Post by Lisa Petrison on Jul 24, 2011 8:53:42 GMT -5
CHICAGO: FAIR (3)
I lived almost my entire adult life in the Chicago area, and spent July-November 2010 and then September-October 2011 there.
I lived in Skokie, which is a leafy suburb north of the city. My house was at a higher elevation than the surrounding area (just a few hundred feet higher), and I think this was helpful. On returning to the area, my neighborhood felt pretty good to me most of the time. It was just the house itself (Stachy) that was a problem.
During most of the year, the Chicago area feels better to me than most major cities. It is polluted, but not with the sort of stuff that has a big effect on me. This is especially the case with most of the northern suburbs (except for a few areas right along the lake), but the city itself has never been terrible for me either.
Certainly Chicago is a very dirty city, and I do feel toxic when there. However, the inflammatory environmental toxins that prompt my CFS-type symptoms seem to be less an issue there than in some cities.
In winter (November through February), Chicago does often go moderately bad with the "worst toxin for me." This is mostly during times of downturns in barometric pressure, a few days a week.
The best place I’ve found in this area is the Chicago Botanic Garden in Highland Park. Spending a few hours every day there made me feel much better, and I’ve never been there when it didn’t feel good. Ravinia, also in Highland Park, is an outdoor music festival that felt pretty good too.
The worst place I’ve found in this area is the shopping district in the eastern part of Evanston (Davis/Dempster Streets), near the lake. It’s mostly fine in summer months. Starting in November, the worst toxin for me is especially problematic there. There are big storm grates on some of the sidewalks there, and I have gotten badly hit from walking over them.
OUTSIDE CHICAGO:
I own a vacation condominium at a golf resort in Galena, which is near Dubuque. This area of the state feels worse to me than most of the Midwest. This is a different toxin than the worst one for me, but still problematic. (2-POOR)
I drove through central Illinois in June 2010 and November 2010, in my RV. They mostly felt a bit better to me than most of the Midwest. Champaign-Urbana felt reasonably good that June, and Dixon (boyhood home of Ronald Reagan) felt pretty good to me on a sunny day in November, for instance. (4-GOOD)
I lived almost my entire adult life in the Chicago area, and spent July-November 2010 and then September-October 2011 there.
I lived in Skokie, which is a leafy suburb north of the city. My house was at a higher elevation than the surrounding area (just a few hundred feet higher), and I think this was helpful. On returning to the area, my neighborhood felt pretty good to me most of the time. It was just the house itself (Stachy) that was a problem.
During most of the year, the Chicago area feels better to me than most major cities. It is polluted, but not with the sort of stuff that has a big effect on me. This is especially the case with most of the northern suburbs (except for a few areas right along the lake), but the city itself has never been terrible for me either.
Certainly Chicago is a very dirty city, and I do feel toxic when there. However, the inflammatory environmental toxins that prompt my CFS-type symptoms seem to be less an issue there than in some cities.
In winter (November through February), Chicago does often go moderately bad with the "worst toxin for me." This is mostly during times of downturns in barometric pressure, a few days a week.
The best place I’ve found in this area is the Chicago Botanic Garden in Highland Park. Spending a few hours every day there made me feel much better, and I’ve never been there when it didn’t feel good. Ravinia, also in Highland Park, is an outdoor music festival that felt pretty good too.
The worst place I’ve found in this area is the shopping district in the eastern part of Evanston (Davis/Dempster Streets), near the lake. It’s mostly fine in summer months. Starting in November, the worst toxin for me is especially problematic there. There are big storm grates on some of the sidewalks there, and I have gotten badly hit from walking over them.
OUTSIDE CHICAGO:
I own a vacation condominium at a golf resort in Galena, which is near Dubuque. This area of the state feels worse to me than most of the Midwest. This is a different toxin than the worst one for me, but still problematic. (2-POOR)
I drove through central Illinois in June 2010 and November 2010, in my RV. They mostly felt a bit better to me than most of the Midwest. Champaign-Urbana felt reasonably good that June, and Dixon (boyhood home of Ronald Reagan) felt pretty good to me on a sunny day in November, for instance. (4-GOOD)