Slow down and check out Chicago!

I am a  Midwesterner – born and raised. I grew up in the land of  Kroger grocery stores, Canadian pennies, Cedar Point, Faygo pop and NHL fanatics; I was blithely unaware of my “eeeeaccent” until attending college in New York State.

After hearing my friends and classmates talk only about making at beeline for New York City upon graduation, I have concluded that Chicago is a highly underrated city;  In terms of what it has to offer a college-age person like myself, it can totally hold its own with NYC, but it doesn’t smell like pee. Also, you can ask anybody on the street for directions and not only will they tell you exactly how to get there, but they’ll give you suggestions on where to eat lunch as well. And nobody walks around saying “Da Bulls, da Bears, Ditka,” anymore, sheesh.

I had the privilege of living in Chicago this summer while I interned at the CHANEL boutique on Michigan Avenue. Something that helped me assimilate with my new urban environment was a Web publication called Gapers Block. When I started reading it, I actually became cooler. It’s because of GB that I was able to find out about all the really cool stuff in the city that I wouldn’t have heard of otherwise – art exhibitions, street festivals, concerts, craft shows… etc. But in addition to an impressive calendar of events, GB boasts other impressive sections:

“Mechanics” is all about Chicagoland politics. Blog-style postings written by Chicagoans are grouped by sub-headings by their subject matter, which is very helpful if you want to know all about a certain topic that may not be covered very well in mainstream news. This month, topics range from the term limit debate to election campaigns to the amount of trash on Oak Street Beach (one of my favorite places this summer). It’s everything I, personally, want from a news website: short, sweet and to the point. Politics – especially local politics – tend to bore me, but GB provided an easy way for me to acclimate myself with the political atmosphere of Chicago without tempting me to give up and start reading Perez Hilton instead. Like all good news websites these days, reader-generated comments are very much encouraged.

In July, I had the pleasure of meeting the Gaper’s Block people at the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival. They gave me a sticker and I put it on my tote bag. Then I asked them, “Why do you call it Gaper’s Block?” Apparently, traffic slowdowns resulting from accidents on the side of the road are called “gapers’ blocks” by Chicagoans. What a perfect name for a publication that encourages people to slow down and enjoy the city.