Friend and I are planning to move to Chicago BUT there's an income disparity problem

[OHW]

Originally Posted by treemoni

OHW, why do you keep trying to frame it so that it's not affordable to him? Why can't you say that it isn't the place you'd prefer to live? I really don't understand why the person who can't afford to live in the area is the biggest influence in the decision. Maybe it's time for him to learn what being an adult is like. His parents are enabling him, and it sounds like you might be, too.

No, I've already let him know that I don't want to live there. I just need some reasons to help support my case other than that I heard the nightlife was lackluster on a message board.

Ultimately I think the affordability factor will work. While my friend is concerned with status as I mentioned, he's not completely unreasonable as I may have accidentally implied.

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by OHW

It seems like my best argument for staying out of the Loop is that it plain isn't affordable for him.

No, that's your second-best argument. Your best argument is that you don't want to live there, and while he needs your income (and/or his parents' money) to subsidize the lifestyle he desires, you don't need anything from him.

The real question is why you want to live with him instead of having your own place? I completely understand wanting to help a friend who needs a place to crash, but all you'd be doing here is helping him in his attempt to portray a false "status." Most people in Chicago are going to see right through that, anyway, and are more likely to respect him for living within his means and supporting himself rather than mooching off of his friend.

[Ace Rothstein]

Downtown doesn't mean higher status in Chicago necessarily. There are plenty of status neighborhoods outside of downtown.

[OHW]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

No, that's your second-best argument. Your best argument is that you don't want to live there, and while he needs your income (and/or his parents' money) to subsidize the lifestyle he desires, you don't need anything from him.

The real question is why you want to live with him instead of having your own place? I completely understand wanting to help a friend who needs a place to crash, but all you'd be doing here is helping him in his attempt to portray a false "status." Most people in Chicago are going to see right through that, anyway, and are more likely to respect him for living within his means and supporting himself rather than mooching off of his friend.

I go crazy living alone and I'm probably too much of a tightwad to do so. Knowing myself, it'll eat at me thinking of the amount of money I could be saving by splitting rent, the electric bill, etc...

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by OHW

I go crazy living alone and I'm probably too much of a tightwad to do so. Knowing myself, it'll eat at me thinking of the amount of money I could be saving by splitting rent, the electric bill, etc...

Okay, but that only works if he really does pay for his half of everything on time, doesn't mooch off of you when you go out, etc. Otherwise you're not really saving money, especially when you factor in that the place you would live in on your own would likely be much cheaper than the place you would split with him.

You know him, so I suppose we should take your word for it, but that's not usually how it works when a higher-income self-described "tightwad" lives with a lower-income person who likes to portray a status beyond his means.