So long, Chicago
As of today, my family and I are no longer residents of Chicago. It is a bittersweet departure, for obvious reasons. However, it’s also a good time to reflect on what I will miss and what I won’t miss about the place…. WHAT I’LL MISS ABOUT CHICAGO: 1) The workshop system. This will always be ...
As of today, my family and I are no longer residents of Chicago. It is a bittersweet departure, for obvious reasons. However, it's also a good time to reflect on what I will miss and what I won't miss about the place.... WHAT I'LL MISS ABOUT CHICAGO: 1) The workshop system. This will always be the U of C's comparative advantage. The paper workshops -- especially PIPES -- were a place where ideas and theories were ripped apart and then stitched back together by the faculty and graduate students. I will sorely miss the looks of shock and awe from visiting presenters when they see their paper expertly dissected by a 2nd-year graduate student. 2) My walk to work in the spring. When the miniature lilac bushes bloom on 57th street, the scent is one of the best stress-reducers around. Plus, any commute that requires walking past Robie House every day is a good thing. 3) My synagogue. I would not have thought this five years ago, but as it turned out our synagogue was the way through whivch we got to know our community. I'll miss the building, I'll miss the people... I'll even miss the unrelentingly liberal sermons at Kol Nidre. 4) Istria cafe. Those guys could whip up a mean skim mocha. 5) A competitive market in air travel. I've travelled anough in recent years to appreciate the fact that I was in a city serviced by almost every airline -- which meant I could usually find a nonstop, reasonably priced flight to anywhere I needed to go. WHAT I WON'T MISS ABOUT CHICAGO: 1) The Co-op supermarket. There is one supermarket in the Hyde Park neighborhood, and it is just awful. How awful? We stopped shopping there after our first few years in Chicago -- as this Chicago Maroon essay points out, "how can a supermarket chain that charges higher prices and offers lower quality products sustain itself?" Never have I seen a better advertisement for the evils of barriers to entry than that sorry excuse of a store. 2) The traffic. At least the Big Dig is done.... but the Dan Ryan will be under construction for years. 3) The anti-business culture in the South Side. Click here for one example. Ask the owners of Istria about how long it took them to open up their store for another example. 4) The short springs. This past May was typical -- cold as hell for the first two weeks, then oppressively hot and humid for a week, and then one nice week of spring. On the other hand, as one cabbie put it to me, "Of course the weather stinks in Chicago. If it didn't, 20 million peiople would live here." 5) Not enough Red Sox games on television. I didn't say my complaints were reasonable, they're just complaints!! Time to turn the page. On to Boston!!
As of today, my family and I are no longer residents of Chicago. It is a bittersweet departure, for obvious reasons. However, it’s also a good time to reflect on what I will miss and what I won’t miss about the place…. WHAT I’LL MISS ABOUT CHICAGO:
1) The workshop system. This will always be the U of C’s comparative advantage. The paper workshops — especially PIPES — were a place where ideas and theories were ripped apart and then stitched back together by the faculty and graduate students. I will sorely miss the looks of shock and awe from visiting presenters when they see their paper expertly dissected by a 2nd-year graduate student. 2) My walk to work in the spring. When the miniature lilac bushes bloom on 57th street, the scent is one of the best stress-reducers around. Plus, any commute that requires walking past Robie House every day is a good thing. 3) My synagogue. I would not have thought this five years ago, but as it turned out our synagogue was the way through whivch we got to know our community. I’ll miss the building, I’ll miss the people… I’ll even miss the unrelentingly liberal sermons at Kol Nidre. 4) Istria cafe. Those guys could whip up a mean skim mocha. 5) A competitive market in air travel. I’ve travelled anough in recent years to appreciate the fact that I was in a city serviced by almost every airline — which meant I could usually find a nonstop, reasonably priced flight to anywhere I needed to go.
WHAT I WON’T MISS ABOUT CHICAGO:
1) The Co-op supermarket. There is one supermarket in the Hyde Park neighborhood, and it is just awful. How awful? We stopped shopping there after our first few years in Chicago — as this Chicago Maroon essay points out, “how can a supermarket chain that charges higher prices and offers lower quality products sustain itself?” Never have I seen a better advertisement for the evils of barriers to entry than that sorry excuse of a store. 2) The traffic. At least the Big Dig is done…. but the Dan Ryan will be under construction for years. 3) The anti-business culture in the South Side. Click here for one example. Ask the owners of Istria about how long it took them to open up their store for another example. 4) The short springs. This past May was typical — cold as hell for the first two weeks, then oppressively hot and humid for a week, and then one nice week of spring. On the other hand, as one cabbie put it to me, “Of course the weather stinks in Chicago. If it didn’t, 20 million peiople would live here.” 5) Not enough Red Sox games on television. I didn’t say my complaints were reasonable, they’re just complaints!!
Time to turn the page. On to Boston!!
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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