The liveable city of Chicago

Coming from the narrow, crowded, dirty streets of New York and London, Chicago was a pleasant surprise. There was actually green spots generously located all over. Flowers, trees, grass. A most welcome change.

But it wasn’t just the change in scenery that made Chicago a wonderful place to walk around. The temperature was also adjusted to make it bearable to walk around for hours without being soaked in sweat. A good thing indeed, when you don’t care for the commute by subway or bus in sunshine.

Slowing down
The environmental change brought along with it a change in mentality as well. In New York and London, I had been packing my schedule with around three items of art, comedy, entertainment, and sight-seeing every single day. It was time to slow down.

Hanging out with Jason (my employer on Singlefile and coconspirator on a long range of upcoming projects) was the perfect excuse for doing just that. Taking his amazing black turbo Audi for spins around the city, dining thai, middle eastern, mexican, and hanging out in the 37signals office kept us busy in the nice relaxed way that doesn’t give you stress from rushing from one visual experience to another.

Visual experiences still present
I didn’t totally shun the visual experiences, though. Most noteworthy was the Earth From Above exhibit that had seven years worth of photographic travels Yann Arthus-Bertrand on display and the Chicago Institute of Arts. The former was in Copenhagen about a year ago, but very rewatchable. The latter was slightly overwhelming in the depth of their many exhibitions, but equally impressive. They even had the original Picasso “The Old Guitarist" that I have hanging on my wall as copy back home.

Arcitecture
Another amazing feature of Chicago was the architecture. The city burned to the ground in the 1871, which prompted a complete rebuild of the city according to the leading architects of the time. And it shows. Walking around downtime is an experience filled with leaning back my head and awing at the tall results of inspired architecture. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it onto any of the guided tours (Jason was telling me about this 3-hour boat tour that should be really great), so I had to rely solely on my own random walkabouts to see it all.

All in all, Chicago appeared to be one of the most liveable cities of all the ones I’ve been to in the States. Should I ever think about moving over here, I’d certainly have Chicago at the top of my list for destinations.

I enjoyed your review of the wonderful city of Chicago. I have often thought about moving there but have been hesitant due to the cold, long winters. It appears that you visited in the summer so I'm curious if you have spent anytime there during the winter months? If so, what were your impressions of the city then?

I was actually just there for a week. It wasn't really in the Winter, but now I've seen fall there too. And now, I didn't mind it at all. I'm a big of seasons, so an all-year tour the sun isn't me. I couldn't live in L.A.

There's something magical about letting the seasons affect your mood, preferences, and areas of interest. You appriciate all the seasons more, anticipate their change, and welcome their goodbye.