Maybe I should back up a little bit. I'm an army brat, so I've moved around my entire life. And until living in Chicago, I had never lived anywhere for longer than five years. I never in a million years thought I would end up in the midwest. I honestly don't even think I really realized that Chicago existed (except for Oprah, maybe). But through a series of life events and jobs I found myself in downtown Chicago.
I moved to Chicago the summer of 2003. I lived right in the heart of Wicker Park on Division. I lived above a breakfast place, had to street park.... the whole nine. I don't know if it's the city of Chicago or just the age I was when I moved here, but Chicago is where I really found myself. I've been fortunate to travel a bit with my family growing up and for work and Chicago is hands down one of my favorite cities. I've met some of my best friends here, partied like a rock star, become a die hard Chicago sports fan, and tried as many new restaurants as physically possible.
On Halloween weekend 2006 I closed on my condo. Yeah, not good timing on my part, but hey - I just bought a condo all by myself! I took the plunge and bought the perfect place for me - a super cute, top floor 1 bed/1 bath in Ukrainian Village.
I was an official Chicagoan! And of course about a week later I started dating my now husband. We've had a good run of "time sharing" between Chicago and Peoria, IL but alas it was finally time for us have a home together. After a little over three years of living in my condo it was time to say goodbye.
Now, I've moved a million times. Across the country and across the globe, but this was different. This was my home that I purchased all by myself in my city where I had finally put down some roots. I was a little nervous about how I would feel as I walked out of the condo for the last time.... no more living in the city, no more walking just a few blocks to grab the Ashland bus, no more walking to the corner to Oggi for dinner, no more just swinging by Nordstroms on Saturday afternoon.... but honestly, it was surprisingly painless. Of course, I'll miss all of those things, but I'm so excited for the next chapter and the next adventure on the horizon.
Maybe it was the distractions of planning the wedding and now planning for a short term assignment in Australia (extending that city living just a little longer!) but I think I've made the transition pretty well! Although I'm no longer a Chicagoan, it's still got a pretty big piece of my heart.
Chicago - it's been real. I'll miss you.
No comments:
Post a Comment