Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-28-2017, 09:40 PM
 
12 posts, read 91,153 times
Reputation: 37

Advertisements

Hey all, Im a NYC resident who has been entertaining moving to Chicago. I currently work as a Live Sound Engineer and manage to survive here in the city. I make under 30k and reside in Ridgewood, Queens. I like this neighborhood but after a few visits to Chicago recently Im dissilusioned by NYC life. Chicago friends boasted about their cheap rent, we spent a lot of time north of the loop and around Logan Square and Wicker Park. Everyone seems so relaxed, the streets are super clean and the air... the air was so fresh! I know Chicago has crime, all my friends back home know nothing else but its bad reputation. Our recent visit showed us a beautiful city. Are we fools for considering a move out to the windy city. What are you guys hiding? Cause it seems too good to be true...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-29-2017, 05:00 AM
 
650 posts, read 2,518,387 times
Reputation: 299
Dont have time to go in much detail now, but I made this move and am happy, the quality of life is certainly higher here
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-29-2017, 06:10 AM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
8,851 posts, read 5,881,216 times
Reputation: 11467
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewNewJersey View Post
Hey all, Im a NYC resident who has been entertaining moving to Chicago. I currently work as a Live Sound Engineer and manage to survive here in the city. I make under 30k and reside in Ridgewood, Queens. I like this neighborhood but after a few visits to Chicago recently Im dissilusioned by NYC life. Chicago friends boasted about their cheap rent, we spent a lot of time north of the loop and around Logan Square and Wicker Park. Everyone seems so relaxed, the streets are super clean and the air... the air was so fresh! I know Chicago has crime, all my friends back home know nothing else but its bad reputation. Our recent visit showed us a beautiful city. Are we fools for considering a move out to the windy city. What are you guys hiding? Cause it seems too good to be true...
Everyone (the public in general) knows that crime in Chicago is limited to a few bad neighborhoods. If it wasn't, how could it be a city of 3 million people, with all 4 major sports teams, super diverse, one of the largest/busiest airports in the US, 2 of the best universities and associated medical systems (Univ of Chicago, Northwestern), usually the largest Midwestern office for almost all major firms (Big 4, Consulting, Law, etc), booming downtown with tons of tourists? In the back of people's minds they realize this but because it's too good to be true they harp on the crime (which is really bad in some neighborhoods, but again, the public knows- even if they won't admit it- that the majority happens in a few isolated neighborhoods).

So you already know that there is no secret. More helpful questions in deciding to move here are whether you can deal with cold weather (which is not bad at all, especially coming from the east coast) and if you are targeting public sector jobs (with the state). I'm in the private sector, but you hear about budget/pension/ financial instability on the news all the time, so that is something to consider. Good luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-29-2017, 06:50 AM
 
186 posts, read 243,440 times
Reputation: 155
I love Chicago and I hate Chicago. I love the vibe, food and all it has to offer. I loathe the politics and budget nonsense and non ending idiots elected into office. Truly it's a broken state. Also the winters...the cold and ugly grey snow last forever. If I had to pick queens or Chicago, I'd pick Chicago.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-29-2017, 07:23 AM
 
8,276 posts, read 11,925,949 times
Reputation: 10080
It's a common problem for East Coasters to reconsider Atlantic life in favor of something more financially plausible. Chicago definitely has much to offer, and it won't always break the bank, like Boston/NYC/Wash DC do...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-29-2017, 07:58 AM
 
3,452 posts, read 4,620,994 times
Reputation: 4985
Agree with other posters. I made the move in the past from NYC to Chicago and was not disappointed. Chicago is a great transition city for NY'ers looking to save a bit more money and still be in a world class city. Very few places that will satisfy city lovers like Chicago.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-29-2017, 08:09 AM
 
Location: Chicago
6,160 posts, read 5,717,676 times
Reputation: 6193
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scottiegal View Post
I love Chicago and I hate Chicago. I love the vibe, food and all it has to offer. I loathe the politics and budget nonsense and non ending idiots elected into office. Truly it's a broken state. Also the winters...the cold and ugly grey snow last forever. If I had to pick queens or Chicago, I'd pick Chicago.
Ditto


OP: I think you'll find Chicago to be quieter and less of a 24hr city than NYC, but it still has a ton of good things to offer.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-29-2017, 09:55 AM
 
12 posts, read 91,153 times
Reputation: 37
Ive lived on the east coast my entire life, I moved from Florida to NYC 6-7 years ago. there is a difference in mentality, quality of life throughout these areas and what I experienced in Chicago. I hear its very cold in Chicago during winter but that you get less snow fall than NY. Im almost willing to accept that trade off. The snow in NYC melts into this grimey slush, then freezes and makes commuting a nightmare. This last winter wasnt the worst but we had a few surprise snow storms.

Im growing tired of how aggressive people in nyc are. Everyone has a chip on their shoulder, they project their insecurities out onto everyone hoping to live up to all this NYC hype. Ive found my stay here to be a trial. I havent saved any money. I have a great job in my field for the type of work I do but it dosent stretch very far. My fiance is originally from the city, she cant even afford to live here. I think people move to NYC for different reasons, maybe some of those reason can be found in its nostalgic history. Truth is nothings changed much, its just gotten more expensive to live in a dump. Theres trash everywhere. Maybe the streets are safer. To what degree? By what scale? I was almost shot a few years ago in Jersey City. I constantly have my guard up everywhere I go.

Whenever I visit other places in this country Im pleasantly surprised to find that people tend to live quite comfortably. That life is about living, not surviving.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-29-2017, 10:40 AM
 
2,329 posts, read 6,637,153 times
Reputation: 1812
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewNewJersey View Post
Whenever I visit other places in this country Im pleasantly surprised to find that people tend to live quite comfortably. That life is about living, not surviving.
life exists outside of NYC. who knew?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-29-2017, 10:42 AM
 
Location: Sweet Home Chicago!
6,721 posts, read 6,489,000 times
Reputation: 9915
Chicago actually gets more snow on average, but NYC get's the occasional nor'easter storm making it seem like you get a lot of snow.

https://www.currentresults.com/Weath...ll-by-city.php

It can get cold in Chicago, but last Winter was not bad at all.

The garbage thing you mentioned is something that had me scratching my head when I visited NYC. There were garbage bags just laying everywhere along the street/sidewalks. Weird! Later found out that NYC does not have alleys like Chicago. In Chicago, garbage is always out back or on the side of a building, not in front, which makes a big difference in appearance.

Also, as noted, most crime is isolated to a few bad areas so no worries there...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Illinois > Chicago

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:38 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top