We’ve been MIA for awhile due to the holidays and whatnot, and are slowly getting back into the groove of work (blah) and other responsibilities (school, blah again).
For Xmas this year, we both decided that instead of spending a bunch of money on gifts for each other, we would take a trip. We’ve been contemplating a move to Chicago (even though we both have never been) and had a free Delta companion pass, so we decided to brave the cold and check it out. We figured we could be more confident in our decision if we went in the winter and still felt like we wanted to move there after facing the arctic temperatures.
Luckily the plane ride is only about 1.5 hours from Atlanta so we got about 3.5 days to explore the city after an early morning flight. We met up with some of Lyn’s friends who live there the first day, and they showed us around some of the neighborhoods. We also did a food tour and a walking tour of Pilsen, which is a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood.
Even though the temperature ranged between 0-15 degrees, we still had a blast. Here’s a list of some things that are way better in Chicago than Atlanta.
- Happy Hour (illegal in Georgia)
- Pizza
- Hot Dogs
- Parks
- Public Transportation
Chicago still seems to be #1 on our list for relocation even though it is freezing in the winter. When we think about raising our kids, we would much rather raise them in a big city with a diverse environment where it isn’t the norm to celebrate slavery and oppression. We love New York too, but it’s just too expensive. Same goes for California.
On the fertility front, we are still progressing forward and hopeful for an IUI this month. We thought we had a post-op consultation scheduled for January 10th, but apparently that appointment was never put in the doctor’s calendar. Luckily, we found out last week, and were able to schedule an appointment for Jan 15th. Lyn has had consistent 28 day cycles and ovulation on Day 14 every month since coming off of the pill, and this appointment would land on Day 10. We are hoping that we get the green light from the doctor and are able to sneak in an unmedicated try this month before proceeding with a medicated cycle next month, if it is unsuccessful.
We are itching to move out of the South, but also want two walking babies before we make that move, so fingers crossed we can get this process started!
– Lyn and Em
A Quest in Queer Parenting 
Wow, never knew Happy Hour was illegal in Georgia! And by the way, good luck with the IUI!
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Yeah, it’s weird thing where you can’t discount alcohol. Thanks!
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I feel so fortunate to live in Toronto, Canada. It’s diverse, clean, totally protected in terms of rights and the norms of inclusiveness are pretty wonderful. I hope you two had a blast in Chicago. It makes all the difference when you feel comfortable somewhere. The weather is easier to handle than racism and homophobia 🙂
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We are in Durham and also really want to move out of the south but we too are waiting for a little one first. We keep talking about moving back to the Bay Area or moving to Seattle or Hawaii. All very expensive so I have no idea how we would even manage it. 😦 We just know we don’t want to be here. Looks like you really enjoyed Chicago though. The two of you are going to have an action-packed few years– school graduations, babies, moving. Exciting and wonderful stuff.
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I grew up in San Diego so I do love the west coast but none of the west coast cities made the list because of the cost of living. I’ve gotten spoiled by the opportunity to live with two bathrooms and the option to own a home. In San Diego, those things are not easy to come by but I love that city. We briefly looked at Texas because the cost of living is attractive and they have some liberal cities but we weren’t sure if it’d be different enough. I know Texas is special and it’s not usually considered the south but I don’t think it’s the best match. Although, I would love their Mexican food options 🤣 have you lived in the Bay Area, Seattle or Hawaii?
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I grew up in Fresno which is almost exactly in the center of California but K and I met in San Francisco. I think she lived there 7 and I lived there 6. We both still miss it so much but we came out east because her family is in northern VA and because the COL is so high (median home price in SF: 1.5 mil) that there was no way we could ever hope to own. Renting got to be a real drag, there are so many terrible and greedy landlords out there who have no loyalty to their tenants because it’s more profitable for them if the tenants move out. I’m not sure I’m ready to go back to that situation with a child but we miss the west coast with all our hearts so it’s really tough. We haven’t lived in Seattle or Hawaii but we have good friends in both places and have visited many times. We would have a good support system in both spots which is something we don’t have much of out here. On our cross country trip out to the east coast we stopped briefly in Austin, Tx but it didn’t have any magic for us. It was just a city. Also, unimpressive mexican food (at least what we had), sadly. We both fell in love with New Orleans and Taos, NM though. We kept hearing how Durham was different and progressive and it is in some ways… but it’s still the south. We still had (past tense since that brave woman pulled it down) confederate statues at our courthouse. We still got turned away from an IVF clinic in Charlotte, because gay. There are still churches on every damn corner, it seems. And our politicians are still backwards AF. I would be wary about the hype in Tx– even if the city seems progressive it’s still Tx. Chicago sounds great!
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Yeah, it’s too bad SF is absurdly expensive. One of my best friends grew up in Seattle so I’ve been there several times. It’s not a bad city but I don’t think I could handle the constant rain. I’ve heard the COL is high in Hawaii because they have to import so many of their goods. But Lyn and I are visiting in May more as a vacation than a scoping out type visit. I still need to visit New Orleans. It’s on my ‘Before Leaving the South’ bucket list, haha. I’m sorry to hear you all were turned away from an IVF clinic. That is awful. When my family moved to Atlanta, we were also told that it was more progressive (for the South) and while you can find some pockets of liberal minded folks, it’s still the South. And at the end of the day, I want our kids to be raised in a place where culture is celebrated and it’s just more inclusive. I also don’t think our current president is helping the South at all either. People are starting to get more comfortable in their racism, homophobia and sexism. But we have a loose plan so that’s keeping us going 🙂
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Re: the president… K and I were both in very dark places after the election. I still cannot look at him without feeling enraged. I agree that it has emboldened people in very unsavory ways. I agree about wanting our kiddo to be raised in a more inclusive place too, just gotta find the right spot for us. My friend in Seattle swears it’s not rainy all the time. I went out last summer to visit my nephew and the weather was absolutely perfect– low 80’s, sunny, low humidity, a distinct lack of mosquitos. It was lovely. K gets kinda sad sometimes about the lack of Asian community here, especially the food so we are on the look out for a place that feels more community minded in that way too. What island are the two of you going to in May? We’ve been to all of them except for Maui. From SF the flights were only $350 round trip so we made it an annual trip. It’s truly our happy place. OMG I love it there so much. You two are going to have an awesome time! I hope you post pictures!
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The days after Election Day were not good for us either. I desperately wanted to skip work but I did go in. I had PT that morning so it helped that I got in late and most of the small talk had died down. I also think even his supporters were shocked too. As for Seattle (and most of my experiences on the west coast), I do enjoy the lack of humidity. Atlanta is disgustingly humid in the summer. For Hawaii, we are going to Maui, haha. We will most definitely post photos. I can’t wait to do that post!
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Thanks I am secretly hoping for some curls! 🙂
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I have no idea how this ended up here, haha! (wrong post)
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