The Burbs

Driving to said birthday party the other weekend (mentioned in the previous post), Giorgio and I had this conversation: 

G-"What suburb would you want to live in?" 
me- "I have no idea.  I don't even know what area of the city I want to live in, and I want to be there." 
G-"It's just so depressing out here.  I feel like living in the suburbs is one step closer to death." 

I have to agree with him.  I mean, it's not that I think I'm better than you because I live in the city. I just think I'm having more fun.  There's always so much to do in the city with minimal effort.  You can always find friends or strangers who want to partake in a plethora of activities: listening to live music, flip a few cups, hop on a boat on Lake Michigan, or shop at cute boutiques. While the upsides to Chicago residents are quite obvious, so are some of the downsides. Public transportation can be smelly.  Some areas are not too safe.  And traffic.. well.. that exists in the burbs too.  Despite what suburbanites think, parking in Chicago is not too difficult if you know where you're going.  And smelly public transportation is a better option that choosing a DD for the night.  My only complaint about Chicago are the rip-off tickets that you can get for reasons you don't even know exist.

Growing up in the suburbs, I learned to appreciate a few things since parting ways.  For starters, drive-thrus.  I recently developed a love for Passion Fruit Iced Tea from Starbucks.  I especially like them when I'm feel rather lethargic and don't want to detour from my route or get out of my car.  It's times like these that I long for a drive-thru.  I have yet to see a Starbuck's drive-thru in the city. 

Swimming pools. I have been spoiled with clean, small bodies of water (pretty much) at my doorstep my whole life.  My nearby relatives always had a pool in which I was granted full access to at any time.  I understand why people in the city don't just have pools on their rooftops, but I just don't like it.  How sweet would rooftop pools be in Chicago?  Instead, we have the beach.  I'm not complaining about it, but its kind of a struggle to get to where as in the suburbs, your one-stop bronzing haven is at your fingertips. 

Back to driving and tickets.  Is it just me, or are red-light photo tickets ruining your life?  These money-making machines have made their way out to the suburbs now, too.  Those cameras are everywhere and I think they are more dangerous than helpful.  I wonder how many accidents have been caused by people trying to slam their brakes before the camera flashes their plates.  It's probably the same number of accidents that have been caused by people running lights!  Anyway.. The pro of the suburb here is the length of the yellow light.  The yellow light easily lasts 5 seconds compared the cities 1/2 second yellow.  So if you're getting red light tickets in the suburbs, you are really trying. 

Since I don't want to make the suburbs sound too good, I'll speak my final (and probably most important) pro of the suburbs.  It is a great place for kids & family.  That might be a con actually for some.  But eventually, if you want kids, the suburbs are the most practical place to be.  Better schools, safer neighborhoods, and sidewalks and backyards for all their needs.  You can't really argue that.

While there are some convincing arguments for life in suburbia.. they just aren't that enticing. And just because you have kids, doesn't mean you have to succumb to life with "one foot in the grave."  So I think I'll stay a city girl a while longer.