Ahhhhh sweet Chicago—there are so many things to love about this city...the guarantee that everything is covered in cheese; the extensive and never-ending selection of bars to choose from; the reality that you can still live here reasonably and not have to pay astronomical rent prices; the high population of young adults moving and shaking; the museums; the festivals; the lake; the fact that Ferris Bueller was from here.
And it is exactly that Ferris Bueller-type of rebelliousness that makes this city one of the coolest (and coldest) in the U.S. If it wasn’t for my extreme disdain for icy winds and snow, I would be packing my stuff and moving here. You can still smoke in bars, they charge you $120 for a parking permit violation (warning: parking in Chicago sucks) and they don’t even bother pretending to recycle. Although this may seem (and probably is) socially irresponsible and corrupt, there is something about Chicago’s lack of interest in trying to be oh-so progressive that is refreshing. Chicago just lets you relax and be yourself. It’s a city that feels like a throwback to what cities once were, long before I was born, long before they cleaned up, sold out and priced out the working class to become a little bit more like suburbs and a lot less like cities. It feels like there should be a speakeasy around every corner, right next to the newsie sellin’ papes.
The yuppification is happening in Chicago as we speak. Real estate is booming. Condos are going up everywhere. Communities that cops wouldn’t dare enter before have become gentrified and prime property. Go there while it’s still not completely whitewashed.
The irony here is that the photos I took while I was in Chicago are like a freakin’ poster for the yuppification of Chicago. We went out on a sailboat one gorgeous June day. I sipped on some champagne and pretended I was rich. It was great. So here you have it.
We had the pleasure of being in the city for the PRIDE parade. It was a freakin’ blast.
