From the eyes of a newbie meeting a very wealthy man.
My first apartment was in Chicago's most successful neighborhood, the Gold Coast. I also worked in the area as a server waiting on Gold Coast residents for three years gaining some rather interesting stories.
Not everyone in the area was wealthy, but everyone was peculiar. My building in particular must have housed the most interesting characters in the area. There was a man that lived on the fourth floor who stored large black garbage bags filled with styrofoam heads in the laundry room. Every night around 7:30pm he would drag them from closets into the elevator and load them into grocery carts, bungee cording them in place. He would then pull the two carts down the street to a destination that I never knew. He was a nice guy, would sing a lot, but smelled and looked very dirty, I don't know if he even rented an apartment or if he just stored the styrofoam heads in the hallway closets and laundry room.
Anyway, yes peculiar characters for sure, as well as contradicting lives. The Gold Coast area has many dogs, and fur coats, a lot of homeless & lower class next to million dollar mansions. But one man from the Gold Coast gave me a piece of advice that put this neighborhood into perspective and changed the way I think of "class."
A regular to the restaurant I worked in, ordering the same thing every time, tipping excessively, and a staff favorite, had high expectations, as well as high rewards. He would bring in many business partners, was always smiling, and loved to talk. One night after a couple of drinks his chattiness increased as he talked about his work, his personal life, and his past. In this conversation I asked him, "So what was the secret to your success?" He replied,
"Success.......well.......luck. I was in the right place at the right time throughout my career, it is not something I could have planned, it was luck. Everyone has million dollar ideas, but it is who hears them that makes them successful, the right people heard mine at the right moment. Do the best you can and always be happy at every point in your life, that should be your focus. Being successful is not being wealthy, remember that."
He slipped me $50 and walked away.
So there it is, the Gold Coast is not the most successful area in Chicago, most likely not the happiest, just the most expensive zip code in Chicago, and probably home to the most interesting characters as well.
Hailey Schultz
My first apartment was in Chicago's most successful neighborhood, the Gold Coast. I also worked in the area as a server waiting on Gold Coast residents for three years gaining some rather interesting stories.
Not everyone in the area was wealthy, but everyone was peculiar. My building in particular must have housed the most interesting characters in the area. There was a man that lived on the fourth floor who stored large black garbage bags filled with styrofoam heads in the laundry room. Every night around 7:30pm he would drag them from closets into the elevator and load them into grocery carts, bungee cording them in place. He would then pull the two carts down the street to a destination that I never knew. He was a nice guy, would sing a lot, but smelled and looked very dirty, I don't know if he even rented an apartment or if he just stored the styrofoam heads in the hallway closets and laundry room.
Anyway, yes peculiar characters for sure, as well as contradicting lives. The Gold Coast area has many dogs, and fur coats, a lot of homeless & lower class next to million dollar mansions. But one man from the Gold Coast gave me a piece of advice that put this neighborhood into perspective and changed the way I think of "class."
A regular to the restaurant I worked in, ordering the same thing every time, tipping excessively, and a staff favorite, had high expectations, as well as high rewards. He would bring in many business partners, was always smiling, and loved to talk. One night after a couple of drinks his chattiness increased as he talked about his work, his personal life, and his past. In this conversation I asked him, "So what was the secret to your success?" He replied,
"Success.......well.......luck. I was in the right place at the right time throughout my career, it is not something I could have planned, it was luck. Everyone has million dollar ideas, but it is who hears them that makes them successful, the right people heard mine at the right moment. Do the best you can and always be happy at every point in your life, that should be your focus. Being successful is not being wealthy, remember that."
He slipped me $50 and walked away.
So there it is, the Gold Coast is not the most successful area in Chicago, most likely not the happiest, just the most expensive zip code in Chicago, and probably home to the most interesting characters as well.
Hailey Schultz
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