Today is a very special day. Nope, Groundhog’s Day is tomorrow (in case you get confused like me). Today marks five years that I’ve lived in Chicago. It’s my Chicagoversery.
I honestly can’t believe it’s been five years. Outside of Wisconsin, this is the longest I’ve lived in one place. Insane!
I moved to Chicago not long after I turned 25, when I was recently laid off and working at a full time job I hated, desperate for some kind of change. I came down for a three month internship and never left.
The funny thing is, before then, I never wanted to live in Chicago. I wanted to live in New York. But Chicago was close to home and was a distraction while I figured out if my profession was for me or if it was time to decide between law or nursing school.
And it worked out.
I remember riding the bus downtown as a “practice run” so I didn’t get lost and learning (the hard way) why you need a granny grocery shopping cart.
Chicago has had its ups and downs but living here has given me a lot of opportunities and helped me grow into the person I am today. And I still find things in this city every day that I love, from the frozen lake to lights on Michigan Avenue.
I don’t know if I’ll be here in another five years, or even two years. But for now, I’m here and don’t plan to leave.
So thanks Chicago for helping this girl finally grow up and, as always, stay classy :)
Love, Me.
What about you? What is the longest you’ve lived in one place? Or where was your favorite place that you’ve ever lived (long- or short-term?)
Happy Chicagoversary a little late!! I’m so glad you moved here, but even more glad that you think of it as your home! :)
Aww, this post makes me really happy. It’s fun to love the place you live, for the most part, and to be there for an extended period of time so you really learn the city.
The longest I have lived anywhere is Memphis, my hometown, followed by Baton Rouge, my college town. And it looks like we might be heading back to Louisiana when the boy finishes law school, so we shall see!
I’ve lived in the Ohio Valley my entire life and I’m ok with that. Happy anniversary. Chicago sounds like its definitely been very good to you.
you’ve been in chi-town just about 1 yr and 7 months longer than me!
Other than my hometown Chicago is the longest place I’ve lived.
my favorite place to live will always be Arkansas and I do NOT plan on staying here in Chicago for another 5 years or 1 year!!
Happy Moversary. Its exciting to move to a new place. I hope you get to keep your excitement with chicago and it continues to build forever!
i’ll be in the same area in july – 4 years. It’s odd to stay put in one area because I was so used to moving around in college.
Five years? Very nice. Happy Move-aversary? Ha. I don’t even know.
Can be sort of cliche and say my college town is the best place I lived? It was only for two years, because I attended a branch campus my first two, but the town was so quaint outside of campus and had so much to offer an artsy nerd like me. I loved it.
I moved downtown five years ago too (but in July) and so identified with this post! Being on my own in this city really has made me grow up in ways I never anticipated and more quickly than I’d have thought possible. :) In good ways though!
let’s see, outside of growing up with wisconsin for 19 years, i’ve lived in arizona for a combined total of 1 year and new york city for 1.5. i’m not really in a place yet to settle in one city, i really enjoy moving around, letting things go and picking new things up…i should have been a nomad in russia or something. but i hate cold. so maybe a nomad in the rainforests of brazil? either way, i need to travel to keep my soul still, so onwards!
I’ve been in Glasgow for nearly seven years now. Before that I was at my parents in our hometown just outside of Glasgow, where I’d lived my whole life. So that was 23 years.
I love Glasgow and don’t see myself leaving . . . unless it was to move somewhere warm and abroad!
I’ve lived in St.L since 1993 when the family moved here, minus four years for college, so 12 years total!? I’ve lived in my parents house for most of it, but three apartments in the last five years (a lot of moving around, eh?).
I lived in Connecticut the longest — we moved there (from Rhode Island, so not much of a move) when I was 4, I grew up there, went to college there and lived at home for about two years after graduation. I lived in Chicago for seven years and now I’m hoping to live in Crystal Lake for longer than that, although I think I’d like to move out of state once more before I die.
Aw, happy anniversary!
I’ve only ever lived where I do now, but I’ve moved around a lot here. I’m on my…8th or 9th place I’ve lived
What a nice post!
I moved back to my hometown after college and lived there for six more years. In all honesty, I’d like to go back. In July I will have been in Chicago for 2 years and it just hasn’t grown on me yet. I wonder if I would feel more or less attached if I actually lived *in* the city.
Born in Detroit and still living here but left for about 5 years to live in San Diego (awesome) and Pennsylvania (yawn). I don’t like Michigan but my family is here so I’m stuck here for a while. Would love to go back West but it’s so expensive. Maybe someday. I visit Chicago for work a few times a year and like to visit but I’m always happy to go home. I’m not sure if I could live there. I’m sure I’d get used to it after time but I don’t know if I’d truly like it. I’m too old to be a hip chick in the city.
Well, the only city I’ve lived in my adult life is Minneapolis…so I’m kinda boring in that respect, but I love it so, so much.
I’ve always considered moving to Chicago, New York, or California for a few years…and perhaps we’d do it if the right job came along for one of us, but for now we’re pretty firmly planted.
Happy Anniversary to you and your city :)
I’m a serial monogamist with cities. I lived in St. Louis for 12 years (minus 2 years spent in California). Then, I lived in Boston for 6 years. Shared Boston and North Carolina for 4 years during college. And then I moved to Chicago. Where as I’m coming up on my 14th anniversary here. I will likely live in this city for a long time to come … it has been and continues to be good to me.
I’d love to visit Chicago one day – London just isn’t the same as American cities!!
Born in Chicago. Grew up in Chicago. Living in Chicago. I love this city.
I moved every 2 years as a kid because of my mom’s job.
I’ve been here (Chicago) since 2004 when I started college and this is the longest I have lived anywhere.
Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever leave. :)
Congrats!
I lived in Nashville for exactly 2.5 years and I’ve now been in Knoxville, Tenn., for exactly 2.5 years (not counting the 3.5 years I spent here for college), and oddly enough the time in Knoxville has felt way shorter than the time in Nashville. I think that means I like it more here.
Congratulations! And your anniversary falls right on LOST DAY so I’d say it’s a pretty good time to celebrate all around.
my clevelandversary is february 10th!! only four years here not five like you but it’s still exciting : )
I have never made a move like that. I have lived in the Atlanta area my whole life. I really love Atlanta and I don’t want to leave, but I think it would be good for me to move to another city for a while to experience something difference. But, I don’t want to. But, I should.
Congratulations on your Chicagoversery!
I will also celebrate 5 years in Chicago in October. It has become one of my favorite cities in the US, second only to my hometown (NYC).
Happy chicagoversary, Jessica.:)
Chicago sounds like a great city I have yet to visit. For the sake of blogger meet ups with fantastic people like you and Derek, of course.
Longest I’ve stayed… 18 years? Where my parents still live. I’ve been where I live now for 5 years.
I lived in Michigan for 21 years (with a two year time out in Ohio in middle school), then I moved to Virginia after I finished college. I would really love to live in Michigan again, but I don’t know if that will ever happen for us.
I lived in Providence during college and will always have a special place in my heart for that city. It was the first place I ever lived on my own and in many ways feels just as much like home as my native Los Angeles. Sometimes I’ll find myself feeling homesick and realize it’s a little yearning for Rhode Island.
Wow!! Congrats for being so strong and independent!! Chicago is such a big city and I respect you!
I moved to Hawaii by myself when I was 15 and lived there since (briefly lived in NorCali too) until three years ago. I’m so old now!
LOL..
Happy Chicagoversery!
It’s amazing how fast time goes by! I’ve been living in Toronto for over 20 years! Wow!
Congrats on your anniversary!! My 5 years Chicago Anniversary is coming at the end of the month!!
so far i’ve been in wisconsin a little over 4 years which is pretty good for me! before that, i was in atlanta for only a little over a year, and 4 years in oxford, OH for college. before that – my entire life in the chicago burbs. :) congrats on your chicagoversary!
Besides the house I grew up in (18 years), I’ve been in my current home for 3 years. We were in Urbana-Champaign for 5, but I don’t know that college really counts for that.
Up until I moved to Chicago (nearly 2 years ago, holy crap!) I’d lived in Pittsburgh all my life. So something like 23 year? ha.