Courtney Jacquin

Does it seem like all of your friends are working in small companies lately? It might not be your imagination—Chicago is second in the nation for the number of fast-growing small businesses. More than 100 Chicago-based companies made it onto the Inc. 5000 list, an annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. The Chicago companies named to the list accounted for nearly 7,500 new jobs created and more than $4 billion in revenue. Three Chicago companies broke the top 100: ReVamp Electronics at number 50, Signal at 51 and Sprout Social at 78. Other Chicago companies to break the top 500 included Spikeball, Insureon, CarrierDirect, CETA Group and more. It's not easy for a company to make the list: To get into the top 500, which 10 Chicago businesses did, they needed a minimum of a 900-plus percent sales growth for three years. For more info on the list or to see all of the small businesses named to the list, see the Inc. 5000 list here. 

If the “Chicago Life” Snapchat story has taught us anything about Chicagoans on social media, it’s that we’re awful. There are a few social media offenses, however, that truly take the cake. Here are the five most annoying things Chicagoans do on social media (and yes, I’ve done at least three of them). 1. Complain about public transportation We know, it’s 8:52am and your train is just sitting on the tracks, not moving, with no end in sight. If you’re like most Chicagoans, you probably turn to Twitter and complain about the Brown Line screwing you over once again. Well, you probably should’ve left your apartment earlier, and @CTAFails isn’t going to help you. This also applies to Metra riders, even though the Metra is almost always worse. 2. Throw shade at suburbanites It’s hard not to get all judge-y when there’s a CTA car full of drunk folks from Naperville on their way to a Cubs game, but take deep breaths and remember, you too are from Naperville. Just because you’ve lived in Chicago for three years doesn’t give you the right to social media-shame them all just because they don’t have a zip code that starts with 606. But if they’re doing dumb things, you have my permission, it’s fair game. 3. Posting your 17th skyline photo on Instagram... in a row Congratulations, you go on “runs” after work along the Lakefront Trail. How great is that marathon training really going if you’re stopping every quarter mile to take photos anyway? I know it’s really awesome that we live in a

From now until October, Chicago is officially in the midst of apartment-hunting season. That can be exciting or terrifying, depending on which school of thought you come from (secret answer: it’s only terrifying). During this incredibly competitive period, it’s important to know what you want out of your apartment search. If you’re moving to Chicago for the first time, that can be even more complicated, but nothing a little preparation can’t fix. I’ve moved between July and September for the last four years in Chicago, and every time I’ve considered just giving up and living in a garbage can after just a few weeks in. Melanie Stone, real estate broker at Coldwell Banker, is a pro when it comes to knowing how to find an apartment. She shared her tips for making this time as stress-free as possible. 1. Get help: “Apartment hunting is insanely stressful,” Stone said. “When you work with a realtor, he or she does the leg work for you. We'll send you listings, drive you around to see your favorites and help you negotiate a lease.” Using services such as Chicago Apartment Finders or Apartment People can also alleviate stress, and all services are free. Don’t just troll Craigslist and hope something will come along, you’ll be pulling your hair out a week into the process. 2. One month out is the ideal time to look: “Start looking about a month before the day you want to begin your lease,” Stone said. “That's when the most inventory is up for grabs.” Some landlords will start to post

Chicago is a fantastic city to live in, and it’s easy telling others why we love it here. But if we’re being 100 percent honest with ourselves, Chicago isn’t perfect, and we’ve definitely learned to ignore some of the not-so-pleasant parts of living here, and often convince ourselves they’re not that bad. They usually are. 1. “The winter’s aren’t that bad." You can say after so many years, “I’ve gotten used to it,” or that if you’re wearing the proper coat/hat/gloves/boots, it’s doable. It’s not. Stop lying to yourself. This past winter we saw the fifth-largest snowfall in Chicago’s history, and this was considered mild compared to 2014’s Polar Vortex. 2. “I get plenty of sunlight in my garden apartment.” In the yearly apartment Olympics from May to October, it’s easy to get defeated, and that defeat can lead to signing the lease on an over-priced windowless apartment. Your window well is not a window, but hey at least you have laundry in your building. 3. “The Red Line doesn’t smell like pee.” No, it probably does. Unless it smells like puke. Always avoid that empty car in a packed train, and avoid wet seats…if you can tell they're wet. You just never know.  4. “Let’s go out in Wrigleyville! It will be fun!” No, no it will not. If it is, go back to college, or home to Schaumburg.  5. “The wait’s not too long at Big Star on this beautiful Saturday afternoon.” If it’s above freezing, you know you’re going to wait at least two and a half hours for your tacos and margaritas. Jus

Always bragging to your friends about how you don’t need a car in Chicago? Well you’re right—kind of. This week Redfin reported the most recent "walk scores" for major cities, the measure of “how walkable” a city is, and Chicago pulled in a No. 6 ranking with a walk score of 74.8. New York once again topped the list with an 87.6 rating, with San Francisco close behind at 83.9 (though the cardio is much better in San Fran). Boston, Philadelphia and Miami round out the top five. Chicago’s score puts it in the “very walkable” category, which means most errands can be accomplished on foot. “New York is clearly leading the way in walkability by reclaiming space from cars for people,” said Matt Lerner, Walk Score co-founder in the Redfin report. “One look at Times Square shows how New York has become a leader. It’s just one example of a place that went from being a gridlocked road full of cars to a park for pedestrians.” Current developments in Chicago, such as The 606 and a variety of CTA projects, are likely to increase the city’s walkability in the future. The 606, similarly to New York’s Highline, is repurposing unused elevated train tracks into a park that will span from west of Central Park Avenue to Ashland. The report also gave cities bike scores and transit scores, in which Chicago fared worse, bringing in a transit score of 65 and a bike score of 62. The report also broke down neighborhoods within the cities and ranked Near North the best, followed by Printers Row, Gold C

Going to school in Chicago definitely is not a traditional college experience, but if you studied at University of Chicago, Loyola or anywhere in between, you can know you had a better time in college than just about anyone else. Here's why. 1. The city is your classroom. Why learn about urban planning when you can see it first-hand? Why look at Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks on a projector when you can see it at the Art Institute? Going to school in Chicago allows students some of the best educational experiences at their fingertips, not just in a textbook. 2. All. Of. The. Food. Chicago is one of the culinary capitols of the world, so there are plenty of options when dining hall food just won’t cut it anymore. From Greek to Indian, Mexican to Chinese, Chicago has it all. 3. You like sports? Chicago’s got ’em. So you probably didn’t choose to go to school in Chicago for your school’s athletics—if you did you’re probably pretty disappointed—but luckily Chicago has some of the best teams in the country…and the Cubs. Universities will even have discounted tickets to games on certain days, so there’s no reason to miss out. 4. Oh, the music’s not bad either. Colleges in small towns will get bands to perform at their campus a few times a year if they’re lucky, but you can see live music every night of the week at some of the coolest venues. We also have these little music festivals called Pitchfork and Lollapalooza that you might have heard of. 5. You’ll get to have the coolest intern