Quiet Time

One of the differences between the Chicago area, where I'm from, and the Seattle area, where I now live, is that the Seattle area strikes me as quieter. Mainly, I think, because of a lack of trains and loud insects. When I was growing up on the far western edge of Chicagoland, one could hear the trains for miles away. And when I moved into the city proper, the El wasn't very far away. At the same time, the insects were rarely quiet. It seemed that the chirping of crickets and cicadas was a constant background soundtrack (less so, of course, in the city than the suburbs). Here in the Seattle suburbs, there are no trains, and insects aren't very vocal and that makes the place seem eerily quiet at times. Despite the length of time that I've been here, I've never really acclimatized to the lack of noise.