riverripper
monkbent, dont you have a kid? Aren't you going to do the family KWEST. Thats the cheapest trip and is in the US.
Remember you guys will have two years in Chicago, leave some stuff to do when friends and family visiting. Seeing the same sites over and over can get old.
River, if I was doing KWEST that's the exact one I would do. However, I'm hoping to live in McManus. Move-ins are the day before KWEST trips start (although that trip is on Monday), which leaves hardly any time to get the place set up, help the wife find her way around (keep in mind this will be her first time living in the States), buy groceries, etc. Then, right after that is CIM, where I don't expect to have any time at all.
Again, for me, KWEST sounds awesome because of the relationships you can develop. All of the other stuff is not a big deal to me, and in comparison with what my family needs, are in fact deterrents.
Anyhow, that's why I like the Chicago KWEST idea. If 85% go on KWEST, that means 15% don't - that's a lot of friends to make in a week! Oh, and I'm already bored by Chicago (grew up in Madison), so no worries there...