Is Chicago Expensive Like New York Also?

[Ghostgecko]

Originally Posted by amy_cate

i'm so excited because my new apt in chicago is $300 less than my apt in bklyn. i've moved out further and further from manhattan in the past several years. now i may as well be in nj. i like that in chicago, i can live closer to civilization. my husband and i are young-ish and still like to go out a lot for dinner, drinks, shows, etc. nyc is increasingly becoming one big ripoff and cost of living is a cruel, cruel joke. the things that excite me about my apt are so silly but having lived in railroad bklyn apts with maybe 3 windows and 1 closet...having a dishwasher is just like xmas morning to me. wow. and a washer/dryer.. after shlepping blocks with my granny cart i can just do it in my bldg?? what a concept. and ceiling fans? 5 closets?? i feel like such a nerd getting excited about these things, but seriously, i do feel i have gotten mroe for my money by a long shot.

Now I am feeling better! I live in Key West, and my friend is trying to talk me out of Colorado Springs to come with him up there. Two people living together are easier anywhere, but I am originally from Fort Wayne, IN, so the Midwest is not totally appealing to me. I miss mountains!

What made me HAVE to comment on this was that in Key West you pay about 1000 a month for a bedroom, maybe your own bath. And by private, we mean walk through the house to your bath. A 1 bedroom runs about anywhere from 1500-1800, and a nice studio, try about 1200. It's ridiculous! And by the way, when we talk about studio, we mean, old garage, or tiny nook cut out of a house. It's nuts! The typical apartment barely exists here, considering the only one in town claims to be the best and IT'S NOT! Also, homes typically cut apartments in half to make two so they can make double. It's not all their fault though, the rising costs of housing had a lot to do with it. There is no land here so they can raise the price every year, and they do, because people are ALWAYS coming here. Sounds like I would be doing about the same in Chicago, but hopefully making more...

[jgi]

I've been in Park Slope, Brooklyn for a while now and although my rent controlled 2BR apartment is a total steal in my area (if I resigned my lease it would be $1550 per month) I am pretty excited about how cheap Chicago is looking. I have a connection with some friends that would get me into a house for only $500 per month. I really love my neighborhood, but the cost of living here has just become silly. And, being a Michigander, I do find myself missing the midwest. It's a little frightening to jump from NYC to Chicago, like I feel I might miss out on something, but logically I know that fear is unfounded. Chicago is the midwest's oasis, like another poster said, and it will be nice to take a little financial strain off myself.

[jessiegirl_98]

Originally Posted by jgi

I've been in Park Slope, Brooklyn for a while now and although my rent controlled 2BR apartment is a total steal in my area (if I resigned my lease it would be $1550 per month) I am pretty excited about how cheap Chicago is looking. I have a connection with some friends that would get me into a house for only $500 per month. I really love my neighborhood, but the cost of living here has just become silly. And, being a Michigander, I do find myself missing the midwest. It's a little frightening to jump from NYC to Chicago, like I feel I might miss out on something, but logically I know that fear is unfounded. Chicago is the midwest's oasis, like another poster said, and it will be nice to take a little financial strain off myself.

$500 per month! Where is this house? (I take it it's one room in a house)

[Ghostgecko]

Anyone who lived in South Florida...Cheaper or worse in Chicago? So far, renting a room in Key West has proved about 900... We're talking about 100 sq ft!

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Ghostgecko

Anyone who lived in South Florida...Cheaper or worse in Chicago? So far, renting a room in Key West has proved about 900... We're talking about 100 sq ft!

You can do that here for half that price and below.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Ghostgecko

Anyone who lived in South Florida...Cheaper or worse in Chicago? So far, renting a room in Key West has proved about 900... We're talking about 100 sq ft!

Key West is some of the most expensive real estate in the country, period, so it's not a good representation of Florida real estate prices. Renting in Chicago is pretty comparable in terms of cost as renting in Miami, which in turn is a far sight cheaper than renting in Key West.

So yeah, Chicago is a bit on the expensive side. But the most common complaint I hear from Floridians is that the cost of real estate (while probably cheaper in most areas than in the Chicago area) is way out of proportion to wages and salaries. So while you pay more to live here, you also make more.

[Attrill]

My wife and I are paying less on our mortgage for single family home in Logan Square (bought 4 years ago) than a friend is paying in rent for a 2 br in Williamsburg right now.

I grew up in Boston, lived in NYC, SF, DC, and London, and ended up in Chicago because I feel Chicago has everything I love about all those other cities at a much lower cost.