Searching for parking in Milwaukee can be frustrating, especially over the weekends. We are here to help! Don’t let parking woes get in the way of plans. Stop driving around hunting for parking, causing a waste of your time, gas, and money. Use the ParqEx app to find your perfect spot before even leaving your home.

When it comes to Milwaukee, we’ve got Milwaukee city & neighborhood parking. Need Brewers Hill Parking? Great, we’ve got options! Need Walker’s Point parking? We’ve got that too. 

Avenue West & Marquette

Visiting Marquette University? Checking out the Pabst Mansion? Admiring the beauty of the Tripoli Shrine Center, Milwaukee’s architectural replica of the Taj Mahal? Are you planning an afternoon at the Haggerty Museum of Art? All these options sound great! Find Avenue West & Marquette parking. 

Bronzeville 

Are you looking to shop local black-owned businesses? Visit the Bronzeville neighborhood and check out The Bronzeville Collective MKE. Are you a big Bucks fan and want to go to the same barber as many Milwaukee Bucks? Check out Gee’s Clippers. Trying to immerse yourself in jazz and art festivals? The Bronzeville neighborhood is the place for all that. Find Bronzeville parking. 

East Town

Sitting snug right between Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River is the famous city neighborhood of East Town. Are you immersing yourself in the culture at the Milwaukee Art Museum? Are you looking for a perfect brunch spot? Want a selfie with the Bronze Fonz to post on Instagram? Are you joining all the festivals downtown Milwaukee? East Town has it all! Find East Town parking.

Menomonee River Valley

Once an industrial hub for Milwaukee, the Menomonee River Valley is now packed with parks, sustainable buildings, and loads of attractions. Are you trying to take your pup on the walk of their life? Check out the Hank Aaron State Trail! Are you an enormous motorcycle enthusiast? It’s a no-brainer to visit the Harley Davidson Museum. Do you enjoy casinos? Visit Milwaukee’s Potawatomi Hotel & Casino. Find Menomonee River Valley parking. 

Westown

Making up about half of Milwaukee’s downtown scene, Westown is home to several theatres, Old World Third Street, the Milwaukee Bucks Fiserv Forum & Deer District, the UWM Panther Arena, and several nightlife options. Westown is one of the most bustling Milwaukee neighborhoods within the city. Click here to find Westown parking ahead of time.

Bay View

If you are looking for a charming neighborhood vibe, Bay View is the neighborhood for you. Bay View is a fun and young community that is always hosting several city activities. Are you looking for a farmers market? What about a city concert? What about local gallery night? Bay View has you covered. Are you hoping to enjoy some beer gardens and then go bar-hopping? Visit Bay View and find Bay View parking.

Clarke Square

If you are in the mood for authentic Latin food, Clarke Square is a perfect neighborhood for you to immerse yourself in Milwaukee’s Hispanic culture and let your taste buds enjoy hundreds of different flavors. If you are looking to be transported to the tropics but not wanting to spend money on a flight, visit the Mitchell Park Horticulture Conservatory, aka The Domes! Find Clarke Square parking.

Harbor District

This Milwaukee neighborhood is transforming before our eyes! The Harbour District is the hub for all things water-oriented in Milwaukee. Are you looking to enjoy a day on the water? Check out the Milwaukee Kayak Company in the Harbor District. Are you trying to snag the perfect Instagram photo? Check out Milwaukee’s Pierhead Light. If you are looking for lakefront activities but want to avoid the crowds of East Town, the Harbor District neighborhood is the perfect location for you. Find Harbor District parking. 

Riverwest

Tiki bar, you say? Yes, the Riverwest neighborhood has that (Foundation)! 24-hour bike race, you say? Yes, Riverwest also has that (Riverwest 24). Live music, you say? Again, Riverwest has that as well. This lively neighborhood has a bit of everything for just about anybody. Find Riverwest parking.

Brewers Hill

Brewers Hill is a neighborhood that has been completely revamped. Once a community for the breweries, mills, and foundry workers, this neighborhood now is a modern redeveloped neighborhood filled with condominiums, restaurants, apartments, breweries (Lake Front Brewery), and more. Brewers Hill is a popular residential neighborhood right in the thick of it. Find Brewers Hill parking. 

East Side

Suppose you are looking for a trendy neighborhood that perfectly melanges UWM students, full-time residents, and young professionals; East Side is the place for you. Here you can take in Milwaukee’s jazz scene, can attend Milwaukee’s annual film festival at East Side’s Oriental Theatre, and enjoy the Brady Street scene for all it has to offer. Find East Side parking.

Historic Third Ward

A local favorite, the Historic Third Ward neighborhood has just about everything. Suppose you are looking for cute boutique shopping, lively restaurants & bars, a riverfront boardwalk, some loaded bloody marys (Wicked Hop & Cafe Benelux), and Milwaukee’s biggest music festival (Summerfest). In that case, the Third Ward is at the top of your list of neighborhoods to visit. Find Third Ward parking.

Walker’s Point

Are you into antiquing? If so, Walker’s Point is the location for you. Are you looking to indulge in the farm-to-table trend? Walker’s Point also provides several farm-to-table restaurant options. Are you looking to plan a night out at some of Milwaukee’s best gay bars? There is genuinely no better neighborhood than Walker’s Point, as this neighborhood is proudly the hub of the Milwaukee LGBTQ+ community. Visit Walker’s Point and find parking. 

City parking does not need to be a hassle; download the ParqEx app today! 

Have a parking spot that is not being used in one of these Milwaukee neighborhoods? List your spot with ParqEx and make money every time someone parks there.

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As rapid innovation continues with IoT technologies, the results of their combined use are yet to be fully understood. The reverberations of the shift, though, will be felt as an after effect of the sweeping change, the transformation from outdated legacy systems, modes, methods, and tools – to innovative online software solutions in the cloud.

Smart cities are being developed by many individual companies using separate systems that communicate with each other. 

Market Analysis and Knowledgeable Research

One of the most challenging and logistically confusing daily tasks is parking. Traveling around in cities or unfamiliar neighborhoods, drivers are wasting valuable time and money trying to find the ideal parking spot. At the same time, the home parking garage is still a piece of equipment that has yet to fully be integrated into the digital home.

Whether you’re booking your spare bedroom or an entire investment property, where your guest’s park can make a big difference. Garage space provides a protected and homey welcome, but you don’t just want to leave your garage door hanging open until your guests arrive or make them call you to open it.  Multifamily residents currently rely on a non guaranteed reservations for a spot within their garage or guest parking is not even available at the community. Residents also find having to exchange a fob or provide a parking sticker as a means of validation. IoT technology is working together through the innovative cloud and mobile solutions, in order to solve complex logistical issues. The agility and flexibility being offered by the cloud are far preferable to, exclusively, on-premise logistical solutions. 

IoT technology is working together through the innovative cloud and mobile solutions, in order to create business opportunities and solve complex logistical issues. The agility and flexibility being offered by the cloud are far preferable to, exclusively, on-premises logistical solutions.

Sights On The Future of Real Estate Tech

The IoT is always involved when speaking about smart anything, and almost all technology is smart at this point. Smart parking garages are using monitoring devices to detect vacant spaces, then automatically sharing the data to their own systems and any specified partners.

For instance, the parking garage business may want to automate real-time updates of vacancies to the city’s tourist guide mobile app, or event centers’ apps might want their customers to have access to available spaces.

This isn’t to say that all hardware, paper, and analog systems will be completely eliminated, rather, they’ll be reduced and minimized. SaaS, PaaS, and emerging subscription software are allowing SMBs to streamline, expand, and improve the quality of their work and production – this is hard to ignore. Technology is promising to be the best solution for overcrowded city streets, in the U.S. and worldwide.

Competition in this space has generated an increased awareness from the real estate owners and the providers of these technology stressing their importance for growth. The Future of Real Estate Tech continues to push VC’s and startups in this space for a multitude of reasons. No one has found the key to Pandora’s box at this given junction, leaving the door open for challengers to propel the groundwork needed for the sector’s continued growth and development.

Property Management and Residents Look For Education

The real estate community is using technology in ways that make sense for residents. The advantages and opportunities that innovative cloud and mobile technologies offer are promising to solve parking woes and boost the local economy at the same time. Before, solving parking woes would have meant building more parking spaces, which means cities and/or businesses had to spend money, therefore making taxpayers and consumers pay for it.

The IoT, in relation to smart cities, is the technology and online systems being used to create innovative solutions and solve complex logistical issues, such as parking. For instance, parking spot sensors are being used by parking garages and city governments, in order to inform drivers of vacancies (and owners of non-compliance) and navigate them to the spot – all through their smartphones. Technology and the IoT have even shown to play a positive factor on individual health.

Essentially, what makes IoT technology so powerful is its ability to communicate and integrate with other systems and technological solutions within a city or community. Using cloud and mobile computing technology, combined with the nearly universal rate of smartphone usage, the IoT is creating innovative solutions not possible before. Closing a garage door from across the world through a mobile app is a good example.

Listen To The IoT Parking Expert

Katie Williams recognizes the lack of movement and innovation within the real estate realm. IoT within the private parking/ multifamily properties are newly discovered and emerging – there is a need to revolutionize and disrupt the current trends and inefficiencies with smart real estate technologies and smarter parking.

Katie realizes there is an underutilization of parking assets in the Chicago and surrounding markets. This is evident by poorly managed private garages offering ease of resident-guest experience or lack thereof. She looks to educate multifamily owners, residents, and property managers on the hidden value of their parking and how IoT technologies serve as a tool for the space. They provide an additional amenity in a space that is always searching for the next best thing, with a value-add to aid in boosting their ROI and bottom lines.

Please reach out to Katie if you would like additional information on how these IoT solutions can help your property today!

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Future of Mobility leaders in the Smart Cities Initiatives are convening in Chicago this Thursday, July 19th for the Smart Cities Conference hosted by BuiltWorlds. This event has been bringing together the best and brightest minds to BuiltWorlds most disruptable market which is cities and infrastructure. These discussions being held are going to cover an array of topics and the experts will help you make sense of the crucial changes coming to our cities, including transit, waste, water, energy, buildings, and social infrastructure.

The highlighted panel conversation on “The Future of Mobility” is moderated by Marketplace.city’s very own Chris Foreman. The supporting cast for this discussion features ParqEx’s very own Founder & CEO, Vivek Mehra, Alex Samoylovich from Cedar Street Ventures, Jerry Quandt, Executive Director, IL Autonomous Vehicles Association (ILAVA), and Sharon Feigon, Executive Director, Shared-Use Mobility Center. BuiltWorlds has shared the following on how this topic will be attacked:

“Autonomous and electric cars will place new demands on the electric grid, create new demands for charging stations and create new opportunities for developing the city in relation to a mobility strategy. This shift will have enormous consequences for how cities are planned in terms of where cars are parked and fueled. Hear from ParqEx Founder and CEO, Vivek Mehra, on how he plans to disrupt the process and what his partnership with Cedar Street Ventures means for the built industry. Gain insights on the impacts and benefits of shared mobility and hear about emerging opportunities related to the growth and utilization of AV technologies throughout the entire transportation network. During this session, panelists discuss the importance of investing in mobility solutions and technology advancements shaping smart cities of the future.”

The panelists in the discussion have quite the background and repertoire, becoming experts in their select fields. Their knowledge provides an in-depth look on what is to come for the smart cities initiatives across the United States. It is amazing to see the horizons they continue to expand on and the technologies used to push the bounds of innovation.

The Who’s Who

Sharon Feigon is a founder and the executive director of the Shared-Use Mobility Center, a non-profit public-interest organization working to foster collaboration in shared mobility and help connect the growing industry with transit agencies, cities and communities across the nation. As executive director, Sharon leads SUMC’s work, which includes conducting innovative research around the impacts of shared mobility, developing pilot projects to test shared mobility strategies, and providing advice and technical assistance to cities and regions in order to help extend the benefits of shared mobility for all. SUMC was also recently awarded a contract to develop the Innovation Knowledge Accelerator in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration to assist cities undertaking Mobility on Demand projects.

Jerry Quandt is the Executive Director of the Illinois Autonomous Vehicles Association. The Association is a privately funded, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of autonomous vehicle technologies within the State of Illinois. The organization’s focus is to establish Illinois as the leader in the development, design, and application of the system-of-systems that will transform mobility as we know it. He has worked most of his career in marketing and business transformation in a variety of verticals. His passion is to continue to create consumer-centric solutions leveraging bleeding-edge technologies to increase people’s quality of life.

Alex Samoylovich is the founding partner, Chief Executive Officer of CEDARst Companies.  Over the past ten years, Mr. Samoylovich has sourced, invested in and managed in excess of hundreds of transactions and has been instrumental in the acquisition and disposition of real estate with a value in over $1 billion. Utilizing a “fully integrated real estate development” (IRED) approach, Mr. Samoylovich and his partners have seamlessly interwoven acquisition, construction, finance, management, interior design and marketing under one company. In the past 15 years, CEDARst is considered one of the most active acquirers of distressed assets in the greater Chicago area. Under Mr. Samoylovich’s leadership, the company has carved out a niche strategy for the adaptive reuse of underperforming assets through bankruptcies, foreclosure, note purchases, and other distressed situations in the Chicago area; covering a span of product types from multifamily, office, mixed-use, and hospitality. Mr. Samoylovich has cemented a well-earned reputation as a tenacious deal maker capable of closing the most complex and demanding real estate transactions and returning superior risk-adjusted returns to his investors.

Chris Foreman as Chief Executive Officer of Marketplace.city Chris drives the company’s revenue and growth by building their powerful network of technology providers. Prior to Marketplace.city, Mr. Foreman served as CEO of the Americas for AvePoint, Inc. While at AvePoint, Mr. Foreman helped lead the company’s growth from a small team to over 1200 employees in 15 countries and drove the expansion into government by launching an independent subsidiary, AvePoint Public Sector, Inc. where he served as CEO and Chairman. AvePoint won 3 consecutive Microsoft Partner of the Year awards during Foreman’s tenure. Previously he worked at Nutech Integrated Systems where he oversaw enterprise sales initiatives focusing on healthcare, archiving, e-discovery, and records management. He has actively worked in the enterprise software industry for 15 years.

Vivek Mehra as Founder & CEO of ParqEx will be one of four panelists on the Main Stage discussing “Future of Mobility.” ParqEx is a private parking platform that gives the opportunity to connect renters with new avenues of parking with local individual owners that have underutilized spots. Our mission is to solve a huge problem by disrupting the entire market – and we’re doing so in a way that benefits the people of every community. We believe that people of every urban community can help solve the parking crunch by sharing what they already have.

What To Expect?

Chris will challenge the leaders to focus on topics which center around the outlook for autonomous vehicles and the need for parking spaces. What trends will come to the forefront and how cities will need to make necessary design structure implementations to adapt. What kind of burdens will residents, companies, and cities face in the short-term and long-term?

ParqEx collaborates with BuiltWorlds on a couple publications and was featured in 50 hottest technologies for smart buildings. We are excited to be on this panel discussion for this annual smart cities conference and looking to further our relationships with the real estate technology community.

The post Future of Mobility…It’s A Smart Movement appeared first on ParqEx.

Cities like Chicago are getting smarter, and not just in a metaphorical sense. Urban areas are becoming increasingly connected, with the express aim of making life easier for both residents and anyone working downtown.

With its Smart City Initiatives, Chicago has been at the forefront of a trend that has swept the nation and even got an official endorsement and federal funding from the White House last year. But what does that mean for you? Among many other things, these initiatives may have a significant impact on your neighborhood parking spots.

Chicago’s Smart City Initiative

Last year, the office Mayor Rahm Emanuel stated his goal to make Chicago “the most data-driven government in the world.” The goal is to use WiFi spots to report data back to the city and improve efficiency as a result. For example, sensors can keep park lawns from drying out, improve air quality, and more.

Smart City Initiatives are on their way across the globe, with cities like London, Barcelona, and Singapore leading the race to ultimate connectivity. Chicago is a relatively late entrant to the race, but has already established itself alongside them as a leader thanks to the initiative that the city calls “Array of Things.” Here’s how our government describes the project:

The Array of Things (AoT) is an urban sensing project, a network of interactive, modular sensor boxes that will be installed around Chicago to collect real-time data on the city’s environment, infrastructure, and activity for research and public use. AoT will essentially serve as a “fitness tracker” for the city, measuring factors that impact livability in Chicago such as climate, air quality and noise.

Technology Maximizes Efficiency

The description of the AoT as the city’s ‘fitness tracker’ is particularly descriptive in how it communicates the project as maximizing efficiency through technology. Anyone who wears a Fitbit knows just how important simply tracking your daily activities can be. You may not have been aware of how many steps you take during the day, but if you do, you will forego the elevator for the steps at the end of the day just to reach your daily goal.

The Internet of Things has become more common and is expected to continue rising in importance drastically in the near future. More and more, common household items are being connected to the internet to maximize efficiency. It’s no longer a surprise or science fiction to see stories about refrigerators ordering new food automatically on your behalf through smart connectivity.

By 2020, researchers estimate that $1.7 trillion dollars in consumer spending will be directly connected to internet-enabled household devices. Perhaps even more relevant for the purposes of this article, 90% of cars will be connected to the internet in the same time frame.

The Internet of Things as a City Connector

Take the IoT concept and apply it to larger urban areas, and you have Chicago’s Smart City Initiative (or Array of Things, depending on what you prefer to call it). The core concept is identical: the more connected you are to the environment around you, the more your life will improve and the more efficient you can be.

The success of that endeavor, of course, requires civic participation. As the City of Chicago outlines,

As smart cities embrace and deploy innovative technology embedded in public spaces, residents voices need to be represented. To prevent disconnect between residents and their city’s technology, broad engagement is key — not only to inform residents of innovations, but to take inventory of public concerns and questions associated with them.

This Smart City Initiative, then, is more than just an abstract concept deployed by the local government without direct impact on its residents. Instead, it’s a comprehensive project that depends on and benefits from constituency input. With that information, the Array of Things transforms into a powerful tool to improve your life and work. And that benefit is perhaps nowhere more obvious than in the ways in which parking connects to the project.

How Smart Parking Plays into Smart Cities

Whether you live or work in Chicago, you know how problematic parking can be. It is either expensive or impossible to find. The parking spots are there, and some of their owners may even be desperate to give them up to anyone who asks. But without a way to connect the spots to the drivers who seek them out, major inefficiencies remain.

That’s where parking connected IoT enters the equation. More specifically, the recent initiative to turn Chicago into one of the world’s smartest city could be a godsend for your parking needs. As we’ve outlined in a previous post,

If we had a way to predict where people would need and want to be in the near future, we could add living spaces as well as parking spaces in the places they will be needed most… With the right data and predictive systems, (we) would have the ability to relieve parking issues by adding parking solutions in the neighborhoods and other parts of cities that need them most.

Much like food-ordering refrigerators, this scenario is not necessarily science fiction anymore. Already, the Internet of Things is reducing parking woes in the city of Chicago. Rather than having to rely on intuition and past knowledge in finding a parking spot, apps like ParqEx can provide you with real-time updates on vacancies to minimize the time it takes to search for a spot.

As far back as 2012, experts on the subject predicted that the Internet of Things might find its most beneficial application in solving the parking problems for many of America’s downtown areas. As no less than 30% of all drivers in downtown areas are simply looking for parking, imagine the benefits of a solution that gets drivers off the street, reducing both pollution and traffic congestion at the same time.

The most frustrating part of that statistic may be the fact that these parking spots are actually available. Drivers just don’t know how to find them, leaving their owners without revenue and the cars on the street.

The key to success in changing that problem consists of two variables: visibility and timeliness. Parking situations can change in a second, meaning that any potential solution has to communicate availability instantly and reliably. That, in addition to a platform that allows parking spot owners to share their vacancies and drivers to find them, is crucial to reducing the number of people simply looking for parking spots.

Turning Chicago into a Smart City, in this case, will also improve the automated efficiency with which anyone looking to go downtown can look for (and find) a parking spot where they need it, and without paying a fortune. In other words, this Smart City Initiative will have benefits for literally anyone entering or driving around the city with a car.

And that’s why we’re so excited about the Array of Things currently transforming the city of Chicago. Executed correctly, it will not just improve the efficiency with which our local government can manage the city, but also improve livability for each of its residents. To learn more about our contributions to that cause, and how ParqEx is using the Internet of Things to improve your ability to find a parking spot, contact us.

The post Chicago’s Smart City Initiative and Its Impact on Your Neighborhood Parking Spots appeared first on ParqEx.

Autumn Activities and Events

• Exploring Chicago’s Parks and Museums – This is something you can do any time of year but it’s especially pleasant to walk around Chicago during the fall. The Field Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, and Chicago Cultural Center are just a few of the amazing museums you’ll find in the downtown Loop area. Enjoy a walk around the park and the 10 museums that comprise Museums in the Park.
• Fulton Market Ocktoberfest – This autumn festival, on the weekend of September 30 to October 1 on Fulton Market and Halsted Street, is curated by some of the city’s leading chefs and restaurant owners so it’s a great place to sample some great food. Remember that West Loop parking is scarce during popular events, so it’s best to leave your car somewhere else.
• Nobody Sleeps: A Monster’s Ball – This pre-Halloween event is at the Palmer House Hilton on Saturday, October 7 and features live entertainment, a costume party, adult trick-or-treating, specialty cocktails, and a good selection of chocolates and other savory sweets.
• Arts in the Dark – A celebration of the arts and Halloween parade on Saturday, October 21 on Columbus Drive.
• SOFA Art & Design Fair – November 2-5 at the Navy Pier. This art and design expo features a variety of exhibits, lectures, and presentations showcasing some of the most innovative designs.
• BeerHopTacular – November 4 at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. This is Chicago’s original craft beer festival with food, competitions, and 150 craft beers to sample.
• Christkindlmarket  – November 17-24. A traditional German holiday market where you can enjoy a festive atmosphere with unique gifts, entertainment, food, and beautiful decor.
• Fall and Holiday Shopping – Fall is always a popular time for shopping as you look for outfits to prepare you for cooler weather and start seeking holiday gifts. Chicago has lots of choices from malls to independent shops. Some of the best shopping choices include the Magnificent Mile Shopping District, State Street, and the Shops and North Bridge.
• Concerts at the Riviera Theatre – Just because the summer season has come to a close doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your favorite bands at one of Chicago’s finest event venues. JAM productions is able to attract worldly talent from all over to perform in the Uptown neighborhood. The concerts are typically hosted from early September through the end of February.

This is just a sampling of the fall events and activities you can enjoy in Chicago. Keep in mind that this is an incredibly diverse and exciting city with a wide selection of restaurants, shops, concerts, sporting events, and other activities that are particularly enjoyable in autumn.

Chicago Parking Options

In addition to finding the best places to explore, it’s also important to get the logistics right. Chicago parking is frequently challenging so it’s good to form a plan for your transportation needs as you make your way around the city this fall. Looking for a parking place at the last minute often results in frustration as you’re competing with so many other drivers. Whether you’re visiting or live in Chicago, it helps if you find parking options that let you avoid wasting your time searching for a parking place.

Lastly, monthly parking in a convenient location ensures that you have a regular place to park. Keep in mind that Chicago is a pedestrian-friendly city with lots of options for getting around, such as buses, trains, taxis, and Uber. In many cases, it’s more convenient to drop your car off at a long term parking spot and get to your destination by other means.

If you frequently find yourself asking “where is parking near me?” it’s worth considering ParqEx, a peer to peer parking option that connects people who need parking and those with spaces to rent. This Chicago startup provides a convenient sharing economy parking solution that makes it easier to enjoy the city without worrying about where you’re going to park. Finally, for more information, contact us.

The post Tips for Enjoying Fall in Chicago appeared first on ParqEx.

Trying to decide which February events you should attend? Here are a few of our favorite free options in the area.

Museum “Free Days”

If you have never visited the Museum of Science and Industry, you are missing out on one amazing hall of knowledge.

Don’t miss out on the incredible experience offered by this museum. Instead, take advantage of free admission on any Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday in February 2017, and explore some interesting and mind-boggling exhibits you won’t soon forget. This is one event you’ll be glad you took the time for!

Chinese Lunar New Year Parade

The Chinese New Year is a very fun and colorful holiday. Why not get in on the fun yourself by attending the Chinese New Year Parade in Chicago?

The parade will be held on February 5th, 2017 from 12pm–3pm at Archer and Wentworth Ave. It will feature eye-catching floats, live music by marching bands, and some incredible traditional dancing. What better way to start a new year?

“Neighborhoods of the World” Events

A collection of family-friendly celebrations to be presented at Navy Pier, the “Neighborhoods of the World” events are a great way to explore various cultures.

The series will begin with a China-centered event on February 12th, 2017. After that, the celebrations will be held weekly on Saturdays through the final event on March 26th. Each Saturday will focus on a different country and feature live music, traditional dancing, cultural cuisine, and crafts from around the world.

Handmade Market at The Empty Bottle

The local Handmade Market is a fun way to spend an afternoon. The February 2017 market will be held on the 11th at The Empty Bottle. It will feature the work of a number of local artists and craftspeople, all of which will be available for purchase.

While many people won’t be able to attend this adorable market without making a purchase, it can make for a free fun day out if you are able to use self-control. (Then again, what fun is that?)

Polar Adventure Days

Looking for some outdoor fun? You might want to look into the Polar Adventure Days offered by the Parks and Recreation Department.

The February Polar Adventure Day will be held on February 25th, 2017. The event is a winter exploration of the new Northerly Island Natural Area. It includes encounters with live animals, winter-themed craft projects, and free hot chocolate. This is the perfect event for kids of all ages!

Need parking for these events? 

Of course, if you are going to attend these events, you will need to consider parking. While some of the activities mentioned may have private parking available to guests, others leave you to fend for yourself. Make sure you are prepared by putting the ParqEx service to use.

ParqEx allows users to find and rent convenient parking no matter where they roam. The parking options available are owned by individuals, meaning you will receive the one-on-one service you deserve with the security of working through a bigger company.

If you are considering using ParqEx to rent parking in the Chicago area, we encourage you to contact us with any questions you may have. It is our goal to ensure you are well taken care of and have a wonderful experience using our innovative new service.

The post Five Free February Events in Chicago appeared first on ParqEx.

For these reasons, planning a short trip to Chicago during the holiday season is a fabulous idea, and one many people won’t be able to resist.

If you are looking into visiting Chicago during this holiday season, be sure to look into all of your options before booking any part of your trip. Often, the many businesses that play a part in the growing sharing economy can save you tons of money. Not only that, but renting or buying from an individual is a great way to help make someone else’s holiday bright.

Here are four of our favorite peer-to-peer companies that we think could help make your day in Chicago a memorable one. Check them out and see if you agree!

Getaround

Getting from place to place in the city is an important part of any Chicago adventure. Unfortunately, the windy, cold winter weather of this wonderful city makes walking miserable, and even public transportation can become less desirable if you are required to wait in the cold for very long at all.

This is a where Getaround steps in. This awesome peer-to-peer car rental company gives folks like you the opportunity to rent a vehicle from someone in the area you are visiting. On top of that, the site allows renters to book vehicles by the hour—instead of the day—meaning you can use the car for as little time as you like.

At prices starting at just $5 an hour, this seems like a pretty fantastic deal to us!

ParqEx

Of course, if you are going to be driving a car around, you will need a place to park it. Parking in Chicago can be ridiculously expensive. This is especially true around the holidays when parking is scarce.

ParqEx solves this problem by giving individuals the opportunity to rent their parking spaces to folks just like you. This provides the public with more affordable parking in the Chicago area, meaning you will be able to park your car without hassle. How fabulous is that?

Feastly

Enjoying some incredible food is a must for anyone who visits the Windy City. There are, of course, a number of wonderful restaurants all over Chicago just waiting for you to come give them a try.

However, if you are looking for something a little bit out of the ordinary, you might try booking a meal with one of the many chefs listed on the Feastly website. These local cooks really know their stuff when it comes to food, and you will most certainly appreciate the home-cooked meal made just for you.

SeatGeek

Chicago is home to a wide variety of wonderful theatrical productions. Currently, a good portion of these productions are holiday-themed, meaning you can see some high-quality live theater and get into the holiday spirit simultaneously.

Unfortunately, many of these productions sell out fairly quickly, and you might have trouble finding seats at this point. That is, unless you use the power of the peer-to-peer marketplace. The SeatGeek Marketplace is the perfect place to pick up last-minute tickets because it allows folks who cannot use the tickets they have on hand the opportunity to those who can use them.

People are always looking to sell tickets, which means picking up a couple of seats to a favorite holiday production shouldn’t be problem when you purchase from an individual, even if you are looking to buy long after the show has technically sold out.

To learn more about how the sharing economy can help you better your life, please contact us today at ParqEx.

The post Using the Sharing Economy to Enjoy the Holidays in Chicago appeared first on ParqEx.

The best thing about peer-to-peer rentals? They are typically offered for much cheaper than the corporate alternatives. Additionally, many of the rentals acquired through the sharing economy offer something more than you might get from a big corporation. Whether that means a better view, a closer parking place, or a car with all the bells and whistles, this is a major bonus for you as a customer.

For these reasons, putting the ever-growing sharing economy to good use on your next vacation is something you should seriously consider. After all, who doesn’t appreciate paying less for a room with a bigger bed, or shelling out money for a rental car knowing they are helping out an individual instead of an enormous company that doesn’t know they exist?

So where should you take your money when you hit the road? Here are four of the very best peer-to-peer rental companies for travelers. Next time you’re ready to see a new part of the world, be sure to check them out.

Airbnb

Likely the most well known of the peer-to-peer rental companies, Airbnb (pronounced “AIR bee inn bee”) gives home owners the opportunity to rent out unused houses, apartments, and rooms to those looking for short-term rentals. Whether you need a room for a couple nights or an entire month, you are sure to find something on Airbnb.

Feeling nervous about renting from a stranger? No worries! Airbnb has set up a place for past customers to leave their review of a particular rental and renter. Be sure to read all reviews thoroughly to avoid unexpected surprises and you will be good to go!

Couchsurfing

Like Airbnb, Couchsurfing offers homeowners a chance to rent out unused space. However, Couchsurfing differs in that the space being rented is usually only a couch or bed. This means the homeowners are usually in the same house as the travelers.

For some this may seem like an awkward situation, but for others it is perfectly acceptable, and considering the fact that Couchsurfing is absolutely free, it is definitely something worth considering.

Turo

If you will be flying to your destination, you will likely need a rental car to get you from point A to point B. This is where Turo steps in.

This peer-to-peer car rental platform connects car owners with those in need of a rental car in cities all over the United States. This mean you can rent a car—which is likely sitting around unused most of the time anyway—for less money and from somebody who can really use the cash.

Turo is definitely set up to be a win-win situation for everyone involved, making it a truly wonderful business.

ParqEx

You know that rental car we mentioned above? Well, if you are visiting a big city, you will probably have trouble finding a place to park it. ParqEx has come on the scene for just this reason.

When using ParqEx, travelers just like you are able to choose from and rent a variety of convenient parking places all over the larger cities of the US. However, these parking spots aren’t just any parking spots. Instead, these parking places are owned by individuals—just like you and me—who simply don’t need to use the spot at the current moment.

Because these individuals own parking places in busy cities, they are able to share with those in need and make a bit of extra cash while they’re at it. This mean they get some spending money, you get an affordable and convenient parking spot, and the spot gets some much-needed use. What could be better than that?

Interested in learning more about how the sharing economy can help you? Please contact us today at ParqEx.

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