1. Chicagoans Literally Can't Imagine Living Anywhere Else
For those fortunate enough to live in Chicago, you forget that there is actually a state of Illinois outside of the city. It would be difficult to blame you, of course, since roughly 90 percent of Illinois residents live in the Chicagoland area. For the record, anything North of Evanston is in Wisconsin, anything south of Calumet City technically belongs to Indiana, and southern Illinois was annexed by Missouri and Kentucky a long time ago.
2. Braving The L Train Is A Chicagoan Rite Of Passage
When you board the L, you really never know what you’re getting yourself into. Just try to get the most hygenic-looking seat possible. And be warned - even if it’s early in the morning you’ll probably run into Cubs fans on their way to the afternoon game who are somehow already intoxicated.
At some point, a 20-something kid is probably going to ask you if you have any spare change, and if you’re really lucky a group of hustlers will try to lure you into a game of three-card Monte. Gotta love the L.
3. A Cubs Game Is The Best Party You'll Ever Attend
It's a credit to the Chicago Cubs fan base that they rank in the top third of MLB teams in average attendance despite having a less-than-stellar team. Of course, the term “fan” can be used loosely in this sense, because a lot of Cubs fans are simply fans of the Wrigleyville social scene.
This doesn't apply to everyone, but you'll see Cubs fans saunter in and out of so many bars before they even enter the ballpark that they’re pretty much done by the time the game starts.
4. The Loop Is Kind Of Overrated
After business hours the streets of downtown Chicago dry up very quickly, and unless you’re on your way to some highfalutin shindig or maybe seeing "Wicked" for the 18th time, you're probably somewhere else. You know it's true.
5. Chicago’s "Big 10" Team Isn’t Actually In Chicago
The proud college football defender of Chi-town is an academic powerhouse that resides in Evanston and wins a bowl game roughly once every 60 years.
Of course, since Northwestern’s alumni are outnumbered in Chicago by alumni from pretty much every other Big 10 school, it’s difficult to forge an attachment to the Wildcats. So you really did make the best choice.
6. You’ll Probably Find A Big Pile Of Snow Where You Parked Your Car Last Night
The only saving grace here is that the snow doesn’t discriminate. If you park on the street in Chicago, you know full well that you’ll have to dig your car out of an abominable snow pile at least once a year. That's life in the Windy City.
7. It Feels Like Half Of Michigan Just Moved To Chicago
You’ve always noticed an uncomfortable number of migrants from the Great Lake State in your office place, but have you been to a Cubs game recently? They might as well build the Detroit Tigers their own stadium downtown.
Most of those Detroit fans traveled from Lincoln Park. For a myriad of unfortunate reasons, Michigan is hemorrhaging people, and a lot of them are relocating to Chicago. I mean, it's no surprise.
8. Chicagoans Know The Government Has A “Style” All Its Own
Yes, the term “Chicago-style politics” was originally a Republican invention for attacking President Obama, but when 85 percent of polled Chicagoans report believing political corruption in the city to be “common” it’s easy to understand where the ammunition for the term comes from.
9. The Coast Is Better Than Chi-Town? Please.
When residents of the major east and west coast cities wax poetic about the magnificence of coastal living, Chicago residents roll their eyes—and with good reason. The cost of living in the Chicago area is much cheaper than it is on either coast, and there’s really no obvious quality-of-life perk to living on either coast that can justify the cost of living there.
In fact, many of the things New York, Los Angeles, Boston or San Francisco claim to do well, Chicago does just as well, if not better. And did I mention that people in Chicago are nicer, too?
Did we miss anything Tell us what you think is unique about Chicago in the comments below!
