Are you stressed? If your a Chicagoan you should be…
By Lea Erwin
Beating out New York City, a recent news story found the Windy City ranks as most stressed city in the nation, but as a native Chicagoan I disagree.
After examining the country’s 40 largest U.S. census-defined metropolitan areas, and tracking housing rates, and unemployment rates, this article published on Yahoo News found Chicago to be number one for stress.
Yes, living or even just working in Chicago can be pretty chaotic. Within the last few weeks we’ve seen floods that damaged homes, caused power outages and millions of dollars in damage. Tack that on with the on-going rising CTA cost, constant EL train construction, and long-rush hour commutes, and even the mildest tempered person, can go nuts!
On a national level, our rising unemployment rates, high sales tax, and most expensive gas in the country does make it difficult, to stay, so why is no one leaving?
Well, I can think of two good reasons; Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. Our two favorite baseball teams, (although true Chicagoans only have one) this season both were on their way to the World Series and for a few weeks, every Chicagoan, either sports fan or not felt that great Chicago pride. Even though the Cubs did not make it, we are resilant in the face of dispointment, and are always hopeful for next year (another good thing).
Besides sports, another reason to stay in Chicago is the fun nightlife. During the summer and winter months, it’s hard to stay away from the city lights of nightclubs, jazz and blues bars. Take it from me, Chicagoans know how to have a good time and with the best Irish bars in the nation, well, you know what that means!
But if drinking and dancing is not for you then there are always plenty of city activites like; movies in the park. During the summer the city puts up a giant screen in Grant Park and shows old-fashioned movies for free. And during winter there is ice skating at Millennium Park.
Another de-stresser is walking along the four-mile long stretch of sidewalk along the lakeshore. This path is used for everything from biking, running, walking, and everything else, and even in the winter months I see the dedicated runners out in 30-degree weather.
I haven’t begun to touch the surface on all the fun and de-stressing things there are to do in the city, but while Chicago may be percieved as the most stressed, I still think it is a great place to live.
3 years ago