Sweet Home, Chicago

When we left Chicago in 2000, I got rid of all of my winter coats, gloves, etc. Being married to Ali, who hates cold weather, I knew I would never need them again.

So how did we get here? I hardly even know where to begin.

We landed at LAX two weeks ago, spent a night with Ali's mother, then flew to San Jose/Palo Alto. Everyone was complaining about the cold - they even had frost warnings in Orange County - and it was chilly after coming from summer in NZ. But the air was clear and the mountains were beautiful and we found a great place for Mexican food, so I was happy.

The next day I dropped Ali off for his 11 am meeting; I was surprised when he called me less than an hour later. They just wanted to make sure he still wanted the job - didn’t even have a written offer ready - but would give it to him when we met the owner and his wife for dinner. Ali and I spent the afternoon driving around the mountains, through the redwoods and down to the ocean. Ali wanted to live in the hills; it's a gorgeous area, but I’m less than thrilled about having to drive everywhere.

Dinner was at a Cuban restaurant in central Palo Alto – which, at night, reminded me a lot of downtown Naperville. Very pleasant, very suburban. I liked the owner, a former philosophy professor – even though his wife, also nice and the one who actually runs the business, did most of the talking. She handed Ali a folder as we were leaving, and we didn’t look at it until we got to the hotel. It was a good offer.

The next day we looked at a seriously over-priced house for rent in Sky Honda – one of the few available – before I took Ali to the airport. Before we left Auckland, the Chicago firm had also arranged for a final interview. Ali was so set on Palo Alto that I didn’t even pack my warmest jacket, and now he had the job. But – even though he wasn’t interested in the Chicago job anymore, he didn’t think it would be polite to call and cancel at this point. Another day, another airport - but he was just going to tell them he wasn't interested.

Ali had signed the Palo Alto offer letter before he left, and I was supposed to drop it in the mail. While he went to Chicago, I drove up to San Francisco to visit Ashish, Anjali, and their new baby daughter, Mira. When he called the next day, he asked if I’d mailed the letter. I felt sheepish admitting that I hadn’t gotten out to the post office yet, but he said to hang on to it. The Chicago firm really, really wanted him and we had a lot to talk about.

Neither of us slept too well for the next couple days.

In the end, the decision was easy. The Chicago job only offered a little more pay, but the cost of living here is so much lower that it’s almost like making fifty per cent more. Housing in Silicon Valley is outrageously expensive, and we'd need two cars. Here tapartments are plentiful, and there's so much new construction it keeps prices in check. And living downtown, we don’t need a car. Plus the Chicago job is a partnership track position with a much bigger and better-established firm. Less risk for more reward.

We’ll both miss being near the mountains, and the ocean, but Chicago is a great city. I haven’t been here since Millennium Park was completed; it’s fantastic. The lakefront is great for biking and walking, weather permitting – a wide range for true Chicagoans. The Bears are going to the Super Bowl - not that I care about sports – but there’s always something cool going on here, so much you can’t possibly see everything. (An especially welcome change from NZ.) Plus we have family and friends here, and know our way around, so moving and getting established will be very easy.

In fact, we arrived Tuesday and already have an apartment – we signed the lease today and move in Feb. 1st. (We even looked at some condos, but decided that can wait.) Carson’s is closing its downtown store, so we’ve already gotten a coffee maker and toaster oven. (Cheap prices are another revelation after living in NZ for a while.)

It’s January, however, so it’s been "a little chilly," and an arctic blast is due in a couple days – not California cold, the real thing. So, of course, I’ve had to buy a winter coat and some gloves.

Cheers,
Sandie