1. Midwestern friendliness prevails among Chicagoans.
2. We have alleys!  And this means we don’t put all of our trash on the street, we have more windows and can squeeze a few extra parking spots in too.
3. We have tons of “transplants” which make Chicago a melting pot of cultures and ideas.
4. Our Italian food rocks! I’m talking about the pizza, pasta and hot dogs. For those who are meat lovers- rumor has it our Italian beef and sausage are second to none.  Perhaps this is why we are considered a “fat city”?
5. Oprah and Obama hail from Chicago.  Let’s hope that our city doesn’t change when Oprah’s show stops airing in 2011…
6. Chicago has cheaper rent and drinks than New York City.  At least living here is cheaper than somewhere, right?!
7. Chicago feels like a coastal beach city in the summer thanks to Lake Michigan.
8. Having a car in Chicago is an option but not a necessity.  Gotta love the freedom of choice.
9. North Avenue Beach, Castaways, and running on the lake- please come back soon summer!
10. St. Patty’s day:  complete with a green river, along with plenty of green beer and debacles for all.
11. Wrigley Field.  The true classic American ball park smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood.  For once we didn’t over commercialize something.  Congrats Chicago- please continue preserving the history!
12. Endless summer street fests.
13. I always feel safe.
14. The grid system.  If you don’t know how to use this and you live here, you are a fool.  8 miles is a block and if you know the block numbers of a few major streets, you can never get lost.  (A miracle for a location-challenged individual like myself!)
15. The “Big Ten” bond that many Chicagoans share which is demonstrated by several bars devoted to each school in the Big Ten.
16. The fact that it doesn’t take more than 20 minutes to get most places.
17. Although we are a big city, we still have enough space to grow and develop new neighborhoods.

Photo credit: Kevin Dooley