From Vienna to Chicago: A Move from the First to the “Second City”

First impressions, a new beginning, and a steep learning curve

As of September 25th, 2023, I have moved from Vienna, Austria to Chicago, Illinois. As a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellow, I have joined the Field Museum of Natural History for the next two years. Here, I will work on an EU-funded research project entitled “X-KIN: Exploring Patterns of Prehistoric Kinship from Socio-Cultural Anthropological Perspectives.” Before flying west, my partner and I (I know, I am very grateful that he can join me), have flown east. We stopped in Istanbul, where we bid farewell to the Old World in the best possible style, with tea and baklava.

Upon arrival in Chicago, we had a few issues with moving to our apartment. However, we had a unique opportunity to stay with our agent in a landmarked house in South Loop. The house survived the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. While not being able to furnish the apartment immediately, we spent a couple of days enjoying the beauty of the Loop and the diverse neighborhoods that surround it.

During this time, I visited the University of Illinois campus, where I am currently a visiting scholar. I also celebrated with the first headstand in North America. This was in front of the Field Museum, where my office is based. The museum currently hosts The First King of Europe exhibition, worth a visit before January 2023.

The first two weeks were marked with finding our way around, collecting furniture for the 1-bedroom apartment on the 25th floor, and setting up our new home. We were fortunate to receive a family visit on our weekend #1 from Toronto, Canada. We cleared a few bucket-list touristy activities that the city has to offer. This includes the Navy Pier, which reminds me of Vienna’s Riesenrad, and an unforgettable Chicago River architecture tour.

On our first Sunday in the city, we drove south of Chicago, to attend a Slovenian Grape Harvest Festival. On the way there, we stopped in front of the Slovenian Women's Union of America. We also visited the now-closed Joliet Prison, where the TV series “Prison Break” was set. To my surprise, the show was very popular in Europe and Japan. However, the Joliet Prison Museum employees have not seen it. Finally, we celebrated furnishing the apartment (which is still an ongoing process) with a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.

On the first weekend of October, I attended ARIT – an Austrian Research and Innovation Talk in Los Angeles. This annual event is organized by ASciNA and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. I was fortunate to meet many amazing colleagues who have crossed the Atlantic before me. These scientists and scholars from Austria now crucially contribute to developing research, popular culture, and business across the US. Together with some of them, according to the Lonely Planet advice, we also visited one of the coolest streets—Abbot Kinney Boulevard—in California, just a short walk away from the Venice Canals and the more famous Venice Beach.

Upon my return to Chicago from LA, I attended a fall reception hosted by the Field Museum to celebrate the collaboration between the University of Illinois Chicago and the museum. Jointly, they train an inspiring next generation of anthropologists. The best students received awards, faculty were praised for their achievements, and new scholars were introduced. All this in an excellent company of animals, plants, food, and wine.

The first time I traveled south of the South Loop was for the University of Vienna Alumni meeting. The event took place in Hyde Park, where the University of Chicago is located. We were first greeted by the rector of the University of Vienna, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Sebastian Schütze and Hannelore Veit, a former correspondent from Washington for the ORF, an Austrian national TV channel, and now an Alumni Club president. All this in a former “ballroom” of a residential house, without live music this time.

I was officially introduced to members of staff at the Field Museum's Negaunee Integrative Research Center meeting. A few highlights from this first post-Covid in-person gathering included the recently published Science article on 10,000 earthworks being hidden through Amazonia and the metal and glass production in Africa. I was also fortunate to attend the “Women in Science Panel & Mixer” organized by the Field Museum Learning Center.

I am incredibly grateful for this amazing opportunity to be hosted at the Field Museum. Leaving the #1 among the most livable cities in the world was not easy. However, Chicago does not feel like a "Second City" (to New York or Vienna) at all! I have been warmly welcomed by my new colleagues and mentors as well as the richness and diversity that this place has to offer.

I learn every day. Including the local politeness that cannot be easily comprehended. For example, after a long wait, an employee at a UPC office greeted us by saying: “Thank you very much for waiting!” I initially ignored the comment as I thought: “Well, I am here as I need you and not the other way around.” After they repeated the sentence, I figured out this would have been almost impossible in Vienna. I was feeling confused. Hence, not ready to answer such a greeting. There is much to learn in the "Second City" that feels much more like the “First”.