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September 23, 2008
Move to Naperville
Naperville: Center of the Universe, originally uploaded by almostincognito.
I read a lot of Chicago-centric websites, and every now and then a debate will arise about some annoying part of live in the Second City, such as the sorry state of the El, annoying fans at baseball games, the general crowdiness of the place, and the bucket boys who frequent crowded areas. As soon as the debate gets heated, somebody will drop this bomb: "If you don't like it, move to Naperville!"
Naperville, of course, is the utopian ideal of a suburb. It has lovely homes, great schools, lots of parks, a charming downtown, and chain stores out the wazoo. (It's also home to one of only two Chicago outlets of my favorite establishment, BD's Mongolian Barbeque.) It routinely makes the list of best cities to live in.
Despite all these advantages, Naperville frequently gets blasted by urban Chicagoans for its blandness, whiteness, and lack of personality. I can't say Naperville is all of these things. A person could have a quite fulfilling existence in Naperville, but indeed it would likely be relatively dull for a person used to life in Chicago. Simply having to drive everywhere would be a major change.
Nevertheless, I think the people who are dismissive of Naperville are missing the point. There's lots of problems in Chicago. High taxes. Crime. Vandalism. Corruption. It's something we all have to deal with, but suggesting somebody who complains about it ought to move to Naperville if he doesn't like it isn't going to solve anything. In fact, I think, much like a Hitler reference, any argument about moving to Naperville should mean you automatically lose the debate.
Why shouldn't we want to improve the city? Is it a bad thing to make the place more livable? It shouldn't be. Maybe, just maybe, trying to make certain things about Chicago more like Naperville wouldn't be a bad thing.
entry no. 1216
Posted at September 23, 2008 05:08 PM