The Next-Best Thing to Being There

My favorite place on earth is an oceanside community in California's Orange County called Corona del Mar, just south of the better-known Newport Beach. The above photo shows one of the lovely side streets in Corona del Mar. Block after block of flowers bursting from their containers. Open windows and doors absolutely everywhere. Sunny and warm all year 'round. And if you listen really carefully, you can hear the seals barking as they splash in the ocean.

What is my favorite part of this village? Aside from its obvious beauty, the residents seem so happy. They smile a lot. They greet each other. The Starbucks at PCH and Goldenrod has become a social hub for the regulars. Every morning the menfolk park themselves with their grande Americanos at the outside tables. A yellow Lab and a Rhodesian Ridgeback sit politely at their masters' feet during these morning confabs. Other neighborhood regulars busy themselves with visits to the local art museum, breezing through the upscale resale shops, just really enjoying every minute of every day. It's pretty close to paradise.

So far away, yet so close

How lucky for me: I enjoy that same village-y feel in my own downtown Chicago neighborhood. Streeterville's McClurg Court is a serene pocket that noise and chaos have, thankfully, overlooked. Neighbors walk dogs together. We meet for coffee at Fox & Obel. We buy our flowers at City Scents. We share dinner and dessert at each others' homes. The postal workers at our neighborhood post office are actually friendly and helpful!

We don't have an ocean. But we do have the Chicago Riverwalk just one block away. This landscaped walkway extends from the Lake westward to Michigan Avenue and beyond. It's another unexpected pocket of nature and quiet, smack in the middle of this metropolis.

It's a surprise to visitors. They marvel at how this wonderful neighborhood could exist under the radar. And what's not to love here? Real estate purchase prices are reasonable; they have also held pretty steadily over the last few years. Everything we need is within easy walking distance.

It's my little Corona del Mar by the Lake.