Why Moving to Chicago is a Good Idea

Chicago is gritty and beautiful, diverse and homogenous, fierce, resilient, passionate. Come hither and stake your claim. The City of Big Shoulders can carry your weight.

I grew up in South Deering, at the southern edge of the south side of Chicago. After a short stint in the suburbs and a few years in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, I moved back to Chicago and landed in the Gold Coast. 29 years later, with vacations to hundreds of places the world over, I remain passionate about this amazing city.

Conde Nast Traveler named Chicago the #1 big city to live in for the 3rd year in a row! We are a world-class destination, known for our architecture, cultural institutions, amazing food scene, and our 77 beautiful and diverse neighborhoods. But topping the list of what sets Chicago apart is a city with some of the most engaging, hard-working, and pleasant people you will find anywhere in the world.

When it comes to business, we have a diversified job market, with corporate headquarters signing long terms leases by the dozens. From Uber to Lyft, Kraft to Conagra, Salesforce, Amazon, Walgreens, the list goes on, with top companies on the Fortune 50 and 100 lists headquartered or holding a huge presence in Chicago. We are a tech, logistics, legal, and financial epicenter. Chicago is the 3rd largest city in the United States, but it isn’t in the top 10 most expensive cities in which to live!

We are the birthplace of the skyscraper and have been a major influence on world-class architecture. The art and music scene in Chicago is astounding, with the Art Institute, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago Symphony, and Lyric Opera our Grand Dames, along with a talented and passionate group of urban street artists and musicians.

Looking for an escape to nature? Our lakefront is 18.5 miles long and we have hundreds of parks scattered throughout the city. From snowfall to the falling leaves, the city is a stunning display of nature’s beauty and bounty.

We have a walkscore of 77 and a bikescore of 73, making us a prime city for walking and biking. I gave up my car in 2018! You can walk or bike from Chinatown to Downtown, Lincoln Park to Wicker Park, and hop on a water taxi or the river walk, for a scenic view or a bit of bar-hopping.

I could go on and on, but Studs Terkel says it all… “Chicago was home to the country’s first skyscraper (a ten-story building built in 1884), and marks the start of the famed Route 66. It is also the birthplace of the remote control (Zenith) and the car radio (Motorola), and the first major American city to elect a woman (Jane Byrne) and then an African American man (Harold Washington) as mayor. Chicago, has―as they used to whisper of the town’s fast woman―a reputation.”

Photo credit: Max Bender / UnSplash | Josh Feeney