Chicago 7th most expensive city in the world? (Winnetka, Wyoming: appointed, 2014)

[probablyimnotsure]

More like cul-de-SUCKER.

[pvande55]

What makes it seem ridiculous it that it cites the cost of clothing as one of the reason Chicago is so expensive. Is clothing really that high or did they confine their clothes shopping to the Mag Mile?

[Bluefox]

It would be interesting actually to see what cities are most expensive to visit from a tourist's perspective. I would venture to guess that Chicago would be very high on that list. Housing is much less but EVERYTHING else seems pricey even when compared to places like LA and SF. Sales tax, dining, parking, nightlife, attractions, hotels, etc.

[jwuk45]

Even just visiting, Chicago is cheaper than places like Boston and certainly a lot cheaper than London or New York. Uber is more than twice as much in NY, for one thing. You can get comparatively good deals on airbnb too.

One reason why I think Chicago might be considered quite expensive on average is that it's a city where very pricey options are more available. But there are just as many cheap alternatives.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by pvande55

What makes it seem ridiculous it that it cites the cost of clothing as one of the reason Chicago is so expensive. Is clothing really that high or did they confine their clothes shopping to the Mag Mile?

Well, Chicago sales taxes clothing and New York doesn't except for high-end stuff, so right there we're more expensive than New York.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by MassVt

If you actually believe this tripe--including some stupendously ridiculous claim that Chicago is more expensive than San Francisco, then we've reached the point where medication is necessary.

Truth Serum--1 tsp BID x 1 weeks.

If you're also an unrepentent anti- Chicago suburban cul-de-sacker, then you should extend your dose for an additional two weeks.

Hmm, SF is more expensive than Chicago, for sure, but how many people living in SF make beaucoup bucks working for various tech industries? Ditto Seattle to a lesser extent. IDK, I see Chicago rents creeping (albiet they would have to sprint up to catch up w/ cities like NYC and SF) up but am not personally seeing the jobs that warrant the rise as compared to cities like NYC and SF. In some ways I can see Chicago being more expensive than a city like LA and closing in on places like Seattle and Boston

On the other hand, how many people are earning these high wages in SF? What is the average income in a city like SF as compared to rent?

I'm not buying the list of course, but I'm trying to see how someone could have come up w/ these numbers. It's still a weird study regardless (I can't imagine a world where it's cheaper to live in Tokyo than it is to live in Chicago)

[usamathman]

Originally Posted by jwuk45

Even just visiting, Chicago is cheaper than places like Boston and certainly a lot cheaper than London or New York. Uber is more than twice as much in NY, for one thing. You can get comparatively good deals on airbnb too.

One reason why I think Chicago might be considered quite expensive on average is that it's a city where very pricey options are more available. But there are just as many cheap alternatives.

Absolutely true.

Have been researching places to live the past year or so.

Very few cities similar to Chicago where studios can be found for $800-900 in safe areas within 15-20 min drive of downtown.

Not NYC, Boston, D.C., or SF, Seattle......


Chicago still is an affordable city.

[emathias]

UBS released their annual report on prices and earnings in a selection of 70 cities around the world. It mainly includes banking or trading centers, so the list is far from complete and what's included doesn't always make sense - for example, it doesn't include San Francisco. But it provides some interesting data to fiddle with.

I took the numbers off the actual report and then created a table with each of the 70 cities they ranked and two calculated columns. The first column is the difference between the city's ranking for net, post-tax pay rate and its ranking for cost of living including rent. The second column is the difference between the city's ranking for net annual domestic purchasing power rates and its rankipoor purng for cost of living including rent.

Obviously they have similar numbers for the two columns, but not exactly the same. Then I sorted by the annual domestic purchasing power column and, as you can see below, Chicago ends up smack in the middle with Dublin. Cities toward the top are a good value - inexpensive and relatively strong purchasing power; cities toward the bottom are a terrible value - expensive and relatively poor purchasing power. Nicosia is the capital of Cyprus (Cyprus is sort of a Mediterranean Cayman Islands, which is why a bank list would include it). I also added a second image with the same data, but sorted by the pay column.


Image by me

[jtamay3]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

It would be interesting actually to see what cities are most expensive to visit from a tourist's perspective. I would venture to guess that Chicago would be very high on that list. Housing is much less but EVERYTHING else seems pricey even when compared to places like LA and SF. Sales tax, dining, parking, nightlife, attractions, hotels, etc.

This. Living in LA, my housing is a bit more, but honestly, there's a lot of things that are cheaper out here. Parking is a major one.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by jtamay3

This. Living in LA, my housing is a bit more, but honestly, there's a lot of things that are cheaper out here. Parking is a major one.

Oh yeah, when I lived there parking could be found for $12-15 in DTLA. Good luck finding that in downtown Chicago.