IS WHERE YOU LIVE THE ANSWER OR THE QUESTION?

There's a twisting history to the story of our cities. Chicago is a classic case, but hardly the only case...!

Back when our ancestors were still living in caves and hunting for food, the idea of a city made about as much sense to them as settling down does to a bachelor. But in time, cities happened and cities flourished. From ancient Athens and Alexandria to modern New York and Paris.

Then another twist in the story -- suburbs. Following World War II, our cities began to seem too crowded, too dirty, too dangerous. Enter the mythology of the American Suburb. Those greener, larger, cleaner, expanses of luxuriant land where you could raise bigger homes and nicer kids!

Now a half century later, we've seen the myth reach so far out into the countryside, there's little countryside left. And besides, many of our sociologists have noticed that crime, drugs and pathologies happen in Happyland just as much as in Cityland. We're finding the only place where living is perfect is in Disneyland!

So here in the Chicago of 2009 the human race is discovering an old and inconvenient truth. Being a cave dweller, a farmer, a city dweller or a suburbanite is simply where you live. What really counts is how you choose to live there. And that issue even the sociologists seem willing to delegate to a higher authority. Namely, the philosophers and theologians. You know, those funny folks with the beards, pipes, and sweaters on campuses and in coffee shops furiously searching for answers in more than the statistics about space, air quality, sound levels and crime rates.

It's only one man's guess here, but I'm guessing they have more to make us think about than all the ads of all the realtors in all the world. So where's your real estate and what have you been doing with it lately? I mean besides trying to cheat a little on your taxes!