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Old 10-01-2014, 06:45 PM
 
Location: Edmonds, WA
8,975 posts, read 10,116,419 times
Reputation: 14246

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Quote:
Originally Posted by rzzz View Post
I've lived in Evanston for a few months and I am going to move out when my sublease is up. I am either going to move to Berlin or London. (I work for a Berlin based company, but might have a London housing hookup) I might move back next year if these guys at Northwestern want me in their department. Chicago area is pretty cool actually but I don't LOVE it like a lot of people do. I've been sort of meh on everywhere I've lived the past few years. Maybe I'm just getting old.
It would definitely not be a step down to move to either of those cities. London would be a bit too much for me I think, but Berlin would be cool!
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Old 10-01-2014, 07:19 PM
 
Location: Sweet Home Chicago!
6,703 posts, read 6,394,053 times
Reputation: 9873
We moved from Chicago to Atlanta mainly for the warmer weather. No doubt, Chicago weather is far from perfect and taxes are out of control, but the city itself is incredible, second to none, well... maybe one?
The grass always appears greener on the other side, but you usually end up trading one set of issues for another. We really miss Chicago and dare I say "the snow" and we're now looking to move back...
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Old 10-01-2014, 07:23 PM
 
Location: Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC
15,331 posts, read 23,760,109 times
Reputation: 7419
Ultimately when weighing these things, take ALL costs into consideration of living, not just one. For example, a city like Houston will have lower monthly rent than Chicago on average. However, weigh whether you'd live somewhere where you wouldn't use a car (or barely) in Chicago versus a place like Houston? If you are not using a car, but all of a sudden have to buy one (or get a loan) in Houston, then your costs will be much more similar than you think and sometimes even more after transportation in Houston in that particular situation.

Moving for weather or because you got tired of the area/city though - that's different of course. Everyone has their preference of climate and personality types of things.
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Old 10-01-2014, 07:57 PM
 
575 posts, read 610,331 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jlawrence01 View Post
Four months of decent weather? Isn't that a bit of hyperbole?
I'd say 5 months of good weather.
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Old 10-01-2014, 10:53 PM
 
17 posts, read 29,126 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by annam726 View Post
My family (husband, 2 small kids) and I are seriously considering moving out of Chicago mainly due to weather and cost of living. We are focusing on either Houston (great jobs, weather) or Phoenix (great weather, cheap).Anyone else here who has moved out of Chicago?? If so, where moved to and are you happy with your decision?? My parents and in-laws think we are crazy however I know in my gut that it will be a leap forward and the best thing to do for my kids. Staying indoors for almost 8 months out of the year is making me go crazy! I work as an accountant and my husband works in the construction industry. We have relatives in both cities we are considering who have assured us we will not have problems finding work. Feedback from anyone who has been or is in this situation is greatly appreciated!!
What? Houston? Great weather? No, no, no. You see, right now you may spend most of your time indoors December-February but you will also spend MOST OF YOUR TIME INDOORS March-October because it's so DAMN HOT. Trust me, I have family there. It's awful.
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Old 10-01-2014, 10:59 PM
 
1,971 posts, read 3,029,007 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DC2CHI13 View Post
What? Houston? Great weather? No, no, no. You see, right now you may spend most of your time indoors December-February but you will also spend MOST OF YOUR TIME INDOORS March-October because it's so DAMN HOT. Trust me, I have family there. It's awful.
Phoenix is similar. It gets dangerously hot June through August and uncomfortably hot in May and September. Kids can't play outside in the summer because they will die. A couple summers ago I didn't put the shade in my car and my rear view mirror melted off because the interior got up to 126 degrees. It's pretty weird, actually.
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Old 10-02-2014, 12:40 AM
 
Location: Baghdad by the Bay (San Francisco, California)
3,530 posts, read 5,108,355 times
Reputation: 3145
Quote:
Originally Posted by DC2CHI13 View Post
What? Houston? Great weather? No, no, no. You see, right now you may spend most of your time indoors December-February but you will also spend MOST OF YOUR TIME INDOORS March-October because it's so DAMN HOT. Trust me, I have family there. It's awful.
It's actually more like June-September that it's unbearable and potentially lethal, but your point is taken.
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Old 10-02-2014, 01:01 AM
 
Location: Chicago - Logan Square
3,396 posts, read 7,173,350 times
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Like others, I think you really need to experience a week in the summer in either Phoenix or Houston before you start thinking about how great the weather will be. Both places are brutally awful from May/June to Sept/Oct.

In general I have very few friends who made a move just to move and find a better place. Most seem to spend a year or two and move on to a new place. I have some friends who have moved and are very happy, but pretty much all of them moved from small or medium Midwestern town to Chicago, and then moved on to a place like London, Hong Kong, or NYC. I also have plenty of friends who are unhappy that they moved, but in most cases that was a move forced by a job, family illness, or desire to be close to family for childcare. Those moves were all to smaller places like Orlando, Detroit, and Kansas City.

One question I have is where do you live in the city? I do know people who lived in the suburbs who had no family in the Chicago area, who moved to suburbs of smaller cities and were happy. I think how much you take advantage of things in a large urban area (transit, shopping, dinging, etc.) will have a huge impact on how happy you are with making a move. I also wouldn't underestimate what a huge help it is to have family nearby after you have kids. Just having a couple in the city and a few in the Indy area has proved to be really valuable to us after having a kid.
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Old 10-02-2014, 07:45 AM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,109,392 times
Reputation: 6422
The desert southwest from The LA/TX border to the Pacific Ociean is exactly as DC2CHI13 describes it. El Paso, Los Cruces, and Palm Springs is just as hot from June to September. The deep canyons in Texas may be the only place to escape the heat, but I would not bet on it. The Gulf breeze in the summer is not nearly as cool as the summer breeze off the ocean.
IMO the trade off in moving from Chicago to the desert southwest is trading corn, beans, forests and large bodies of water for sand, cactus and generally barren mountains.

I live in rural Illinois in a 1200 sq ft house. My gas, lights, and waste pickup averages about $135/month. My taxes are not obnoxious for a SOHO located between two schools. .
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Old 10-02-2014, 07:54 AM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
1,342 posts, read 1,350,947 times
Reputation: 2778
Quote:
Originally Posted by DC2CHI13 View Post
What? Houston? Great weather? No, no, no. You see, right now you may spend most of your time indoors December-February but you will also spend MOST OF YOUR TIME INDOORS March-October because it's so DAMN HOT. Trust me, I have family there. It's awful.
We lived for about twelve years in Austin (which is not even as bad as Houston, at least in terms of humidity) and this is SO true. We would definitely get cabin fever in the summer time. The only upside was that there was nothing to shovel. When it gets to be September, you think it should be over, but no. Some people will insist that they can still do their activities (e.g., running) in the early mornings or whatever, but really, it's every bit as confining as the winter weather.
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