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Old 04-23-2013, 11:09 AM
 
7,108 posts, read 9,035,765 times
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After living in Chicago for 5 years am I officially a Chicagoan?

I love living here but I don't have the life experiences that natives have with growing up here. All my local friends tell me that I'm beginning to act like the natives.

How do "yall" all feel about transplants being identified as Chicagoans.
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Old 04-23-2013, 11:09 AM
 
14,796 posts, read 17,782,035 times
Reputation: 9252
Sure, why not?
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Old 04-23-2013, 11:43 AM
 
Location: Nort Seid
5,288 posts, read 8,919,702 times
Reputation: 2459
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis View Post
After living in Chicago for 5 years am I officially a Chicagoan?

I love living here but I don't have the life experiences that natives have with growing up here. All my local friends tell me that I'm beginning to act like the natives.

How do "yall" all feel about transplants being identified as Chicagoans.
5 is the bare minimum. 10 years, that's when you're done on both sides.
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Old 04-23-2013, 12:30 PM
 
486 posts, read 867,105 times
Reputation: 619
[quote=mjtinmemphis;29258389]After living in Chicago for 5 years am I officially a Chicagoan?
I love living here but I don't have the life experiences that natives have with growing up here. All my local friends tell me that I'm beginning to act like the natives.



When you start developing the accent
Get Italian Beef cravings
Sweep the curb on the street and edge the grass off the sidewalk
Use the term "gang ways"
When someone asks you the time and its 2:50...you say 10 to.
Keep praying that the Cubs will win
Walk on a busy sidewalk like you would driving (always to the right)
Mention the Forest Preserves to people from out of town & they don't know what the H your talking about.
Can name every celebrity that is from Chicago
Use the term Kiddy corner instead of caddy corner

Enjoy.
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Old 04-23-2013, 12:47 PM
 
2,918 posts, read 4,228,816 times
Reputation: 1527
Quote:
Originally Posted by key4lp View Post
Sweep the curb on the street and edge the grass off the sidewalk
Is this a Chicago thing? I thought it was an everywhere-people-have-houses-with-yards thing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by key4lp View Post
Walk on a busy sidewalk like you would driving (always to the right)
This one is definitely common sense to do anywhere, not just Chicago.

Quote:
Originally Posted by key4lp View Post
Use the term Kiddy corner instead of caddy corner
I will never do this one. It drives me nutty. I've heard it a ton from people in Michigan, too, though, so it must be a regional thing and not just a Chicago thing.
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Old 04-23-2013, 01:00 PM
 
7,108 posts, read 9,035,765 times
Reputation: 6430
[quote=key4lp;29259707]
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis View Post
After living in Chicago for 5 years am I officially a Chicagoan?
I love living here but I don't have the life experiences that natives have with growing up here. All my local friends tell me that I'm beginning to act like the natives.



When you start developing the accent
Get Italian Beef cravings.
Sweep the curb on the street and edge the grass off the sidewalk
Use the term "gang ways"
When someone asks you the time and its 2:50...you say 10 to.
Keep praying that the Cubs will win
Walk on a busy sidewalk like you would driving (always to the right)
Mention the Forest Preserves to people from out of town & they don't know what the H your talking about.
Can name every celebrity that is from Chicago
Use the term Kiddy corner instead of caddy corner

Enjoy.
Walking to the right on a busy street is the only thing that I do that you listed above.

I'm a vegan so I would never eat Italian beef American beef or Chinese beef!
I hate the cubs!
Forest preserves are Parks. Get it right!!!
R Kelly is the only celebrity I can name from Chicago.
What's a gang way again?
Kiddy corner??? Your kidding me...right? Lol.
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Old 04-23-2013, 01:03 PM
 
2,918 posts, read 4,228,816 times
Reputation: 1527
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis View Post
After living in Chicago for 5 years am I officially a Chicagoan?

I love living here but I don't have the life experiences that natives have with growing up here. All my local friends tell me that I'm beginning to act like the natives.

How do "yall" all feel about transplants being identified as Chicagoans.
I've found that it actually only takes a matter of months or a year tops to learn more about a place than many natives know if you're actually interested in things, intellectually curious, and like to explore. Given the insight into the city that you've shown in your posts here, I'd say after 5 years you're more "Chicagoan" than many natives.

I actually had the following conversation with a lifelong Evanston resident at a party in Lakeview this weekend:

Him: Where do you live?

Me: Pilsen

Him: Where is that?

(I encounter this on occasion with people from the North Side or 'burbs, so it was only semi-unusual at this point, but it gets better.)

Me: Just west of South Loop and Chinatown.

Him: (Confused look)

Me: Just south of UIC

Him: (Confused look)

Me: Just north of Bridgeport?

Him: Is it in the city or is it a suburb?

Me:
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Old 04-23-2013, 01:12 PM
 
Location: Nort Seid
5,288 posts, read 8,919,702 times
Reputation: 2459
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiNaan View Post
I've found that it actually only takes a matter of months or a year tops to learn more about a place than many natives know if you're actually interested in things, intellectually curious, and like to explore. Given the insight into the city that you've shown in your posts here, I'd say after 5 years you're more "Chicagoan" than many natives.

I actually had the following conversation with a lifelong Evanston resident at a party in Lakeview this weekend:

Him: Where do you live?

Me: Pilsen

Him: Where is that?

(I encounter this on occasion with people from the North Side or 'burbs, so it was only semi-unusual at this point, but it gets better.)

Me: Just west of South Loop and Chinatown.

Him: (Confused look)

Me: Just south of UIC

Him: (Confused look)

Me: Just north of Bridgeport?

Him: Is it in the city or is it a suburb?

Me:
Oh, it burns, it burns...
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Old 04-23-2013, 01:15 PM
 
Location: Nort Seid
5,288 posts, read 8,919,702 times
Reputation: 2459
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiNaan View Post
I've found that it actually only takes a matter of months or a year tops to learn more about a place than many natives know if you're actually interested in things, intellectually curious, and like to explore. Given the insight into the city that you've shown in your posts here, I'd say after 5 years you're more "Chicagoan" than many natives.
I agree with that sentiment in many ways, but where I think the native element is hard to imitate is when it comes to the multi-generational aspect.

It's hard to understand important (and often at odds) issues related to schools, development, gentrification, etc. unless you can empathize with the "8 to 80" crowd.

Really, that's true for all of us. But I definitely notice that people who moved here post-college but with no relatives in town don't get issues on the age extremes. Completely understandable, but we're all gonna get old, and for the City to be healthy, we do need to raise kids here.
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Old 04-23-2013, 01:18 PM
 
Location: Lake Arlington Heights, IL
5,479 posts, read 12,312,838 times
Reputation: 2849
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiNaan View Post
I've found that it actually only takes a matter of months or a year tops to learn more about a place than many natives know if you're actually interested in things, intellectually curious, and like to explore. Given the insight into the city that you've shown in your posts here, I'd say after 5 years you're more "Chicagoan" than many natives.

I actually had the following conversation with a lifelong Evanston resident at a party in Lakeview this weekend:

Him: Where do you live?

Me: Pilsen

Him: Where is that?

(I encounter this on occasion with people from the North Side or 'burbs, so it was only semi-unusual at this point, but it gets better.)

Me: Just west of South Loop and Chinatown.

Him: (Confused look)

Me: Just south of UIC

Him: (Confused look)

Me: Just north of Bridgeport?

Him: Is it in the city or is it a suburb?

Me:
That's not just a suburbanite; that's a "sheltered" suburbanite
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