To start, let’s go back to February 2nd of 2005. It was a frigid, snowy Chicago Winter night. Too preoccupied to be cold and too rushed to be nervous, I dashed out of a listing appointment and raced to make a first date at a restaurant called Boka in Chicago. We said our “nice to meet you’s,” shared a couple of drinks and started to get to know each other. One year later we were engaged. Two years later we were married. Three years later, here we are. Within the past week, we’ve swapped our city digs for life in suburbia; the result of a major campaign on my part to convince my husband Bill that Barrington might be just as hip and happening as our old hood, Chicago’s Lincoln Square.

The task was far from easy. What could I possibly say to get a downtown dude to consent to leaving the daily city stimulants for life in the burbs? I appealed to his appetite, his pet peeves and his love of sports, of course. Here are the top ten ways I sold him on suburbia:

#10. Bike Paths and Forest Preserves - Lakefront, Shmakefront.
Who needs to dodge the running, biking and rollerblading
masses that swarm the shores of Lake Michigan?
#9. Thank You Express Train – A 45 Minute trip on the Metra will
transport us right back into the heart of the hustle and bustle.
Plus… no more long platform waits and stop-and-go commutes on
the drafty old EL
#8. Showed Him the Door – To the Basement of our New House
He always told me he wanted his own space to watch football,
keep his tools and hang is sports paraphernalia - Honey, Have at it!
#7. Goodbye Davis, Hello Catlow - Another neighborhood movie theater in our new neck of the woods
#6. Found Him a Place to Play Hoops - Signed Him Up at Good Shepherd Health and Fitness Center
#5. Wooed Him at Wool Street Grill - The closest sports bar & frosty
beverage are just a few blocks away
#4. Filled Him With Boloney at Boloney’s Sandwich Shop in
Barrington – He keeps asking me if I’m in the mood for a Sandwich
#3. Mayor Daley Made it Easier – Chicago’s Real Estate Transfer Tax
and Sales Tax are reason enough to say sayonara to the city
#2. Goebbert’s Pumpkin Farm - A great way to get our city friends to
to pile their kids in the car and pay us a Fall visit.
#1.  Hello Baby –  We found out we’re expecting our first child – just in
nick of time. Our baby is due in September and will love
the back yard and space here that would have cost so much more in any
of our favorite Chicago neighborhoods.

I sit, as I write, surrounded by unpacked boxes and giant balls of shriveled shrink wrap. The great irony is that since we’ve moved to the suburbs, business for me has picked up immensely in the city. I’m driving down there almost every day to show properties, connect with clients and check on listings. I’m happy to have so many reasons to go back. Bill is not the only one transitioning. We’re getting used to the new pace and change of scenery; new neighbors, new streets, parking places everywhere and far fewer sirens. Even a trip to good old Jewel feels a little foreign.

I’ve had so many clients who’ve made this move before me. Some who have shared my husband’s sense of major life change and even loss. It helps that we’re still so close to our favorite city and our friends. We’re settling, unpacking and adapting, one Boloney’s bite at a time.

Written by:
Liz Luby – REALTOR
The Luby Group – Coldwell Banker
Phone: 847-691-3150
Fax: 847-512-5466
Website: TheLubyGroup.com
Blog: BurbFeeder.com

All day yesterday I was collecting and organizing the email addresses of every visitor who has ever stopped by our website, and I had to laugh at some of the bogus email addresses people come up with. Don’t get me wrong, for the most part the visitors to our site are serious. They log in with their full names, phone numbers, property and email addresses. We love having these types of visitors and, over time, many of them become our clients. But we also get a kick out of the others, like Joe@Shmoe.com, Fred Flinstone at Bedrock@comcast.net and even good old Jeff Butthead at JButthead@Butthead.net. We don’t mind you looking, we understand what it feels like to not want to give up personal info and we’re not here to bother anyone who’s not interested in hearing from us. But we DO want to showcase some of your most creative “don’t bother me” email addresses and we’ve compiled a list of your TOP TEN BOGUS ONLINE ALIASES:

#10 * NoThanks@JustLetMeLook.com * Login: 7/2006
#09 * JoMamma@yahoo.com * Login: 12/2005
#08 * Abbott@Costello.com * Login: 06/2007
#07 * DontWannaRegister@yahoo.com * Login: 02/2007
#06 * NoneOfYourBusiness@NoChance.net * Login: 11/2005
#05 * Stinky@Winky.com * Login: 11/2006
#04 * PimpGeorge@yahoo.com * Login: 06/2006
#03 * Elvis@Elvis.com * Login: 11/2006
#02 * Bart@Simpson.com * Login: 07/2006
#01 * BeamMeUp@Scottie.com * Login: 11/2006

Believe me, there are others that get an “X” rating or are simply to mean to mention. (REALTORS have feelings, too!) There’s just something about that login screen that so often rears its head online. Until you trust the source on the other side, I don’t blame you for proceeding with caution or under the alias of your favorite superhero. It’s fun to see the humor in these few because we go there too sometimes. In the end, we hope to earn your confidence by providing enough information to make us worth your while.

Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Liz Luby, REALTOR®
The Luby Group – Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
847-691-3150