Chicago can be a rough city. Sometimes it feels like everyone is being a complete asshole, and you just want to curl up in a ball for a daylong cry. But every once in a blue moon, everything comes together and goes your way. Here are a few of the ways you know that the Chicago gods are on your side.
1. You hop on a train that's going express to your destination—and you get a seat.
2. There isn't a wait when you arrive to your favorite brunch spot at 12:30pm on a Sunday.
3. After a treacherous winter snowstorm, some anonymous neighbor shovels the sidewalk in front of your house.
4. It doesn't rain at all during a three-day music festival you're attending.
5. You're recognized as a regular at your favorite bar, and you're given a free shot.
6. An out-of-town friend doesn't request to see Navy Pier, the Bean or eat deep-dish pizza while visiting.
7. The Tamale Guy shows up exactly when you need him.
8. You park illegally overnight and don't get a ticket.
9. You score the last two spots in line on Saturday morning for the Half Acre Brewery tour.
10. When summer finally arrives, you're able to get a table on the patio at Big Star.
11. Your co-worker's improv group doesn't suck.
12. There isn't surge rate on Uber during rush hour, terrible weather or after a concert.
13. No one steals your "dibbed" parking spot during the winter.
14. You pass through Wrigleyville without encountering an obnoxiously intoxicated bro.
15. The Bulls score 100 points at a game you're attending, and you redeem your free Big Mac.
16. You nab the last Divvy bike at the station and it's not broken.
17. You get the last dozen at Doughnut Vault.
18. The apartment photos you saw on Craigslist actually look like the apartment you're touring.
19. After five years of regularly riding your bike around town, you still haven't been hit by a car or doored.
20. You hop on the Dan Ryan during rush hour and there somehow isn't any traffic.
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