High-Rise Life In Downtown Chicago

Downtown Chicago didn’t just change my address, it changed how I move, shop, connect, and feel at home. I share the real surprises of high-rise living and why “place” can quietly become a powerful support system in your life. 

• the questions people always ask about downtown living and why they stop mattering over time 
• why Craig and I never expected to love a high-rise and what changed 
• how River North and the Gold Coast function as true neighborhoods 
• running into friends more often than I ever did in the suburbs 
• why the biggest adjustment is not using the car and how that reshapes daily life 
• elevators as a social space and the funny personalities you meet there 
• not missing a backyard thanks to shared outdoor amenities and city green space 
• walking as everyday movement that improves routines without feeling like exercise 
• practical grocery-hauling fixes and small city-life trade-offs 
• parking quirks, walking to church, and the convenience of nearby stores 

All right, check in next week with Inside Marcy's Mind. 

Transcript

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Welcome And The Big Question

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hello friends and welcome back to Inside Marcy's Mind. I am Marcy, and as always, I'm so glad you decided to spend a little time with me today. One of the questions I get asked more than any other is this what is it really like living in downtown Chicago? I get that question a lot. I came from Southern California, now Craig and I have lived many places, but I came from a very quiet suburb of Koto de Casa and uh threw myself into a high rise in downtown Chicago. People ask me questions like is it noisy? Do you ever sleep? Do you miss having a yard? Big one here. Do you feel safe? Where do you park? Isn't it expensive? Would you ever move back to the suburbs? And I usually laugh because I don't think about those questions very much anymore at all. You see, after you've lived somewhere for a while, it stops feeling unusual. It simply becomes home. But every now and then someone visits, looks around with wide eyes, and says, I can't imagine living like this. They also say, I would love to live like this. And I smile because I used to say the exact same thing. Today I want to take you on a little tour, not of Chicago, but of a different way of living. Whether you live in a high-rise, a farmhouse, or a small town, or the suburbs, I think you'll discover something in today's conversation. Because the episode really isn't about Chicago. It's about where we live and how it quietly shapes who we become. Last week we talked about building your own, or actually a couple weeks ago, personal board of directors. Those trusted people you call when life throws you a curveball. And I did hear from so many of you who actually sat down and started making your list. Some of you realized you already had a wonderful board. Others realized it was time to build one. That makes me so happy because life isn't meant to be lived alone. And today we're talking about another kind of support system, not people, places, because we where place, not people, places, because where we live affects our routines, our health, our friendships, and even our happiness more than we often realize.

Why We Moved Downtown

SPEAKER_00 2:31

Why we moved. Let me tell you something. I didn't grow up dreaming about living in a high-rise. In fact, if you had told me 20 years ago that someday I'd be living high above downtown Chicago, I would have laughed my ass off. I would have told you on no uncertain terms, there's no way in hell I'm living there. It's cold. I don't like cold. I like my garage. I like my yard. I like my quiet neighborhood. That's what I would have said. Because of most of my adult life, that's exactly how I live. The suburbs are wonderful. Tree-lined streets, neighbors you wave to while mowing the lawn, barbecues, driveways, backyards, room for everything. It's comfortable, it's familiar. It's what many of us picture as we think of home. But life changes. Sometimes we make choices we never imagine making. One of the biggest surprises of my life has been discovering how much I genuinely love living in downtown Chicago. And it's not because it's better, it's just different. And it suits me. And it suits Craig and I at this time of our life. I have a friend at church, and she moved here from Tennessee, and she's raising a kindergartner, a child that's in kindergarten age. And we went to an event together for our book club. And I envy her. What a great place to raise a child. You probably all think I'm crazy, but I'm not. This city has so much to offer. And what a great, I

Downtown Feels Like A Neighborhood

SPEAKER_00 4:09

really do. I said to her, I'm looking at you and what a gift you're giving your child. Did you know that Chicago has one of the largest collections of residential high-rise buildings in the United States? From my window, right here where I'm podcasting from, I can look at hundreds and thousands of units that people are living in or staying at a hotel room. But I can look at them, I can see it right out my window. Thousands of people don't just work downtown, they live here. Families, retirees, young professionals, empty nesters, people walking dogs, people pushing strollers, people carrying groceries. It's an actual neighborhood. And I'm going to tell you something about this neighborhood. Do you know because I mean I take my car out once a week, I walk everywhere I go. Do you know that I run into people all the time? I never did in the suburbs, ever. I never ran into a friend while I was walking. I never, I think maybe once or twice in the 20, some odd years I lived in Coda de Casa, did I run into somebody at the grocery store? I run into people all the time now. I ran into a friend crossing the street just now. I run into people all the time. Craig and I were at the concert in Millennium Park at the Pritzker Pavilion the other night. Ran into three people that we know well. Not just people we know well. It's um it's amazing. It's an actual neighborhood. It's not just a business district. The neighborhood I live in is called River North or Gold Coast, or I'm on the edge of Gold Coast. It's up for debate. Anyways, it's a neighborhood. I see people, I run into people, I know people in this neighborhood. It is a neighborhood to the point where I do know some of my um my people that live on the streets during the day. I have Andrew, I have Georgiana, I have Carell. These are people that I actually know and I've spent time talking with. Never had that in the suburbs. And they bring something to my life, and I I like to think I bring something to theirs. This is my neighborhood. People don't realize it until they experience it. We have trees, we have beauty, we have greenery, we have parks, we have a lake, we have a river. We are a beautiful, vibrant neighborhood full of all those neighborhood people that you read about or you may see. I feel totally like I live in a movie on a daily basis. People think the biggest adjustment is the noise. Well, I have to tell you, I live across from Northwestern, so I can open the window and I'll hear a siren any time of the day, but you know what? I don't hear them anymore if you get my drift. There's one right now. I don't know if you can hear it in the background, the windows are shut. And the reason I can hear it is because the windows are open in my bedroom. If the windows in my bedroom were closed, then we wouldn't hear it at all. So people think the biggest adjustment is noise. It isn't. They think it's the traffic. It isn't. The biggest adjustment is this. You stop getting into your car.

The Real Adjustment Is No Car

SPEAKER_00 7:27

Seriously. We only have one car. At one point, Craig and I and the kids had five cars living in the suburbs. We have one. So you stop getting in your car. Seriously. Think about your day. Need milk, get in the car. Need a prescription, get in the car. Meeting friends, get in the car. Going to the gym, get in the car. Want some coffee? Get in the car. In the suburbs, your car is your is almost like another room in your house. You spend so much time of your life sitting in it that it becomes a part of your identity. Now, sometimes my car sits for days. You all know I bought a car two months ago. I've driven it eight times. Eight times. I've had it for two months. I still don't know how to work everything. In the suburbs, I would have already driven it to work five times and God knows how many other places. Now, sometimes it does. It just sits for days. Sometimes I actually have to think, wait, where did I park? No, I really don't because I have a parking spot. But I'm sure people do. And honestly, I don't miss driving nearly as much as I thought I would. I don't miss it at all. I don't miss it at all. The elevator is now my driveway. Here's something funny. Instead of walking down my driveway, I ride an elevator. Well, first of all, to throw away trash, just so you know, we have a trash chute on our floor. So we just walk out our door, turn right, throw it down a trash chute. Don't have to deal with trash cans, none of that. So

Elevator Culture And Neighbor Life

SPEAKER_00 8:56

my driveway is an elevator every single day. And I'm in an elevator multiple times a day. Elevators have personalities. If you never lived in a high-rise, let me explain. There are the good morning people, the people who know everyone's dog's names, the people who stare at the floor, numbers like they're watching the Super Bowl, the people who insist on making awkward small talk before you've had your coffee. And there are the people who somehow manage to hold 15 different grocery bags, two coffees, a tiny dog while pushing door open button with one elbow. It's an art form. Living in a high rise means your elevator becomes your front porch. It's where you catch up with your neighbors. It's where you hear about someone's vacation. Oh my gosh, and the twins. The twins, Craig and I have watched since they were born. And they're getting so big now. I just love it. I just love it. It's where you meet the newest residents. It's where you hear about somebody's vacation. It's also where you silently pray the elevator door doesn't stop on 12 floors when you're carrying melted ice cream. Sometimes I call it a school bus. We're picking up everybody on the way down. You never know. Sometimes you go straight to the bottom floor. I live on the 36th floor. Sometimes you pick up everybody. But it is a place, it is an identity. It has its own thing. I don't know the twins' names, but their mom always says, say hi, neighbor. Say hello, neighbor. And I always say hello to them. Love them to death. And I've seen them since they were born. We've lived here four years. They're three years old now.

No Backyard Needed With City Perks

SPEAKER_00 10:35

Here's another question I hear all the time. Don't you miss having a backyard? Absolutely not. I don't. I don't. Because we have a huge deck in our building that is beautifully decorated, 10 beautiful barbecues, seating areas everywhere. It the plantings that I have on my deck are spectacular. And guess what? I don't have to take care of any of it. None of it. I grill on a grill, scrape it off, and move on. They come out and clean them all at night. There's 10 of them. Beautiful. We have an herb garden here. We have tomatoes that are planted here. I ate my lunch out on the deck today, just like I would at home. Took my salad, went down my elevator, 36 floors to pee, pea level, and sat and watched and listened to a podcast, watched the world out there, and ate my salad. I don't miss my backyard at all. I don't have to mow grass. I can walk along Lake Michigan. I can sit by the river. Instead of looking at one tree, I wander through parks, museums, gardens, and neighborhoods that are constantly changing with the seasons. We have more trees here than you've ever seen. You would not believe how beautifully treed the city of Chicago is. It is not a concrete jungle in any way, shape, or form. I don't have a backyard fence anymore. It's an entire city. And there's something incredibly freeing about that.

Walking Becomes Everyday Movement

SPEAKER_00 12:04

You get a very different kind of exercise here. One unexpected gift, walking. Not exercise, walking, life walking, walking to dinner, walking to the grocery, excuse me, washing to the grocery store, walking to the pharmacy, walking up to meet up with friends, walking to the theater, walking to the lake, walking because it's simply easier than driving. The funny part is that you don't even think of it as exercise. It's just life. And somehow, without trying, you end up moving more than you ever did when everything required a car. I think that's one of life's biggest challenges in this city is realizing that you can walk everywhere. Movement became part of my day instead of another on my item to-do list. I don't have to meet up with friends to walk around the lake. Although I love that, Mary and Debbie, I just walk.

Groceries, Hacks, And Part Two Tease

unknown 13:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Now don't think city living is all glamorous because there are moments like trying to carry groceries. So I've got a collapsible um wagon that helps me. Whoever designed groceries bags clearly never imagined someone juggling four reusable bags, a loaf of bread balanced on top of a carton of eggs while waiting for an elevator. But you become strategic. I have a wagon, we have things here, you do more trips sometimes. You become a grocery packing genius so you can have less bags. It all works. It's not that hard. So next week on part two, we're going to talk about the sounds of the city, why downtown can actually feel like a small town, the unexpected friendships you make in a high rise, and some of the funniest things that happen when thousands of people all share the same neighborhood. Trust me, there are stories. I want to thank you for listening. I hope that this short little episode gave you a little look into my life here in the big city.

Parking, Church, And City Convenience

SPEAKER_00 14:25

Oh, there's something I didn't talk about. My parking spot. It's on the ninth floor of the parking structure. So I have to drive up nine floors and I have to drive down nine floors. That is something I learned. I also have kind of a wonky parking spot that I learned. But the beautiful part about being on the top floor of the parking structure is you just have to walk up a set of stairs and you're already on the P level of the building, which is like floor 11. And um you don't have to use the parking garage elevator to go down or up or whatever you want to do. I can walk right into the building from my floor, which the other floors don't have. There's something you learned there. Craig and I walk to church. That's another plus, right? Right across the street. After years of driving 16 miles to church, walk right across the street. That's just a little bit about life in the city. Oh, here's another part that you're gonna like. There are every store I need. I have uh Aldi two blocks up. I've got a Whole Foods one block up, I've got um a Trader Joe's two blocks west. I have a Jewel Osco, which for my West Coast friends is uh a Vaughn's pavilions type, and that's only a couple blocks over too. I've got everything you need here, right here. I've got a CVS right here, a Walgreens right here. And then I can walk to Nordstrom's, I can walk to Nordstrom's rack, I can walk across the street to Marshall's, and you know what I have that you don't have? I promise you don't have this. I have a Harry Potter store right on my corner with the world's largest butter beer bar. Yes, I do. I can go look at wands anytime I want. These are some of the perks of living in a big city. All

Closing Thoughts And Next Week

SPEAKER_00 16:14

right. Well, that's it for this episode. Next week, we're gonna do a part two of Living in the City. I've got part two is gonna have some funny stuff to it. I'm gonna talk about the charm and the quirks and the community of a high-rise life. I hope you've enjoyed this episode. Friends have been asking me to do episodes on what it's like to live in a city, and that's just the first glimpse. There's more to come. I hope your summer's going well. I hope you're enjoying yourself. I hope you're finding yourself healthy. I am healthy, wealthy, and wise. I'm doing great this summer. I'm enjoying it, and I hope you are too. All right, check in next week with Inside Marcy's Mind. You never know what my mind's got in store.