# So...I'm moving to Chicago. In the winter. During a pandemic **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 3, 2020, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058 "2020-12-03T01:22:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/163 "2021-02-16T02:50:28Z")
I just blew a few inches, just so tomorrow a.m. won’t be too bad. I agree - it is all **bdgr’s** fault! ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/164 "2021-02-16T03:04:38Z")
Her neighbors on N Hermitage are blaming my kid, a transplant from the UP,for the current snow maker. Poor kid hasn’t seen her vehicle parked 2 blocks away in 2 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/165 "2021-02-16T22:23:53Z")
Please. Make. It. Stop. I got 15-20 inches yesterday and today with more possible this weekend. When I left work west of O’hare, I didn’t even have to brush my car. By the time I got home, 6-8 inches had accumulated and really coming down hard. It’s piled up to my neck near the street. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/166 "2021-02-16T22:50:44Z")
I blame myself as well. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/167 "2021-02-16T23:02:20Z")
Actually, parts of Texas are being hit harder, what with the rolling blackouts and generally not being used to such weather. **bdgr** , it is possible you’re better off in Chicago where they know how to deal with winter weather. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/168 "2021-02-16T23:05:22Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I got 15-20 inches yesterday and today with more possible this weekend. No kidding. We’ve gotten something like 4 _feet_ of snow in the past 16 days, including about 18" yesterday/last night. Definitiely approaching the point of “running out of places to put it.” ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/169 "2021-02-16T23:20:29Z")
Is this your first winter? If so, I bet you never forget it. Welcome to Chicago! ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/170 "2021-02-18T23:21:03Z")
I had regretted moving into our condo for a variety of reasons. But the not having to shovel with a garage on the first floor is a nice thing right now… ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/171 "2021-03-29T21:41:48Z")
So, been here a few months now. Starting to get to know this planet. A few things I’ve noticed: 1. Parking sucks. But I’ve improved my parallel parking skills greatly out of necessity. 2. People know how to drive here; People don’t slow down for anything, traffic just keeps moving. I love this. 3. If you put your turn signal on, they generally let you over. Not like Dallas where they they actively try to block you. 4. Pedestrians will step right out in front of you without looking. In dark clothes, at night, in a snow storm. 5. They sell hard liquor at the grocery store, and Costco has their own brand of it. In Texas, this isn’t a thing. 6. If you order a hot dog somewhere, they bring you a hotdog-based salad. 7. This Italian beef technology should be exported to other populations. Hell, so should the hotdog-salad. 8. There seems to be no hostility between the bus driver and the riders of said bus. In DFW, this was not the case. 9. Everyone has been really cool and welcoming. And everyone has seen it as their civic obligation to tell me about Johnnies. Which was much appreciated. 10. Traffic and parking laws seem to be much more of a suggestion than a law here. 11 Romex is apparently not a thing that is used here. The house I wound up with is famous – there were articles written about it when it went up for sale because it was owned by one of Capone’s top guys. It still has much of the original woodwork, the interior doors are all arched at the top and solid wood – and really heavy. The front door is like 2 inches think and has wrought iron bars across the little window to see who is on the front porch. During the snowy season that was nobody. Because the gutter iced over, a sheet of water fell constantly on the front porch and ice was 4 inches thick there – We fought valiently to keep it clear, but it wasn’t going to happen. The mailman would just throw our mail at the porch and we’d have to find inventive ways to retrieve it. After the snow melted we found the cord we were supposed to plug in to heat the gutters and keep that from happening. The steam radiators are a mess. This is going to take a while to sort out. The basement used to have an illegal tiki bar in it. There is still a little water fall down there, and sparkly tilework on the steel support posts. It’s now going to be a tiki darkroom. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/172 "2021-03-29T22:00:34Z")
> [@bdgr](#): > > 11 Romex is apparently not a thing that is used here. Yup, I learned that one early on. Some people say it’s something that the electricians’ unions got the code written to mandate conduit, some say that it’s the fire departments, but either way, in a lot of the Chicago area, Romex is only allowed in certain applications (if at all). ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/173 "2021-03-29T22:11:23Z")
> [@bdgr](#): > > you order a hot dog somewhere, they bring you a hotdog-based salad. If you are talking piccalilli I’m jealous. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/174 "2021-03-29T22:14:48Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > piccalilli > **[Chicago-style hot dog](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_hot_dog)** > > A Chicago-style hot dog, Chicago Dog, or Chicago Red Hot is an all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers (a variety of Capsicum annuum), and a dash of celery salt. The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be "dragged through the garden" due to the m The canonical recipe ... ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/175 "2021-03-29T23:03:03Z")
I very glad you’re already enjoying it. It will only get better when the pandemic ends. Chicago is a really great city. > [@What\_Exit](#): > > Chicago is one of the greatest cities in the US. I really like Chicago. * * * Though one summer day, you’ll be walking along and a storm will come up out of nowhere and dump a Great Lake’s worth of water on you. You will be soaked to the bone. 20 minutes later it will be hot as hell again and dust might be blowing around. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2021, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/176 "2021-03-29T23:17:51Z")
> [@bdgr](#): > > So, been here a few months now. Starting to get to know this planet. A few things I’ve noticed: I’m a Texas transplant who lived in the Dallas area for awhile too and I approve this message. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/177 "2021-03-30T00:39:23Z")
> [@bdgr](#): > > People know how to drive here; People don’t slow down for anything, traffic just keeps moving. I love this. I’ve always said that Chicago drivers error on the side of not hesitating and justkeepmoving. > [@bdgr](#): > > If you order a hot dog somewhere, they bring you a hotdog-based salad. Yesterday, I made one of my favorite seasonal meals: corned beef and cabbage, with carrots and potatoes also cooked in the briny broth. I’ve got loads left and it’s time to eat but now I want a hot dog. If you haven’t already had one, seek a Maxwell style Polish sausage. They’re deep fried and/or griddled for a tasty texture and dressed with yellow mustard and grilled onions & sport peppers if you like. Portillo’s does a fine one. Also, if you go to Wrigley for a game, look for the vendor on the street level that has the grilled onions. Follow your nose. Summer is coming and it’s going to be glorious. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/178 "2021-03-30T13:14:08Z")
Never order ketchup on your hotdog in a Chicago hot dog joint. You will be publicly ridiculed. And don’t start with, “I will eat my food however I want and with whatever I want.” I get it. Everyone gets that. You still may be ridiculed. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/33zPlnhymCU/maxresdefault.jpg "Jack McBrayer & Triumph Visit Chicago's Wiener's Circle | CONAN on TBS") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33zPlnhymCU) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/179 "2021-03-30T13:54:54Z")
> [@bdgr](#): > > 1. They sell hard liquor at the grocery store, and Costco has their own brand of it. In Texas, this isn’t a thing. Yeah, but in Texas they have that handy display of AR-15s at the checkout counter for impulse purchases! 😃 Chicago gets better and better as the weather warms. Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/180 "2021-03-30T15:04:05Z")
What kind of sicko puts ketchup on a hotdog? ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/181 "2021-03-30T15:05:18Z")
Yeah and you are allowed to wander around the produce section with a loaded AR15 – policy adjusted for skin color as needed. Part of why I wanted out of that damn state. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058/182 "2021-03-30T15:22:08Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Never order ketchup on your hotdog in a Chicago hot dog joint. You will be publicly ridiculed. Correction: Don’t go to Weiner Circle and order your hot dog however the hell you want it anywhere else. No one cares. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-im-moving-to-chicago-in-the-winter-during-a-pandemic/927058.md?page=10)