Living in Chicago

When my husband, Ryan, of five years expressed an interest in relocating to Chicago from New York for a job opportunity, I embraced the decision to move. A new city would be exciting, and it was in ways I never imagined.

Ryan's start date was 6 months before we expected. He moved to Chicago without me. I booked trips every weekend, but flights were delayed, canceled, or rerouted more often than not.

Back in New York, I prepared my teaching replacement, finished my master's degree at night and coordinated the sale of our apartment. When all was completed, I joined Ryan in Chicago where all the real excitement began.

Within a few weeks of my arrival, he went on a business trip. My first night alone, I bought snacks and rented a movie. During that 30-minute excursion to the store, we were burglarized. I spent the next two days in a lovely hotel with my snacks waiting for Ryan's return.

A few weeks later, he went on another business trip. This time, I planned to stay home and quilt. With my fresh rotary blade, I cut fabric and accidentally part of my index finger. At the hospital, I inquired, "Does it need stitches?" The doctor replied, "If you have the piece you cut off, we can reattach it." Not having the sliver, I returned home with my bandaged fingertip pointed upright.

The following week, all dressed up, I hailed a taxi. I was to meet my husband and his colleagues for a dinner hosted by his company. As the cab turned the corner, a car sped out of an alleyway and broadsided us. With a bloody nose and a bump on my head, I made another visit to the emergency room.

Ryan tried to comfort me, "Bad things happen in threes, so from here on out you should be fine."

Unfortunately, he was wrong. What I learned though was to find the good in the bad so as not to go crazy.

Burglary is bad. Insurance is good.

Missing sliver of index finger is bad. Not cutting off the entire tip of my pointer finger on the hand I write with is good.

Taxi accident with minor injuries is bad. Wearing my seatbelt all the time now is good.

Bad things continued to happen. Loss of employment was always on the horizon.

Within a couple of months of my arrival, the job that brought us to Chicago ended. What's good about being unemployed? We had saved money and were able to take a one-month excursion throughout New Zealand.

Ryan began working again, and I could not secure a teaching job. What's good is that I subbed at various schools and learned which ones I never want to work in again without hazard pay.

One year later, I found a job. Ryan's job ended. With a possible transfer to California, I resigned. We ended up staying in Chicago. My job was already given away to someone else. With my free time, I had allergy testing done and learned that I was allergic to cats not dogs. We rescued two mutts and can't imagine life without them.

The statement that teaching jobs are everywhere is false. Dangerous schools need teachers. High achieving, pleasant schools keep teachers until retirement. Still unemployed, bad. Good, Ryan is working and I read more about animal rights leading to our vegan lifestyle.

So, the dogs and eating compassionately are the two best outcomes of living in Chicago.

However, other aspects of our daily lives continue to plague us. The roof is leaking. The mason work is defective. Our builder is crooked. Our next-door neighbor is psycho. I can't walk around the neighborhood without being harassed by homeless people. We can't find friends because everyone our age has children and we do not. The winters are horrible.

Many people love living in Chicago. Many people go away to college and return because they can't imagine living anywhere else. Many people are shocked by our experiences.

We are shocked. People complain about New York City, but we never had anything bad happen to us in Manhattan. We continue living in Chicago and hope things will get better, but I doubt it. Winter comes every year and NO, the summers are not worth it!