This is wide open guys, not limited to downtown. I will start with three of my favorites:

Village Links GC
Prairie Path
No streetlights downtown

Freedom Four, 4th of July Parade, and Fireworks.

Christmas Walk

Walking or biking with my kids to a park on a sunny summer day after stopping for lunch or a snack downtown.

Having neighbors, friends, and acquantainces with opinions that might not concur with mine and still getting along.

A meal at Glen Oak with Tom greeting us and one of the hostesses asking my son if he had a banana split (she never forgets the time I let him order one for dinner instead of a regular meal).

Most of my neighbors.

The camaraderie.

The quaint streets.

The vast array of homes and income levels.

Glenbard West.

The hills.

The parks.

This message board.

The people.

The people who will buy the house with the horrible dogs across the street.

The trees.

The crazies in town.

The passion of its residents.

The holidays.

That those that leave GE seem to come back.

I love most everything about it...in fact, I even love it's flaws....it gives us something to talk about.

The only thing that really bothers me is the taxes....that's about it.....and those aren't much better anywhere else around here.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GE Fan,

Ted...

...and football Saturdays with Fan's antagonist.

No matter where I have lived, Glen Ellyn has always been home.

I love (in no order)…

That I can walk down the street at midnight in safety.
People still wave to strangers and open doors for them.
Being close, but not too close to Chicago.
The parks.
The lakes.
GBW.
Seeing people I know everyplace I go.
The library.
The Underpass.
That my kids are 6th generation Glen Ellyn.
The history of Glen Ellyn.
The geography of Glen Ellyn.
That my son discovered 4 different types of animal tracks in the back yard today.
Kids call you MR or MRS.
The Volunteer Fire Department.

I could go on, but I will finish by saying:

I love that even the things we wish to change or improve… downtown, schools, government, taxes, traffic, plowing, weather, streets, sidewalks, ETC. are still better than 99% of the places I have been.

OK, I'll repeat what I started in the Honey thread:

Roger and the bar at Vittorio's. (Am never satisfied with the food, though.)
Thipi Thai (both bar and food)
Shannon's
The appetizer menu at Tap House Grill
Figo (only went once but really enjoyed it)
Cab's
The Book Store
Good Works
Schmid's, at least the way it used to be; I don't find near as much there as I used to, but I still go in, because hope springs eternal.
That antiques place that's in that barn on Pennsylvania, only I think it moved and I forget its name and it's only open in the summer. I'm sure this is self-explanatory and everyone will immediately understand what I mean.
Glenbard Family Medicine and all its doctors
Einstein's, except I avoid it like the plague during lunch time
Starbucks
The Glen movie theater
Florist on Forrest
PotBelly
Young's Appliances
McChesney & Miller
Oberweis
Ditto Village Links; if only I played golf more (or, like - at all), because it truly is a gem of a place and the barbecue chicken salad in the restaurant is to die for.

There are other places I used to like - Pennsylvania Place when it was run by the people who sold it to the people who opened Villa Blanca; I used to love to go there on a Saturday and browse. I also liked Bananas, and occasionally Daffy Down Dilly (only very occasionally since it was so expensive, but it was nice for gifts), and the back room at Ciao Bella. But alas, these are all gone to the great retail boneyard in the sky.

Things I love

Arbor View School and its preschool teachers.
The trees
The parks
The many different animals skulking around
The lack of street lights so we can see the stars (when the cloud cover moves for 2 seconds)
The friendly helpful people
The library
The speed limit
The train crossings
The older homes
The volunteer Fire department
The Glen Oaks Oldie filled restaurant where my child will actually sit still and eat as long as we are in the train viewing room.
The Fireflys

The cicadas
Kids offering/or looking to shovel snow or mow your lawn (for extra money at times too)(like when I was a kid)
Kids going door to door to sell stuff and being in uniform!
Boy scouts clubs still going strong
Bunting
Patriotism
Flags on the houses
The tag line that our village can be called 'any town USA'
BR RYALL
Fellowship/community spirit
Enchantments
Dr. Clancy and Dr. Sikorski
COD is close
The owls
(husband loves the loud train at night and we live quite a ways a way and still here it)
On a windy day can here the GW marching band
Hearing the food fest music too on a windy day
The staff at: Shannons, Barones, Glen Oak
The mailcarriers

Willowbrook Wildlife Haven
The Parent/Tot gymnastics program (Fka "gym gumbies) for little ones
Coach Ed
The Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus
That even those with attitude are kind
That we welcome the tired, poor and hungry from LaGrange, Villa Park, Schaumburg, Palatine and even Elburn ...

quote:

That we welcome the tired, poor and hungry from LaGrange, Villa Park, Shaumburg, Palatine and even Elburn ...

LOL-Though it Schaumburg

The endless showing of the Lucas world premiere on Channel 17.

Never, ever, ever gets old.

Hi,

Some other things to love about GE:

For the kiddies:
Our baseball and soccer programs
Drama Club at D41 elementary schools
The way our town looks at Christmastime when downtown is decorated
The Polar Express train that our Park District has every year

Dads:
Having enough guys in town who like to play poker
At least 2 decent places to get a haircut
Proximity to both major airports

And for the Mommies:
Cosmos
Chicago Prime grocery on Roosevelt
A good mix of SAHM's and working Moms (at least at our school)

quote:

Roger and the bar at Vittorio's.

Ooh..good call!

Other than a few good neighbors, Preserve 41 and the people I have met through this board, my love tank is empty.

I love it that so many people who grew up here, are raising their families here. That says a lot about a community and explains the passion folks have.

Also, I love that the community rallies around others in times of crisis (sickness, death, etc.). Meals committees at schools and churches, etc. I remember someone from another area here during a sad time, told me that our community is special and unique. She remarked that she had not seen the level of caring in any other community in which she had previously resided.

Overall, the level of volunteerism and involvement in civic and charitable organizations.

The Prairie Path
Honey
Figo
Lake Ellyn Park
Boat Regatta
YMCA
Those weird street name markers
The Glen Art Theatre
Vittorio's
Diversity of homes
The Metra station
That it looks nice enough that movies have been filmed here
That the nicest homes in town are not in new subdivisions
4th of July parade