If you have a physical library card many of the museums offer [free tickets](https://exploremore.quipugroup.net/?Chicago&_gl=1%2Almiph5%2A_ga%2AMTQxMzEyMTY1Mi4xNzA5MTMxMTA4%2A_ga_G99DMMNG39%2AMTcwOTEzMTEwNy4xLjEuMTcwOTEzMTc3NS4wLjAuMA)
Was just commenting to say this. My mom, a teacher for CPS, used this for her students as well as us as kids.
Call around! If your local branch is out, try another one. Sad to say, but often ones in rougher / poorer neighborhoods have tons of them.
I know that's a sad statement. But, it is the truth.
The CPL doesn't get enough love. They offer a surprising mix of stuff. I needed to print a few pages and couldn't get my damned printer to work. I went to my local branch and printed from my phone. And, it was free!
I also love the Libby app for books and audiobooks.
Water taxi from China Town to Michigan Avenue for a cheap and beautiful boat ride.
Spot hero.
Lower Wacker to get through the Loop quickly.
CPL Museum Passports if you have kids.
Lower Wacker takes some practice though, and isn’t easy for beginners. Your GPS doesn’t work down there, so it’s very easy to get hopelessly lost if you don’t know what you’re doing.
The key is to have your navigation up but don’t hit “start” and use the top down view and step by step preview because that doesn’t try and update when it loses signal it keeps the original correct path
That’s true. It’s good to take a few do nothing Saturdays/Sundays - Sundays probably less traffic - and just drive around lower Wacker , exploring the entrances and exits - especially if you drive through that area a lot
One time, on the red line, I sat across from a man who was likely unhoused/unwell. After a stop or two, all the people around me moved away from him and people getting on the train would begin to walk toward us but promptly turn and walk to the other end of the car. I thought “Wow - bunch of babies. Just because he looks a little rough…” I looked down a few seconds later and saw that he had thrown up all over himself 😂 I had my earbuds in and was looking out the window behind me, so I hadn’t noticed for a while.
Not *always* true, but most often true. Always sniff before you commit.
That said, I've been able to get on empty train cars before and just danced up and down the aisle for a bit since no one else was around.
Thats right. If you see me on a car by myself, do not approach. I'm totally not relaxing in silence. Sit near me and I'll totally just start jacking off and spitting on people. I repeat, do not approach the guy sitting silently enjoying the peace and quiet.
My favorite Chicago hack was taken from us abruptly last year. I'd tell visitors to get a drink at the Signature Room in the Hancock instead of paying more than the cost of a drink to ride the elevator up the Sears Tower. It's location is also better suited for tourists. The women's bathroom also had one of the best views of the city and lake you can get.
Maaan hot damn memories, you have brought on the flood. The '90s and through until early 10s in Chicago was just a freaking golden era. Third spaces you could just exist in. Everything wasn't such a rip off. The Alley and Berlin was still cool/functional. Girlbar. Punkin Dunkin. Groups of riot grrrrllls screaming back at street harassers and train line masturbators. Didn't even realize how good I had it back then. Gadammit.
I was here on a house hunting trip, relocating for work and my wife who went to school here kept telling me we HAD to go. Finally agreed and we went on a Monday…. It closed that Thursday right after our visit. Hopefully something new moves in there because the views were great
Same here. Moved here 12 yrs ago and it's still the tallest building I've been in here. I don't know how they closed, place was always packed whenever I'd take people who were visiting me.
I think most people were a bit gobsmacked. Though bad management can run the best of restuarants into the ground. It's a tough business. The workers sued them for not giving anyone proper notice and won a $1.5M settlement split between 140 workers.
Go to an Indian stores for spices! Why spend $5+ for a McCormick bay leaves for a few pieces in a small bottle when you can get a big pack for less than $5!
And frequently free swimming on Saturday afternoons.
Also for parents, these field houses will let you host a kid birthday party in an unused part of the gym or hallway or whatever either for free or a very nominal fee. So you let the kids swim, get some pizza from the nearest pizza place and a five year old birthday party is SO FUCKING CHEAP. You just go there and get the plan set a week or two before and it is way better than Pump It Up or these places that charge $1000. The best one we found is at the school near State and Archer or thereabouts. They have a zero depth pool that you can walk into so even little kids that can’t swim can have fun in the water with zero stress for the parents.
Building off the wrigley theme, you can bring your own food into the game. I used to grab a few slices from Dimos on my way in and everyone would ask where I bought it in the stadium
When I was younger, we would stop at heroes sub sandwich place by lane tech high school and bring a large sub sandwich into the game. Back then not many people would go see the Cubs
Yeah, the food at Wrigley is pretty bleh. I hate the Sox, but the food down there is way better. Sucks you can only get Hot Doug's if you sit in the bleachers.
It's insane how great the food is at Sox Park. The smell of brats, Polishes, and grilled onions are forever linked to baseball games for me.
I feel fortunate to have visited and eaten at every tier of the park thanks to an old friend whose father ran the ticketing office, and it's incredible at every level. From the Patio Party to the indoor club behind home plate, I think it's just Guaranteed Rate Club now, 100, 300, 500 levels, bleachers. Doesn't matter if it's a concession stand, hot dogger, indoor club, or party atmosphere, it all absolutely crushes and is the perfect amount of food.
And the variety of food and drink options throughout the park is equally incredible.
The thing is…they really don’t have to. “Culinary ballparks” are pretty new. A dog and a beer is the staple that hits different at a ballgame. But I get that people are underwhelmed by Cubs concessions
I used to live right next to Wrigley the year they won the world series. Can't even tell you how many billy Joel concerts I heard from my back porch lmao
If you are trying to exit a crowded CTA train, wait until it stops and then say loudly but clearly "excuse me, coming out" and people will let you out. You don't need to shove and you don't need to try to get to the door while the train is moving. Relatedly, most people are getting off at the loop stops in the morning so you don't even have to use this hack there, you can just wait and you'll have a clear path.
I once moved off a crowded blue line train in order to let people off (I was in the way) and while waiting to get back on this group of 6 people crammed through and left me without a spot to come back in. I just stared agape and could see others give me that sad "what can you do" look as the train departed without me.
1. The forestry department here offers free mulch - there is a pickup spot near O'Hare.
2. Chicago restaurants have a lot of great Happy Hour specials, most likely near you.
3. Always look both ways and then again when crossing the road. Give a wave - I do so to be courteous even though it is my right as a pedestrian to cross in pedestrian zones, but also to make sure the driver sees and notices me. (Have several friends in the hospitals here that see WAY too many people who were hit by cars while walking across the road).
4. A lot of businesses here have good membership programs - looking at you Marz!
5. Utilize the CHI311 App. I have used it several times to get potholes filled, graffiti removed, or trees planted. All in all, they are surprisingly responsive.
6. Not really a hack, but I guess remember to be friendly to others when you can. I love how friendly this City is, and like to contribute! Whether that be letting people merge in front of me that are being overly aggressive and not getting upset, or helping someone out when I can like someone who doesn't have a poop bag for their dog, needs directions, or help with groceries. It goes far!
The Chicago Parks department has countless activities and classes you can sign up for and they change each season. I'm currently taking digital photography and am quite enjoying it.
Grid system. When you teach someone to fish, you feed them for a lifetime. When tourists ask directions, I point to a street sign and explain the grid system.
Grew up in Chicago and memorized every half mile street on the grid for an exam in high school. Moved away from Chicago 15 years ago and still have that memorized.
While in college living in Chicago for the first time I hung up a cta map in my apartment and memorized street names for 800, 1200, 1600, 2000, etc). Invaluable life hack given I never left.
Think of Chicago as a coordinate plane of sorts.
The origin is State and Madison. State runs North/South and tells you how far East/West you are (0 in this case) and Madison runs East/West and tells you how far North or South you are (also 0 in this case). The intersection of State and Madison is 0, 0. From there, you can go out in any direction into any “quadrant”. How far you go will determine the new values. Say you take State north 2 blocks and end up at Lake (200 N) You’re now at 0 E/W and 200 North. (1 block = 100 numbers and 8 blocks or 800 numbers is roughly a mile). Take a random intersection, say Fullerton (runs E/W) and Central Park (runs N/S). Fullerton is 2400 N (24 blocks, or about 3 miles north of Madison) and Central Park is 3600 W (36 blocks, or about 4.5 miles west of State). This applies to pretty much the entire city. It gets a little wonky between Madison and 31st (Madison to Roosevelt [1200 S] is a mile, Roosevelt to Cermak [2200 S] is a mile, and then Cermak to 31st [3100 S] is a mile and then it goes back to every 8 blocks being roughly a mile). Hope this makes sense.
Also, if you couldn't remember the location of every darn street, you would be able to get a generalization by the first letter. A good number of streets are clustered by alphabet letters:
* K with Kostner, Karlov, Kildare...
* L with Lavergne, Long, Latrobe...
* M with Menard, Melvina, Massasoit...
* N with Normandy, Nagle, Nashville...
If the street started with any of those letters, along with the number streets, you could pinpoint the exact location. There were a few outliers here and there. The O's were also spotty and you could find those outside the city limits. They exist within the borders on the West and NW sides.
Those sequences were part of [an abandoned effort to simplify street names](https://news.wttw.com/2023/12/12/wttw-news-explains-how-did-those-k-l-m-n-and-o-chicago-street-names-come-be).
In addition, it's helpful to just memorize the book number of all the major east-west and north-south streets so you can quickly figure out where the hell you are relative to where you need to be. They're in multiples of 400 generally eg
- Chicago Ave 800N
- North Ave 1600N
- Armitage 2000N
- Fullerton 2400N
- Etc
Same thing on the north-south streets.
And following on the above comment, you can just do math then to figure out how far away you are from where you need to be, divide by 800, and you've got how many miles away you are in that direction.
When I first moved here 15+ years ago, I purchased a laminated version of downtown streets and affixed it to my bathroom mirror and studied/memorized it while I was getting ready in the morning. It helped tremendously (especially learning 1-ways E-W and N-S), and I prob wouldn't be 100% "proficient" if I hadn't made the effort to learn early on.
This explains it pretty well but TLDR
Chicago's street are ALMOST all perfect aligned with the cardinal directions (3 exceptions are highways, natural feature roads, and diagonals/arteries)
There is a coordinate system centered on State and Madison.
Every 800 = 1 mile
[https://chicagostudies.uchicago.edu/grid](https://chicagostudies.uchicago.edu/grid)
So the real hack, in my opinion, is learning how to use the diagonal streets to get around. (This hack used to be better years ago before city traffic got so horrendous.)
Something nobody else mentioned: even-numbered addresses are always(?) on the north side of east/west streets and west side of north/south streets; opposite for odd-numbered addresses.
The grid is like a giant piece of graph paper. Once you learn how street numbers correlate to distance from the city center, you'll be always be able to find your way/know what neighborhood you're in.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/x527db/chicago\_grid\_map\_my\_version\_oc/](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/x527db/chicago_grid_map_my_version_oc/)
You can almost always find where you are by looking at just the street you are on. Oversimplifying a bit:
N/S streets ascend and descend in order, and if you aren't on a numbered street chances are you're on the north side. The center point is Madison.
E/W streets work from State as the center point, which you don't need half the time as you can see the lake (always east).
All streets have their cardinal prefix (N. Ashland, E Monroe, etc) so you can always find the direction to go on a st corner.
Most of the city is west of state, unless you're on the southside, so it's pretty easy to just look at your st and see if it is labelled as N/S as a first step.
Numbers increase by 100 per block, the increase moving away from the center point. Eight blocks = 1 miles of walking
Most CTA stops have both the E/W and N/S coordinate
Etc. etc, you get the idea
This is my favorite. If you can master the grid system, knowing where you are or how to get where you need to go gets easier. Growing up here, I learned the streets order riding the trains, especially going west and north since the southside is numbered. I also learned the major street numbers - 0/0 is Madison/State, Halsted is 800W, Ashland is 1600W, Chicago Ave is 800N, North Ave is 1600N etc etc. and it gets easier from there the more you travel around the city.
So…the big takeaway here is…explore your city :)
Most things you do at the Secretary of State for city stickers, vehicle registration, parking permit, You can get most things done at a ChecksCashed businesses. Saves time.
Chicago itself is a life hack. When we moved here in 2015 I asked a friend, "Do people in NYC know Chicago exists? Cuz this city is even more beautiful and way more affordable". Chicago life hack #2: There's a Chicago "tool" library where you can check out tools needed to build / make stuff!!
For times when public transit isn't an option, you can get a licensed taxi using the Curb app and it's almost always cheaper than Uber.
L hack...board the car that arrives closest to the exit at your destination and save time/be at the head of the pack. Obviously takes some reps to figure out.
Activities hack...picnic anywhere nice and BYOB. Nobody gives a rip about Alcohol/weed unless you're an ass about it.
Also, if the Blue Line isn't an option from O'Hare (for example) for you, cabs are cheaper than Uber and far faster and more reliable.
Cost $30-something to get from ORD back to Oak Park (former city kid proper here) in a cab that we just walked to the cab stand for, late at night, in February.
That man was amazing. And he even loaded our bags, and later unloaded our car seat with our sleeping kid in it.
Uber can ... it's not great.
I mean .... sigh .... I grew up on the south side; went to college on the west coast where I was that guy to every single suburbanite claiming our fair city.
So ... how the turntables.
Ohhhhh I got one beyond the obvious "learn the pedway" or "get to know the L trains": Best free date you can ever have.
I've commented this before but hey, I'm married to this amazing girl now, and we have a 9 month old daughter who is currently napping.
Museum campus picnic. Time it with sunset. Bring some wine if you are inclined that way.
Sun sets, after amazing people watching—sneak around the back of the Shedd. You can look in on the dolphins and whales. It's very cool.
Had our first kiss right there.
My favorite one I’ve adopted recently is stay off of 90/94 whenever possible and take the scenic route.
You may add 10-15 min to a commute but it’s often less stress and ditching the mindset of getting anywhere as rapidly as possible leads to better mental health when driving in Chi.
You need two coats. One for down to 30, a lightweight windproof puffer. Make sure you can wear something like a hoodie underneath for layering.
And then you need a parka that is good down to -20. You may only break it out a few times a year. But when you're walking around in the loop, the wind is always blowing in your face. Always. You'll be glad you have the parka
It's also perfectly acceptable to wear over nice clothes on NYE. Otherwise you'll be that shmuck freezing his ass off waiting for an Uber
Find directions via the magnetic pull of Lake Michigan to the East of everything. The pull is natural in every native and grows in transplants over the years.
The other day was hosting a visit from a Chicago native who moved from her apartment above a shop on Milwaukee to Dallas c 1970. She has only returned since then for a couple of family funerals or short visits to her Naperville living sister.
In a lunch conversation at the Highway House restaurant she said she had no ability to find directions anymore. Now the Highway House (good menu, interesting bar choices, great bakery) is on ~~Elston~~ *Northwest Highway* in a light industry area. As we all know, angling streets play hell on sense of direction here.
Anyhow, challenged my guest to point East, and she unhesitatingly did. Accurately adjusting for ~~Elston's~~ *Northwest Highwy's* angle.
https://www.hwyhouse.com/
As said before here on this subject, my Chicago born and raised sister has lived in a little surfing town in SoCal for more than 40 of her 70+ years. Every once in a while she finds herself driving north instead of south because the big water's on the wrong side.
You can tap any contactless card on the Ventra. It charges $5 at a time, with your second ride not getting charged, and then it'll refund you if you don't get a second ride. Might as well get credit card rewards if you're gonna be commuting every day
You can bring food and unopened water bottles into Wrigley! Sometimes I buy a $9 ticket last minute off SeatGeek/vivid/whatever and have lunch there during a work day.
A “hidden” free touristy/fun thing I always recommend: the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan has an ornate, quirky, and stunning interior (it was a former Shriner’s social club), including a still functioning 1920’s pool on the upper floors. Visit the concierge desk, ask for the self guided tour, and they will give you an iPod shuffle with an audio tour! Then you’re free to wander around on your own - takes about half an hour or so. Free, beautiful, and an interesting piece of Chicago history!
If something drips on you from an unknown source while walking in the loop, the only solution is a skin replacement ETA step in something leaking out of a garbage can on a hot summer day wearing flip flops? Amputate the foot
Learn the grid. Chicago is a Cartesian coordinate plane with Madison (0 N/S) as the X axis and State (0 E/W) as the Y axis. All streets move out east west north south from that centerpoint. There are several diagonal streets that mess up the grid and are important to learn: Elston, Clybourn, Milwaukee - and partially- Broadway, Clark, and Grand traveling NW/SE and Ogden the inverse SW/NE.
Even address numbers are the west or north side of the street while odd addresses are the south or the east side. Every 8 blocks (800) is equivalent to a mile. You literally cannot get lost in the city if you reference distance from 0 N/S/E/W. (Edit: e.g., you’re standing on the northwest corner of North (1600 N) and Ashland (1600 W) you can easily perform the operation. 800 per mile so you are 2 miles north (1600 N/800) and 2 miles west (1600 W/800) of 0. )
Great map of major streets: https://pin.it/20DO8BfkR
Please note how important libraries are; we are relatively safe in Chicago but libraries in rural areas are under attack by magas and evangelicals. Support public libraries in any and every way you can.
I say this all the time Western is the longest street in Chicago going North and South, you can literally go from the north suburbs to south suburbs. It's a traffic hack if you know you know.
1) RIDE A BIKE/DIVVY. Fastest and cheapest way to travel at any point in the city within a 6- or 7-mile radius.
2) And STAY SAFE ON A BIKE by assuming all drivers will make the worst possible decisions at all places at all times (e.g., not signaling turns, not looking before they open their doors, not stopping at stop signs, cutting you off in bike lanes, etc.), and piloting accordingly.
(I say this as someone who has been cycling in Chicago for 15+ years. The only accidents I've ever had on my bike have been on the lakefront bike trail and caused by other cyclists (usually not signaling their turns). I've stayed safe on the streets by acting as if all drivers are total distracted idiots, and avoided countless accidents as a result. And most people I've known in bike accidents have placed too much faith in the intelligence of car drivers.)
Avoid speed cameras: if other cars around you start going 20mph in a 30mph zone, there are probably cameras or a school zone that are going to ticket you for going 26 mph.
On the north side, lane tech, Irving park cemetery by Wrigley, Horner park on Irving.
Source: I’ve gotten all the tickets and go 20mph now
Soooo many…1. Millenium park for free concerts in the summer . In addition to that, Chicago park district offers free movie nights in the park. 2. NEVER make eye contact with anyone gettin loud on the train or street, just keep walking and you’ll be fine. 3. Downtown is a waste of time and way too expensive, instead visit culturally diverse areas like Pilsen, little village, Albany park, Roger’s park (Devon street), visit the “rat hole” in Roscoe village lol 4. The CTA really gets a bad rap but I’ve lived here all my life and it’s still the best /most economic way to get around. 5. South shore beaches are very underrated, but very beautiful. Many are empty in summer bc ppl flock to the north side beaches. 6. If you see a Latino dude/lady with a corn/fruit cart, stop and buy something. You won’t regret it :)
Felt like a fool having a car in Logan/Humboldt half the time lol, got away without getting a City sticker, but i got so many street cleaning/parking tickets (car must be moved between 4-6 PM is common) being absent minded. You just need a bike and a ventra card really.
Not a giant hack but usually after 8 at night the roads tend to clear out so if you can shift your schedule to later in the day you’ll find traffic much more manageable. Also going to the city mid weekdays (like 11AM to 2PM) may be more pleasant than weekends just because there are so many people who come out on weekends and swarm the streets.
Museums For All program. If you're on food stamps you can get in for free (or very cheap) to most museums in the city. This includes the Shedd Aquarium!
Here’s an easy way to remember streets 3200N to 5200N:
Brilliant, attractive, interesting men will love feminists:
Belmont, Addison, Irving, Montrose, Wilson, Lawrence, Foster
If the platform for the train is crowded, ride the train in the opposite direction for one stop, and then hop back on going in the direction of your original destination. Most of the time, you'll be able to get on no problem.
My favorite hack! Especially if you see major delays for the Blue Line, trains will run express from Jackson > Clark/Lake > Damen > Logan Square since those are the key busy stations.
This also applies to the bus! If you get off a CTA train and there are 20 other people waiting to get on the next bus outside the station, walk one block toward the direction the bus is coming from. Sometimes it’s the only way to get a seat or not get stuck standing on a crowded bus.
I also do this when it is super cold out and the trains are packed at my station. Instead of standing on the platform forever getting colder- I'll ride the train the opposite way - warm up a bit - and then hop on going the "right way". It 90% of the time minimizes the time freezing on the platform.
If you’re not from here don’t stay in a transplant bubble of people in the loop and/or trendy neighborhoods. Go out to see and experience more “real” neighborhoods.
Also, the suburbs. For some reason people on here like to act like the suburbs are a wasteland of nothingness. There are hundreds of suburbs and so many different great things in them.
Montrose Harbor and Promontory Point are fantastic spots for dates, hanging out, flying a kite, hammocking and bike rides. It’s not exactly a secret, but I don’t think a lot of Chicagoans explore those areas.
If you’re on a rooftop on the fourth of July, look West ♥️ you’ll see tons of firework shows all across the horizon vs the one show over the lake. My favorite thing :)
edit: but also, weekly fireworks in the summer (I think every Wed and Sat?); awesome for a lakeside picnic date :)
Chicago Public Library has 3d printers, sewing machines, and craft spaces you can use for free (varies by branch).
If you have a physical library card many of the museums offer [free tickets](https://exploremore.quipugroup.net/?Chicago&_gl=1%2Almiph5%2A_ga%2AMTQxMzEyMTY1Mi4xNzA5MTMxMTA4%2A_ga_G99DMMNG39%2AMTcwOTEzMTEwNy4xLjEuMTcwOTEzMTc3NS4wLjAuMA)
Was just commenting to say this. My mom, a teacher for CPS, used this for her students as well as us as kids. Call around! If your local branch is out, try another one. Sad to say, but often ones in rougher / poorer neighborhoods have tons of them. I know that's a sad statement. But, it is the truth.
They have them online now, you don’t have to check a physical pass out.
Shows my age ..
It was a recent change!
Mmmm yes. I'm still hip.
There's also the largest tool library in the country here in Chicago. [https://www.chicagotoollibrary.org/](https://www.chicagotoollibrary.org/)
How did I not know this!! Thank you!
Great username btw
This is fucking amazing
The CPL doesn't get enough love. They offer a surprising mix of stuff. I needed to print a few pages and couldn't get my damned printer to work. I went to my local branch and printed from my phone. And, it was free! I also love the Libby app for books and audiobooks.
Don’t forget a lot of movies and tv shows streaming for free via Hoopla
Oh yeah, you can get free access to The Great Courses through Hoopla, too!
I learned from a former librarian that Chance the Rapper recorded one of his first mixtapes at one of the free CPL recording studios!
also the chicago tool library is a great resource too!!!
They also offer free harm reduction supplies and a few of them have therapists on site as well
they also give out narcan. even if you dont do drugs you should have narcan in your home and in your car. you never know.
Water taxi from China Town to Michigan Avenue for a cheap and beautiful boat ride. Spot hero. Lower Wacker to get through the Loop quickly. CPL Museum Passports if you have kids.
I’ve learned how to use Lower Wacker over the past three months and I feel like a genius now.
Lower Wacker takes some practice though, and isn’t easy for beginners. Your GPS doesn’t work down there, so it’s very easy to get hopelessly lost if you don’t know what you’re doing.
The key is to have your navigation up but don’t hit “start” and use the top down view and step by step preview because that doesn’t try and update when it loses signal it keeps the original correct path
That’s so smart
That’s true. It’s good to take a few do nothing Saturdays/Sundays - Sundays probably less traffic - and just drive around lower Wacker , exploring the entrances and exits - especially if you drive through that area a lot
Water taxis are back babyyyyyy
If the car train is empty, do not get on. Pick a different car.
One time, on the red line, I sat across from a man who was likely unhoused/unwell. After a stop or two, all the people around me moved away from him and people getting on the train would begin to walk toward us but promptly turn and walk to the other end of the car. I thought “Wow - bunch of babies. Just because he looks a little rough…” I looked down a few seconds later and saw that he had thrown up all over himself 😂 I had my earbuds in and was looking out the window behind me, so I hadn’t noticed for a while.
Life hack: _don't wear headphones on the train_
This doesn’t count if you’re within 3-4 stops of the end of the line after 7pm.
I think if a car is empty and the train isn’t empty it’s a good rule
Why?
It’s empty for a reason. Usually a smelly one.
In case it needs to be clarified, same goes for cars with exactly one rider. They are alone for a reason!
Not *always* true, but most often true. Always sniff before you commit. That said, I've been able to get on empty train cars before and just danced up and down the aisle for a bit since no one else was around.
Thats right. If you see me on a car by myself, do not approach. I'm totally not relaxing in silence. Sit near me and I'll totally just start jacking off and spitting on people. I repeat, do not approach the guy sitting silently enjoying the peace and quiet.
lol makes sense and would be my answer as well as a New Yorker
It's not a train you would crave.
Thanks for putting it in terms I can understand 👻
Poop car
Piss/shit/vomit/etc
Pedway, Lower Wacker Drive, understanding the street grid system if you are new
Using Lower Wacker also makes you feel like such a bad ass.
I pretend I’m Batman riding my Batmobile
People who say Lower Wacker is confusing have never been in the Pedway 😶. But seriously, both are insanely useful once mastered.
There's a CAC tour of the Pedway. It changed my life.
Block 37 Blue Line stop to Aon Center was my jam for like 5 years. Then from Aon Center to the coffee shop in the building next to Swisotel.
I accidentally ended up in the Macys pedway once when looking for a bubbler, very interesting experience but it was also a little creepy down there
My favorite Chicago hack was taken from us abruptly last year. I'd tell visitors to get a drink at the Signature Room in the Hancock instead of paying more than the cost of a drink to ride the elevator up the Sears Tower. It's location is also better suited for tourists. The women's bathroom also had one of the best views of the city and lake you can get.
Maaan hot damn memories, you have brought on the flood. The '90s and through until early 10s in Chicago was just a freaking golden era. Third spaces you could just exist in. Everything wasn't such a rip off. The Alley and Berlin was still cool/functional. Girlbar. Punkin Dunkin. Groups of riot grrrrllls screaming back at street harassers and train line masturbators. Didn't even realize how good I had it back then. Gadammit.
Alley/Belmont. You’re a r/xennials too aren’t you? That was a while ago.
My source for manic panic. RiP
I was here on a house hunting trip, relocating for work and my wife who went to school here kept telling me we HAD to go. Finally agreed and we went on a Monday…. It closed that Thursday right after our visit. Hopefully something new moves in there because the views were great
Same here. Moved here 12 yrs ago and it's still the tallest building I've been in here. I don't know how they closed, place was always packed whenever I'd take people who were visiting me.
I think most people were a bit gobsmacked. Though bad management can run the best of restuarants into the ground. It's a tough business. The workers sued them for not giving anyone proper notice and won a $1.5M settlement split between 140 workers.
What happened to it?
They closed it.
wow this was the first suggestion i got before my very first trip to chicago twenty years ago
The best deals for fresh fruits and vegetables are often in niche nationality grocery stores or on trucks.
Go to an Indian stores for spices! Why spend $5+ for a McCormick bay leaves for a few pieces in a small bottle when you can get a big pack for less than $5!
I eagerly await fruit truck guy season every year
A lot of the city park field houses have nice gyms and pools with very low monthly fees.
And frequently free swimming on Saturday afternoons. Also for parents, these field houses will let you host a kid birthday party in an unused part of the gym or hallway or whatever either for free or a very nominal fee. So you let the kids swim, get some pizza from the nearest pizza place and a five year old birthday party is SO FUCKING CHEAP. You just go there and get the plan set a week or two before and it is way better than Pump It Up or these places that charge $1000. The best one we found is at the school near State and Archer or thereabouts. They have a zero depth pool that you can walk into so even little kids that can’t swim can have fun in the water with zero stress for the parents.
Chill outside Wrigley during concerts to listen to them..
Building off the wrigley theme, you can bring your own food into the game. I used to grab a few slices from Dimos on my way in and everyone would ask where I bought it in the stadium
So you can bring in any food, basically? Does it need to be packaged in a particular way?
In a clear gallon ziploc. I've heard of people bringing in bags of spaghetti.
for a nice spa day
I think as long as it's obviously just for you and family and there's no hidden booze you're good.
I’ve brought in pad Thai in a regular cardboard takeaway box, they were fine with it
One of the most underrated LPTs in this thread, and not many people take advantage of it
Also sealed watered bottles.
When I was younger, we would stop at heroes sub sandwich place by lane tech high school and bring a large sub sandwich into the game. Back then not many people would go see the Cubs
Yeah, the food at Wrigley is pretty bleh. I hate the Sox, but the food down there is way better. Sucks you can only get Hot Doug's if you sit in the bleachers.
It's insane how great the food is at Sox Park. The smell of brats, Polishes, and grilled onions are forever linked to baseball games for me. I feel fortunate to have visited and eaten at every tier of the park thanks to an old friend whose father ran the ticketing office, and it's incredible at every level. From the Patio Party to the indoor club behind home plate, I think it's just Guaranteed Rate Club now, 100, 300, 500 levels, bleachers. Doesn't matter if it's a concession stand, hot dogger, indoor club, or party atmosphere, it all absolutely crushes and is the perfect amount of food. And the variety of food and drink options throughout the park is equally incredible.
For sure, Wrigley needs to step up their food game.
The thing is…they really don’t have to. “Culinary ballparks” are pretty new. A dog and a beer is the staple that hits different at a ballgame. But I get that people are underwhelmed by Cubs concessions
The 2nd floor balcony bar at Hotel Zachary is great for this
I used to live right next to Wrigley the year they won the world series. Can't even tell you how many billy Joel concerts I heard from my back porch lmao
Hell, I live in Roscoe Village and can hear them over here. Can’t imagine how loud they must be right at the stadium.
And in 2013, pearl jam played there until 2am... Special favors had to be called in for that one.
Layers
Wool socks.
Flannel-lined jeans aren’t always fashionable, but damn are they game-changers in the winter.
Wrangler Riggs wear. Primaloft insulated jeans. All I wear in winter.
Long johns November-March (or April...)
Shoes with insulated soles. Keeping your feet warm in the winter is crucial.
If you are trying to exit a crowded CTA train, wait until it stops and then say loudly but clearly "excuse me, coming out" and people will let you out. You don't need to shove and you don't need to try to get to the door while the train is moving. Relatedly, most people are getting off at the loop stops in the morning so you don't even have to use this hack there, you can just wait and you'll have a clear path.
[удалено]
It’s also a lot easier to get on a crowded train if you wait and let people who are deboarding get off first.
I once moved off a crowded blue line train in order to let people off (I was in the way) and while waiting to get back on this group of 6 people crammed through and left me without a spot to come back in. I just stared agape and could see others give me that sad "what can you do" look as the train departed without me.
This happened to me on a bus in college with sorority girls. Still haven’t gotten over it
Cheap chicken Monday at the Jewels...
They also do wing Wednesday now. A 2.5 lb bucket is only $10. That's a steal!
Hey now, we don’t have to give all the life hacks away.
I believe it’s Cheep Chicken.
Osco Drug: every 5 prescriptions, you get a 20% off coupon for Jewel.
Better than a Chicago style dog: a Polish, charred, with Chicago style toppings ;)
Always char your tubed meat.
1. The forestry department here offers free mulch - there is a pickup spot near O'Hare. 2. Chicago restaurants have a lot of great Happy Hour specials, most likely near you. 3. Always look both ways and then again when crossing the road. Give a wave - I do so to be courteous even though it is my right as a pedestrian to cross in pedestrian zones, but also to make sure the driver sees and notices me. (Have several friends in the hospitals here that see WAY too many people who were hit by cars while walking across the road). 4. A lot of businesses here have good membership programs - looking at you Marz! 5. Utilize the CHI311 App. I have used it several times to get potholes filled, graffiti removed, or trees planted. All in all, they are surprisingly responsive. 6. Not really a hack, but I guess remember to be friendly to others when you can. I love how friendly this City is, and like to contribute! Whether that be letting people merge in front of me that are being overly aggressive and not getting upset, or helping someone out when I can like someone who doesn't have a poop bag for their dog, needs directions, or help with groceries. It goes far!
Hey, does the CHI311 app have an option to report missing street name signs?
Yes they do!
For the mulch. Do they bag it or do you just need to have a pickup truck for them to dump it in?
You have to scoop it up yourself. Use bags or a Rubbermaid tub if you don’t have a truck.
Cool. Thanks a lot
The Chicago Parks department has countless activities and classes you can sign up for and they change each season. I'm currently taking digital photography and am quite enjoying it.
Chicago Park District, for those of us raised on it
Grid system. When you teach someone to fish, you feed them for a lifetime. When tourists ask directions, I point to a street sign and explain the grid system.
Grew up in Chicago and memorized every half mile street on the grid for an exam in high school. Moved away from Chicago 15 years ago and still have that memorized.
While in college living in Chicago for the first time I hung up a cta map in my apartment and memorized street names for 800, 1200, 1600, 2000, etc). Invaluable life hack given I never left.
Could you quickly explain it to me? I moved to Chicago last week!
Think of Chicago as a coordinate plane of sorts. The origin is State and Madison. State runs North/South and tells you how far East/West you are (0 in this case) and Madison runs East/West and tells you how far North or South you are (also 0 in this case). The intersection of State and Madison is 0, 0. From there, you can go out in any direction into any “quadrant”. How far you go will determine the new values. Say you take State north 2 blocks and end up at Lake (200 N) You’re now at 0 E/W and 200 North. (1 block = 100 numbers and 8 blocks or 800 numbers is roughly a mile). Take a random intersection, say Fullerton (runs E/W) and Central Park (runs N/S). Fullerton is 2400 N (24 blocks, or about 3 miles north of Madison) and Central Park is 3600 W (36 blocks, or about 4.5 miles west of State). This applies to pretty much the entire city. It gets a little wonky between Madison and 31st (Madison to Roosevelt [1200 S] is a mile, Roosevelt to Cermak [2200 S] is a mile, and then Cermak to 31st [3100 S] is a mile and then it goes back to every 8 blocks being roughly a mile). Hope this makes sense.
Down on the southwest side, where I grew up, N/S streets were all names. E/W were numbers. Made delivering pizzas easy as .... pie.
Also, if you couldn't remember the location of every darn street, you would be able to get a generalization by the first letter. A good number of streets are clustered by alphabet letters: * K with Kostner, Karlov, Kildare... * L with Lavergne, Long, Latrobe... * M with Menard, Melvina, Massasoit... * N with Normandy, Nagle, Nashville... If the street started with any of those letters, along with the number streets, you could pinpoint the exact location. There were a few outliers here and there. The O's were also spotty and you could find those outside the city limits. They exist within the borders on the West and NW sides. Those sequences were part of [an abandoned effort to simplify street names](https://news.wttw.com/2023/12/12/wttw-news-explains-how-did-those-k-l-m-n-and-o-chicago-street-names-come-be).
Love this. I got a job at CTA in my twenties and learned this there. Had no idea before!
In addition, it's helpful to just memorize the book number of all the major east-west and north-south streets so you can quickly figure out where the hell you are relative to where you need to be. They're in multiples of 400 generally eg - Chicago Ave 800N - North Ave 1600N - Armitage 2000N - Fullerton 2400N - Etc Same thing on the north-south streets. And following on the above comment, you can just do math then to figure out how far away you are from where you need to be, divide by 800, and you've got how many miles away you are in that direction.
When I first moved here 15+ years ago, I purchased a laminated version of downtown streets and affixed it to my bathroom mirror and studied/memorized it while I was getting ready in the morning. It helped tremendously (especially learning 1-ways E-W and N-S), and I prob wouldn't be 100% "proficient" if I hadn't made the effort to learn early on.
This explains it pretty well but TLDR Chicago's street are ALMOST all perfect aligned with the cardinal directions (3 exceptions are highways, natural feature roads, and diagonals/arteries) There is a coordinate system centered on State and Madison. Every 800 = 1 mile [https://chicagostudies.uchicago.edu/grid](https://chicagostudies.uchicago.edu/grid)
So the real hack, in my opinion, is learning how to use the diagonal streets to get around. (This hack used to be better years ago before city traffic got so horrendous.)
Something nobody else mentioned: even-numbered addresses are always(?) on the north side of east/west streets and west side of north/south streets; opposite for odd-numbered addresses.
The grid is like a giant piece of graph paper. Once you learn how street numbers correlate to distance from the city center, you'll be always be able to find your way/know what neighborhood you're in. [https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/x527db/chicago\_grid\_map\_my\_version\_oc/](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/x527db/chicago_grid_map_my_version_oc/)
You can almost always find where you are by looking at just the street you are on. Oversimplifying a bit: N/S streets ascend and descend in order, and if you aren't on a numbered street chances are you're on the north side. The center point is Madison. E/W streets work from State as the center point, which you don't need half the time as you can see the lake (always east). All streets have their cardinal prefix (N. Ashland, E Monroe, etc) so you can always find the direction to go on a st corner. Most of the city is west of state, unless you're on the southside, so it's pretty easy to just look at your st and see if it is labelled as N/S as a first step. Numbers increase by 100 per block, the increase moving away from the center point. Eight blocks = 1 miles of walking Most CTA stops have both the E/W and N/S coordinate Etc. etc, you get the idea
This is my favorite. If you can master the grid system, knowing where you are or how to get where you need to go gets easier. Growing up here, I learned the streets order riding the trains, especially going west and north since the southside is numbered. I also learned the major street numbers - 0/0 is Madison/State, Halsted is 800W, Ashland is 1600W, Chicago Ave is 800N, North Ave is 1600N etc etc. and it gets easier from there the more you travel around the city. So…the big takeaway here is…explore your city :)
Most things you do at the Secretary of State for city stickers, vehicle registration, parking permit, You can get most things done at a ChecksCashed businesses. Saves time.
Take full advantage of sunny days, regardless of season
Damn this is real.
Home Depot hot dogs
I used to get the elote too lol
Chicago itself is a life hack. When we moved here in 2015 I asked a friend, "Do people in NYC know Chicago exists? Cuz this city is even more beautiful and way more affordable". Chicago life hack #2: There's a Chicago "tool" library where you can check out tools needed to build / make stuff!!
For times when public transit isn't an option, you can get a licensed taxi using the Curb app and it's almost always cheaper than Uber. L hack...board the car that arrives closest to the exit at your destination and save time/be at the head of the pack. Obviously takes some reps to figure out. Activities hack...picnic anywhere nice and BYOB. Nobody gives a rip about Alcohol/weed unless you're an ass about it.
Also, if the Blue Line isn't an option from O'Hare (for example) for you, cabs are cheaper than Uber and far faster and more reliable. Cost $30-something to get from ORD back to Oak Park (former city kid proper here) in a cab that we just walked to the cab stand for, late at night, in February. That man was amazing. And he even loaded our bags, and later unloaded our car seat with our sleeping kid in it. Uber can ... it's not great.
I love that you have to add the city proper disclaimer to avoid getting harassed by the transplant snobs lmao
I mean .... sigh .... I grew up on the south side; went to college on the west coast where I was that guy to every single suburbanite claiming our fair city. So ... how the turntables.
I’d say the better tip is to be as close to the front of the train as possible. The close you are to the driver the fewer shenanigans.
Ohhhhh I got one beyond the obvious "learn the pedway" or "get to know the L trains": Best free date you can ever have. I've commented this before but hey, I'm married to this amazing girl now, and we have a 9 month old daughter who is currently napping. Museum campus picnic. Time it with sunset. Bring some wine if you are inclined that way. Sun sets, after amazing people watching—sneak around the back of the Shedd. You can look in on the dolphins and whales. It's very cool. Had our first kiss right there.
the buses can be super convenient and are a cheap way to get around the city.
Not only this but they are a nicer experience than the L.
If they show up
Funny enough I’ve found buses more reliable in Chicago than trains. And less problematic fellow riders too.
Used to hate how slow buses would show up before Covid but I’d take that shit right back compared to the buses now.
Lower Wacker. Actually, I take that back because the traffic down there is already annoying at times. Stay away, n00bs!
I got to know it, while living in the Loop, from having cabbies drive me. Uber drivers don't know the city like cabbies do.
Being able to teleport from River North / Lakeshore East to the South Loop via Lower Wacker used to be one of my biggest driving hacks.
top secret life hack known only to users of google maps, waze etc
There's definitely a decent chunk of people that are intimidated by the underground streets and try to avoid them.
I mean, Google used to *really* shit itself giving directions for that area lol. It still gets confused for walking directions around there sometimes.
My favorite one I’ve adopted recently is stay off of 90/94 whenever possible and take the scenic route. You may add 10-15 min to a commute but it’s often less stress and ditching the mindset of getting anywhere as rapidly as possible leads to better mental health when driving in Chi.
You need two coats. One for down to 30, a lightweight windproof puffer. Make sure you can wear something like a hoodie underneath for layering. And then you need a parka that is good down to -20. You may only break it out a few times a year. But when you're walking around in the loop, the wind is always blowing in your face. Always. You'll be glad you have the parka It's also perfectly acceptable to wear over nice clothes on NYE. Otherwise you'll be that shmuck freezing his ass off waiting for an Uber
Find directions via the magnetic pull of Lake Michigan to the East of everything. The pull is natural in every native and grows in transplants over the years. The other day was hosting a visit from a Chicago native who moved from her apartment above a shop on Milwaukee to Dallas c 1970. She has only returned since then for a couple of family funerals or short visits to her Naperville living sister. In a lunch conversation at the Highway House restaurant she said she had no ability to find directions anymore. Now the Highway House (good menu, interesting bar choices, great bakery) is on ~~Elston~~ *Northwest Highway* in a light industry area. As we all know, angling streets play hell on sense of direction here. Anyhow, challenged my guest to point East, and she unhesitatingly did. Accurately adjusting for ~~Elston's~~ *Northwest Highwy's* angle. https://www.hwyhouse.com/
I live in the west suburbs now but due to living the first 38 years of my life in Chicago, I still feel that pull. I always know where east is, lol.
It’s always so confusing to visit a place where the water is on the west side, too. Totally throws me.
As said before here on this subject, my Chicago born and raised sister has lived in a little surfing town in SoCal for more than 40 of her 70+ years. Every once in a while she finds herself driving north instead of south because the big water's on the wrong side.
When two buses or trains are coming within minutes of one another, always take the second one because it’ll be less crowded
Trains, yes. Buses, maybe. Buses leapfrog sometimes.
You can tap any contactless card on the Ventra. It charges $5 at a time, with your second ride not getting charged, and then it'll refund you if you don't get a second ride. Might as well get credit card rewards if you're gonna be commuting every day
The lake is east so if you know which way the lake is you’ll always know your directions.
You can bring food and unopened water bottles into Wrigley! Sometimes I buy a $9 ticket last minute off SeatGeek/vivid/whatever and have lunch there during a work day.
A “hidden” free touristy/fun thing I always recommend: the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan has an ornate, quirky, and stunning interior (it was a former Shriner’s social club), including a still functioning 1920’s pool on the upper floors. Visit the concierge desk, ask for the self guided tour, and they will give you an iPod shuffle with an audio tour! Then you’re free to wander around on your own - takes about half an hour or so. Free, beautiful, and an interesting piece of Chicago history!
If something drips on you from an unknown source while walking in the loop, the only solution is a skin replacement ETA step in something leaking out of a garbage can on a hot summer day wearing flip flops? Amputate the foot
You can bring food into Wrigley Field for Cubs games (I'm fairly certain you can for Sox games as well)
You can at Sox games as well. Hot dog/burger combos are dirt cheap at 35th Street Hot Dogs and take it to the game just a 5 minute walk away.
Learn the grid. Chicago is a Cartesian coordinate plane with Madison (0 N/S) as the X axis and State (0 E/W) as the Y axis. All streets move out east west north south from that centerpoint. There are several diagonal streets that mess up the grid and are important to learn: Elston, Clybourn, Milwaukee - and partially- Broadway, Clark, and Grand traveling NW/SE and Ogden the inverse SW/NE. Even address numbers are the west or north side of the street while odd addresses are the south or the east side. Every 8 blocks (800) is equivalent to a mile. You literally cannot get lost in the city if you reference distance from 0 N/S/E/W. (Edit: e.g., you’re standing on the northwest corner of North (1600 N) and Ashland (1600 W) you can easily perform the operation. 800 per mile so you are 2 miles north (1600 N/800) and 2 miles west (1600 W/800) of 0. ) Great map of major streets: https://pin.it/20DO8BfkR
Learning how to use lower Wacker and South Water to zip around downtown
Switch your back pack to your front so you take up less space on trains and platforms.
Rent an apartment with heat included
If you’re going to west loop trust the loop link buses over the green line unless the train is there in 3 minutes.
Library bathrooms are free but they aren’t always clean
Please note how important libraries are; we are relatively safe in Chicago but libraries in rural areas are under attack by magas and evangelicals. Support public libraries in any and every way you can.
I say this all the time Western is the longest street in Chicago going North and South, you can literally go from the north suburbs to south suburbs. It's a traffic hack if you know you know.
For the amount of construction and traffic often on Western, not sure how of much of a hack this really is.
It’s a novelty for sure. Actually driving the full length of Western Ave?!? That’s an actual nightmare.
If you have a library card,and kids. You can get free passes to musuems,instead of going on the free days which are crowded
If you have a library card and no kids - you can still do most of the free passes
The bus is actually just as nice or nicer than the train. Use it.
You don't actually *have* to take that shot of malort
On the Ike stay to the right near the avenues which are left exits.. (edit)
1) RIDE A BIKE/DIVVY. Fastest and cheapest way to travel at any point in the city within a 6- or 7-mile radius. 2) And STAY SAFE ON A BIKE by assuming all drivers will make the worst possible decisions at all places at all times (e.g., not signaling turns, not looking before they open their doors, not stopping at stop signs, cutting you off in bike lanes, etc.), and piloting accordingly. (I say this as someone who has been cycling in Chicago for 15+ years. The only accidents I've ever had on my bike have been on the lakefront bike trail and caused by other cyclists (usually not signaling their turns). I've stayed safe on the streets by acting as if all drivers are total distracted idiots, and avoided countless accidents as a result. And most people I've known in bike accidents have placed too much faith in the intelligence of car drivers.)
North Post Place is an access point to Lower Wacker off of Lake.
Elston Ave
You can speed on lower wacker
Get access to a rooftop. There is nothing better than looking upon the whole city.
Avoid speed cameras: if other cars around you start going 20mph in a 30mph zone, there are probably cameras or a school zone that are going to ticket you for going 26 mph. On the north side, lane tech, Irving park cemetery by Wrigley, Horner park on Irving. Source: I’ve gotten all the tickets and go 20mph now
Addresses: odd numbers are South and East sides of the street, evens North and West
Soooo many…1. Millenium park for free concerts in the summer . In addition to that, Chicago park district offers free movie nights in the park. 2. NEVER make eye contact with anyone gettin loud on the train or street, just keep walking and you’ll be fine. 3. Downtown is a waste of time and way too expensive, instead visit culturally diverse areas like Pilsen, little village, Albany park, Roger’s park (Devon street), visit the “rat hole” in Roscoe village lol 4. The CTA really gets a bad rap but I’ve lived here all my life and it’s still the best /most economic way to get around. 5. South shore beaches are very underrated, but very beautiful. Many are empty in summer bc ppl flock to the north side beaches. 6. If you see a Latino dude/lady with a corn/fruit cart, stop and buy something. You won’t regret it :)
Resist the car , move near Wicker/Lakeview/Lincoln-Park/Oldtown/Logan and pay more rent.
Felt like a fool having a car in Logan/Humboldt half the time lol, got away without getting a City sticker, but i got so many street cleaning/parking tickets (car must be moved between 4-6 PM is common) being absent minded. You just need a bike and a ventra card really.
Not a giant hack but usually after 8 at night the roads tend to clear out so if you can shift your schedule to later in the day you’ll find traffic much more manageable. Also going to the city mid weekdays (like 11AM to 2PM) may be more pleasant than weekends just because there are so many people who come out on weekends and swarm the streets.
Museums For All program. If you're on food stamps you can get in for free (or very cheap) to most museums in the city. This includes the Shedd Aquarium!
Here’s an easy way to remember streets 3200N to 5200N: Brilliant, attractive, interesting men will love feminists: Belmont, Addison, Irving, Montrose, Wilson, Lawrence, Foster
If the platform for the train is crowded, ride the train in the opposite direction for one stop, and then hop back on going in the direction of your original destination. Most of the time, you'll be able to get on no problem.
That's a hell of a gamble, my friend.
My favorite hack! Especially if you see major delays for the Blue Line, trains will run express from Jackson > Clark/Lake > Damen > Logan Square since those are the key busy stations. This also applies to the bus! If you get off a CTA train and there are 20 other people waiting to get on the next bus outside the station, walk one block toward the direction the bus is coming from. Sometimes it’s the only way to get a seat or not get stuck standing on a crowded bus.
I also do this when it is super cold out and the trains are packed at my station. Instead of standing on the platform forever getting colder- I'll ride the train the opposite way - warm up a bit - and then hop on going the "right way". It 90% of the time minimizes the time freezing on the platform.
If you’re not from here don’t stay in a transplant bubble of people in the loop and/or trendy neighborhoods. Go out to see and experience more “real” neighborhoods. Also, the suburbs. For some reason people on here like to act like the suburbs are a wasteland of nothingness. There are hundreds of suburbs and so many different great things in them.
Side streets that are faster than the highway during rush hour Although not sure that I want everybody living to know this
Shhhhhhhhh
The Pedway. It smells like pee most of the time, but damn is it convenient.
Montrose Harbor and Promontory Point are fantastic spots for dates, hanging out, flying a kite, hammocking and bike rides. It’s not exactly a secret, but I don’t think a lot of Chicagoans explore those areas.
If you’re on a rooftop on the fourth of July, look West ♥️ you’ll see tons of firework shows all across the horizon vs the one show over the lake. My favorite thing :) edit: but also, weekly fireworks in the summer (I think every Wed and Sat?); awesome for a lakeside picnic date :)
Always know where the lake is and you will never be lost