Emily Lusardi loved life in Chicago and believed she and her young family would never leave. So what took this city family from firmly planted in Chicago to searching for their perfect ‘burb, almost overnight? A quick getaway to a midwestern suburb that made her crew see what was waiting for them just outside of city limits…
It was a spring break trip that changed our minds about the suburbia. Our steadfast, “we are never leaving the city,” quickly changed to, “how fast can we move?” and we knew it was time to make the leap.
So what happened on this life-changing trip? Not much—that’s the crazy part. We spent time kicking back and playing with our three-year-old in the yard. He loved playing t-ball, running around, and riding his tricycle in the driveway. We took walks and he ran ahead of us, and we didn’t have to scream, “stop!” every block. We felt calm and relaxed, everything was just a little bit more settled. Our four-month-old baby was able to take a nap while my son banged on the drums and rocked his guitar in my parents’ basement. In the city, our living room doubled as a play room and was just down the hall from the nursery. We literally had to tiptoe around when the baby napped. We had no place to keep his new tricycle and our double stroller in the condo. We cluttered up the hallway just outside our door much to the chagrin of our neighbors.
We loved every minute of our time so much that we both had the same thought on the five-hour trip home. It’s time to leave our city space behind and head out to a house with a yard in the suburbs.
But, still, leaving the city was tough. There was plenty we loved about life in Chicago—walking to pick up the dry cleaning on our way home from the park, morning visits to Wiggley Dog Park, sushi delivery. All things considered, the laid back, family-oriented, suburban life was too much of a pull. Four months later we were renting in the suburbs while we sold our condo in the city. Five years later we are settled in our home in Deerfield and we haven’t looked back.
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