Look Homeward, Angel

Having spent only about a week back home in Metrolina, we've already driven more than we do in a month in Chicago -- and that's not counting the time spent driving down from the Windy City (13:42, btw. A new best record!)

These are the things that upset me about returning to the ancestral homeland. I have spent more time sitting in a car seat this week than I care to remember. Something that didn't used to be a big deal. But walking around Chicago and hitting the much-maligned CTA each day has changed the way I live to the point that the way I used to live seems almost foreign.

Which is why I was glad to ride the Lynx this week after coming home. The new light rail in Charlotte beats the CTA on cleanliness, quiteness, speed and, well, everything except for being everywhere. But give it time.

While I wait for the next 15-20 years for Charlotte to finish the light-rail system, I can dodge cars while walking the dog in Concord where sidewalks are apparently considered a socialist plot. In our neighborhood in Chicago, you only have to worry about being plowed down by bike riders, not rusty minivans and sparkling new pickup trucks.

I can walk to or from the train for work each day, walk the dog at close to midnight or walk to the store in the middle of the day and be just one of many pedestrians in Chicago. In Concord, I am Legend. Just me and my dog outside while the zombies stay inside watching TV or gaming online.

The urban life is possible here, of course. Just wandering around the city, you can see the new life in Uptown Charlotte and everything popping up around the light rail. There's even a new vegetarian cafe in downtown Concord. Unfortunately, for every townhome built, there's a dozen cookie cutter houses, for every urban village there's 20 strip malls. Things can change. It just takes time.

After the storm

For those of you back home in NC, or those other places where it just doesn't snow that much, a little taste of our New Chicago Life.