Chicago!

I definitely think that I will live in Chicago at some point in my life, sooner probably than later. I just love it there; I always have. And it has a job market conducive to my skills/career path/interests.

Plusses!

• Best. Shopping. Ever. I live in quite the fabulous shopping neighborhood here in D.C. but it pales in comparison to all of the fantastic shops in Chicago.
• The people are actually nice. And make eye contact. I was overwhelmed. After about the 27th person made friendly chitchat with us this weekend in Chicago, I started to realize that how much I hate that D.C. residents really are just not friendly (or they are just addicted to their Blackberries and oblivious to everything else). I miss the Midwestern hospitality.
  Affordable Real Estate. Okay, so affordable relative to the real estate madness here in D.C. where they only way to own is to sell your soul or move to the suburbs. And of those two, selling my soul seems like a much more enjoyable option. A quick glance at the Real Estate sections in the Tribune and Sun Times revealed condos in good neighborhoods for a price that would probably buy me just my tiny bathroom here in D.C. (it's a nice bathroom...but seriously.)
• Closer to my family. As much as I enjoy my BFF status with Midwest Airlines, living a wee bit closer to home would be nice.

Minuses

• One word: Winter. I am a wimp when it comes to cold weather. And I am not ashamed to admit it. Any winter-toughness that I built up during my 22 years of living in Northern Wisconsin has disappeared. This is probably the biggest deterrent to me moving anywhere "north."
• Sales Tax. Okay a 10 or 11 percent sales tax seems insane.

A move is probably a little far off and I have some other cities that I want to explore as well, like Seattle in July (very excited for that trip!). But if my move "research" involves getting to visit fun cities, I can definitely handle it!