to it!

I probably will move away when we decide to have children, but being young and in the city is great for now.