When Chantrell Williams saw snow on the ground during her first winter in Chicago in 2006, she called her office.
“I see that it’s snowing. I’m assuming that no one’s coming in, and I took a laptop, so I can work from home,” Williams, now 25, recalled telling her boss. “I thought you guys had snow days.”
Nope, not here.
“Back home [in New Orleans], if we have a lot of sleet and rain, we stay home, and no one leaves,” said Williams, a marketing strategist for Gensler, an architecture firm in the Loop.
And when there was a tornado warning for Cook County last month, Williams and her husband scurried down to her South Loop high-rise’s laundry room, bringing snacks and a change of clothes with them to wait out the storm. The only other person there was doing his laundry, Williams recalled.
When Williams first moved into town for an internship, she decided to live at Halsted Street and Diversey Parkway after her dad’s co-worker’s uncle’s sister’s friend — true story — advised her to stay on the North Side. She’d never taken a cab or commuted by bus or train until coming to Chicago.
“It’s definitely a huge adjustment, and I’m learning something new every day,” she said. “If I could pick one thing I love the most, it’s definitely public transportation. It’s great I don’t have to drive to get everywhere.”
Moving to the Second City doesn’t have to be scary, especially not with RedEye helping you transplants and newbies adjust to living in this city.
And as our welcome gift to you, here’s a taste of some of that famous Midwestern charm: a CliffsNotes-like guide to help get you settled. lvivanco@tribune.com
Welcome.
Now, pay up.
Chicago ought to be known as the City of Deep Pockets.
For starters, we have the highest sales tax rate in the country, at 10.25 percent.
If Fido moves here, he’s going to have to pay too. Dog licenses run $50 for unspayed or unneutered pets and $5 for spayed or neutered pets.
You might want to consider ditching your car. Not only is public transportation plentiful, but driving will cost you — and not just at the gas pump.
You’ll need to buy a $75 city sticker within 30 days or risk a $120 ticket. If your neighborhood is zoned for residential parking (in Wrigleyville and Lincoln Park especially), make sure you get a $25 annual residential parking permit or prepare to be slapped with a $60 ticket.
Better remember to feed the parking meter, too — that’s a $50 ticket if you forget.
There’s more than Wrigleyville
Lincoln Park and Lakeview, which includes Wrigleyville, rank as the two most popular neighborhoods for renters, said Maurice Ortiz, marketing director for Apartment People, a free apartment-finding service.
“It’s funny because people literally come to Chicago, and they don’t know a thing about the city, but they do know they want to live in Lincoln Park,” Ortiz said.
“You’re right on the lake. You’ve got great transportation — both the ‘L’ and bus — great restaurants, great nightlife and [a] great singles scene.”
Next on the list of preferred hoods are Bucktown and Wicker Park, where some of the best bars and restaurants are located and parking isn’t impossible, he said.
But Lincoln Square, Uptown, Ravenswood and Andersonville are climbing, Ortiz said.
Don’t write off the South Side, either. Ortiz said the South Loop is turning into the next Lincoln Park because more people are buying property there, nightlife is growing, and it’s close to the lake and Millennium and Grant Parks.
Rent prices drop off the farther west and north you go from the more popular neighborhoods and from downtown, Ortiz said.
Start living on the grid
Finding your way around a city of 2.8 million can be overwhelming. Knowing the grid system can help.
Most city streets run north-south or east-west, with the exception of a few diagonal ones including Elston, Milwaukee and Lincoln Avenues. The axis: State and Madison Streets. State starts at zero and divides the city into east and west, and Madison bisects the city into north and south.
For example, if you’re at the north end of Michigan Avenue and need to find 100 S. Clark St., go west of State Street to Clark, and south past Madison Street to Monroe Street (100 South).
Other road rules: We don’t refer to our expressways by numbers, like I-90, I-94, I-290, etc. Instead, we call them by their names: Kennedy, Edens and Eisenhower.
There’s a West Side too
No doubt you’ll hear about the North and South Sides of the city, especially when it comes to the Cubs and Sox. But what about the West Side?
(F.Y.I., there’s no East Side. That’s Lake Michigan — simply referred to as the lake.)
Patrons shout “Opa!” in the restaurants that line Halsted Street in Greektown, where “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” was set. There’s also the West Loop, once a warehouse district and now home to lofts, offices and a growing number of cutting-edge restaurants.
On the near West Side, you’ll find the United Center, where Michael Jordan and the Bulls won three of their six championships. In West Town, you’ll find Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios. Nearby is Little Italy.
The Garfield Park Conservatory campus (300 N. Central Park Rd.), on the National Register of Historic Places, is filled with gardens.
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Don’t sound like a tourist
So here are a few things about our city
you should familiarize yourself with:
* For many of you Gen Y-ers, Mayor Daley’s been in office almost as long as you’ve been alive. But his dad, Richard J. Daley, also served as mayor from 1955 to 1976.
* The 1968 Democratic Convention erupted into violence between Vietnam War protesters and police in city streets and parks.
* Millennium Park didn’t actually open in 2000. The opening was delayed by costs and construction until 2004.
* We cherish the memory of the 1985 Bears and their “Super Bowl Shuffle.”
* Chicago’s nickname, “The Windy City,” dates back to the 1800s — not given because of the weather but because of our long-winded politicians.
* The Sox won the World Series in 2005, and the Cubs are still trying to recapture glory days of 1908 — the last time they won.
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lvivanco@tribune.com
