job relocation stl ---> chicago (Lincoln, Ina: car rental, real estate, apartment) - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

jack_herer · 08-12-2013, 09:54 PM

ok... I grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis. Graduated from college in the booming year of 2009. No jobs. 35%-45% of my friends went to Chicago for work. Some of my best friends. I stayed here and weathered the storm (unfortunately I was tied to something that was coercing me to stay here). I am no longer tied up. I moved to South St.Louis (south hampton area) and was able to purchase a sparkling gem of a house for $130k that is 1722 sq. ft. But it is just me in this house after frequent visits to friends in Chicago and looking at the potential real estate and finance career opportunities (my occupation) got the wheels turning.

All perks and compensation bottom line I get paid more or less $40k in STL (3 weeks vacation). I decided 2 weeks ago what the hell I'll apply to one job in Chicago JUST to see what I would get paid there to do the same thing I get paid here to do. I was offered $63.5K plus bonus and 4 weeks vacation and the key factor here is for my industry MUCH MUCH more room to move up in my career. I tend to think $40K in STL is probably close to $65K in Chicago. But then I think, no car that's $100 a month in gas, $100 in insurance, plus maintenance. I am looking for advice on both side of the isle. I have friends that live in the near north neighborhood. my job would be in the loop. The Loop apartment/condos look VERY expensive. Currently I work in Clayton, MO. Would this be a lateral move or a raise? I prefer cold weather to hot and humid ANY day of the week. I have until Wednesday to decide

jdiddy · 08-12-2013, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jack_herer

ok... I grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis. Graduated from college in the booming year of 2009. No jobs. 35%-45% of my friends went to Chicago for work. Some of my best friends. I stayed here and weathered the storm (unfortunately I was tied to something that was coercing me to stay here). I am no longer tied up. I moved to South St.Louis (south hampton area) and was able to purchase a sparkling gem of a house for $130k that is 1722 sq. ft. But it is just me in this house after frequent visits to friends in Chicago and looking at the potential real estate and finance career opportunities (my occupation) got the wheels turning.

All perks and compensation bottom line I get paid more or less $40k in STL (3 weeks vacation). I decided 2 weeks ago what the hell I'll apply to one job in Chicago JUST to see what I would get paid there to do the same thing I get paid here to do. I was offered $63.5K plus bonus and 4 weeks vacation and the key factor here is for my industry MUCH MUCH more room to move up in my career. I tend to think $40K in STL is probably close to $65K in Chicago. But then I think, no car that's $100 a month in gas, $100 in insurance, plus maintenance. I am looking for advice on both side of the isle. I have friends that live in the near north neighborhood. my job would be in the loop. The Loop apartment/condos look VERY expensive. Currently I work in Clayton, MO. Would this be a lateral move or a raise? I prefer cold weather to hot and humid ANY day of the week. I have until Wednesday to decide

This is a no-brainer. Take the job and move, this is an immediate raise with greater career potential. If your job is in the loop, you have the option to live just about anywhere in the metropolitan area. The loop is expensive because no one lived there 15 years ago, so any condos available are new and high end.

marothisu · 08-12-2013, 10:10 PM

That's cool and a good story. It's one of those "you never know" things right?

According to this site, it's a raise:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Also, no offense to St. Louis, but depending on what field you are in, the chances of advancing your career to the next level are much, much, much better in Chicago versus St. Louis. Think about if you're some financial guy working in St. Louis. All of a sudden you're in the #2 or #3 financial center in the country and one of the top 15 in the entire world in Chicago.

1) Not sure how much I'd believe that site above though (I'm pretty sure it's a little bit of a raise though), but you hit the nail on the head with the car thing. There are a number of areas in Chicago where you don't even need it.

2) You don't want to LIVE in the Loop. Trust me. The Loop is a boring part of town and while you could afford it (unless you have a lot of debt), there's better parts of town. You could easily rent a 1 bedroom apartment in an area like Lakeview for $1000/month or less (Lakeview is the greater overall area where Wrigley Field is). The public transit in Chicago is good enough where you could take the train from an area like this and be in the Loop in 20 minutes.

I live in Gold Coast, which is about 1-1.5 miles north of the river that separates the Loop from River North area (i.e. near where the Trump Tower is). My 1 bedroom apartment is under $1400/month, I'm right on a train line that's a 4-7 minute train ride to where I need in the Loop, and don't own a car. When I need one, there are services like Zip Car which you can pay hourly or I can rent one for cheap from a lot of different car rentals down here.

If you're making $65,000/year and have minimal debt, after a 401K (if you get it), taxes, and insurances, and maybe a little stock option, let's say you get at least $3500-$3600/month in your paychecks. If you rent something for even $1500/month, that's $2000-$2100/month left over. Say you pay $100/month for satellite and internet, and another $80/month for your cell phone, and $100/month for unlimited public transit pass. Say you pay $100/month for debt type of things, and another $50 for utilities, you are still left over with almost $1600-$1700/month. This is also for a $1500/month apartment. If you don't mind living in a cool neighborhood 20 minutes away for something like $1000/month, then that's over $2000/month saved after a few "necessities" though we didn't count food. Even if you spend $500/month on food and drinks, you're still fine unless you want to save $30,000 in 6 months or something.

I should also mention that if you're okay with roommates, you can live for even less (though you can certainly afford to live on your own). My last girlfriend lived in Lakeview East a half mile from Wrigley Field in a decent place for $750/month and had one roommate. Other decent areas, it could be even cheaper (before that, she lived in Ravenswood/North Center/Lincoln Square area for under $600/month which is a 7 minute train ride to Lakeview and about 30 minutes to the Loop via the train).

chet everett · 08-12-2013, 10:31 PM

Marothisu did a pretty good job laying out the numbers and even skeptical folks like me would say this does sound like at least a bit of an upgrade.

I would like to hear what sort of profit or loss the OP is looking at on their house and I would also not assume that STL is a "dead end". In addition to being the US base for the "King of Beer" and the huge range of beverage brands they own the significant scale of firms like Monsanto, Emerson Electric, Purina and the considerable FINANCIAL SERVICES strength of Edward Jones make it a pretty nice town for folks with skills. In some ways a town where you can be "bigger fish in a smaller pond" can make advancement happen quicker than a place that attracts wanna be corporate climbers like flys to manure...

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marothisu · 08-12-2013, 10:34 PM

^ Agreed. I don't think St. Louis is a dead end depending on your line of work. However, for some lines of work, Chicago is probably better for advancing your career, but maybe not for *anything*. It would be interesting to hear which line of work the OP is in.

chicagobear · 08-13-2013, 06:08 AM

I made a similar move from St. Louis to Chicago years ago and I think my career opportunities were far greater in Chicago. To live in Chicago for even a few years would be a great experience. You can always move back sone day.

Vlajos · 08-13-2013, 06:52 AM

I agree with all the above. Sounds like an easy decision.

billiken · 08-13-2013, 08:30 PM

I've lived both places, love both places. I agree with whoever said this is certainly a raise. I used to work for an international company, and the starting salary differences were less than $10k between the two cities. I highly recommend ditching the car. You're still pretty young, sounds like no kids--to me, this is almost a no-brainer. Selling your house could be painful (it was for us). Plus, I'd say moving away from "home," even for a little while, is great life experience.

nikitakolata · 08-13-2013, 08:48 PM

I've never lived in St. Louis, but this sounds like a good move to me. Marothisu is right, you don't want to live in the loop. The loop is just plain creepy at night, if you ask me. The beauty of working there though is that you can get to the loop from anywhere pretty easily. If you live by any train station in the city it will get you to the loop and you can also live in the suburbs (though if your friends are in the city that's probably not where you want to be).

If you can rent your current house or sell it without losing your shirt then I would go for it and make the move.

mjtinmemphis · 08-13-2013, 09:02 PM

I agree with everyone. I was born and raised in St. Louis lived in Charlotte, Memphis and Chicago. I would not trade my experience for anything.

Take the job. If nothing more than for the personal and professional development. You will have more opportunities for life in Chicago. If you don't like it after 2 years, move!

I'm transferring to St.Louis next year to be closer to family and aging parents. To be honest with you I'm looking forward to the move. Not that Chicago is a bad city it's just a good move for me in my life now.

Good luck!