This morning’s Chicago Tribune has an article titled, “Helping cities lure more ‘ruppies’” about urban planner, Kyle Ezell, who offers lessons on how to live downtown. According to Ezell, “…more Americans would live downtown if they only knew how. It’s an acquired skill, he says, like ballroom dancing or trigonometry.”
That got me to thinking. Would more Chicago downtown dwellers live in the suburbs, if they only knew how? What are the facets of suburban living that overwhelm downtown dwellers? Then it came to me, what must overwhelm downtown dwellers more than anything else…parking. When you’re used to driving block upon block to find a space, when you’re used to paying $35+ a day to park your car, when parking tickets and towing fees are a part of your monthly budget, it must be overwhelming to be faced with an actual choice of spots (most of them free) in which to park your car in the suburbs. Do I take the spot right in front of my friend’s house or dare I park in their driveway without fear of being towed? Perhaps like Ezell, I should offer lessons. 
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Fran Bailey shows, previews and tracks downtown Chicago homes for sale giving her the insights needed to help her clients negotiate the best price and terms. Fran has been quoted in numerous Chicago and national publications. To schedule showings of listings regardless of broker or to contact Fran email her at fran.bailey@bairdwarner.com or call 773.793.4516. Learn More
Fran Bailey, Realtor
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Ah, Fran, you’re on to something. But you missed one. When Imoved from Rogers Park to Barrington 20 years ago I thought I was going deaf! I needed an alarm clock. In the city, the crazy neighbor awakened me in the morning, screaming at his teenaged daughter, while the police sirens and blaring ‘boomboxes’ (remember, this was 20 years ago – pre-iPod)kept going all night. Moving here and awakening to the sound of birds was quite a difference!
also – our eyes don’t know how to adjust to the depth of the suburbs. seriously – i spend all my time in the city, and never see anything that’s more than fifty feet away from me. whether it’s a building, a truck, a billboard, a train station, whatever, there’s going to be something close by blocking me from seeing any further.
when i go out to the suburbs, though – i can see for miles and miles in some places, and i don’t think my eyes are used to that kind of exercise.