I moved to Chicago weeks following my college graduation. Luckily, I had my fiancé here and I had spent the previous summer getting a feel for the city, but there is so much more to a city than learning the streets. After the initial "woohoo I live in my dream city" wore off, I realized that it wasn't my home yet. I missed my friends. I missed my activities. My whole life was uprooted and after the glamor of the city subsided I realized just what had happened. I didn't have a routine or any regular spots and I only knew a handful of people. It was six months in and I decided I had to put a little more effort into it. 

For a few months, I thought of Chicago as a permanent vacation. OnceI realized I was not leaving I decided to throw all of my energy into making this my home now. There were so many things, outside of housing and jobs, that on needs to consider when you make a new city your home. 

1) Doctors 

Eye doctors, normal doctors, dentists -- I had to find new doctors for everything! It's hard to find one you like and one that fits with your insurance when you went to the same doctor for 8+ years. My advice is to research through your insurance to see who is within network. Then I suggest finding a doctor first as they can maybe recommend other doctors and specialists you may need.

2) Life Activities (fitness/church)

Working out was a huge part of my college experience. I was in group exercise classes and at the gym almost every day. I didn't take any classes when I first moved to Chicago and I realized how much I missed it. I started going to Cyclebar, bought a class pack and joined Classpass. The best decisions I made! I made friends through the workouts and built a routine that helped me feel like I was home. 

Personally, church is very important to me. It's normally one of the first places I go to when I go home to Columbus. When I found a church in my neighborhood that reminded me of my church back home, I started to shift my view of home from Ohio to Chicago. I found volunteer opportunities, fellowship and a place to go for worship and I couldn't be happier. 

3) Friends 

I'm doing a whole post on this, but yes, finding friends is extremely hard when you're an adult. Friends TV show totally lied. While yes, I had Jake's friends who welcomed me into the group, I needed to find my own friends - girls to go to both barre and the bar with. Once I opened myself up to opportunities to make friends, I built some of the best friendships I've ever had. Having friends to be there for you, talk about life and do all the fun things in Chicago made it more homey. 

Once I started to work on these areas of my life and gave it a bit of time, Chicago started feeling more like home in no time. Now I have no issues saying Chicago is my home and I'm so proud of that. I can't believe it's been over a year and I look forward to the coming years here! 

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