Gay professional might move to Chicago from San Francisco...will I like it? (Lincoln: apartments, new home)

[A2DAC1985]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

It seems that there are only threads for people LEAVING Chicago. I don't get why this is, but the city doesn't seem to attract people from the coasts, it only seems that people are fleeing which concerns me.

Here's the deal, I am 26 years old, have grown up the majority of my life in California, but have spent 7 years in Denmark and 2 in Rhode Island, so I know winters. I'm sick of people instantly telling me when I'm interested in Chicago that I'll "HATE THE WINTER ZOMG". It's like, people, half of the world deal with winters. Have some pride in your city and don't scare people off! It's not really a deciding factor for me.

What is a deciding factor is the quality of life, urban experience, how fun the city is, and COL.

I'm frankly tired of the Bay Area because it's gotten prohibitively expensive. I really want my own studio/apartment with my partner and I'm sick of having to have roommates and live in cramped conditions. It's also become impossible to save due to high rents. My 2 best friends have moved to Chicago from CA and love it, and I can't get over how cheap their rents are! My partner and I want to try something completely new and different, and expand our horizons a bit more. Chicago seems attractive to me because it's a major city that is traditionally urban, but doesn't have the hype/pretension as does NYC/SF/LA.

Here are my questions:
- How is city life different from SF? Is it exciting? Does it feel bustling, compact and lively the same way SF does? Does the city shut down in the winter or is it thriving?
- How gay friendly is the city overall? Will I be able to be myself freely without frequently running into douchebags and homophobes?
- How is the job market currently for someone looking into advertising/marketing?
- Do you think someone coming from CA will enjoy the lifestyle/people out there
- Does Chicago have that dynamic, worldly city feel that I crave?
- For those of you that are gay, how is the Boystown scene vs Castro/west Hollywood?

Thanks!

I can't really comment on most of your post. Others on this forum are much more qualified than I am.

But for the bold, I will say this: It certainly seems like Chicago has a much better rail network than San Francisco does:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=San+F...i=transit_comp

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Chica...i=transit_comp

Maybe you're a driver. Maybe you're a PTer (public transporstation-er?). In either case, I don't think anyone would say the 'L' isn't traditionally urban. But then again, that could mean absolutely nothing to you. I don't know... but I hope it helped some.

[Pantless1]

Edgewater/Andersonville area also has a pretty substantial gay population... albeit a bit more "mature" vs. the crowd in boystown.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by A2DAC1985

But for the bold, I will say this: It certainly seems like Chicago has a much better rail network than San Francisco does:

It most definitely does, but San Francisco is over 3X smaller of a population than Chicago. Chicago though has the 2nd largest rail network in the US behind NYC.

The funny thing to note here is that the north and part of the northwest side has about the same physical area as San Francisco but has a higher population density than SF. However, there are some high rises along the lake in Chicago, so San Francisco may feel denser in some areas because it's not as high rise oriented. Still interesting to note.



As far as the "people leaving Chicago" thing, that's only what you see on forums. We get people here all the time talking about moving. Companies are hiring here again (thank god - personally my company has hired over 15 new people from outside of the area/state this year). The population in Chicago has grown a little bit (maybe 20,000 since 2010, according to some reports). In any case, I wouldn't buy too much into what you're reading on forums. That's not even a full sample of people that represent real society. Sure there are people leaving, but there's also people coming in.

[destroycreate]

Very exciting, and thanks to you all for the helpful feedback. Anybody else's is also appreciated!

I just spoke to me partner about this and be both are starting to plan for a move. If we both land decent jobs, we could actually start putting money away for savings living in Chicago, unlike here where we're paycheck to paycheck. We pay $1,500 to rent a BEDROOM with 2 other roommates. How insane is that? It's an OK house, but not worth that sort of money. Luckily between us both we split the cost, but still. I LOVE the idea of having my own space with nobody else hovering in the background.

One other question, is it easy to meet people for newcomers? We're super social and into the gay nightlife, and always meet great people whereever we go. But I'm not sure if the Midwestern mentality will be very different here. One great aspect about SF is that it's so full of transplants and a very energetic, youthful population, so there's always stuff going on and people wanting to make new friends. Chicago seems from what I've been told, to be much more of a "locals" town where you'll find a lot of people there who have roots and established friend circles. So that's the only thing I wonder about, if it will be harder to break in.

The L looks so much better than MUNI. I can't complain too much about MUNI, as it's better than what most US cities have, but it's painfully slow and has limited rail coverage. BART is OK but I live in the city so I don't need it. Love that the L has 24/7 lines!

[Tenzo]

There are neighborhoods that celebrate being gay just like there are neighborhoods that celebrate being Mexican.

As for your treatment because you are gay or not? I'd say no one really cares.
They will most likely treat you for the person you are.
If someone is not nice, they are not nice. If someone is nice, they most likely will be nice back.

[destroycreate]

Originally Posted by Tenzo

There are neighborhoods that celebrate being gay just like there are neighborhoods that celebrate being Mexican.

As for your treatment because you are gay or not? I'd say no one really cares.
They will most likely treat you for the person you are.
If someone is not nice, they are not nice. If someone is nice, they most likely will be nice back.

I guess the only reason I mentioned it is b/c in the Bay Area it doesn't even matter if I'm in the suburbs, nobody cares or stares at you for being gay. Because it's such a liberal, progressive area, you don't really find people who are against gays, that's very much the exception to the norm. That is a great aspect of the Bay Area, is that it's REALLY comfortable to be yourself here without fear of judgemnet. I grew up in San Diego which feels far more conservative and out of the main central area, I don't feel totally comfortable being myself 100% open.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

Very exciting, and thanks to you all for the helpful feedback. Anybody else's is also appreciated!

I just spoke to me partner about this and be both are starting to plan for a move. If we both land decent jobs, we could actually start putting money away for savings living in Chicago, unlike here where we're paycheck to paycheck. We pay $1,500 to rent a BEDROOM with 2 other roommates. How insane is that? It's an OK house, but not worth that sort of money. Luckily between us both we split the cost, but still. I LOVE the idea of having my own space with nobody else hovering in the background.

One other question, is it easy to meet people for newcomers? We're super social and into the gay nightlife, and always meet great people whereever we go. But I'm not sure if the Midwestern mentality will be very different here. One great aspect about SF is that it's so full of transplants and a very energetic, youthful population, so there's always stuff going on and people wanting to make new friends. Chicago seems from what I've been told, to be much more of a "locals" town where you'll find a lot of people there who have roots and established friend circles. So that's the only thing I wonder about, if it will be harder to break in.

The L looks so much better than MUNI. I can't complain too much about MUNI, as it's better than what most US cities have, but it's painfully slow and has limited rail coverage. BART is OK but I live in the city so I don't need it. Love that the L has 24/7 lines!

I've been to Boystown many times and have many friends who live there. My best friend (who is also gay) has gay friends there from Texas, California, Florida, and the East Coast. It's true that Chicago attracts a lot of Midwesterners but that is not to say it does not also attract people from the coasts as well.

As someone who has spent a good deal of time WeHo, Hillcrest (San Diego), and to a lesser extent the Castro, I will say in my experience, nothing exists in those areas that you couldn't also find in Chicago except maybe not the same extent of super high end gay clubs that apparently exist only in NYC and LA (not my scene so I don't really know).

All in all, I think Chicago is a great city for gay guys and gals and you'll definitely save a lot of $$ coming from SF. $1500 could get you a 2BR in the middle of Lakeview from what I understand.

[A2DAC1985]

Originally Posted by A2DAC1985

I can't really comment on most of your post. Others on this forum are much more qualified than I am.

But for the bold, I will say this: It certainly seems like Chicago has a much better rail network than San Francisco does:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=San+F...i=transit_comp

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Chica...i=transit_comp

Maybe you're a driver. Maybe you're a PTer (public transporstation-er?). In either case, I don't think anyone would say the 'L' isn't traditionally urban. But then again, that could mean absolutely nothing to you. I don't know... but I hope it helped some.

These are more legible maps:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=San+F...i=transit_comp

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Chica...i=transit_comp

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

I've been to Boystown many times and have many friends who live there. My best friend (who is also gay) has gay friends there from Texas, California, Florida, and the East Coast. It's true that Chicago attracts a lot of Midwesterners but that is not to say it does not also attract people from the coasts as well.

As someone who has spent a good deal of time WeHo, Hillcrest (San Diego), and to a lesser extent the Castro, I will say in my experience, nothing exists in those areas that you couldn't also find in Chicago except maybe not the same extent of super high end gay clubs that apparently exist only in NYC and LA (not my scene so I don't really know).

All in all, I think Chicago is a great city for gay guys and gals and you'll definitely save a lot of $$ coming from SF. $1500 could get you a 2BR in the middle of Lakeview from what I understand.

When I know a lot of people from the coasts who live here. They seem to like it.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by destroycreate

I guess the only reason I mentioned it is b/c in the Bay Area it doesn't even matter if I'm in the suburbs, nobody cares or stares at you for being gay. Because it's such a liberal, progressive area, you don't really find people who are against gays, that's very much the exception to the norm. That is a great aspect of the Bay Area, is that it's REALLY comfortable to be yourself here without fear of judgemnet. I grew up in San Diego which feels far more conservative and out of the main central area, I don't feel totally comfortable being myself 100% open.

I would say that things are the same here in Chicago. As far as I am aware, none of my gay friend have faced any sort of discrimination; it's a total non-issue.