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As someone who recently moved to the Chicagoland area, I have observed a few things that may be useful tips for first-time visitors to the Windy City.

1. Wear comfortable shoes. Although Chicago is famous for its mass transit, it is also famous for its congested parking areas and the resulting pedestrian traffic. I've taken several awe-inspiring walks in downtown Chicago, and my feet have paid the price whenever I have worn fashionable shoes that were not designed for multi-mile treks. If you feel like you'd be out of place trading comfort for fashion in downtown Chicago, be sure to have your fashionable shoes broken in, wear durable pantyhose...and bring plenty of band-aids.

2. Bring a credit card with plenty of space on it. As I mentioned before, parking areas are hard to find, and they are often crowded. More importantly, they are expensive. While some parking garages have real, live attendants to take your money, most parking garages have automated payment machines, and those machines can get awfully picky over the number of wrinkles, ink spots, and whatnot on paper money. When it comes to parking in a garage, it really does help to use a credit card rather than cash. Before you use your card, though, make sure that the card reader doesn't look as though someone has tampered with it. Most payment machines in parking garages are pretty difficult to tamper with, though, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Other than paying for parking, credit cards are also a useful way to pay for lodging, entertainment, food, and various other purchases, such as clothes, vehicle rentals, and souvenirs. It is usually safer to purchase things with credit cards as opposed to cash when one is traveling as well.

3. Bring plenty of change. If you are one of the fortunate people who can get a metered parking space on a downtown Chicago street, you will find that the meters are cash-only, and odds are that they only accept quarters.

Also, many of the interstates that cut around and through Chicago are toll-roads, so you'll need change anyway to pay the tolls.

In addition, you may find it easier to take public transit to get from Point A to Point B, and most public transit requires either a card specific to that form of transit or cash to pay for your ride.

4. Plan for delays. Many roads in Chicago are heavily congested, even on Sundays. One of my biggest problems with living in Chicagoland is that it takes a very long time to get anywhere, especially downtown. Some drivers are especially dangerous,

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