What lesson has living in Chicago taught you? Here’s what you said.

We asked readers what lessons they’ve learned living in Chicago. Here’s what you said, lightly edited for clarity:

“Living in Chicago has taught me that resilience and reinvention are in our DNA. This city doesn’t just rebuild after challenges — it re-imagines itself.”
— Andrew Arden Hayes, Portage Park

“To fold in my car mirrors when I park.”
— Camilla Inman

“Knowing your neighbors is like having an extended family and when one of us hurts, we help each other.”
— Rosie McCallister

“You better MOVE — pick up the pace — and compete day-in and day-out. No lollygagging! And show up early: 15 minutes early is on-time and on-time is late.”
— Walter Ohlson

“Just put it in the alley.”
— Carla Friedman

“Mild sauce is proprietary.”
— DeMario C. Love

“Wait three seconds at green lights.”
— Keith Baumann

“You might think you’re in a room full of people that you have nothing in common with until there’s a big snowstorm, and then suddenly everybody is the same. You could talk to people for hours, sharing stories about the snow and your memories of snowstorms from earlier days, and dibs and shoveling out neighbors.”
— Rachel Hyman

“You develop a bit of a big city edge with a Midwestern sensibility, tough Midwesterners.”
— Jay B. O’Neal

“Bring a jacket in your car.”
— Jay Jeremy

“The Chicago hack is to do the Polish Chicago-style.”
— Michael DiGioia

“We ask where you went to high school, no matter how old you are.”
— Patricia Tyson

“Thou shalt not park in a space from which someone else dug out snow.”
— Paul Romejko

“No matter where you go, you can’t get any better food than there is in Chicago.”
— Rosemary Ort-Willis

“Don’t get frustrated and angry driving in stop-and-go traffic on the expressways. No one else likes it either, and it won’t get you there any quicker.”
— William Horn

“Even if you leave Chicago after living there most of your life, Chicago never leaves your heart.”
— Maureen Las

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