True Life: I'm From The Chicago Suburbs
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True Life: I'm From The Chicago Suburbs

Oh you're from Chicago? Yeah! (no, not really)

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True Life: I'm From The Chicago Suburbs
Emily Werfel

The Chicago Suburbs: a place that all the people who don't want to actually live in Chicago call home. The suburbs are the home to lots of great villages, towns and neighborhoods. They are pegged as a great place to raise a family while still being close to the city. Having grown up in the Chicago suburbs myself, I can personally vouch that living in a community that wasn't in the heart of the city was great. My childhood was full of open space (something there's not much of in the city), great people and plenty of activities. While the city is a great place, there's something special about growing up away from the hustle ad bustle of a big place like Chicago. But living in the suburbs definitely comes with its quirks. So here's a list of 11 things that all Chicago Suburbians are guilty of.

1. Saying you're from Chicago when you literally live nowhere near it.

"Where are you from?"

"Chicago."

"Oh, where in Chicago?"

"Just North of it."

"Oh, how far North are you?"

"Like, 10 minutes from the Wisconsin border..."

Okay but seriously, nobody knows where your little corner of suburbia is. So saying you're from Chicago just makes things 10 times easier.

2. Taking a picture in front of The Bean every time you go downtown.

We've pretty much all been to Chicago more than once in our lifetime, and we've all been to Millennium Park. That being said, it's safe to say that we've all seen The Bean. And yeah, it's pretty cool. But after so many trips downtown, it gets a little old. But did we really go to Chicago if we didn't take a picture in front of The Bean? I think not.

3. Taking the Metra into the city so you don't have to drive downtown.

Not only is Chicago's traffic absolutely horrible, but the streets are filled with people who just don't know how to wait to walk through an intersection. It honestly takes real skill to drive in Chicago without hitting something or getting honked at. And don't get me started on the taxi drivers. And definitely don't get me started on the cost of parking. Thus, taking the train is the solution to all of your transportation needs.

4. Not being able to control your Portillo's obsession.

Let's be real: we've all eaten at Portillo's. The number of Portillo's restaurants in Illinois is insane. I mean, they're EVERYWHERE. And unless you're from Illinois, you probably won't even know what Portillo's is. Out of their 42 (soon to be 43) locations, 36 of their restaurants are in Illinois. And only one of their locations is actually in Chicago. The point is, Portillo's is a suburban Chicago luxury, and it's addicting.

5. Classifying a trip to Six Flags as family vacation.

Located in the suburban village of Gurnee, Six Flags is a guilty pleasure. Whether you're going in the middle of summer or late fall, we've all been there. Since a real amusement park is in such close range of where we live, going to Six Flags just seems like a simple solution to finding family fun. But while this theme park is great, we all have those awful memories of waiting in line for hours while we sweat profusely on a hot summer day. Oh, and we can't forget about the overpriced food.

6. Taking outrageous detours to avoid the tollway.

The tollway is both a blessing and a curse. The tollway gets you where you need to go way faster than you would get there if you drove through the streets of different towns. But while it saves you a lot of time, the money you have to spend to drive on it can add up very quickly. Illinois isn't the only state that charges you for using certain highways. The median toll cost in Illinois per vehicle is $2.50. While that's $2.50 that we don't necessarily want to spend, at least we don't live in Alaska who charges a median toll of $12.00. Maybe that's why a lot of people don't live in Alaska.

7. Driving to Indiana or Wisconsin to buy fireworks.

It's the Fourth of July and you want to set off some fireworks. But wait- you can't. Illinois doesn't allow you to buy or set off fireworks of any kind (except sparklers and other small items.) Since we don't live in Chicago, we typically have a lot of room to celebrate on our own with some crazy fireworks. But unlike 43 other states, we're not allowed to. So the simple solution is to go across the border and get some fireworks there because the Fourth of July just isn't complete without some bright lights.

8. Wondering why people from other states don't get the day off for Casimir Pulaski Day.

Good ole' Casimir Pulaski Day, we love you. Most of us don't even know what Casimir Pulaski Day is actually for, but that's okay! The important thing to take away from this holiday is that the schools are closed and all government workers have the day off. It's pretty great. But what most people don't know is that Illinois is literally the only state in the U.S that even acknowledges this holiday. So I guess that explains why people from other states have no idea why we're sitting on our couch on the first Monday of March each year...

9. Super-fanning for the Blackhawks in your living room.

Ignoring the fact that the Blackhawks just got knocked out of the playoffs (I'm upset too), their success in the past five years has us all embracing the game of hockey. I mean, three Stanley Cups is pretty awesome. But since getting reasonably priced tickets to the Hawks' games is usually a stretch (they're just that good), our living rooms will have to do. Crowding around the TV in the last seconds of a game is just what you do when you live in the suburbs. So while we could go to restaurants or bars downtown to watch the game, nothing beats sitting in your Chicago themed pajamas with a ton of food watching the Hawks beat Tampa Bay.

10. Driving around affluent neighborhoods blasting rap music (high schoolers- I'm talking about you).

Since it's the suburbs, there's young kids everywhere. And when there's "kids," there's teenagers. In the middle of the night during the summer, it's not uncommon to hear a car blasting hip-hop music drive past your house. In all honesty, teenagers just love the atmosphere of blaring music from their car speakers with the bass turned up all the way. We seriously find joy in driving through neighborhoods full of older and often wealthier people while blasting (possibly) offensive music. If we did this in Chicago though, we might have a problem.

11. Always being a suburbian at heart.

Once we all leave the nest and our parents start getting older, it seems like it's harder and harder for the most important adults in our lives to leave their suburban lives behind. As easy as it would be for them to move to the great city of Chicago (where most of them probably lived at one point), the suburban home that their children grew up in almost seems too hard to leave. Seeing all the kids on their street quickly grow up together is bitter sweet. But believe me, it's just as bittersweet for the kids. 10 years later, we still remember that one time all the kids on our street chased the ice cream truck three miles down the road on our bikes. It doesn't get more suburban than that.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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