Getting By in a New City
Well, maybe not just getting by; that's easy to do. But living comfortably, practically, and even fashionably in a new location can be difficult.
So I finally moved to Chicago 2 days ago. I came by train (which might I add, is a very dramatic way to leave home&family). I fit all of my belongings into 2 suitcases and a backpack, which seemed a little excessive to me. Others didn't agree. Luckily, I was moving into a house with a few roommates, and many household items were accounted for. I didn't have space to bring pans, utensils, a mattress, detergents, toilet paper, and those kinds of things. Some items are easy to buy, but from where? And how do I get to and from the store with that stuff? And how much will all of those little things cost? Lots of little details.
And then more questions and issues. Which bank should I join, and what should I do with my money? Where do I do laundry? Where do I go to get my hair cut? Where should I go to buy clothes and shoes for work? What can I do around here for fun? There are probably 100 bars within comfortable walking distance; which should I go to? So many questions. Asking roommates, coworkers, and other people yielded surprisingly inconclusive and little truly valuable information. The same with web searches. Maybe I'm just bad at extracting information and recommendations from people and the web. Or maybe it's just tough, and I should just adventure, experiment, and deal with it.
But wouldn't it be sweet if there were some reliable source of information for those kinds of things?
So I finally moved to Chicago 2 days ago. I came by train (which might I add, is a very dramatic way to leave home&family). I fit all of my belongings into 2 suitcases and a backpack, which seemed a little excessive to me. Others didn't agree. Luckily, I was moving into a house with a few roommates, and many household items were accounted for. I didn't have space to bring pans, utensils, a mattress, detergents, toilet paper, and those kinds of things. Some items are easy to buy, but from where? And how do I get to and from the store with that stuff? And how much will all of those little things cost? Lots of little details.
And then more questions and issues. Which bank should I join, and what should I do with my money? Where do I do laundry? Where do I go to get my hair cut? Where should I go to buy clothes and shoes for work? What can I do around here for fun? There are probably 100 bars within comfortable walking distance; which should I go to? So many questions. Asking roommates, coworkers, and other people yielded surprisingly inconclusive and little truly valuable information. The same with web searches. Maybe I'm just bad at extracting information and recommendations from people and the web. Or maybe it's just tough, and I should just adventure, experiment, and deal with it.
But wouldn't it be sweet if there were some reliable source of information for those kinds of things?
posted by Ted Miin at 5/08/2007 10:53:00 PM
3 Comments:
try www.yelp.com and search for chicago.
Cool, yelp.com looks pretty sweet at first glance. Not sure how that site has eluded my notice up until now. I'll try to use it over the next couple of weeks and report on how it works for me. Thanks for the suggestion!
I have similar frustrations extracting info from the internet. Good luck dude.
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