Moving to Chicago

[celticdream1102 0]

We live in Chicago and are looking to leave.

The winters here are pretty bad and the blizzard this year cost us a weeks pay since my husband is a truck driver and could not get anywhere for a couple of days so they canceled his whole week.

Taxes here are AWFUL! We have the highest sales tax, they raised our income tax 66% this year and your property tax can cost you monthly the same as your mortgage. I know you say you and your husband can make more money here but if the cost of living is a lot more than Florida then you are really not making any more money really. I would do a lot of cost checking on rent, insurance, food, etc so you know if it is similar to where you are.

We really don't have much good to say about Chicago because we are tired of the traffic and the cost of living here. I don't know which state would be better since it seems like a lot of the states aren't doing to well but we know we don't like living here.

[Sergi9 110]

Chicago is awesome. Great culture, nice people and good job opportunities. Very ethnically diverse and as opposed to the "Southern Hospitality" you always know where you stand with folks in Chicago no guesswork involved.

The weather well Winter is rough, but the street crews do a great job of clearing it and even after a major blizzard its business as usual in less than a day. You can dress warm for the cold but even if your naked in the South you are miserable from May to October.

The burbs are nice, but you cannot beat living downtown always something to do and its a very pretty city compared to NY or Detroit.

The Park Districts here are top notch, if you want to swim in the south buy a house with a pool, or if you want to work out you have to buy a private gymn membership. Here for a reasonable sum you can join a park district program and get a lot of bang for the buck. Best library and school system in the midwest.

You are also in a major transportation hub and can fly to anywhere relatively inexpensively and direct in many itineraries. You can drive to Canada in a couple hours or take the train there.

The corruption and politics well that is Chicago.. but don't worry what do you need, I know a guy, who knows a guy

[Brandi n Michael 8]

Michael was born and raised in and around Chicago and all his family still lives there. I personally don't like it because I think it smells The winter isn't as extreme as what I'm used to (Winnipeg MB Canada)but the humidity in the summer is awful and not something I enjoy...We moved to Denver CO to experience it all and at the right times of the year (and it is cheaper) Chicago is expensive IMO!

Brandi

[Carol & Lenin 16]

I moved to chicago from Fl although i was born and raised here. stay in FL! yes i make more here, but the taxes almost take up the difference and then everything is more expensive here. the food clothes utilities, everything. so you probably wont be living more comfortably. then there is this lil thing called winter. ugh. the beach is just not the same, it never quite gets warm enough to get in the water anyway. im mean summer in the city is amazing with festivals and such but its 3, 4mths of the yr if your lucky. my advice, stay in FL enjoy the natural gifts it has, and visit chicago, in the summer. :-)

[nurse1967 287]

I grew up in Chicago. I hate the hot weather and the cold in Chicago is cold but you get used to it. The city is amazing. Wonderful places to eat, shop, visit. They people are friendly and diverse. Crime is high in some areas but of course you wouldn't want to live in those areas anyway. Schools are good. Yes, there are politics out the ying yang. It's one of the things that gives Chicago some character. It's not like there's not corruption in foreign countries. My husband is from Egypt and God knows Chicago can't hold a light to the corruption I witnessed there. I think you would love Chicago! Go for it!

[J&N* 68]

Thanks everyone!! I appreciate everyone's contribution! Me and my husband are praying about it and we'll leave it up to God! If we don't end up moving there I'm sure we'll move to another city because God knows who much I hate suburbs, they're just not for me.

[Zero Sum 305]

We live in Chicago and we're actually looking to leave sometime in the future. Nothing is planned yet but we are leaving the idea open. Winter was harsh this year with the blizzard, I got sent home from work and lost 2 days with no pay. There is a lot of shoveling to do and it's really a pain in the behind having to wake up earlier in the morning to be able to shovel out your car so you can go to work, and it sucks when you shovel out a spot just to find that somebody took it when you got back.

Jobs are ok to find I would say but I wasn't able to find one in my field. I had to quit for personal reasons and should start the job hunt again in the next month or so, although I am not expecting to find one in what I would like.

Chicago is known to be one of the most corrupt cities in the US. You're able to get things when you "know" someone. I don't know if you're aware that in January the Illinois legislature passed a personal income-tax increase of 66 percent because of the huge deficit that the state is facing. My husband works for the city of Chicago and he has to take so many furlough days a year (no pay) because they're told the City has to cut down on costs, yet they go and contract a private company to do other jobs and pay them more. Everything is so politically based here that it's not even funny. Perhaps I see it more given my husband's job.

The city is big but it's pretty easy to get to places since the streets are sort of ordered. If you work downtown your best bet is to take the train because traffic is horrible at rush hour. Downtown is nice I will say. There are a lot of places to see like the Water Tower, the Sears Tower (now Willis), you can go to Navy Pier, Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, etc. There are tons of good places to eat and things like that.

If your only concern is the winter, than you should be fine. You WILL get tired of the snow though.

I agree with this assessment of the City and State. I understand the financial circumstances for the State-level income tax hike, although those making below threshold amounts will be exempted from paying up the hike.

As for the City here are my experiences with cash/limitations:

The City is quite a money pit. City Sticker at $120/year + Residential Parking on top of it, high gas prices, stringent parking enforcement, high meter rates (privatized), snow routes reducing parking, selfish neighbors with time-honored dibs traditions on parking spots, selfish parking on streets and the 1.5-1.75 spots taken by some inconsiderate people, high sales tax (hopefully to be rolled back to pre-Urkle levels by Preckwinkle soon), etc etc. If you can keep your FL license plates, do so.

The weather is very variable, so its for people with a light sense of humor. The heavy snow can be a drag for some. I tend to enjoy it though, particularly for the exercise I get while shoveling. Always on the bright side, although you may not see the sun for up to 2 months at times in the Winter.

Going into the Good:

Summers are absolutely gorgeous in the City. Restaurant and neighborhood diversity is excellent here- I'd say even better than NYC (no offense to anyone from there) because things are a little more convenient to get to by car, and the prices are way better. The lake is a relaxing sight all year long, LSD is a good N-S thoroughfare. Heavy traffic zones can be bypassed at many locations with modest additions to travel times. Rents are much cheaper than NYC or LA.

All this said, do not move to the City without a firm job offer.

[Zero Sum 305]

I disagree with the recommendation of "not" using public transportation. I believe the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) does a pretty good job. Fares are pretty much the same as in other big cities. I used to take the Orange Line everyday to work and never had a problem, so I'm not sure why one of the posters advised not to use public transportation.

Like Kimbear said, the temperature does change from one minute to the other and it can really be a pain. Gas is expensive, high taxes, etc.

You lived out towards Midway?

CTA is good, but it needs to be much better. And that is something the MTA in NYC sweeps Chicago's CTA. But if you don't drive and take CTA here, then its a good deal as long as you are able to get on routes that will allow you to board buses or trains before the rush does. But the CTA is trying to improve bus bunching and train congestion.

[Nica_In_Love 98]

I agree with this assessment of the City and State. I understand the financial circumstances for the State-level income tax hike, although those making below threshold amounts will be exempted from paying up the hike.

As for the City here are my experiences with cash/limitations:

The City is quite a money pit. City Sticker at $120/year + Residential Parking on top of it, high gas prices, stringent parking enforcement, high meter rates (privatized), snow routes reducing parking, selfish neighbors with time-honored dibs traditions on parking spots, selfish parking on streets and the 1.5-1.75 spots taken by some inconsiderate people, high sales tax (hopefully to be rolled back to pre-Urkle levels by Preckwinkle soon), etc etc. If you can keep your FL license plates, do so.

The weather is very variable, so its for people with a light sense of humor. The heavy snow can be a drag for some. I tend to enjoy it though, particularly for the exercise I get while shoveling. Always on the bright side, although you may not see the sun for up to 2 months at times in the Winter.

Going into the Good:

Summers are absolutely gorgeous in the City. Restaurant and neighborhood diversity is excellent here- I'd say even better than NYC (no offense to anyone from there) because things are a little more convenient to get to by car, and the prices are way better. The lake is a relaxing sight all year long, LSD is a good N-S thoroughfare. Heavy traffic zones can be bypassed at many locations with modest additions to travel times. Rents are much cheaper than NYC or LA.

All this said, do not move to the City without a firm job offer.

I totally forgot to mention the parking issue, it's something that I still don't get used to. I'm glad you mentioned it.

I live in the Bridgeport area, I'm very close to downtown and luckily I only had to take one train to get to work, overall I think it works pretty good. I'm sure there are ways to improve it; I've never been to NYC so I can't really compare it to the MTA.