Anyone else Bored in the 'Burbs? (Chicago, Skokie: schools, college, living in)

[VioLynn33]

DH and I have lived in and around Chicago our whole lives, with the exception of college/grad school. We are living in a lovely western suburb now, nothing to complain about per se....except that I am bored, bored, bored. Sometimes, it seems like life in the midwest is "neither here nor there."

Any thoughts?

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by VioLynn33

DH and I have lived in and around Chicago our whole lives, with the exception of college/grad school. We are living in a lovely western suburb now, nothing to complain about per se....except that I am bored, bored, bored. Sometimes, it seems like life in the midwest is "neither here nor there."

Any thoughts?

Move

[Paige65]

Do you go to the city often enough? Do you travel? Take weekend trips? What do you envision life would be like if you lived somewhere other than the midwest?

[At1WithNature]

There's a lot of excitement if you want to move about 10-15 miles to the Southeast. Kind of hard to get bored out here with all the interesting characters running around and things happening...boring is a good thing. Plus, it is a sign that you are not using your brain enough. Get creative, game plan. This isn't college. You just can't wing your way through life. You have to come up with some good ideas and take advantage of what you have and your location. For starters, do you live near a Forest Preserve?

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by VioLynn33

DH and I have lived in and around Chicago our whole lives, with the exception of college/grad school. We are living in a lovely western suburb now, nothing to complain about per se....except that I am bored, bored, bored. Sometimes, it seems like life in the midwest is "neither here nor there."

Any thoughts?

Try going to other parts of the city for things perhaps? When I want to get the hell out of Orland I venture up to Skokie or Gurnee and do some shopping. At least it's a change of scenery.

[sgresident]

get involved in your community...join a group, volunteer, help start something. that is the joy of living out here..especially in a smaller community!

[ajolotl]

With a handful of notable exceptions, most suburbs are boring. Boring people move to them because they like to feel safe, peaceful, and bored. Being bored is acceptable when you have young kids because survival takes precedence over excitement. Otherwise it doesn't make a ton of sense for someone who likes some buzz and action on the streets.

[Sarah H.]

I feel like this during the winter. Everything is grey- the sky and dirty snow, my car from all the salt. Now that the weather is better find some bike trails or explore a new town. Do you have kids? Even going to a kid venue in another town can be better than what you're used to. Ajoloti's post makes sense. Go downtown, even f you have kids. There's lots to do and they need to see there's a whole world outside their little suburb. There are great architecture tours, the beaches, just so much to do.

[Chicagoland60426]

Yeah I feel the someway sometimes. I'm close to the city, but I wish I was actually living in the city.

[Lookout Kid]

We have one young kid, are about to have another young kid, and live in the city. We are rarely bored, even though we now have a hard time enjoying a lot of what the city has to offer in terms of dining and nightlife. But there is just so much to do at any given time. Winter does kind of suck, but it really only stops us from enjoying outdoor activities.

We are considering a move to an inner-ring burb primarily because of schools, but it's important to us to stay close to the city and to have good access to things on foot. I think our automobile-oriented suburbs isolate us, and prevent us from enjoying any sort of public life. We hop in the car, drive to a parking lot, shop anonymously, and drive home. You can go to and from work without actually running in to anyone at all. Community institutions are crumbling, and kids are sort of raised in isolation from the community except for a few organized sports activities.

Sprawl is sprawl, and I really don't think you'd be any happier on the coasts. Frankly, I think it has more to do with the environment you are living in than the region of the country. Sure, winter can be a bummer, but perhaps you just need to learn to enjoy it more. Get better outerwear and get outside in the winter. Learn to ice skate or something. I don't know.