Avoiding Rush Hour

It may be that the best things in life are shared, but the bigger they are, the more they must be shared. This second truism explains our appreciation for unconventional beauty and quirky personalities. It’s why tourists are despised. We love having things all to ourselves. And so, we must go out of our way to fully enjoy the things in life that are most loved.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the city. It may have something to do with growing up in a small city, for Chicago natives stuck in grid-lock on a precious Saturday seem unfazed. But for those of us from quiet cities with wide streets, waiting more than ten minutes for anything is extraordinary. Growing up, the only traffic jams I knew surrounded Lambeau Field. For people like me, big cities seem crowded all the time, whether it’s in a museum, on the el, at a bar, or along Michigan Avenue. Hit any of these places when they’re most popular and I feel exhausted before I begin.

The first city where I felt like this was Seoul, where every hour was rush hour. Nothing irritated me more than standing for an hour on the subway at ten p.m. on a weeknight. I dreaded navigating a transfer station amidst ten thousand Koreans, rushing by on both the right and left, their only concern the departing train behind me. Throwing elbows was imperative to surviving the chaos. At times, I had to give up, abandon my agenda, and follow the crowd, especially in the consumer-frenzied COEX Mall or Myeongdong shopping district. Other times, I did anything to avoid a crowd, no matter how out-of-the-way it was.

Compared to Seoul’s congestion, Chicago is an amateur, but it doesn’t mean it’s immune. During rush hour or on the blue line, I feel claustrophobic, anxious, annoyed. I get irritated with things that have nothing to do with the people around me. My alarm was too loud this morning. The pages of my book always stick together. Why were there no Red Eyes left? These things would go wholly unnoticed if I had a seat and weren’t staring into someone’s hair-covered coat.

Thus, one of the most valuable things I have learned while in Chicago is how to take advantage of its quiet moments. After a year and a half becoming significantly annoyed, I have cultivated the best ways to enjoy a headache-free Chicago:

Avoid rush hour
For almost four months, I worked from seven in the morning until four in the afternoon. Waking up at five a.m. was brutal, but my day was noticeably brighter on half-empty trains and wide-open sidewalks.

Wrigleyville is better on Thursdays
Thursday nights in Wrigleyville are void of its most unattractive parts: unnecessary cover charges, over-priced liquor, and duders with nothing but a pick-up line. Whether its cheap sangria at The Bar Celona or a free cover band at the Cubby Bear, my friends and I delight in fighting no one to have fun on Clark Street.

Forget that cute little brunch place everyone raves about and go Mexican instead
There’s this yuppie-meets-hipster brunch place in Wicker Park whose line out the door is as much a signature as its white chocolate and caramel covered pretzel pancakes. While imaginative and charming, patrons are rushed in, out of step with the laid-back rhythm of a Saturday morning. Far more enjoyable is Caoba, a Mexican restaurant whose wait staff is eager to please, whose chips and salsa are constantly replenished, and whose tasty food arrives quickly and lasts all day.

If you must go somewhere popular, be early and have a backup plan
As should be expected from the most fabulous speakeasy in the city, The Violet Hour has quite the demand come Saturday night. So popular is this Wicker Park hangout that patrons are actually turned away. After many attempts to show it off to friends, I realized just how early I had to arrive to get inside. Thus, I either get there at six p.m. or drink at the diner next door until my name is called (they call your phone, how chic!).

Find a way to be in the middle of it all without actually being in the middle of it
Millennium Park may be a Chicago landmark but the pictures don’t look so great with a hundred other tourists in them. Instead, check out the lawn of the Shedd Aquarium, whose grassy hill on the bank of Lake Michigan offers one of the best skyline views. A mere ten minutes from Millennium Park, it has become my favorite Zen place in the city. The sun shines brightly and the breeze from the lake is pleasant and cool. It is the best place to feel the energy of the city without any chaos.

Savor a good walk
There are few Saturdays or Sundays when I must be somewhere at a certain time, so instead of rushing, I lose myself in a good walk. Often the best way to explore a city, walking means not thinking about the bus that’s twenty minutes late, crawls once it finally arrives, and is so full it could bust open at any moment. To avoid the headache, I make a great playlist and happily enjoy Chicago’s streets with my own soundtrack and easy footwork.