Let's talk about Chicago

[Rob]

On July 30th I'm moving to the Windy City.

Tips, advice, favorite restaurants?   

Talk to me. 

[Jayson]

A little further north and you can join us up here.  Congrats on your move though. Are you relocating for work or just need a change of scenery?

[Rob]

Thanks.

It's for work.  A friend and colleague of mine is being asked to re-launch a studio there and is bringing me on board to help.  It should be a solid move for everyone involved.  The new company is called Vitamin (www.vitaminpictures.tv) and is part of Filmworkers.  He's rebuilding the website at the moment and there will be some re-branding that will happen before we're really up and running.

I put in my notice yesterday and the truck comes on July 30th.

I start packing up the toys tomorrow.   

[I Am Sith]

Very cool Rob!  I grew up in Chicago and spent the better part of 24 years as a resident before moving to the suburbs and then to southern Wisconsin.  Once you get past the traffic, road construction and extremely high sales tax, it's a great city.  There are tons of restaurants, theaters, concerts, festivals, museums, sports teams and the lakefront is great.

Welcome to the Midwest and good luck with the new company!

[Jesse James]

I suggest you talk with CorranHorn...  First, Jason's a good friend of mine, Rob.  He's a good guy all around.  Second, he's from there and seems very happy to show off the city to anyone who wants tips on the cool **** to do there.

I've gone there once (it's not a bad drive, really, overall... sorta), and I liked it when I was there.  I'd have liked it better I think if I had more moolah at the time, and less friends deciding what we checked out, but who were pretty dull with their choices.   I liked it though.  I can't say the same for almost every other city I've ever been to on business or fun... 

Seemed like a great place to me anyway.

[Rob]

Very cool Rob!  I grew up in Chicago and spent the better part of 24 years as a resident before moving to the suburbs and then to southern Wisconsin.  Once you get past the traffic, road construction and extremely high sales tax, it's a great city.  There are tons of restaurants, theaters, concerts, festivals, museums, sports teams and the lakefront is great.

Welcome to the Midwest and good luck with the new company!

Thanks.

I was actually up in Wisconsin for the holiday weekend.  My girlfriend's parents have 40 acres of land near Eau Claire.  We're looking forward to being able to just drive up for long weekends in the woods.

Having family in NYC and living in Dallas now, I'm already used to traffic and construction... I know the taxes there suck, but I'm ready to deal with it to live in a cooler city. 

We're renting a place about two blocks from Wrigley Field, so that should be cool.  The office is right downtown just off Michigan Ave.


I do need tips on handling the Winter from anyone who lives up north... I grew up in Florida and have been in Texas the last few years.  My poor dogs are going to freeze to death.

[Darth_Anton]

Big move Rob. Congratulations and good luck!

The only thing I know about Chicago is that you can't get true Chicago Pizza anywhere but in Chicago.

[knashdx]

Depending on where in the Chicago area you are living

Loumalnatis has some of the best pizza in town and it is well worth the wait.


St. Charles IL has a twice a year Toy Show (April & Oct ussually depending on holidays) at the Kane County Fair grounds that I make it down for from MN. It is a hit or miss show, but can be good for finding some off stuff that you might be interested in.

The Ikea in Schaumberg is the largest one in the US.



Congrats on the move. Where abouts in Chicago land are you moving to?

[Rob]

Thanks for the info - it's all helpful.

We'll be in Wrigleyville for the first year, so looks like the Lincoln Park location is the one for us on that pizza joint.  We figure we use the year to get to know the city and then decide where we actually want to settle down and live.

[I Am Sith]

Thanks for the info - it's all helpful.

We'll be in Wrigleyville for the first year, so looks like the Lincoln Park location is the one for us on that pizza joint.  We figure we use the year to get to know the city and then decide where we actually want to settle down and live.

My wife lived in Wrigleyville for about eight years and really didn't want to leave when we got married.  It's a great area in terms of restaurants, bars, nightlife, etc.  The commute down Addison sucked every day and parking was always a bitch, but the area itself was always really fun to be at.

[Morgbug]

Congrats on the move, but I am really, really looking forward to stories of you freezing your ass off.  It's cold there and the wind coming off the lake?   Brrrrr.   

Not sure how much longer there'll be trees in Eau Claire though

[Rob]

Not sure how much longer there'll be trees in Eau Claire though

Is this some reference to me cutting one down last year or are they finally opening the whole state up to logging?  

Because if it's the former, and I assume it's the former, you'll be happy to know that we planted 20 trees this year.  Mostly black walnut.

[Morgbug]

Nope.  It is a reference to the presence of emerald ash borer in Wisconsin and Minnesota (as well as a number of other states) that will pretty much devastate the Ash trees in the state.  Good choice on the black walnut. 

[CorranHorn]

Rob,

Welcome to the Windy City!

Wrigleyville is a nice area, although it does have Cubs fans in it.  Know that the neighborhood is pricey, but also tons of fun - the area around Wrigley Field (Clark and Addison) is always hopping during a ball game and on the weekends Clark St is party central for the young and beautiful. One of my favorite places to go back in my college days (late 90's) was the Metro just north of the ballpark - it was (may still be) a great place to see local rock bands if you're in to rock. Be mindful of the Halsted Street area, it's affectionately known as "Boys Town" and if you're not aware of the extreme Gay/Lesbian party scene it will be a huge shock to you upon first visit (it still weirds me out from time to time and I'd like to think of myself as an open-minded person).

So of course there's downtown, Michigan Ave is primarly the shopping and tourist area nowadays but there are businesses as well. You'll be within a block or two of the lake so you'll get a lot of great sights to see there - and by great sights I mean the ladies!  There's also Millenium Park and Grant Park nearby as well as the Art Institute - the other museums are just south of downtown but easy to get to by the city transit system CTA. Speaking of the CTA you shouldn't expect great service from them, they have in the past been rated the worst metro transit system in the country - the trains are good, the buses not so much.

As mentioned Lou Malnati's Pizza is the cream of the crop for true Chicago Style pizza - there's a location downtown and one not too far from Wrigleyville as well. If you like pizza you will do yourself a disservice if you do not try Lou Mals deep dish with butter crust. Also notable foods for Chicagoland is Vienna Beef's Hot Dogs and Corned Beef and Carson's Ribs (though if you really like Ribs look for the Gale Street Inn in Jefferson Park - best ribs ever!)

On the collecting front, the City of Chicago does not have many Targets in its borders (there's only a couple of Wal-Marts in the city but it's on the south side) however you'll be just 2.5 miles east of a Target on Addison ave and my childhood Toys R Us at Roscoe/Western by my alma mater Lane Tech (mention to someone about Lane or Riverview and they'll know where you mean). A great place to check out for vintage or off-retail toys is Quake Collectibles in Lincoln Square, the owner Dave is a good guy and routinely gets new old stuff in. In terms of collecting groups, there's the Chicago Trade Federation of which I'm a member of - a bunch of great guys doing what they can to help each other out in the hobby. There's also the Chicago Force as the main Star Wars fan club of Chicago as well.

Other quick things you should know - Chicago has I believe the highest sales tax in the country at 10.25%, parking is miserable and costly, the winters can be brutal so make sure you get a heavy winter coat, gloves, hat, portable heater. If you're interested in more about the homeland, shoot me a PM I'll be glad to give you some advice/pointers.

Cheers!
Jason

[Jesse James]

Speaking of the CTA you shouldn't expect great service from them, they have in the past been rated the worst metro transit system in the country - the trains are good, the buses not so much.

You REALLY need to visit Pittsburgh.

I thought getting around Chicago was wonderful, haha....  I really did.