I'm still thrilled to be in the Chicago region. Yesterday, Saturday, I drove through downtown when I could have bypassed it. I like it that much. I [usually] enjoy the heavy expressway traffic, too.

This touches on several points I have mentioned in my own threads and I've added a few comments here. The site is http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/hchicago.html.

Welcome to Chicago!

First, you must learn to pronounce the city name. It is Chi-caw-go, or Cha-ca-ga, depending on if you live North or South of Roosevelt Rd. [Boyfriend 'X' frequently pronounces Chicago in a way that I have been unable to grasp. This handy pronunciation guide from makes it all clear! Roosevelt Rd was one of the first downtown streets I became familiar with because it is near the museum campus.]

Next, if your road map is more than a few weeks old, throw it out and buy a new one.

Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere.

Chicago has its own version of traffic rules... "Hold on and pray."

There is no such thing as a dangerous high-speed chase in Chicago.

We all drive like that.

[The above two items bring to mind Erica Ann's comment to me: "The speed limit is only a suggestion." I have driven in many large cities and, unless my memory is failing , many Chicago drivers are among the most aggressive anywhere. LA, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston and New York City drivers may be comparable to those in Chicago.]

All directions start with, "I-94"... which has no beginning and no end.

The morning rush hour is from 6 to 10.

The evening rush hour is from 3 to 7.

Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning.

[Some days, there seems to be no end to rush hour. Something not noted here is that traffic can be awful both toward and away from downtown simultaneously, regardless of the time of day.]

A trip across town (east to west) will take a minimum of four hours, although many north/south freeways have unposted minimum speeds of 75.

The minimum acceptable speed on the Dan Ryan is 85. Anything less is considered downright sissy. [As I already noted: "The speed limit is only a suggestion!"]

If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear ended, cussed out and, if you happen to be on the south side, possibly shot.

When you are the first one on the starting line, count to five when the light turns green before going to avoid crashing with all the drivers running the red light in cross-traffic but be prepared to hear the horns from all the cars behind you because you didn't immediately start moving.

[It took me a while to get used to the way this works. It's actually expected, even encouraged, that multiple cars will be in the middle of an intersection, waiting to turn, when the light turns red. This is written in the driver's license instructions.]

Construction on Northwest Tollway is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment.

We had sooooo much fun with that we have added Elgin O'Hare and the I-355to the mix.

[A major headache this year has been the exceptionally heavy traffic on the Northwest Tollway and Kennedy Expressway, in part because drivers who usually travel the under repair Eisenhower Expressway have moved to the Kennedy.]

All unexplained sights are explained by the phrase, "Oh, we're in Cicero!"

If someone actually has their turn signal on, it is probably a factory defect.

Car horns are actually "Road Rage" indicators. [There is a hell of a lot of road rage out there, folks.]

All old ladies with blue hair in Mercedes have the right of way. Period!

First Ave, LaGrange Rd, Pulaski, NW Highway...all mysteriously change names as you cross intersections. [What street am I really on??]

If you are asking directions in Cicero you must have knowledge of Spanish.

In Bridgeport, Mandarin Chinese will be your best bet.

If you stop to ask directions on the West or South side, you'd better be armed.

The wrought iron on windows near Englewood and Austin is NOT ornamental.

The Eisenhower Expressway is our daily version of NASCAR.

The Dan Ryan Expressway is called "The Death Trap" for two reasons: "death" and "trap."

If it's 100 degrees, it's Taste of Chicago time.

If it's 10 degrees and sleeting/snowing, it's opening day at Sox Park.

If it has rained 6 inches in the last hour, the Western open Golf Classic is in the second round.

If you go to Wrigley Field, pay the $25 to park in the "Cubs Lot". Parking elsewhere could cost up to $2500 for damages, towing fees, parking tickets, etc. If some guy with a flag tries to get you to park in his yard', run over him.

Can I just live and eat and stay in a highrise out there without ever going outside again? I've always wondered what life in a highrise or skyscraper would be like. Maybe they could put some deer and a few beavers, possums, racoons, skunks, porcupines, and a couple of bears in there for me to avoid in order for me to feel right at home.

Thanks, Danya..Well written..I loved Chicago when I was there for a month in the summer of '72...All this urban insanity..and you can walk down to the water of Lake Michigan and catch perch...Neat! dragonfly

devi (imported) wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2010 9:47 am Can I just live and eat and stay in a highrise out there without ever going outside again? I've always wondered what life in a highrise or skyscraper would be like. Maybe they could put some deer and a few beavers, possums, racoons, skunks, porcupines, and a couple of bears in there for me to avoid in order for me to feel right at home.

Hi Dev,

I, too, have wondered what it would be like to live in a downtown highrise. Chicago has quite a number of these. At the very least, having such a residence would greatly reduce communting times to downtown jobs.

If the barely started Chicago Spire is ever completed, at 2,000 ft. tall and with 150 floors it will become the tallest building in Chicago and one of the world's tallest. Largely or totally residential, the upper floors will offer jetliner-like views of the city (see panorama from floor 120: http://www.thechicagospire.com/building/panoramas/140/) Construction was halted when the recession began.

While I love downtown Chicago, if I lived there I, too, would like some reminders of the natural world. Perhaps each residential skyscraper should devote one floor to free-roaming wildlife! The building lobby might work the best, forcing residents and visitors alike to find a safe path through the wild animals to their cushy elevators.

butterflyjack (imported) wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:05 am Thanks, Danya..Well written..I loved Chicago when I was there for a month in the summer of '72...All this urban insanity..and you can walk down to the water of Lake Michigan and catch perch...Neat! dragonfly

Hi Dragonfly,

Part of what I love about Chicago is the (barely) controlled urban insanity. I got my first real taste of the city during the summer of 1973. I had a summer job at Argonne National Laboraroty and spent many weekends downtown.

I never tire of the views from the city of Lake Michigan.

I suppose many large metropolises(egad?) are like this...scurrying, hurrying..

I'm retired from that stuff..I was a NYC fireman for 26 years...I had enough of that stuff...Chillin' now...smooches dragonfly

I have to deliver some parts to a nickel plater this morning out on the west side near Aurora. I hate driving through Chicago except at off-peak times and on numerous occasions have spent 3+ hours trying to get from Wisconsin to Indiana or back, maybe 70 miles. I guess some people are just comfortable being groupies or sardines. I'm much happier with my acre lot, green grass and plenty of trees and whatever wildlife may wander by. Live in Chicago? You can't be serious. Even being castrated, I don't have enough patience for that.

Chicago is best when you fly in, in the morning, take the train to down town, spend the day doing what ever, have a nice dinner, back on the train, fly home that night, sleep in your own bed that night.

When I worked in St Louis my single friends and I did that several times, it was wonderful. Best was no cars, traffic, parking, etc.

However I would not fly today with all the new cavity searches going on, I really think people should just say NO. NO to flying all together, that's the only way this will get fixed. But we love fear, keeps our adrenalin up.

I would rather dodge buses in Chicago.

River