h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Jeni,
Saw you have a link to my hometown (Chicago) on your page. I think you'll be a bit amazed once you do make it here. Most people are. I think I can say with confidence, having traveled the world quite a bit. There may be more populated cities and larger cities, but there is no place busier or with more to do on any given day and with more friendly people, anywhere in the world. Then again, that may just be my old fashioned home town pride talking...NAH! Chicago is the best!
~S

You're from Chicago?!?

Tell me more!!!!!

Well...like the universe, the first thing you have to grasp about Chicago is it's big. Not just big as in that's really large, but big as in unsmegging believeable, that place is HUGE. It's situated as you know right next to Lake Michigan. However our ancestors had a gift for understatement, as Lake Michigan is easily the size of any other inland bodies of water people refer to as seas. The warmest time to go swimming in it is late August, through September, since it's had most of the summer to warm up a couple of degrees. Unfortunately this is right about the time the air is starting to cool down for winter, so that offsets the benefit of the warmer water. As to more, you'll have to suggest something you'd like to know about there's just too much that goes on day to day, week to week, etc... for me to give you a comprehensive grasp of events.
~S

ok.. let;s start with..

is it a nice place to live?

Well, I've lived in Germany and bounced around the rest of Europe. I've also lived in several states here in the US and I always end up moving back here. So I would say, most definitely, yes.
~S

cool!!!!!!

How about.. what's it like weather wise and to be on the eedge of lake Michigan?

Weather-wise, we go through all four seasons. Sometimes they're abbreviated in the extreme, usually we go straight from Winter into Summer. However the rest of the seasons run pretty much on time. Living by the lake has an odd effect on weather. It's actually cooler by the lake temperature-wise and that's usually because of the wind coming in off of it. They don't call Chicago the Windy City for nothing. It's a blessing in the summer though, it helps cool things down when you have a nice breeze blowing through. There's all sorts of things down around the lake front in the way of entertainment, so you'll usually see people down there all year round.
~S

Yay.. I can't wait to live there

Hang on, it's not all sunshine and joy. Winter can be a bear at times. We've had 3 blizzards in the last 30 years that completely shut down the city and a number of smaller one's that have brought things to a near standstill. Then you factor in the wind-chill and it can hit below 20 degrees below during winter on a semi-regular basis. It all depends of course, last winter was fairly mild. The winter before was one of the 3 blizzards. I don't want you thinking it's all sunshine and joy, when it's not.
~S

No I've heard that you often have hot summers and cold winters (to put it mildly)

That's one of the reasons I'd like to visit.. in England we tend to have roughly the same sort of weather all year round.. I mean there's no real big temperature drop for winter and it doesn't really go up that much in the summer.

I think it'd be nice to have the typical hot summer and the typical snowy winter once in a while..

Liberty

Ahhhh...I see. I've been to England of course, but not long enough to realize it was always that way out. I actually lived throughout much of Europe for a number of years. I understand how that could get a bit annoying not having any season changes, unless of course you're living in the Bahama's. Which, might I add, I myself would love to!
~S

Ooh.. the Bahamas? you ever been there before? that could be fun, living there

Yep, I've been there from Christmas until past New Years twice for their festival known as Jankanoo (sp?). It's a delightful country and I'd love to live there myself.
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Cool, hot i take it?

Mmmm...I wouldn't say hot so much as tropically warm. Though I have arthritis in my knees, being surrounded by ocean didn't seem to bother it much oddly enough. Played beach-volleyball every morning! There was more of a temperature constant than the wide variety I'm used to here and the people were wonderful.
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wow.. i think i want to live there, i'll visit first though, lol i can't wait

You gave me a cute idea for a Holloween costume this year when I saw your name. A pun actually. Instead of dressing like a "serial killer", how about dressing as a "cereal killer". Wear those little snack packages of cereal you get in the multipacks all over me with little plastic bowie knives, hooks and other assorted implements stabbed through them. Heh, heh, heh! What do you think?
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