5 Reasons Why Chicago Is An Awesome City

I like Chicago.  I was born here and have lived here for many years.  But I spent my childhood in the Philippines, in a warm climate, near the ocean.  So I am not at all a fan of Chicago's winters.

 

After visiting Honolulu  about a decade ago, I started dreaming about moving to Hawaii.  It reminded me of the Philippines but with the benefits of the American lifestyle and luxuries.  I had also fallen in love with the natural beauty of the island, the beaches, and its climate. 

Recently, I started to let go of that dream of moving to Hawaii.  I now realize that my dream is not very realistic, at least not for my family at this time.  The cost of living over there is way too high for us.  Now, if somehow we suddenly become wealthy, then of course I'd move in a heartbeat!

This summer, after visiting my sister in North Carolina, I fell in love again!  This time with Wilmington - with its charming historic downtown and neighboring beaches.  Oh to live by the ocean!!!

I told my family we should move.  They wouldn't have it!  My daughters, especially! They love Chicago.

Today, as we hung out at the beach and I watched my girls play in the sand and swim and enjoy the beautiful day, I got to thinking...

Chicago is actually a pretty fantastic city.

Here are the 5 reasons I came up with...

1. We have beaches, too!
True, Lake Michigan does not compare to the ocean, but in the summertime it's easy to pretend we're by the oceanside.  It's certainly huge enough to look like the ocean.  The best part is we don't have to worry about saltwater in our eyes!

2. The food!!!

This is probably my favorite reason. 
Here in Chitown, we have a multitude of choices for good eats.  You're craving for Thai food?  No problem! Sushi? Of course!  Vietnamese pho?  Uh, yeah!  We even have Jollibee now for all the Filipinos craving for their favorite chicken joy and peach mango pies and halo-halo!
What?  Not craving Asian food?
Well, there's Italian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, French... You name it, we've got it!
Oh, man, now I'm hungry! 

3.  Diversity of Cultures

I love that Chicago is a melting pot of cultures.  We have a wide variety of ethnic groups: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Irish, German, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Welsh, Assyrian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Indian, Pakistani, Thai, Vietnamese, Tanzanian, and so on.  Not only do we benefit with the diversity of foods, but we get to interact with and learn from a variety of people.  I love that my daughters have the opportunity to meet and become friends with people of different cultures.

4. There's always something to do in Chicago!

What's great about this city is that we do not need to worry about running out of things to do or places to go, especially in the summertime.  Besides the many miles of beaches, we also have dozens of museums.  My family's favorites are The Museum of Science and Industry, Shedd Aquarium, Planetarium, and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.
Chicago also has hundreds of parks - perfect for picnics, biking, running, playing ball with the kids, walking our beloved dogs.
The coolest park, of course, is Maggie Daley Park with its gorgeous backdrop of skyscrapers.
If you like to go shopping, we've got the famous Magnificent Mile and lots of other shops and malls like Water Tower Mall (or my girls' favorite: Old Orchard Mall in neighboring Skokie).

Oh, I can go on and on, but let me wrap this up.

Last, but certainly not least...

5. Chicago has the best skyline!

Just look at it!

Nothing compares!

So there... Those are the five reasons why Chicago is an awesome city. 

I think my family and I are going to stay after all...

Just don't mention winter...

Waiting in line at Jollibee

 On July 29, 2016,  the popular Filipino fast food restaurant Jollibee opened in Skokie.  It's the 1st Jollibee to open in the Midwest.  Most are in the Philippines, of course, but there are some in California and there's one in New Jersey and one in Las Vegas. 

So many Filipinos from Illinois (and neighboring states like Michigan and Indiana) flocked over to Skokie on grand opening day. Lines snaked around the building and the wait was incredibly long - like as in 5-6 hours! No joke!

I can understand the excitement, but to wait for HOURS is nuts!!! (And yes, I know because I was one of the crazy ones waiting!)

But this post is NOT about that ridiculously loooooong wait... 

I want to share about the positive...

What I want to share is how those slow-moving lines surprisingly brought out the good in people! 

I say "surprisingly" because I expected cranky, hangry people!  Instead, I witnessed several acts of kindness! 

There was one lady who was leaving with a bagful of food who then proceeded to give my daughter and these other kids some of her peach mango pies (so delish, btw!), because she felt bad that they were waiting out there for so long. 

Then there was a young man who offered his chair to an older gentleman who was having a difficult time standing there for so long.  There was a woman who offered me her portable charger when she noticed that I needed to charge my phone. There were some young gentlemen that kept us entertained with jokes about the wait and made us forget about our boredom.

It was truly heartwarming to witness the camaraderie among strangers.  

So yes it was an incredibly long wait, but at least people rose above the situation. Yay for humanity!💖

Now go and wait in line for some of Jollibee's Chickenjoy and Filipino spaghetti! 

Oh and then get yourself some of their peach mango pies or halo-halo for dessert! Yummmm!!!😋

Post script: 

I've been reading this book and one part totally sums up the same things I learned from this Jollibee waiting experience, so I'm adding these photos...

Sincero was talking about her experience traveling in India, but the lessons she learned about "living in the moment" and talking to strangers and finding humor totally resonate with what I went through.