Ep. 20: Toy Hawkins on Woodlawn, Douglas, Making It In the TV Business, and More!

Meet Toy Hawkins, a resident of the Douglas neighborhood with deep roots in Chicago, who shares her journey from Woodlawn to Hollywood as a TV producer. We discuss the evolution of her childhood neighborhood, Chicago's real estate landscape, and Toy's successful projects like "That Girl Lay Lay" and "Kingdom Business," among others. The conversation dives into the impact of Chicago's culture on her career, future goals, and the importance of family heritage. Tune in to hear about the resilience, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit that defines Toy’s story.

The Living in Chicago Podcast is where I, Jake Lyons, get to interview all kinds of people about the Chicago neighborhoods they live in, work in, and play in. This way, you can learn about the lifestyle pros and cons of various neighborhoods directly from the people who live there (or maybe even learn something new about your own neighborhood!)

More from Toy:

https://www.instagram.com/toymonique/

https://www.netflix.com/title/81443738

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Want to be a guest on the show?

https://www.livinginchicago.com/guest-form

About The Host:

https://linktr.ee/jakelyonsrealtor

Real Estate in areas discussed:

https://www.thechicagohomesource.com/douglas/

Real Estate Quick Start Questionnaire 

https://www.thechicagohomesource.com/form/

The following transcript was generated automatically and was not carefully checked for errors

[00:00:00] Jake: All right, joined here today by Toy Hawkins, she is a current resident of the Douglas neighborhood, I believe I have that right, but she has Been in a few different areas in the Chicago land area throughout her life. And for a little spell there, went over to, uh, LA and got all Hollywood on us and became a TV producer, but she never forgot where she came from.

[00:00:20] Jake: She you know, still has her roots here in Chicago. And That is what, what she's here to talk about now. So, hey, Toy, how are you?

[00:00:26] Toy: I'm great, Jake. Thanks for having me.

[00:00:29] Jake: Absolutely. Thank you for being here. So, yeah, let's just, we can just go ahead and just start right from the beginning. I hear that's a very good place to start, according to some stories out there. So you were raised, born and raised in the woodlawn area, correct?

[00:00:43] Toy: I was 63rd in Ellis and fun fact, I grew up and decided I wanted to go and buy my childhood two flat. And renovated and get all excited about, you know, kind of having those nostalgic memories. And I drove over there and discovered they'd already demolished the building and erected like these beautiful condos.

[00:01:03] Toy: But yeah, 6332 South Ellis. That's where I grew up. Best childhood

[00:01:07] Jake: All right. Yeah. So tell me about that. What was what was growing up in Woodlawn like? Right.

[00:01:14] Toy: fun. I'm not shy about my age, but I grew up in the 80s in that area. And you know, it was obviously a different experience than any of what children do nowadays because you actually played outdoors. But my family, we had the respect of the neighborhood. My grandmother, it was her building, a two story building.

[00:01:35] Toy: And my grandmother had seven children. So me and all my cousins grew up in the same two story building, all living together. And so there was probably, I don't know, I think there was 10 of us. Grandkids. And so we're all in this building. So it was always lots of fun and fighting and playing and parties.

[00:01:52] Toy: And, you know, I was a little bit of a tomboy. So just being able to be outside doing the hopscotch and jump rope, rope and flipping over like the, the poles. And what I mean is like, most people didn't really have a full fence in front of their yard. It had probably fallen apart, but the poles remained in the ground.

[00:02:09] Toy: And So we use them for our acrobatic experiences. Climbing trees, garages, chalk on the sidewalk. When I say best childhood ever, I mean it. I loved it. 63rd and Ellis extended to I want to say 65th, if I'm going in the right direction. We all went to Alexander Dumas Elementary School. So that was a really long block, and we would all walk together as kids in a group going to school.

[00:02:40] Toy: And that's something that's unheard of nowadays, like kids going to school walking alone, right? But that's what made it special. We had to have each other's backs. We, we fought together like you didn't dare mess with anybody in our family. But, you know, but we were also able to fight each other because you knew that you could only fight.

[00:02:58] Toy: So, you know, play fight so much without really getting in trouble from your parents or grandparents. So this is a different experience. I will share, though, there was this one abandoned Building or abandoned house on the block. And I want to say this was probably 64th when you right when it's a 64th before the park that's there, I think, and gosh, it's been a long time.

[00:03:19] Toy: I'm going through memory. I should have pulled up a map so I could make sure I'm getting this right. But there was this one abandoned house and there was this, I guess the term is hobo, forgive me if I'm saying that wrong, but a homeless guy who hung out there. And he was so scary and creepy, but me and my cousins.

[00:03:35] Toy: We would just walk past that building or past this guy and we would all do silly things like distort our faces or walk really weird because we were trying to like out scare this guy because we were scared. Ineffective doesn't work but it just was so funny how as kids We were trying to come up with things, you know, when enjoying our neighborhood and just to feel like we were safe when we felt unsafe, but it wasn't really a concern.

[00:04:04] Toy: It was just the mentality of being a child, I guess, but good

[00:04:10] Jake: Yeah. I mean,

[00:04:11] Toy: I

[00:04:12] Jake: when that's all when that's all you know, it's like, you know, what's your what even is your your paradigm of what's what's safe or not? I mean, what looking back on that now, I guess as a as a, you know, as an adult looking back on your childhood, what were you? Were you safe or what, you know, what, or what would be the kind of like how you grew up there compared to what it is now and what you've seen over the course of time and all that or

[00:04:33] Toy: mean, what's funny is I have been to that neighborhood once or twice and it's such a highly sought after area right now, especially with things like the Obama library coming and all of the, you know, the, the evolution in the neighborhoods and businesses and all of that. But I would say. Exactly, but growing up it did not have that reputation.

[00:04:52] Toy: It was probably considered more of an unsafe area growing up. But I pretty tough family too. So I think that we didn't walk around with fear or anything. But I would not, like, compared to now, I would not ever recommend anyone do, like, parent or do the things that we were able to do, you know, like, sending your kids to walk two blocks to school, even in a group, like, that's just a no.

[00:05:18] Toy: And I'm talking, you know, I think we were probably. Seven, eight years old. We weren't even preteens. So, I mean, there were preteens among us, but it was still, I think, a different era, different time. Not that there weren't kidnappings and other things to worry about, but I don't know, it was just, it was the time of cracking open the fire hydrant and letting the water spray in the streets and you're playing in the water right now.

[00:05:43] Toy: The concern is, you know, water waste and making sure the fire department has enough water to put out fires so you wouldn't do that anymore. It's just an evolution of time that we just can't get back. But I do think that the area has evolved again. I wish that we hadn't lost my grandmother's building.

[00:06:01] Toy: I think that that would be a great asset to have right now in our family. But you know, and it's, it's a, it's a nostalgic place in time that me and all 10 of my cousins. Whole deer, and I think it's made us a lot of who we are growing up in that area. So I, I think even to get something now in that area, I think for personal reasons, it would be a get it would be a plus.

[00:06:24] Toy: But, but, yeah, it was definitely a different time.

[00:06:29] Jake: personal reasons and potential, you know, financial gains down the line. Like we said, it's a, it is a fast growing neighborhood. So,

[00:06:35] Toy: for sure. For sure. Yeah. Yeah, it was a different time. I mean, that was. Sorry, go ahead.

[00:06:40] Jake: Not good.

[00:06:41] Toy: I was just going to say that was a time when you had all the projects up to, you know what I mean? Like, this was the 80s. So you still have, like, the green, the icky's, you know, and, and even, you know, closer to the lake was really more of a you know, a housing for more impoverished or, you know, less fortunate families that, that has now been a migration to the south and the suburbs.

[00:07:02] Toy: And so, you know, It's become prime real estate being closer to the lake. Obviously I'm preaching to the choir or the choir director, I should say. But I think that That's an unfortunate change where, you know, people like my grandmother, you know, who wasn't able to keep her house even with seven children who grew up to become seven adults and possibly could have helped to save it.

[00:07:23] Toy: But because I grew up in a family that didn't really ask for help or share some of the challenges they adored. I feel like that was a loss that we could have avoided had we been a more open family and communicated struggles and challenges together. And I say we but I'm referring to my grandmother and then obviously you know her seven kids so what she said.

[00:07:41] Toy: Okay guys, you are 19 now or 21 now time to get a job I need you to help out with this mortgage or whatever it is you know, we would have been able to retain that asset. So it's unfortunate. Transcribed especially for someone like me, who grew up to have a mind for real estate and investment and things like that.

[00:07:58] Toy: Who would love to get something now, but it would have been pennies on the dollar then versus now. So, just all of those things constantly, I'm constantly thinking about and. And I guess if I could turn that into an encouragement for anyone who would be listening to me today, it would be you know, hold on to that family asset.

[00:08:14] Toy: Don't just sell it off, you know, find a way to, to, to keep it find ways to, you know, to, you know, renovated or updated, or at least maintain it. So it's not become doesn't become dilapidated or deteriorate because down the road, it could be, you know, advantageous to have it.

[00:08:31] Jake: Yeah, yeah, I can actually, I can relate to that story on a, on a personal level as well. Apparently the house I grew up in was lost. I grew up with my grandparents in Indianapolis and that house was lost over what apparently was a 3, 500 tax bill.

[00:08:47] Toy: Isn't that crazy? Oh, that's

[00:08:48] Jake: it was paid off. The house was paid off and everything.

[00:08:51] Jake: It was a 3, 500 tax bill that ended up and yeah, I grew up like my family. Same thing. Like nobody, if there was a problem, you kept it to yourself. You definitely never, you never, definitely never talked about, you know, money or anything like that. You know, all that kind of stuff. Like pride, pride running high.

[00:09:07] Jake: You know, all that kind of stuff.

[00:09:09] Toy: Oh, that's upsetting. Oh, that's upsetting.

[00:09:12] Jake: And I just learned that I just learned that actually a couple, like within the last year, probably that that's what it was. I thought it was, I knew, obviously I knew they lost the house, but I thought it was a, a much like, you know, more difficult situation. And I was like, oh, come on.

[00:09:25] Jake: If we had known we all definitely could have scrounged together 3, 500. If

[00:09:28] Toy: You know, it's kind of created. Go fund me.

[00:09:32] Jake: Yeah. Seriously. I just Uber, like I could have Ubered a couple, you know, for a couple of weeks and just like, You know, hauled ass and just gotten that done. But

[00:09:40] Toy: Absolutely. Yeah. So anyone that's, that's dealing with that now, obviously like money has changed. So 3, 500 then compared to now is probably even if it was 35, 000. Like now, like that's this, that's the equivalent, like figure out how to come up with 35 K, save the property, you know, especially if it's in the city of Chicago, like figure it out, make it happen, you know, second city, like it will thrive, it will survive, it will do well.

[00:10:07] Toy: So yeah, that's please don't have me and Jake story anyone listening don't don't experience. Yeah.

[00:10:15] Jake: Round up, everyone. Everyone, you know, don't let yeah, just don't don't let don't become a tax sale. Don't can become, you know, anyway. Yeah. So cool. All right. So Woodlawn, you're how long were you in Woodlawn?

[00:10:27] Toy: So my my mother she went off and bought her first house when I was nine and a half about to turn 10. So my first 10 years I was there, but my, my grandmother still has a property after we left for probably another three years. So I want to say so that brings us to, like, the early mid early 90s.

[00:10:51] Toy: I'm an 81 baby. So so now we're talking about, you know, 93 maybe. So we did a brief a brief stint in Chatham. Where we went from 63rd and Ellis to 78th and Langley, there used to be a Reggio's pizza right there on 79th street. I think that's a black owned pizzeria. If I'm not mistaken. Forgive me

[00:11:10] Jake: Still today.

[00:11:11] Toy: Yeah, still today, not at that location, but they're still in business. They are still in Chatham. They now have a bigger restaurant closer to 87th and cottage grove where the target used to be is now I discover. Hub or something for the discover card. But a bigger rest sit in restaurant location there.

[00:11:29] Toy: They used to be on on 79th, as I mentioned my mother had that house there for. 2 years with her then fiance. And then she met her husband and she basically handed over the keys to that house to her then fiance and so he continued to live there and we moved to Jeffrey Manor. From Chatham to Jeffrey Manor when I was 11 and still have that property to this day.

[00:11:55] Toy: So I spent, I'd say like the first 10 years at Woodlawn, then two years over there in Chatham and then the rest of my childhood in Jeffrey Manor.

[00:12:05] Jake: Jeffrey and all these areas are like pretty, pretty striking distance within from each other, right?

[00:12:11] Toy: Yeah. Yeah. If we're talking plot points, you're, you're almost making a triangle or at least a, an L, you know? So, yeah, I bounced around, but they're all South side of Chicago. And my mother, again, she remarried, so, she and my dad split when I was very young, like, three years old. And, but my dad lived on the west side of Chicago, so while I never claimed residence on the west side, I would frequent the west side of Chicago with my dad.

[00:12:37] Toy: So he lived, like, I'm not as well versed on the west side, but he lived, like, 8 South Mayfield, and then someplace else over west. So I've had some experiences on the west side. I know there's this ongoing argument about which side is the worst side south siders, say the west side, west siders, say the south side, north siders say every side, but the the north side.

[00:12:59] Toy: So, but but yeah, I've definitely lived all over the south side for sure.

[00:13:06] Jake: Yeah.

[00:13:07] Toy: Yeah,

[00:13:07] Jake: Yeah. Okay. Is that a is that a competition that anyone wants to win or is that is it Is it a point of pride to say? No, we're the worst or are you trying to say? No, you're the worst,

[00:13:18] Toy: I, I think. I think it's the latter. It's the, the, the point of pride is to say, no, you're the worst. Like we're bad, but you're worse. Or, you

[00:13:26] Jake: Okay.

[00:13:26] Toy: know, I don't think anyone wants to be associated with being the worst. I think we, I think every side would unanimously agree that Spike Lee was wrong and we're not Chiraq.

[00:13:37] Jake: Yes

[00:13:38] Toy: but it's, it's, I don't think any different from the Sox versus Cubs. Debate, know, like if you think about it in terms of that Lynn, I think it's, it's similar. It's like, yeah, no team cubs. Yeah. Nope. Team socks. Right. So, yeah, it's, it's kind of that, that debate, but, you know, I think, I think being a Chicago in is one of the most amazing and fascinating.

[00:14:06] Toy: arguments you can have. I think that even, you know, as I made my trek to Hollywood and been there the past seven and a half years, Chicago and seem to find each other. And it's such a beautiful thing. It's fascinating the way you find each other. You're just talking to someone literally just was talking to a, a screenwriting instructor and who does this bootcamp in California.

[00:14:28] Toy: And we were just talking about his bootcamp. And then he said, you know, I said, Oh yeah, I'm in Chicago at the moment. And he goes, Oh my God. Yeah. I used to live there. I used to live in West Rogers park, which they're renaming now or something. And I'm just like, Oh my.

[00:14:41] Jake: Mm hmm.

[00:14:42] Toy: We always find each other. And so, and it's a beautiful thing because when we do, there's automatically like a bit of favoritism.

[00:14:49] Toy: It's like, oh yeah, this is my tribe. So I just love that about us as Chicagoans when we are transplanted somewhere else, we still ride for each other. It's great.

[00:14:59] Jake: definitely. Yeah. Yeah. And then the, the micro, you know, what neighborhood are you from or what side of town are you from matters a lot less when you, when you run into somebody, you know, that far away is like, Oh, it could be from the South side, meeting somebody from Schaumburg, but it's still like, Oh, we're from the same, you know, part of the world.

[00:15:16] Jake: Let's connect, you know?

[00:15:18] Toy: we, we all have our same stripes or, or we've all endured winters. And so we think we're a little bit tougher because we've endured winters, but I do like to quietly tease that, like, yep, we endured those winters by hibernating. It's just like, we're so tough. But when you're on the West coast, it does matter.

[00:15:35] Toy: Then we have the conversations about our blood thinning and how, you know, if we don't go back often, then we are not as tough as we used to be. And it's just this hilarious. Dialogue. But you're right. We talk about what side of town a little bit, but it matters less. I think we end up talking about when you meet someone again, outside of Chicago, who, who lived in or is from Chicago land.

[00:15:54] Toy: It's always the question of what side of town are you from? And then what high school, what school did you go to? There's always a conversation about high school. I don't care if you went to grad school, got your doctorate. If they say, what school did you go? It's always about high school. Yeah. And it's just such a telling things like, oh, I went to Whitney Young.

[00:16:11] Toy: Oh, I went to CVS. And so it's just a beautiful experience unless you're not from Chicago and you're stuck on a zoom or in a meeting with Chicagoans talking about it. And then you're just super annoyed that we've gone on this diatribe about Chicago and its geography and just, you know, the fascinating beauty of our neighborhoods and experiences.

[00:16:30] Toy: So. But it's always beautiful to

[00:16:32] Jake: sure. Yeah. So that can be that can, this, the talking about meeting people abroad that are from Chicago can be a nice little segue into what got you into TV production and that, you know, that kind of, that kind of art and what, you know, eventually got you out to LA and yeah, just kind of walk me through that whole thing.

[00:16:50] Toy: Oh, sure. Sure. So I I actually did go to CVS and that's a vocational school right now. They're actually on the list of I think it's called the list of Chicago buildings or infrastructures that are in dire need of preservation. So it's a huge building. I think I read in the cranes article recently, the crane Chicago business article that.

[00:17:11] Toy: It it usually holds somewhere from four to 6, 000 students, but right now there's like 800 students enrolled. So the building is at risk of deterioration and, and and it just, you know, from lack of use. So that's kind of painful to hear because it's a beautiful school, it's a vocational school that equips a lot of people with, you know, with traits and skills like auto mechanics or horticulture.

[00:17:33] Toy: For me it was food services, hospitality food services. And so I I started there and I actually worked in hospitality. I ran hotels for a while. In fact, when I went to Northern Illinois University for undergrad I went, I worked in hotels to kind of offset my college expenses. While pursuing a a colleague, my collegiate career majoring in technology.

[00:17:55] Toy: At the time, you know, technology was super hot. It still is today, but it was like this new thing. And it was this, this guaranteed, you know, path to success if you pursue technology. So I followed in my aunt and uncle's footsteps. I did pursue technology. I went on to work in technology as a programmer and then grew and kind of climbed the ladder to become a Consultant basically client facing and getting them to buy into the technology interface that we were selling or that we were providing.

[00:18:21] Toy: But. I felt like something was lacking because I was only operating on the left side of my brain. I was only using one side and I'm actually left and right brain. So I would feed the right side of my brain with things like local stage plays, or, you know, being involved in the creative aspects of things at my church volunteering for certain things.

[00:18:43] Toy: So just looking for a way to kind of feed myself creatively. And then as I was working in technology one of the groups actually the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, which I volunteered, they reached out because a producer from Hollywood wanted wanted volunteers to help as extras for a little bitty film called The Dark Knight, which was shooting in Chicago on LaSalle Street.

[00:19:08] Toy: I'll And so I volunteered and I, you know, showed up in my all black and I was on LaSalle Street watching in my all black watching Heath Ledger run by me, scary as heck in person watching,

[00:19:22] Jake: the flipping the semi truck scene. Yeah.

[00:19:24] Toy: yeah. Oh my God, to be there is fascinating, even though they do so many things like in post, post production, seeing what they do live was life changing.

[00:19:34] Toy: I got to see the famed director, Christopher Nolan, working with Maggie Gyllenhaal with her amazing outfits. She was just looking I mean, gorgeous. And

[00:19:43] Jake: Academy Award winner.

[00:19:44] Toy: Academy Award winner, Christopher Nolan, exactly. And so just

[00:19:49] Jake: hours old there.

[00:19:50] Toy: I know, right. So just being in that setting I often say, like, I fell in love with Hollywood that day.

[00:19:58] Toy: I stood there for 12 hours because movies take a long time and you do things over and over and over again, but I did not mind. And after that experience, I did research to find out, like, how can I learn more about this industry? Up until that point, my only experience with television was figuring out or TV or movies was figuring out, like, What we call continuity errors.

[00:20:21] Toy: This is the term, but you know, like if you watch TV or a movie and you see like the person's hair is in the front and then it's in the back and then it's in the front. So it's like, that's, you know, I would always point out those things. And I never really understood why I was obsessed with that.

[00:20:34] Toy: Obviously I understand now it's the producer in me, but that day I fell in love with film. I started to research. How I can be involved in this industry. What is this industry? And so I ended up going to a school that's closed now, but in Chicago, it was called act one studios. It was the private school that taught acting.

[00:20:52] Toy: Because I thought again, looking at Christopher Nolan with Maggie Gyllenhaal, that's what I'm supposed to do, right? If Heath Ledger can be this creepy and be a real person, like clearly that's my path. Well, I studied it and I realized how vulnerable you have to be to be an actor. And I was like, yeah, no, no, no.

[00:21:07] Toy: I don't want to have my feelings exposed that much. So maybe there's another way to be involved. And that's when I came across Columbia College, Chicago, which is one of the top film schools. It's right here in the city of Chicago. And they have a beautiful cinema art and science program. I went there as a grad student because I'd already done undergrad in technology.

[00:21:26] Toy: I was an adult. I was working professional. And I enrolled there in, I think, 2012. And through their program, I learned creative producing, which was a great program that allowed me to use a lot of my soft skills and transferable skills from my career as a consultant and programmer in this world of entertainment.

[00:21:44] Toy: So a producer is really just the person that. That can see the vision for a project, film, TV, whatever it is, and bring all the right people together, make sure that the money is right, raise the money, find, you know, all the right resources, and help kind of chug that process along from concepts of completion.

[00:22:02] Toy: That's like the most layman's example of what a producer is right. So, it wasn't too different from what I was doing in technology as a consultant. Right. Except I was doing it in technology for people that were retiring or dying. It was an HR outsourcing. So that was the most exciting thing. And this industry allowed me to do it for.

[00:22:21] Toy: You know, people's imaginations, right? People that, you know, who could come up with a story or a concept and then work together with other people to bring that vision to life and form a project that allows us as consumers to experience escapism or, you know, nostalgia or whatever it is the, the theme or the intention of the project is.

[00:22:40] Toy: So I did that with Columbia, learned all that I could about film, then they have this program called Semester in LA, where I went to LA for eight weeks and immersed myself in California and Hollywood. And at the end of that program, you're meant to decide if you want to uproot your life and give it a shot.

[00:22:58] Toy: And I was willing to do that, but not uproot my life completely. So I negotiated with my company at the time to allow me to work remotely way before the whole world was working remotely and unheard of at the time. And because I had such great work ethic and my performance reviews were great, they were willing to take a shot on letting me be 100 percent remote.

[00:23:19] Toy: And I went to L. A. as an intern and you know, set my sights on a company that I thought created content that I, you know, would like to create that company is called will Packer productions. Will Packers company is known for movies like girls trip. Think like a man think like man to. Little with Marcy Martin, the youngest executive producer in Hollywood to date.

[00:23:40] Toy: And so that's where I wanted to work. And I was willing to go in as an intern and I I, again, negotiated with my tech company that I would not miss a beat. My only ask was to work remotely and to be able to work with the team, the tech team in the Manila Philippines, because. The Philippines start of the day was Los Angeles, Los Angeles is end of the day.

[00:24:02] Toy: So for two, two plus years, about two years and four months, I worked both jobs. I climbed the ladder from intern to executive, I mean, intern to assistant to manager while you know, supporting my tech team in the, in the Philippines. So I'd be working for Will Packer from nine in the morning to seven at night.

[00:24:22] Toy: Then drive to my L. A. townhouse where I had a amazing roommate who I love and who thought that I was a robot because I didn't sleep and I would log on by 9 PM and work with the Manila team until I couldn't do it anymore. And then rinse and repeat. And that's how I got my real life education in entertainment quickly because I had already, I think not lost years because I think.

[00:24:46] Toy: The time I didn't spend in LA going straight from college or an undergrad program into entertainment, I made up for by having professional experience and a strategic plan and focus. But that's how I ended up there. It literally started with

[00:25:00] Jake: And a source of income

[00:25:02] Toy: and a source of income.

[00:25:04] Jake: you were doing it, while you were launching your other career. So I

[00:25:07] Toy: There was no way I was going to let go of that income.

[00:25:09] Toy: I'm like, guys, I can, all I need is a laptop to do technology. I don't need to be in an office. I don't need a team of people. My team's in another country. Anyway, even before the Philippines requests, I think my whole team was in Gurgaon, India. So I almost never worked with anyone in the US. So that was what sparked my request to, you know, work remotely.

[00:25:29] Toy: So when it came around for the pandemic and everyone working remotely, I was literally giving people tips and advice on how to be, you know, diligent and focused and like, never work from your bedroom, never, you know, have a separate set. I was like giving all these tips. And I mean, other people do it now too, but people were freaking out, like, how could they get their work done at home?

[00:25:46] Toy: And I'm like, yeah, no, you literally, when it's an audio call, you put on your headset and you put a load of laundry in, like you, you take advantage of the benefits. Yeah, it's great.

[00:25:56] Jake: So, by my count, you were sleeping, what, like, negative three hours a day? I think that's what my math came out to be.

[00:26:02] Toy: Yeah, I feel like, on average, I'd probably be in bed by 3. 30 in the morning LA time. So 5. 30 Chicago time. And then, yeah probably back up by, I don't know, 6. 37. So I did get some sleep. But, but because, you know, I think something happens when you're not a college student anymore, where you actually need sleep So as I started to get older, you know, I, I couldn't make that sacrifice anymore. But but honestly it was just, it was actually a crutch, if I'm honest. Yes. Having the income helped, but it wasn't until I decided, like almost two and a half years into that, that career shift, once I decided to like. Cut the safety net and go all in with you know, entertainment and trust that I had what it takes to be successful doing that.

[00:26:53] Toy: That's when things really started to take off. So a lot of times I get, you know, mentees or, you know, students from my alma mater who want to know, can they do multiple things? Can they, you know, how they can, you know, kind of straddle the fence between two careers, et cetera, et cetera. And I always tell them like, you're going to have to sacrifice something for me.

[00:27:11] Toy: It was sleep and socializing. I was not able to build a lot of the relationships earlier in my entertainment career which matters so much in this business. So I was a little delayed in that, but fortunately I love meeting people. I'm a social butterfly. I really enjoy being in the room, hearing people's stories, come, you know, conversing about, you know, their, their journey.

[00:27:31] Toy: So I was able to kind of make up that time a little bit, but for a lot of people, it's not that easy. And it's actually, there may be, they may be introverted or ambiverted and it's a little more challenging to build those relationships. So I think you have to think about that, especially if it's entertainment, but I do believe that for me, that was the sacrifice.

[00:27:47] Toy: And I tell these, these mentees that you have to make a sacrifice no matter what it is, and then you're going to have to make a decision. I don't think doing both is is sustainable. Or doing multiple things is sustainable. I think you're going to have to have a singular focus at some point. And for me, it took about 2 and a half years for me to say, you know what, I'm going to go all in.

[00:28:05] Toy: Yes, I could have done both, but they would have been like. Success to a certain level doing both. But as I saw for me, once I, you know, cut that safety net, I was able to elevate that much further. And I'd gone from manager to vice president at BET and BET studios just by focusing on. entertainment and letting go of, of, you know, the paycheck that I had then.

[00:28:27] Toy: And it was a great decision because that meant greater, you know, pay just by, you know, focusing on the one thing as opposed to trying to hold on to the, what was a great living, don't get me wrong, I'm not poo pooing technology, it's a great way to earn But once I decided to kind of cut bait, I was able to really achieve kind of greater success and, and I'm still on my way.

[00:28:48] Toy: I'm still growing, learning and improving. But yeah, I'm happy that I decided to just focus on one goal. One industry.

[00:28:56] Jake: I'm now for the real estate stats corner presented by me, Jake Lyons, real estate advisor here in the Chicago area with @properties and my website, the Chicago home source. com in this segment, I am going to present three statistics about the Douglas neighborhood, even though we're talking about a few different neighborhoods.

[00:29:11] Jake: The current place of residence for my guests is the Douglas neighborhood. So we'll focus on that. The three stats that I am focusing on are going to be the median sales price for two bed condos, the median sales price for houses of at least three bedrooms, which most houses have three bedrooms, at least anyway, and then the medium rental price for a two bedroom apartment in the Douglas neighborhood of Chicago.

[00:29:32] Jake: I do this because though I may be biased, what really is a neighborhood without real estate? So I figure it's a very relevant topic to bring up whenever we're talking about any neighborhood at all. So with that all being said, the median sales price for a two bed condo right now, which right now means May of 2024.

[00:29:53] Jake: So obviously whenever you're listening to this, the numbers are probably different, but this is just a snapshot in time of what people are willing to pay to live in this area. The median price for a two bed condo in the Douglas neighborhood is two, let's just call it $205,000. The median sales price for a house of at least three bedrooms in the Douglas neighborhood is $499,900.

[00:30:13] Jake: So basically right at $500,000. And the median sales price or the median rental price, I should say for a two bed condo, the sales, the sales info was provided by info sparks, the rental provided by rental meter. Just so you know, the median sales, the median rent price for a two bed apartment is 1, 700. So there you have it.

[00:30:35] Jake: There's a quick snapshot of residential real estate in Douglas. Obviously there are a lot more variables to that. If you were interested in having a further conversation about the Douglas neighborhood, real estate, uh, please go ahead and reach out. If you want to see what's available right now in that area or any area in the Chicago land, um, region, go ahead and visit the Chicago home source.

[00:30:55] Jake: com and that link will be in the show notes.

[00:30:58] Jake: Yeah. And what what is that? What does that success look like so far? What are some projects that you've done that you're proud of? What is, you know, toy from woodlawn gone on to do out there?

[00:31:09] Toy: I know that's so funny toy from Woodlawn and I have to share this because my family and I, we, even though we've all moved on and lived in different places I even lived in Rogers Park. I had a house in Glenwood Homewood I've lived all over, you know, I lived in Wheeling I've lived, you know, I worked in Lincoln Shires so like I've been all over the Chicagoland area.

[00:31:27] Toy: But yes I am toy from Woodlawn and my family and I we always say six tray all day so trade meaning three right so. We at our core we are six tray all day. So, yes, toy from from Woodlawn 63rd. I have a few projects that I'm really proud of. A few of them to note are Kingdom Business, it's a TV series that is in the second season of it.

[00:31:54] Toy: It did two seasons, it's on BET plus, and it's a beautiful series with a lot of musical talent from the gospel Christian music and inspirational music. And so it's, it stars Yolanda Adams and Michael Beach and Michael Jai White and a few other notable talent. So I'm really excited about that project.

[00:32:14] Toy: We're fingers crossed that there'll be a third season. That one I'm proud of. I. I also did the very first series comedy series on BET plus called bigger. It did two seasons before it was canceled, but you can still watch it on BET plus. And that was a project where I really cut my teeth as a producer. So that was fun.

[00:32:35] Toy: And There's a series that's coming up on March 28th on Amazon Prime called The Baxters. It is based on Karen Kingsbury's book series that has been out for many, many years. And so we're excited to bring The Baxters to screen. I did that project in partnership with Will Packer and Roma, Roma Downey, who we may remember from Touched by an Angel with Della Reese.

[00:32:58] Toy: So that was a really amazing project to be a part of. And To become good friends with Roma. And then I'd say the last one I'll probably mention because there's too many to name is a project I've done with Nickelodeon and it's called That Girl Lele. And so that's airing right now on Nickelodeon.

[00:33:15] Toy: It is One of my favorites because it features two young girls, young girls of color. And, but they're both aspirational and yet very different. One of them is like a STEM nerd and very left brained and, but still aspirational because I was a STEM girl and a tech nerd, but I never saw that as a flaw.

[00:33:36] Toy: And so it was very important to have a young female character that was STEM focused. A little bit nerdy, but making that look cool. And then the other character is like this hip hop lyricist, super fashionable. Character who was actually fashioned after Lele, the actual rapper and, and hip hop talent and just bringing her real life character to to have a narrative voice and, and background.

[00:34:01] Toy: And so also aspirational for people who are a little bit more akin to the creative side. So, as I've described who I am left and right brain, you can

[00:34:09] Jake: Right. Yeah, I was gonna say

[00:34:10] Toy: You know, these two girls who represent

[00:34:13] Jake: a self portrait going on here

[00:34:15] Toy: can't take two. I can't take all the credit. But it's a project that I was really happy.

[00:34:20] Toy: I also did that with Will Packer, but it was mostly something that I worked with creator David A. Arnold to come up with for Nickelodeon, who has since passed. So he's no longer with us but his work lives on and I was so, so excited to work with him. I mean, it was literally me, him and his wife, if you will kind of coming up with these concepts and kind of figuring them out back in 2020 early pandemic dates.

[00:34:44] Toy: And so now to see that on screen, to see the Lele doll and all the paraphernalia and merch available at Target and all of these other stores, like it's just. A beautiful, beautiful thing to have come to life and, and even to see little girls and kids whose parents may know me or know my name and them, you know, share like, Oh, that's why she, you know, worked with Lele and then the, see those kids light up because they love Lele so much.

[00:35:10] Toy: And it's just really rewarding. So for that reason, that one's my absolute favorite, which is why I mentioned it last.

[00:35:16] Jake: That makes sense. Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. We'll have, we'll have links to anything that makes sense to have links for here in the in the show notes for any anybody who wants to buy a Lele toy or

[00:35:25] Toy: Yes, yes, they make great Christmas and birthday gifts,

[00:35:30] Jake: I'm positive of

[00:35:31] Toy: all of it, yes.

[00:35:32] Jake: Okay. Yeah. Lunchboxes. Water bottles, maybe

[00:35:36] Toy: All of it, all of it, so much fun,

[00:35:38] Jake: That's awesome,

[00:35:39] Toy: And Lele is, is, you know, she's 17 now and in, in real life. And so she's I just love her so much, but she's transitioning. This is like coming of age. So she's transitioning into a young adult, which I'm just like, Oh, my baby. But not even my kid and I'm claiming her as such, but, but She's very active on social media.

[00:35:59] Toy: So a lot of kids that go and follow her and they see her as a real life person I think is a beautiful thing because she's a lot like the character that we created, even though the character conceptually is a, is a this what is it called? Affirmation app. So she's like, like a figure in an affirmation app that the, the other character uses to try to build up her self esteem, but then she comes to life.

[00:36:22] Toy: And then when she comes to life, she comes outside of the phone and they, and becomes this real life person, if you will, or, or, you know, being, you know, looking to explore what life is like in the real world. So think about growing up. Think about you remember the show what was it? Smart. Oh my gosh.

[00:36:40] Toy: I don't know why I'm drawing a blank. I talk about this all the time. Small wonder. You remember small wonder.

[00:36:46] Jake: I'm sorry, I

[00:36:47] Toy: Okay. That's okay. Somebody in the audience will remember, but it's, it was inspired by again, me and then David's creative genius. And then a little bit of small wonder and obviously, you know, input from will and the folks in Nickelodeon, but the amalgamation of all of those things from shows past, but how we can make it fresh and new and, you know, relatable right now today.

[00:37:06] Toy: And so we're really proud of that one.

[00:37:08] Jake: as it sounds like you should be. I need to check it out. I'm sure it's on, I'd probably find it on like Hulu, maybe, something like

[00:37:13] Toy: Yeah, yeah, well, Nickelodeon falls under Paramount plus, but I'm positive that there is a Hulu or an Amazon link because those third party services often, you know, they intersect. Yeah,

[00:37:25] Jake: right. They all kind of link into each other. Give each other referral fees or whatever, however that works on the back end, I'm

[00:37:31] Toy: Oh, yes, absolutely. Amazon who, especially Amazon, they will not miss an opportunity to get to the consumers. Smart business folks over there.

[00:37:44] Jake: So you mentioned a little bit already about, you know, how some of your, your personal life has obviously, you know, as of course it has seeped into the you know, the art that you put out there and that you're involved with. But I guess this, how, how would you say that growing up in the Chicagoland area in general has sort of informed.

[00:38:01] Jake: Your, your movements, either it both in a business sense and the choices that you've made, you know, as a career and then also from the creative standpoint.

[00:38:11] Toy: Ooh, that's great question, Jake. I think growing up in Chicago, I think, first and foremost, as a Chicagoan, similarly, like, New Yorkers may feel this way. But there's just a toughness, an innate toughness that we have, like a resilience that you just have to have, right? That's associated with being a Chicagoan.

[00:38:31] Toy: So that's the first thing that I think is, it has been helpful to me is growing up with that sense of resilience and toughness and not like wearing rejection on your sleeve or letting what other people think affect you at your core. I think that's really helpful in this business because this business, there are more no's than yeses.

[00:38:49] Toy: So that's the first thing I'd say that's been really helpful growing up that way it kind of built me for this business. The second thing I'd say is specifically growing up in a family with so many people. I think I mentioned there was like 10 of us growing up in a two story building, 10 grandkids, and then like seven kids.

[00:39:07] Toy: I think at the most, it was probably six of them, you know, the generation above me, plus my grandmother and her being like the queen, the, you know, you know, the, you know, Madea, the Meemaw, whatever you want to call her. And absolutely, like, Seeing her strength, seeing her command, all of us seeing the respect that she garnered from everyone and just, you know, and not just in the family, the neighborhood, you know what I mean?

[00:39:35] Toy: Like everybody knew do not mess with Inez green and her family. Right. So I think that gave me a confidence. That I could not have paid for, you know, knowing that I am that that's my ancestor. That's my lineage. That's my bloodline and that I can command certain respect and my brand can represent a certain.

[00:40:00] Toy: You know, representation. And so that has helped me just in having again the confidence when I walked into a room that I belong there that whatever ideas I have are valuable that I have something that someone else needs. So I think that's been helpful. I'd also say growing up there, even though my grandmother lost her building.

[00:40:21] Toy: Having the experience of being in a home that my family owned, as opposed to growing up Renting my whole life, but having the experience of ownership put that in me that I, too, can it's attainable to own if that's my desire. So that's helped me certainly with my personal life and my portfolio.

[00:40:45] Toy: But even as it pertains to my creative and my business I can own my own business. I can own multiple businesses. That again, my ideas are valuable. So I think all of those things started with my upbringing. And I guess one of the last things I'll say is. I talked before about how growing up on 63rd and Ellis wasn't necessarily safe or the, you know, the, the safest neighborhood to grow up in, but we didn't feel unsafe.

[00:41:11] Toy: But I will say that, but growing up that neighborhood. A lot of times you'll hear folks say you're a. You're a product of your environment. I don't know if you've heard that before. And I guess to a degree, I am a product of my environment because again, I identify with that toughness, that resilience, that confidence and that entrepreneurial spirit.

[00:41:28] Toy: Right? I won't go into detail there. But but all of those things attribute to who I am. But, yeah, that's it. There's also the flip side of that, where if you were to, if you were to ascertain that being a product of your environment had a negative connotation that I looked at as a challenge to say, well, if that's what you think about my environment.

[00:41:48] Toy: Let me change your perspective because that environment I grew up in has now become one of the fastest growing and valuable neighborhoods in Chicago. One where gentrification is highly sought after where, you know, the value has increased over years. And so I attribute that to my own character to say, yeah, I could have been considered a You know, lower middle class, you know, the kid growing up in a semi impoverished neighborhood.

[00:42:14] Toy: I wouldn't say that I wouldn't say impoverished because it wasn't the projects. Then again, my grandmother owned the building, but I'll say lower middle class if that's a thing or working class. There we go. And so now I am, you know, according to, you know, some, you know, considered in one of the top earning percent of percentiles for, you know, for my age group, you know, one of the top earners, right?

[00:42:36] Toy: I'm not a millionaire yet, but, but I'm working on it. I'm working on it. But I'm, I am certainly not what anyone who, who says something like that with negative connotation would expect to come out of Woodblawn.

[00:42:52] Jake: Right. Yeah. Yeah. So would it be safe to say that. Sort of the, the seeds that were planted in you at a young age that you could do this, that you could be entrepreneurial, that you were smart, that your ideas mattered you know, those kinds of things that you were saying earlier, was that more, more, uh, by product of the family you grew up in than the area that you grew up in?

[00:43:13] Jake: Is that safe to say, or, you know, I don't mean that to be like a leading question, but, or, you know, what, what was sort of like the, the median expectation of somebody, you know, one of your peers, you At the time.

[00:43:24] Toy: well, you may have you know, put the caveat about it being leading, but it's actually very factual. You know, I don't think that, and I guess that's why I was trying to shadow the fence about the statement of being a product of your invite environment. I think you can look at it one or one or two ways, but I think the core of my answer is that I was raised in a family that's very entrepreneurial.

[00:43:44] Toy: We haven't talked about this because we've been really focused on my, my living in Chicago and my journey, you know, to, to my career, but. My family, to this day, we still have our land in Mississippi. That land is something like it's something like 80 acres. I always mix it up whether it's 78 or 88. so I'm going to say something like 80 acres of land in Mississippi and, you know, I'm going there later this year just to figure out how I can, you know, I guess I hate the word capitalize but maximize my portion of the land use down there.

[00:44:15] Toy: Right? Right. So, I just recently like, you know, fall or early, you know, winter 23 discovered or learned that discovered, learned that my great grandfather purchased that land and thereafter was chased out of Mississippi. And that's how we migrated to Chicago because he was chased out of Mississippi because of a lie.

[00:44:44] Toy: About and, and then, you know, again, this is a story I was told, but a lie that he was responsible for the death of a man in Mississippi. A white man. And because at that time, you know, you definitely were going to have an immediate death for such an accusation, whether truth or not, there was no trial.

[00:45:03] Toy: So he had to run and he ran to Chicago and that's how we ended up with Roots in Chicago. But that entrepreneurial spirit lives in my family's DNA because my great grandfather saw fit to create an inheritance for his, for generations to come by purchasing sizable land because he had something like 10 or 11 children.

[00:45:24] Toy: So he knew he needed enough land For his children to have a place for his children and children's children. So, I think to your point, it very much has to do with the family that I'm a part of. I think family means a lot to us. In fact, our slogan is that we're family made and we all value our family name, which is green.

[00:45:45] Toy: In fact, the production company I just launched is called Green Goddess Productions. So you see a lot of. Familial inspiration still continuing years later. And even though my great grandfather has passed away and I had the luxury of meeting him while I was very young, he's long gone, but I'm still living his legacy in the decisions I make.

[00:46:07] Toy: And then the investments I make and in my portfolio and in the businesses I launch. So, absolutely. It had a lot to do with, you know, with my bloodline, with my family.

[00:46:18] Jake: That's an amazing story. It's a sad story in a lot of ways. White people suck sometimes. Especially back then.

[00:46:23] Toy: I have family that are white now. So I, and I always teased that, you know, there's, there's a drop of Irish in my blood, so I can't be, I can't be all that bad. I wouldn't be here.

[00:46:33] Jake: Hey, we got St. Patrick's Day coming up soon. Come

[00:46:36] Toy: Yes. Yes. I, I, I have legal right to celebrate.

[00:46:40] Jake: yeah. Everybody's Irish on St. Patrick's Day. But you, especially I'm actually gonna, we're actually going to go to the new Guinness factory, this this St. Patrick's day is my, my first time going to that one, that new one in the West loop, pretty excited for it, but,

[00:46:52] Toy: Yes. Oh, fun.

[00:46:54] Jake: but no, yeah, not to get too, too quickly away from, from that story.

[00:46:57] Jake: Yeah. That's a, that's amazing that it, and it, and It lasted, I guess, you know, like it's still there, but

[00:47:03] Toy: Still there.

[00:47:04] Jake: you would have thought that they would have done, pulled some kind of corrupt stuff and like confiscated it or something.

[00:47:11] Toy: You would think so. I mean, I as a filmmaker and a producer, my plan is to to the reason I'm traveling down there is not just to see what kind of investment I can do with the land, but I want to go with, you know, a live mic and a camera and, you know, a mini crew and. create our family documentary. I think a lot of times people lose their history and their heritage, especially black people.

[00:47:33] Toy: And a lot of my family has no idea that we even have the land and it's available to us. And a lot of my family are here struggling in Chicago, New York, wherever, Detroit, and they don't realize that there is another life choice. And so my hope is that as some of my grand aunts and uncles are still living that I can capture their stories and, you know, the information and their experiences and put together a family documentary that both, you know, tells my family and even my son and, you know, future generations to come who we are, where we come from, and what we've accomplished.

[00:48:05] Toy: But also that helps them to know like this land is here. So don't ever lose it. You know, like. Understand that, you know, it's as simple as paying the taxes every year in Mississippi. It's not even a significant amount. And that's what has been done. Like, we have a huge family and that family with those same entrepreneurial kind of gifts has ensure made sure that the taxes are paid every year.

[00:48:31] Toy: No one has cleared out all of it. So it's a lot of forest and trees on most of that land. But if someone wanted to create a lumber company, how about it? If you wanted to clear a space and put a double wide trailer there to live when it's too cold here, how about it? There's so much opportunity. And I think I think a lot of my family may not have the knowledge of that, but I certainly am gaining more knowledge of it.

[00:48:54] Toy: And I think that I have. A special kind of opportunity being a filmmaker that I can put it together in a way that's not just a family meeting and kind of talking about logistics, but that really makes it kind of enticing kind of selling my family on doing something with our land more than what's been done, which is just retaining it.

[00:49:11] Toy: But let's do more let's let's try to come up with our own family community. If we so desire. And I just, I'm really excited about that.

[00:49:19] Jake: Yeah. Go rent it out to some server farms or something. Now. Yeah. There's so many things you can

[00:49:23] Toy: know. I know. I know. Yeah. I mean, a lot of us were shied away from the South because of, you know, thinking there's. I mean, it's definitely a slower pace for a city folks, but sometimes a slower pace is really attractive. And and we need it to help kind of process and, you know, I make a lot of decisions quickly and sometimes that make mistake many times I make mistakes that way.

[00:49:45] Toy: So I welcome a slower pace sometimes. And by the way, You know, technology is readily available now, so you can be in the deep south and, you know, still be able to have, have connections and do business and do all the things. So, you know, we're only an hour away from Jackson, Mississippi, an hour and a half away from NOLA, you know, so, yeah, we'll see.

[00:50:05] Toy: Sorry. I've derailed us now. Now we're not talking Chicago anymore. Forgive me.

[00:50:09] Jake: Oh, that's okay. Yeah. We can, I can. I did stuff later if I feel the need to, but this is all interesting stuff. So you are back in Chicago now, full time.

[00:50:17] Toy: I'm here in Chicago now. I still go back and forth to la but because I am again, launching my own production company, I wanted to really focus on, you know, the projects and my own writing and you know, all of the creative things that are important to me. And I find that being home because Chicago will always be home is where my creativity lives.

[00:50:42] Toy: And so I'm going to just kind of stay put for a little while and see what I can churn out, but I'm definitely going to make my way to LA, you know, in the next couple of months.

[00:50:53] Jake: Is the production company going to be based here or LA?

[00:50:56] Toy: It is LA based, but you know, I think nowadays the pandemic was a blessing in disguise. Right. So nowadays you, you can work from anywhere and do business everywhere. So I think it will be an LA based company. But a lot of the projects and stories. are almost always Chicago focus. There's just such a nuance to characters and this city.

[00:51:23] Toy: I mean, I'm always inviting people to Chicago from LA, especially if they've never been, I'm like summertime shy. There's no better place to be yacht parties and, you know, the festivals and all. I mean, it's just all the tastes like you have to experience it. And so if I can bring that to screen in some way.

[00:51:40] Toy: More than what has been, I'm all about that. So even though it's a, an NLA based company, I think that's more in service to, you know, my, my Hollywood folks that may or may not care, probably make care where your company's based, but it's very much going to be Chicago through and through.

[00:51:56] Jake: That's for us to,

[00:51:58] Toy: Yes. Yeah, there's like a sense of responsibility for Chicagoans to make sure that we're representing Chicago. Well, again, that took me back to the Spike Lee comment. I'm just like, really, Spike? Yeah. We had such and this was before I even worked in Hollywood for real that, that, you know, Chirac came out.

[00:52:13] Toy: But the biggest argument from Chicagoans is like, how can a non Chicago and tell a Chicago story? Like, come on. So that

[00:52:19] Jake: a New Yorker at that.

[00:52:21] Toy: New Yorker at that. Like, I can't come and talk about your boroughs. Like, it's not my lane. So

[00:52:26] Jake: Mm hmm.

[00:52:27] Toy: I want to make sure we're telling stories that highlight us in a positive light because we've had such an unfair you know, view from the, from, you know, journalists and, you know, the news and media about Chicago.

[00:52:40] Toy: I think at one point we were considered murder capital. That's terrible. Like not murder capital or not Chirac, you know, there's more that goes on than just the teenagers congregating and jumping on cars. And, you know, yes, those things happen, but they happen everywhere. And like I said, it's one of the best places to be in the summertime.

[00:52:58] Toy: It's called the second city for a reason. The there's no, we didn't even talk about this, but there are no properties like. The properties in Chicago, me and my partner, we drive around the city and we just look at greystones. And we look at, you know, we call them mini castles. We looked at this beautiful building where the Chicago urban league used to take their meetings.

[00:53:19] Toy: And unfortunately it suffered a fire not too long ago and it, it runs the risk of, of further deterioration. But It's such a beautiful building and I hope that someone finds a way or has enough money to restore it before it's too late. But we just love the architecture of, you know, properties in Chicago.

[00:53:37] Toy: It's one of the reasons why I chose to invest and buy property in Chicago versus L. A. One, because it's more affordable. But Because, you know, the history, the masonry, the architecture, the beauty that goes into you know, what makes Chicago, Chicago is unmatched. It is unmatched. And so I think, you know, that's something that I'm always drawn to.

[00:53:59] Toy: It's something I love to see in story. Anytime there's a movie or a TV show that's set in Chicago, I'm always looking in the background because it's so eye catching and beautiful. And so I think that's what You know, what I'd love to see highlighted more in in TV and movies and, and obviously that'll benefit the city.

[00:54:17] Toy: I went with my stepdaughter to River Oaks mall a couple of days ago over the weekend, and it was so sad. Because it has, there are like no stores, hardly, and I just remember that being like a hot spot, you know, and so just looking at how a lot of the businesses aren't doing well, and just like, we have to figure out a way to really pour into our city.

[00:54:39] Toy: And one thing I know for sure is that Hollywood and entertainment has a huge influence on society and consumerism. And so, if there's anything I can do for the city of Chicago, it is to create stories and and, you know, ensure that the spotlight is placed on Chicago in a positive way. Mm

[00:54:59] Jake: How do you feel like Hollywood or just, you know, movies and tv? Obviously, you know, you had like your hughes era like in the 80s where everything was based kind of around but you know in the more recent You know, like the bear or shameless or different, you know, different things like that, all the, all the emergency PD, what all those shows and stuff like that.

[00:55:16] Jake: Like, how do you, how to the extent that, you know, you pay attention to those shows. I'm sure you probably do. I personally don't, I haven't seen like a single second of any of them. I actually, I did watch a couple episodes of the bear, but what, yeah, that's what, how do you think that the, that the city is being portrayed in those and how can it be?

[00:55:31] Jake: How can it be more accurate or how can it be better? And, you know, what do you think about?

[00:55:35] Toy: Well, the one thing I'll say, and the one thing I'll say is I'm always appreciative of any shows that are set in Chicago, because that means that we're bringing money and focus to Chicago. Right. I love the Dick Wolf shows because they highlight Chicago and the name Chicago in those very formulaic procedural.

[00:55:55] Toy: So Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Chicago Fire. And they bring work to Chicago. So yay, Dick Wolf. A lot of those are shot on, I think, stages though. And you don't really get a sense of, I mean, you get a sense of Chicago, but again, it's a procedural, so it's really not about Chicago as a I hate to say as a character, but the, the, the character

[00:56:14] Jake: No, that makes sense.

[00:56:15] Toy: that it brings to the characters. But they're great shows. And then The Chi that was Lena Waithe's show Lena Waithe. I think she's from Evanston, but, but she highlights a show in Chicago, which I love that, you know, that show brings, you know, to the forefront what our city is. I think another example, you mentioned Shameless, which is done, but hugely successful Showtime series.

[00:56:38] Toy: And They did a beautiful job of highlighting this, this family and the dysfunctional function of that family in Chicago love that show would love to see more like it would love to see a replacement for it with Showtime. And then the bear. So the bear is the most recent one and the one that has gotten some.

[00:56:56] Toy: awesome acclaim in recent history. And I love that show. I don't think that it really reflects Chicago at all. Mostly because it's interiors, it's set inside this restaurant and, you know, there are a few things that bump me, but that's just as a, as a critical creative Because I'm like, okay, this is clearly the north side, but this is not how these kind of restaurants work.

[00:57:15] Toy: But, but, but, but again, we're in Chicago, you know, it's that whole like south side versus west side versus north side thing, right? But we're not talking about the internal fight of our communities or which side's the best side or worst side. We're talking about, okay, now we're a city and we're supporting our city as the united front.

[00:57:32] Toy: And that's where I am with those shows is that, you know, the bear has brought. Some excitement to Chicago, even though we're not really traversing the city of Chicago in that show yet. You know, it, it is a setting that, you know, excites, but I think there's so much room. And this is, I guess my takeaway thought there's so much room for more story.

[00:57:50] Toy: If you remember for a very long time, shows were only set in like LA or New York. That was it. That was it. And it was, there were so many shows you didn't even really expect anything else. You, you know, you knew that if you were on the train, you were in New York. If you were at the beach, you're in LA. And so I'd love to see more of Chicago in that matter, where it's second nature.

[00:58:14] Toy: And you're just like, Oh, okay. You know, we're at the lakefront, you know, we're at, you know, North Avenue beach or 31st street beach. We are, you know, on, you know, the green line and it becomes such a beautiful experience that consumers who've, who've never traveled. Or I should say tourists who never traveled to Chicago now have a desire to come, you know, there's the Some of what we enjoy as Chicagoans become more of a national debate or discussion, you know, how do you cut your pizza?

[00:58:40] Toy: You know, is it is it pie slices or squares? It's of course squares, but come on. So it's definitely squares, you know, infusing some of those beautiful dynamics into story, which are fun, and just, it's so exciting and so, You know, seeing story where, you know, someone's in a car and they're trying to get across the crazy intersection of 79th and Stony Island.

[00:59:03] Toy: Like what? You know, it's like, do I go now? Do I go now? Do I go now? So I think there's just so much opportunity to bring some of that fun Not just nostalgia, but nuance to storytelling in a fresh way. And that highlights the beauty of our city. Again, the festivals, the yacht parties, the lake, the, you know, the running along LSD, you know, that driving experience, like all of those little things that we quietly enjoy.

[00:59:29] Jake: Drive. That's Lake Shore Drive. For those who don't no.

[00:59:32] Toy: yeah. That's always a fun joke too. It's like, where are you? Oh, I'm on LSD. What?

[00:59:37] Jake: Yeah.

[00:59:38] Toy: shore drive.

[00:59:39] Jake: It never gets old. That one.

[00:59:41] Toy: Never gets old. So just, you know, being able to share some of that, I think would be great the way that New York has been able to share their culture and their

[00:59:50] Jake: Oh, yeah.

[00:59:51] Toy: people never been the way that La has been able to share it.

[00:59:54] Toy: So there's so much room in that regard. And and I think we're going to get there. The thing that will help us get there is if, you know, the powers that be would allow for more tax incentives. That's the thing that a lot of people don't know. I think a lot of consumers think that it's up to the creatives to have stories exist in a city.

[01:00:15] Toy: But the fact of the matter is if it's more expensive to shoot in Chicago producers would rather shoot in Toronto or wherever and make it look like Chicago and

[01:00:28] Jake: Atlanta.

[01:00:29] Toy: Chicago, Atlanta, Louisiana, wherever. And then get, come and get your B roll, which is just like secondary footage that really you don't have, you have your physical characters travel to and really make it look like you're there as opposed to actually coming to Chicago to capture the footage in Chicago, which allows for more jobs, which allows for, you know, our, our community to thrive.

[01:00:49] Toy: So we do need those lawmakers to make make it more enticing for. You know, creatives and producers and Hollywood types to want to do business in Chicago. That's one of the reasons that folks go to Atlanta and Louisiana and Canada because of those tax incentives incentives and kickbacks. So until we really make it worth coming to Chicago to do more projects.

[01:01:13] Toy: Producers will always look for the cheaper option because it's always better to put the money on screen than to give the money to the city. Like, if I have to choose. Between making my, my, my picture or whatever look good versus actually having it be authentically shot in Chicago. I'm going to choose to make it look good.

[01:01:31] Jake: Definitely. And Chicago. Chicago has not been competitive in that respect.

[01:01:36] Toy: Not really. I mean, there have been some strides to improve that. But just not not nearly as competitive of some of the places I've mentioned, not at all. And as we we've seen Atlanta is really thriving. I think the nickname for Atlanta now is black Hollywood. So when Tyler Perry went there and created his stages and studios on like 330 plus acres of land, like it, it kind of blew the door wide open in terms of other places to produce content.

[01:02:06] Toy: And established Atlanta as the secondary hub and then Louisiana came in with amazing tax incentives to shoot there. You know, so a lot of folks go to to to Louisiana and then obviously Canada, you know, just. There's opportunities. There's always been opportunities to shoot in Canada for less. But again, the production is saving money.

[01:02:26] Toy: The challenges there are now, okay. And, and nothing against Canadians, of course, they're so nice. But you, when you shoot a project in Canada, All of your crew will be Canadian crew, more than likely all of your extras and background talent. So you're creating jobs for, you know, Canadians and the residents of Canada as opposed to creating jobs here at home.

[01:02:50] Toy: And so if we're talking about making sure that Chicago thrives and that, you know, our city is getting funny and we're helping our deficit here. You know, it's like, help me help you. You know, create incentives and opportunities to bring productions here because again, Chicagoans will always champion each other.

[01:03:07] Toy: So, you know, and we have some that are doing it, even despite the incentives, like Lena Waithe, Dick Wolf, you know, but there could be so many more opportunities. Even Shonda Rhimes is a Chicagoan. Shonda Rhimes created Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Grey's Anatomy, the longest running TV show ever now.

[01:03:22] Toy: She created queen Charlotte and Bridgerton. So she's a Chicago in, you know, give her an incentive to do a show in Chicago.

[01:03:30] Jake: That is a significant resume. You just rattled off. Man.

[01:03:32] Toy: I know one amazing black woman from Chicago

[01:03:37] Jake: Man.

[01:03:37] Toy: South side.

[01:03:39] Jake: Nice. That's Yeah, I, you know, I don't, I try not to get too wound up in politics and stuff, but it does, you know, the one observation I'll make is it does seem like Chicago, Chicago never, never misses an opportunity to show off how short sighted they can be, and just, and the complete inability to see the forest or the trees.

[01:04:00] Toy: Yeah, for sure.

[01:04:02] Jake: Yeah,

[01:04:02] Toy: For sure.

[01:04:03] Jake: but had something that was. It was going to be good to,

[01:04:07] Toy: Oh, you forgot it. Okay.

[01:04:08] Jake: was I talking about? Sorry, what was the, what was like the last thing?

[01:04:11] Toy: We were talking about Shonda Rhimes and then her being a Chicago in, and then you said you don't get too wrapped up in the politics,

[01:04:16] Jake: Oh yeah, that was, I was going to make the point too that, yeah, especially given how many, sort of the, the supply of talent here in Chicago is, what with, you know, You know, it's a huge theater town and second city IO, you know, all these, all these things, people who do come here to try to get into, into these TV shows.

[01:04:35] Jake: I mean, you know, it's like, if you're not going to LA or New York, but you want to be in that space, Chicago is the place you come and a lot of people do, you know, second city is obviously world renowned and, and all that. So, you know, yeah, it would be good to Bolster the environment for all the people that are trying to make something happen with within those kinds of creative, you know, spaces.

[01:04:57] Jake: Mm hmm.

[01:04:58] Toy: yeah, a thousand percent, a thousand percent, you know, I'm, I don't claim to be, you know, extremely politically astute, but I do understand when and where my hands are tied. So I think that anything that we can do working together to reach the common goal, I think would be helpful. And if it's an education thing, then fine, you know, let's talk about how, you know, certain decisions.

[01:05:22] Toy: You know, that are made can inform other opportunities. So that we can figure out how to help each other, you know, because I think at the end of the day, you know, this is a beautiful city. And, you know, people like to come here for a number of reasons, whether it's to experience the cuisine and scenery of downtown or the lake, or even to drive quickly through the bad neighborhoods and see what it's like.

[01:05:45] Toy: People want to be in Chicago, you know, and and I think that Chicago would benefit from more people coming. And spending their money, you know, and, you know, I think again, TV and movies have huge influence and so anything that can be done to draw, you know, and excite people about visiting. I think that's what you want to do.

[01:06:08] Toy: I mean, I want to say people visit New York and LA because of how many stories have been told in those places. Oh my

[01:06:18] Jake: think Ferris Bueller's day off has indirectly made the city of Chicago? It would be impossible to calculate. I mean, how would you even do it? How would you, you'd have to go in and get some percentage of people's subconscious and when they think of Chicago, how much of that was based on seeing Ferris Bueller when they were a kid or whatever.

[01:06:35] Jake: And like, that's why they

[01:06:36] Toy: Oh my

[01:06:36] Jake: Chicago and spend money here. I mean, You can't know it, but I'm, I know it's a

[01:06:40] Toy: know. Oh, it's

[01:06:41] Jake: in the billions. It's got to be in the billions. I mean,

[01:06:44] Toy: gotta be. It's gotta be. I think that's a great question. I don't know. Like, like a fun question for your viewers. It's like, when you think of Chicago, what movie or TV show comes to mind? Oh, I'd love to see that list. Like just how many people, like how many people said Ferris Bueller?

[01:06:58] Toy: Seriously.

[01:06:59] Jake: a lot. Blues Brothers

[01:07:01] Toy: Oh yeah,

[01:07:02] Jake: be in there for, for, for, for like the Gen Xers. That would definitely be their, their go to.

[01:07:07] Toy: Oh, now my nerd side is getting excited. Like I'd love to see the analytical results of, of that. Like, okay, let's pull the audience Chicago. What movie comes to mind, what TV show into your, your generation or your age group, and then like, see the results of that, like, Oh my gosh. And by the way, that would inform what.

[01:07:26] Toy: What reboots take place, right? If I wanted to turn my produce, turn that into a producing thing, I take those results and I would look at who owns what title, and then I figure out, okay, which one's worth rebooting, which one's worth remaking, which one is worth, you know, kind of regurgitating into a brand new story, you know, and in there and you have a new show,

[01:07:47] Jake: Yeah.

[01:07:48] Toy: yeah,

[01:07:49] Jake: Valuable stuff. Yeah. There you go. There's an idea. Go run with it. And report, report the findings back to me because I really want to know. It'd probably be the Dark Knight for me. The Dark Knight would probably be my number, my, my main one because like the Dark Knight was as a, you know. Seminal moment for a 17 year old Jake Lyons.

[01:08:05] Toy: Listen, again, it's the whole reason I ended up in this industry. Is

[01:08:10] Jake: love that.

[01:08:11] Toy: showing up to set. No idea what was going to happen. And me literally, like I said, falling in love. Like, people are like, do you remember the first time you fell in love? Yes, on the set of The Dark Knight.

[01:08:24] Jake: Fell in love with Heath Ledger

[01:08:25] Toy: Oh, yes. Oh my gosh. She's just like running by. I'm like, God, this guy is scary. So yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The dark night for me too. But Sarah's Bueller. Oh my gosh. There's so many. We could stay here all day talking about movies and TV. Sorry.

[01:08:39] Jake: that's OK. All those with John John Hughes, right? All those is John Hughes, right? That's that's the right name. Yeah. Yeah. All those.

[01:08:47] Toy: But then there's also, Oh, okay. Now it's about to go off on a tangent. Stop me. I'm done.

[01:08:51] Jake: all right. All right.

[01:08:52] Toy: My son's probably like, when is mommy coming back? I'm like, sorry. I'm

[01:08:55] Jake: yeah, no, sorry. We've been talking for a while. You're so easy to talk to. We could do this all day. I will start to I will start to bring things to a, to a closing point here. I'll just do a couple, a couple more questions just about kind of like the specific area thing. So you're, you're in the Douglas area now, right?

[01:09:10] Jake: So how, how do you find yourself there? And what do you, what do you think into that area

[01:09:14] Toy: So I'm in the Douglas area because my partner, his family actually bought their home here. This home was built in the 1880s and they bought this house in the 1990s. And so, when we got together, he was already living here, he inherited the property from, you know, his mother when she passed away.

[01:09:33] Toy: And we've been living here with our family for several years now. So, I love the area. I love how it's so it's considered it's the Douglas area but this is particularly this neighborhood is particularly labeled the gap. And so we're in the gap. And These

[01:09:52] Jake: between what, why is it called that?

[01:09:55] Toy: I actually am not sure. I, I think it's, I think it has to do with what I was about to say about the about it being like historical landmark.

[01:10:04] Toy: Okay, pause, let me look it up real quick, because now I want to know. Oh, let's see. Let's see. So I can speak about that intelligently, but I know it's called the gap neighborhood. Oh, there it goes. The gap, Chicago, and.

[01:10:17] Jake: Bronzeville and Hyde Park or something

[01:10:19] Toy: So, it says it says the gap it is it is so it literally is labeled the gap on the map.

[01:10:26] Toy: 60616, people are going to be able to know exactly where I live and it says. Yes, it is it is between 31st and 35th street. Between King drive and Michigan. So that is that is the gap. And so, okay, so let me say that again. Well, it's called the gap because of the specific border of this area between 31st and 35th street between King drive and Michigan and it is an area that has historic landmark status.

[01:11:05] Toy: Most of the homes in this area are are marked for no tear down so they can never be torn down, which is kind of unfortunate because there are a lot of homes that are dilapidated that are banded and that really need to either be torn down, especially if the folks can't afford to renovate them or bring them up, you know, to livable condition.

[01:11:25] Toy: eyesores, but.

[01:11:28] Jake: Back to that short sightedness comment from a little earlier. It's like, seems like a good idea at the time, you know, but

[01:11:34] Toy: exactly. But I also understand, you know, as someone who's been, you know, investing in property and looking at opportunities that there's a huge demand for like masonry workers and, you know, like insurance premiums are at an all time high for these types of homes because in order to get someone to renovate a property like this, it's going to cost an insurance company more than what the value of the home is.

[01:12:00] Toy: So, so anyway, I know that's a long winded answer to why it's called the gap, but, but there's so much nuance to this specific area, but it's highly sought after there have been investors and homeowners that have come to this area that have renovated their property and or sold renovated properties, and they value in varying number, like some of them are Some are 220, 000, some are 550, 000, some are 750, 000, some are a million, and they're all in the same little area.

[01:12:29] Toy: And so I have a developer on our block who has multiple properties in this area, and he shared with me that he was able to acquire a great number of them years ago for like 50, 000 each. So, he was able to, you know, sit on them for a while slowly renovate them, and then, you know, rent them or sell them for a huge profit and really build his business.

[01:12:50] Toy: So, for a number of reasons we desire to stay in this neighborhood. But whether we physically stay here or not, I think it's a property that we will retain just because the area is so valuable and sought after. And again, the beauty of the, you know, the architecture, the residential architecture in this community is just, it's, it's awe inspiring.

[01:13:12] Toy: It's what we enjoy when we go for our walks. It's just, we go and we look and we see what people have done. And we try to determine. What was original, you know, was this cornice originally there or did they put it back or can they find someone to fix it? Because it's falling apart. It just informs so many conversations for us who have a real estate nerd

[01:13:32] Jake: Mm

[01:13:32] Toy: like gene or whatever it is.

[01:13:34] Toy: But love the area. We have work to do here. Again 1880s. Lots of original like woodwork and if you see the tram on the windows behind us, but we have lots of original wood here in our home. You know, the fireplaces are still here, although they're not functioning. But there are a lot of things that we want to do to, you know, kind of bring it up to today, but we have no desire to do like a gut and make it more contemporary.

[01:14:00] Toy: We love a lot of the aesthetics and the original beauty. Like our stairwell still has a lot of that detailing from the original carpentry that was done. And you know, it's something that we really, you know, we really value as lovers of vintage.

[01:14:15] Jake: Yeah. What's it like just to, what's, what's the lifestyle there like? What are some, you know, the local businesses and restaurants and things to do and

[01:14:24] Toy: Yeah,

[01:14:25] Jake: what are the people

[01:14:25] Toy: is so we have a lot of, of, like, different cultures and ethnicities in our neighborhood. And we love that diversity. We especially love it when folks decorate their houses for all the different holidays. So we got out for Halloween and for Christmas and even now there's some folks with decorations for Easter resurrection.

[01:14:46] Toy: Or Passover. So, we love that. There's so much diversity in our neighborhoods in terms of business. I think that's where there can be improvement again, going back to our conversation about Chicago in general. There are a lot of businesses. There are a lot of businesses at King drive. There are a lot of businesses at 35th street.

[01:15:04] Toy: But what we've noticed is that there's like a shift that happens at 35th street. So, you know, 30. 499 and down decreasing number, and there seems to be a little bit more of a, I don't want to be offensive here, but I'll just say a sophistication and a calmness or a piece that that seems to exist. And then, when you get to 35th street, it's just a lot busier more bustling.

[01:15:30] Toy: You know, experience, you still have, you know, lots of, you know, hawking and. You know, you know, street guys hanging out, you know, there's a liquor store. So you have a lot of that activity that's going on. It

[01:15:43] Jake: telltale signs that you probably shouldn't linger here very long.

[01:15:47] Toy: correct. Correct. So, you know, I, it's funny me and that developer neighbor that I mentioned, we, we often talk about how. He, when he tells people to come and look at properties, he'll tell them to take 31st street and then come up, you know, meanwhile, I take 30 history all the time. I don't want to be blinded.

[01:16:06] Toy: I need to know what's going on, you know, in the neighborhood. So, but, but that's where a lot of the businesses are. You even have, like. The more innocent gosh, what is the term? Is it loitering? The more innocent loitering where there's like, you know, older men in their 60s, 70s, or 80s, and they just come and they grab their coffee from McDonald's and they hang out on the bench right there just to people watch.

[01:16:26] Toy: So it's, it's busier. It doesn't necessarily mean dangerous. It's just, that's kind of, it's a hangout, you know? So you have a lot of that going on. There's, you know, several restaurants. They're, you know, they're, you know, the local cleaners, there's, you know, you know, your, there's, I think a high school, not too far away.

[01:16:43] Toy: The police station is even right there. There's you know, on the other end, we're not too far from IIT, so you have a lot of students in the community. And then on the other side, there's DuSable High, I mean, DuSable, yeah, high school. So, and then the big park. I mean, it's a really nice community.

[01:16:58] Toy: And then even on 31st street, there's a little bit more I guess, upper echelon daycare. And I say that because they're expensive. I have a three year old, almost, almost three. And I'm like, I can't afford you. And even if I could, I can't afford you. So, It's a great community and I love to see it doing well.

[01:17:15] Toy: I think it can do better. And then, and even at at on the other side of King drive, you know, you have your Jewel Osco, you have your Walgreens, you know, all of these different stores. So everything you need, I think, is within walking distance. So it's very walkable.

[01:17:29] Jake: to ask, I was going to ask about the grocery situation. I know that can be a sticking point in a lot of a lot of areas, unfortunately, especially on the South side, a lot of, you know, food deserts and whatnot.

[01:17:39] Toy: Yeah, because I, again, I love being as close to the lake as possible. We're not very far from 31st street beach, which has been a very thriving, you know, hang out every summer. But then as you go further south, there are still beautiful you know, buildings and residences for investment. Further south, like even all the way up to South shore.

[01:17:58] Toy: But to your point, businesses dwindle the further South you go. I think there's probably always going to be liquor stores and laundromats, but you know, I think the last grocery store, I think that existed over East, if you will, because that's what we call it. There's no East side. It's just over East.

[01:18:14] Jake: Mm

[01:18:14] Toy: Um, that was Dominic's on like 71st and Jeffrey. And that was years ago when they shut down, but I feel like that's the last grocery store chain, like big chain that exists until you get all the way to Indiana over East where it's like Walmart or something when you first cross over to Indiana. So other than that, it's just

[01:18:34] Jake: long way.

[01:18:35] Toy: it's a long way.

[01:18:38] Toy: I mean, you can come a little bit West to like Stony Island and there's a jewel somewhere like 75th and Stony Island, I think, but that's it. So you literally have near me. And I don't, and I don't know any other groceries. Like there's no Whole Foods. There's no, oh, wait, there is a Mariano's by me. But again, there's Jewel.

[01:18:56] Toy: Then there's Mariano's. And then I want to say there's like nothing. Until like enough, there's like,

[01:19:04] Jake: There was that Whole Foods in Inglewood for a little while and then Amazon bought Whole Foods and they're just like, eh, this is a cute little, cute little idea you're trying to do Whole Foods, but nah, we're not doing this anymore.

[01:19:14] Toy: I remember reading an article, I think I read an article about that. And it said like the neighbors, the neighborhood was in an uproar about them closing down that whole foods and taking it from the community. But then the article also mentioned that, and I can dig this up if you want to put a link in there.

[01:19:30] Toy: The article also mentioned that That the residents of the neighborhood were stealing from the whole food. So it couldn't thrive. It couldn't make

[01:19:37] Jake: Exactly.

[01:19:38] Toy: So, you know, if you're going to support the businesses, great. If you're not, you can't complain about them not being there. And I think that's what makes it challenging for the mom and pop shops, right?

[01:19:50] Toy: Like, you know, I grew up where I remember my first job and when I lived in Jeffrey Manor. I was making cash under the table. But not that much, IRS. Don't come looking for me. And it was a store called Prime

[01:20:02] Jake: Not even this, not even the 600 threshold, not

[01:20:04] Toy: Not even, not even, I was literally, I was 13 years old. It was probably 20 bucks a week for like six weeks.

[01:20:12] Toy: It was not,

[01:20:13] Jake: I think we're past the statute of limitations on that. I think you're good.

[01:20:15] Toy: think, but it was a store called prime foods and it was where the I think right now there's a dollar tree there, a 95th and Jeffrey, but it was prime foods and it was owned by this, this family. And that was when, like, you like scanned, you didn't even scan groceries. You stepped on a pedal to make the belt run and then you typed in like 1 59 grocery, 1 39 drink, you know?

[01:20:40] Toy: And that was my first job. And you know, that taught me a whole lot too. But that was when mom and pop shops were, you know, thriving and when, you know, you could get, you know, farm to table and, you know, local farming and grocery was just the thing. And so now. I mean, everybody's getting things delivered, myself included.

[01:21:01] Toy: I take advantage of an Instacart

[01:21:03] Jake: Myself included. I, I, I What's the word? I what am I trying to say? Sorry, I can't do words right now. I held off on the Instacart thing for a while. I, even through the whole pandemic, really didn't do it. And then actually this last year, finally downloaded it. It was just like, Oh yeah, I'm not going back.

[01:21:21] Jake: This is just way too nice.

[01:21:23] Toy: Yeah, it's,

[01:21:24] Jake: But I mean, I, I guess that might is that do you find, I mean, I, I don't know to what extent you're talking to everybody in every neighborhood, but you know, some of these some of these neighborhoods that are. Food deserts, like what we've been talking about. I would imagine that Instacart helps.

[01:21:39] Toy: Oh, for sure.

[01:21:41] Jake: yeah, they might still be so far away that it still causes logistics issues and things like that. But I mean, at least it's more doable.

[01:21:48] Toy: yeah, I think it helps. I mean, I don't pretend to know how affordable Instacart and Amazon food delivery is for, you know, for folks that live in those areas, but I would think that, you know, You know, I feel like Instacart, something like right now, 9. 99 for the membership. And obviously you're paying a premium for what you're having delivered because someone else is doing the shopping and the legwork.

[01:22:12] Toy: But

[01:22:12] Jake: A little bit, but those, those fees really aren't that big, you know, it's like six bucks, but you're saving like two hours, two and a half hours of your life.

[01:22:21] Toy: exactly. So in a world where you can put in overtime at the job by staying longer because you don't have to leave to go shopping for two hours, you know, it kind of comes out in the wash, right? So I would hope that folks are thinking about it that way. And you're actually incentivizing me to consider property in that area for that reason right now.

[01:22:39] Toy: Because I'm always thinking about what would it be like for my tenants, you know, trying to get up You know, get off work on the bus you know, stop at a grocery store along the way, hauling their groceries, and then have to walk a three flights of stairs, you know, so just what is that process like, and I've always shied away from it because, you know, that just doesn't sound easy to me, a woman of convenience, I'm always just like, okay, what's the easiest way I can get to, you know, X, Y, and Z, or maximize the hours that I have available.

[01:23:08] Toy: So, But people have lived there for many, many years, and there are a lot of property companies. And I think that area I always see gosh, now I'm drawing a blank on the, the name of the company that, not Pangea, that's another one, but over, over East. It's, I think it's an M. I can't think of the name of the company now.

[01:23:24] Toy: Jeez. But there are a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's a management company that has a lot of property over there. And so anyway, the point being that they have found great success by, you know, renting in that community, despite, you know, it being kind of a wasteland. But you know, for me, who's a smaller entity, I, I just can't take the risk, you know,

[01:23:48] Jake: maybe offer offer your tenants like a year's a year's subscription to instacart plus or whatever it is.

[01:23:54] Toy: That's good, Jake. That is good. I may have to borrow that. That's good. Yeah, that's quite an incentive. Yeah, that the to Instacart to the nearest laundry if there's no you know, laundry on site. Because that's another thing I think the convenience of laundry is something that a lot of tenants are interested in because a lot of properties now, especially those that have been renovated, they offer in unit laundry.

[01:24:21] Toy: Which caused me to kind of shy away from my desire to create a laundromat. That was my big thing. I was like, oh, man, these areas always need a laundromat. But now so many people are looking for in unit or, you know, at least community laundry at the property which is something that I've invested in making sure that I have.

[01:24:37] Toy: So, and especially in Chicago, when it's 30 below zero, or, you know, for it. Four inches of snow outside. Nobody wants to haul their laundry to a laundromat.

[01:24:47] Jake: Way. I mean, I, it does seem like there's always a place for a laundromat though. I mean, up here, I live in Albany Park and I mean, there's a few laundromats near me that I walk by or, you know, drive by or whatever. And I mean, there's always people in there,

[01:24:59] Toy: Yeah. Sometimes it's better for me too. Like if I just want to kind of have a think free day, I'll just take my laundry and go to a laundromat and make, you know, make a day of it. It always seems to be better to kind of knock it out. But I mean, I guess that's probably more of what I did when I was in LA before I had any unit in LA because.

[01:25:18] Toy: There's nothing that beats the convenience of just dropping a load in in between zoom meetings,

[01:25:23] Jake: Think we can let's go ahead and summarize this in one sort of Capper of a question here. So this overall bottom line and summary. Why do you think somebody should want to a move to Chicago at all versus any other city that they can move to and be if they didn't move to Chicago? Why would they want to move to any of the neighbors that we talked about?

[01:25:44] Jake: I mean, we can see, you know, Douglas is where you are now, but, you know, we can talk with lawn. We can talk any of the places that we've, you know. Gulliver.

[01:25:52] Toy: You know, I think, I mean I haven't lived everywhere. But I've, you know, I've been to in terms of the US I've been to New York I've been to the east coast quite a bit in here in the Midwest quite a bit, and I've been to the west coast quite a bit, and then a little bit in the south. I've And the one thing I'll say about living in Chicago that's attractive to folks that might be kind of thinking about it or on the fence about it is that Chicago has amazing people you know, people that are tough but warm and, you know, supportive and inviting and know how to have a good time.

[01:26:29] Toy: You will never be bored with Chicagoans around. I'd also say the food. I don't think there is any other place in the U. S. that is a match for Chicago's food. And you know, the, the melting pot that exists here, you're going to get food from almost every culture around the world. So if you never travel the world, you can come to Chicago and taste what the world's foods taste like.

[01:26:56] Toy: I think that's an advantage in, in being here. I think even that sense of community, the people, like you have people from all over here in Chicago. I know little Italy is not what it used to be, but when you go to that neighborhood, you're going to experience a little bit of Tuscany, a little bit, you know, and it's just a beautiful exploration of what another country could be like, because.

[01:27:18] Toy: Those that have migrated here have set up a little bit of home here in Chicago in a beautiful way. Same with Chinatown and other other neighborhoods. So I think that the people.

[01:27:29] Jake: Yeah, there's a few like that.

[01:27:30] Toy: Absolutely. I think the people and the food. But lastly, I'd say the scenery, the atmosphere. I think that if you are big on your environment, Chicago boasts with things that are inspiring and beautiful.

[01:27:44] Toy: And, you know, from the architecture of the buildings to, you know, just the history of Chicago, the museums, all of, you know, all of those experiences that make up this beautiful city. They dwell here. So I think those are my top three reasons to consider moving to Chicago. You know, you can argue affordability, but I think that that just is so specific to each individual and their, their finances.

[01:28:14] Toy: So I wouldn't, I wouldn't, it is truly relative. And so I think that you can find a place in Chicago, no matter your budget. I'll say that. But I do think top of the list reasons would be the people, the food and, you know, the architecture, the, you know, the scenery that is Chicago and then I'll say for the neighborhoods the neighborhoods that I talked about especially like woodlawn.

[01:28:38] Toy: Now, I, I think. Again, I grew up in Woodlawn and so I had an appreciation for the midway placentas and rolling down that hill and, you know, and walking to the lake and experiencing the festivals in the park and, you know, all of those beautiful things that still happen now today. So, I think that it's very that area is very much.

[01:28:59] Toy: Even more kid friendly, family friendly. I think that is again, scenery. It's a beautiful neighborhood to be in. I think with things like, you know, the Obama library coming and a lot of the. The sports and the events that are coming to Chicago, it's just a great central South central area to be in. I think the gap is probably more for, you know, probably a little more affluent.

[01:29:21] Toy: I think with you know, family or buyers, but, but not so much. Interested in being downtown or so close to downtown, which I think is great for folks who maybe don't drive or need to be downtown for work. Probably less family focused. I mean, you can have a family and be down there, but, you know, what are you going to go to millennium park every day?

[01:29:41] Jake: Mm hmm.

[01:29:42] Toy: you know, I think, I think as you come a little bit South, it's a little bit more family friendly, a little bit more space you have, you know, the street parking, your garage parking. Those are things that I think are really beneficial. And that's what my family is. We, you know, we have kids, so we need to have space.

[01:29:57] Toy: But we also like the proximity to the lake, to downtown, to the suburbs, to the freeway, I mean expressway, sorry, that's L. A. Talk freeway, the expressway. So, I would say, you know, that's a big plus for, you know, those South side neighborhoods. But, and then I didn't talk about this earlier, but Rogers Park where I lived, I think that's also very close to the lake.

[01:30:18] Toy: It's great for folks that want to, again, be close to downtown. It's probably better for, again, either young couples or students or people that are transitioning into adulthood. Because you got to be willing to move your car.

[01:30:33] Jake: Mm hmm. Oh, yeah.

[01:30:33] Toy: Parking is a headache on the north side, but

[01:30:36] Jake: Especially Rogers Park. It's so dense. And,

[01:30:39] Toy: Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

[01:30:41] Toy: But if you get a place high enough, you get some great views without the huge price tag of, you know, like a wicker park or, you know, Lincoln Park or whatever. So, those are some of my favorite Chicago neighborhoods. And I think, again, the further south you go, the more economically friendly it is. Chicago is still a very segregated city in some regards.

[01:31:02] Toy: So, just know that the further south you go, you're going to hang out with more beautiful black Americans. The more, you know, north you go, you're going to have a little bit more diversity. Probably the least black Americans, but we're still up there. You know, I think and then you have pockets of communities, like, we've talked about before with Chinatown and little Italy and, you know, even you know, sister row, you know, which is predominantly latinx.

[01:31:24] Toy: So I think you're going to get. Whatever it is you're looking for, whatever it is you're looking for, you will find it in Chicago.

[01:31:32] Jake: Well said. All right. Yeah, you should, you should definitely go into TV or something. You're good at this.

[01:31:37] Toy: Thank you. I just got to work on my eye contact. I'm always like all off in the sky or whatever. When I'm

[01:31:44] Jake: Well, with Zoom,

[01:31:47] Toy: I don't want to see myself. I'm like looking at myself.

[01:31:50] Jake: yeah, and I'm, I'm always looking at you, so I actually had like a tab covering myself on

[01:31:55] Toy: Oh, I should have done that. I should have like hid myself somehow. That would have been, cause I'm always looking around. Cause I'm like, I'm not trying to see me, but yeah.

[01:32:03] Jake: yeah, well, cuz I mean, what are you gonna do on zoom? You're not gonna look right into the camera

[01:32:07] Toy: No, that's weird.

[01:32:09] Jake: insane, you

[01:32:09] Toy: looking at a dot. Yeah. So

[01:32:11] Jake: yeah No, you got to look at either yourself or or the person you're talking to is way better than than doing that.

[01:32:17] Toy: And so I just did a hide self view and that would have been perfect because it would have been me looking at you only the whole time. Whereas before, it was like looking at you but then noticing like Oh, my hair is weird. Oh, my, you know, whatever. Oh, my background. Let me fix my light. Let me change it.

[01:32:30] Toy: So it's better if

[01:32:31] Jake: may be more fidgety

[01:32:32] Toy: yeah, so I'm like, let me hide self view next time so that I can just be focused on, you know, who I'm talking to. That's a really good note

[01:32:40] Jake: Next time, next time you do a podcast over zoom, you'll know what to do.

[01:32:44] Toy: Yes. Thank you. Thank you.

[01:32:46] Jake: Any anything else that you would want to promote or talk about or highlight or anything like that? We, we went over some of it earlier, but

[01:32:53] Toy: what else? What else? What else? No, but you got to invite me back when I, when I launched my next thing. No, I guess I could just share like where people can find me if they're interested in following stuff that I have going on. Maybe I can do that.

[01:33:06] Jake: great. Please.

[01:33:08] Toy: I'm always working on, you know, different things, new things.

[01:33:11] Toy: I'm always focused on, you know, mentoring opportunities for those that are in my industry that have very specific questions or focus. So for that, I invite people to stay connected with me via LinkedIn, especially if it's professional. I'm just way Monique on LinkedIn. And then I do a lot of promotion for projects that I'm working on on Instagram.

[01:33:32] Toy: You know, toy Monique on Instagram as well. Those are, I think the 2 best places to find out either what I got going on or just to kind of follow what's going on with me or reach out with questions or, or interest. But yeah, I think, you know, the biggest thing is check out that girl Lele on Nickelodeon and kingdom business on BET plus.

[01:33:52] Toy: And yeah, I think, and by the way, you can also see that girl Lele on Netflix. So we have a second window viewing on Netflix. Along with a few other projects like the real husbands of Hollywood and first wives club. But that's about it.

[01:34:05] Jake: That's huge. All right. Thank you so much, toy. Thank you so much for coming on here. I know that this that our audience is going to get a ton out of this. It's a pleasure knowing you is an honor to have you on and yeah, thank you so much.

[01:34:18] Toy: Thank you, Jake. Take care.