Am I a Chicagoan? (Elgin, Kell: living, safe, move)

[MassVt]

[quote=key4lp;29259707]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

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.

I'll still say "Ten of....three"...or "2:50", regardlesss of where I live..

I always walk on the right side of a sidewalk--supposed to be universal..

[Chicagoist123]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

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.

No, most definitely not. Never.

[knitgirl]

Not if you're going to say "y'all"! It's "you guys"! Also, somebody posted on page 1 about "kiddy corner". That's wrong it's "kitty corner". Otherwise, yeah, if you've lived in Chicago awhile and have gotten to know the city warts and all, I'd call you a Chicagoan. I may have given up my rights, now that I live in Elgin, but both parents were born in Chicago and I had grandparents living in Bucktown in the early 1900's.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

Also, somebody posted on page 1 about "kiddy corner". That's wrong it's "kitty corner".

Thanks, I meant to note that. Everyone I know says kitty, although this could be one of those "Ollie Ollie Ocean" vs "All the All the Ocean" free-free-free things.

[Attrill]

Here's a simple test to tell if you're a Chicagoan:

You're walking down the street and your Alderman is walking towards you. Does your Alderman....

A - Know you by name and stop to shake your hand and talk

or...

B - Cross the street to avoid getting in a conversation with you.

If you answer either A or B then you're a Chicagoan. Otherwise, not really.

[Chi-town Native]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

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

That is an extremely generous and polite way of putting it.

[Chicagoist123]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

Not if you're going to say "y'all"! It's "you guys"! Also, somebody posted on page 1 about "kiddy corner". That's wrong it's "kitty corner". Otherwise, yeah, if you've lived in Chicago awhile and have gotten to know the city warts and all, I'd call you a Chicagoan. I may have given up my rights, now that I live in Elgin, but both parents were born in Chicago and I had grandparents living in Bucktown in the early 1900's.

Well I was kidding about it.

I feel if you have lived here 5+ years and embrace Chicago culture and really appreciate the city and don't live in a bubble here, I think it's more than fair to consider you a Chicagoan.

However if you were raised here from childhood to adulthood and move elsewhere, I think it's safe to say that you will always be a Chicagoan.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

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

It's amazing that he found his way to this party in Lakeview. It wasn't even in Wrigleyville! He must have used his GPS.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

Thanks, I meant to note that. Everyone I know says kitty,

It doesn't really matter if you spell it kitty-corner or kiddy-corner. In most of the country it's caddy-corner (or catty-corner since some of you apparently prefer T to D). All of these are just bastardized versions of catercorner (which nobody really uses anymore), and are all equally silly-sounding when you think about it. It's just weird when you hear one silly version your whole life until you move to a place where people use the other silly version.

Maybe we should drop it all and just say diagonal.

[Lorielicious]

I recently learned that if I want to be considered a true Chicagoan, I have to stop calling that place where you get your drivers license the DMV.