Not so bad after all

I spent the first part of my time as a Chicagoan thinking the city was all strip-malls, empty lots, Talbots, and long lines for popcorn, which even extensive exploring can lead one to deduce, since there are long stretches of the city which do fit that description. I spent the next chunk of time oblivious to the fact that I lived in Chicago, figuring that enough time spent on the U of C campus or at places like Fox and Obel along with the occasional trip to the Gap would permit me to believe this was all just an extention of the Upper West Side. Now, in my last week here, I've seen a bit more of what's out there, and have hit upon some areas that are, to put this in NYC terms, either like massive versions of the Lower East Side (around 2000 W Division/Damen) or the newly refurbished West Bleecker Street (Webster between N. Clybourn and the lake). While Chicago's Belmont is a huge disappointment if you're looking for NYC's 8th Street, those stretches of Wicker Park and Lincoln Park I just mentioned do not pale in comparison to their NYC equivalents. Other areas, like the Swedish/gay/dingy/yuppie Andersonville, have no NYC equivalent, and are simply awesome in their own right.

Less awesome is the packing-in-no-airconditioning situation I'd be in right now if I weren't blogging....