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The sales tax, fuel tax, and property tax differences between the two cities can add up to thousands of dollars a year. Food, groceries, and just about everything costs less in the Atlanta area as well.
If you have a budget of $300K for a home, you're pretty much priced out of most Chicago north side neighborhoods unless you want a small condo with a $600/mo HOA fee. That budget will land you a single family home in Bridgeport, Beverly, McKinley Park, or Jefferson Park, but it will be an older bungalow style home. Something like a 3br 2ba with 1300sqft.
I haven't seen what's available in the city of Atlanta, but the suburbs is where your money goes a lot further. I haven't been in a few years, but most Atlanta suburbs felt brand new and are growing at a rapid pace. The only thing I dislike is that all of the strip centers and cookie cutter homes feel somewhat characterless.
For comparison, many Chicago suburbs feel like they are dying (and according to the population numbers, they actually are). I went to Oak Lawn a few days ago and wow is that place depressing. The strip centers off Cicero Ave are dated and half vacant. It's the same deal in places like Franklin Park, Cicero, Berwyn.
You have to go way further out to places like Tinley Park, Schaumburg, Naperville, and Evanston to find nice suburbs comparable to Atlanta's suburbs.
But yes, Atlanta isn't as affordable as some claim it to be. There's probably about a 10% different in cost of living between Atlanta and Chicago.
Austin is such a confusing place to me. Most people my age seem to want to live in a big city with decent transit. But Austin is booming with millennials. Makes no sense to me.
Atlanta and Chicago and their suburbs have completely different housing stock and their housing costs are about the same. Atlanta also doesn't have distinct neighborhoods in the way that Chicago has, and Chicago's close suburbs are still quite urban compared to Atlanta's suburbs with access to transit or commuter rail. Many of Atlanta's suburbs have no transit access at all or even taxi service. True you can get newer, bigger houses in Atlanta's suburbs, but the quality of construction of those homes is poor compared to Chicago's old brick bungalows. They are vey cheaply built and are in areas techie millennials may not want to live in. A lot of people really don't want to live in the suburbs.
I bought into the hype about how cheap Atlanta was but when I actually started looking to buy a home or looking at apartments when I lived there, I quickly found housing in Atlanta was very expensive (even more than Chicago) and what was affordable was in far out suburbs I had no desire to live in or crime-infested areas with bad schools. Atlanta may be cheaper than the coasts but not Chicago.
And what people think they will save in Atlanta, it gets quickly eaten up by car owership/gas because you have to drive eveywhere. And if Amazon were to put it's HQ2 in say downtown or Midtown Atlanta and many of its workers moved to the burbs, especially places like Alpharetta or Johns Creek, the commute would be hellish. Car insurance is also more expensive in Georgia. I paid more for car insurance in Georgia than in both Texas and Illinois. Also, if you are a renter in Atlanta, you pay all the utilities a homeower would pay, including water, sewer and trash. You can easily pay little or no utilities as a renter in Chicago.
But I agree the Chicago property taxes are high. And while it is true that in Chicago you may have to buy a condo and pay HOA fees, that is also the case if you are a homeowner in Atlanta suburbs. What you think you may save on taxes to own a single family in Georgia, you will spend paying HOA fees to a subdivision. Again, unlike Chicago, Atlanta suburbs do not have distinct neighborhoods. They have subdivisions, and if you live in those subdivisions, especially if it is the newer-built ones, you have to pay HOA fees. At least in Chicago you can get around HOA fees by buying a single family home. If you buy a single family home in Atlanta's suburbs, you will still have to pay HOA fees to use subdivision amenities and have to abide by their rules as to how you maintain the exterior of your home. You cannot get out of HOA fees as a single family homeowner in many of Atlanta's suburbs. Your single family home can be foreclosed on for not paying HOA fees even if your mortgage is current. Atlanta's cookie-cutter subdivisions do not have the neighborhood amemities that you would find in Chicago or in suburban Chicago neighborhoods, so you have to pay HOA fees to have access to playgrounds, swimming pools and tennis courts. And many Atlanta neighborhoods and suburban subdivisions do not have sidewalks.
I would rather own a small SFH in Chicago than a big one in an Atlanta suburb because at least here I don't have to pay HOA fees to live in a house. There you do.
Last edited by Atlanta_BD; 01-15-2018 at 03:30 PM..
For comparison, many Chicago suburbs feel like they are dying (and according to the population numbers, they actually are). I went to Oak Lawn a few days ago and wow is that place depressing. The strip centers off Cicero Ave are dated and half vacant. It's the same deal in places like Franklin Park, Cicero, Berwyn.
A bit off topic, but Oak Lawn isn't really in the same boat as the other three suburbs you named. There are a couple shopping centers that can use some work - I'm assuming 87th and Cicero, filling in for Sports Authority at 96th and Cicero, and the Kmart/Chuck E Cheese at 95th and Pulaski. Two of those three are following the trend of retail closing around the country.
Christ Hospital just added a nice looking expansion, and the old Kmart/Dominick's at 111th and Cicero has filled in over the last few years. There's no shortage of customers at Target/Home Depot/Jewel at 95th and Pulaski. Smaller businesses are continuing to open around downtown Oak Lawn near the train.
Atlanta and Chicago and their suburbs have completely different housing stock and their housing costs are about the same. Atlanta also doesn't have distinct neighborhoods in the way that Chicago has, and Chicago's close suburbs are still quite urban compared to Atlanta's suburbs with access to transit or commuter rail. Many of Atlanta's suburbs have no transit access at all or even taxi service. True you can get newer, bigger houses in Atlanta's suburbs, but the quality of construction of those homes is poor compared to Chicago's old brick bungalows. They are vey cheaply built and are in areas techie millennials may not want to live in. A lot of people really don't want to live in the suburbs.
I bought into the hype about how cheap Atlanta was but when I actually started looking to buy a home or looking at apartments when I lived there, I quickly found housing in Atlanta was very expensive (even more than Chicago) and what was affordable was in far out suburbs I had no desire to live in or crime-infested areas with bad schools. Atlanta may be cheaper than the coasts but not Chicago.
And what people think they will save in Atlanta, it gets quickly eaten up by car owership/gas because you have to drive eveywhere. And if Amazon were to put it's HQ2 in say downtown or Midtown Atlanta and many of its workers moved to the burbs, especially places like Alpharetta or Johns Creek, the commute would be hellish. Car insurance is also more expensive in Georgia. I paid more for car insurance in Georgia than in both Texas and Illinois. Also, if you are a renter in Atlanta, you pay all the utilities a homeower would pay, including water, sewer and trash. You can easily pay little or no utilities as a renter in Chicago.
But I agree the Chicago property taxes are high. And while it is true that in Chicago you may have to buy a condo and pay HOA fees, that is also the case if you are a homeowner in Atlanta suburbs. What you think you may save on taxes to own a single family in Georgia, you will spend paying HOA fees to a subdivision. Again, unlike Chicago, Atlanta suburbs do not have distinct neighborhoods. They have subdivisions, and if you live in those subdivisions, especially if it is the newer-built ones, you have to pay HOA fees. At least in Chicago you can get around HOA fees by buying a single family home. If you buy a single family home in Atlanta's suburbs, you will still have to pay HOA fees to use subdivision amenities and have to abide by their rules as to how you maintain the exterior of your home. You cannot get out of HOA fees as a single family homeowner in many of Atlanta's suburbs. Your single family home can be foreclosed on for not paying HOA fees even if your mortgage is current. Atlanta's cookie-cutter subdivisions do not have the neighborhood amemities that you would find in Chicago or in suburban Chicago neighborhoods, so you have to pay HOA fees to have access to playgrounds, swimming pools and tennis courts. And many Atlanta neighborhoods and suburban subdivisions do not have sidewalks.
I would rather own a small SFH in Chicago than a big one in an Atlanta suburb because at least here I don't have to pay HOA fees to live in a house. There you do.
Isn’t the HOA going to vary dramatically though? For example, my friends in Alpharetta pay about $100/mo., but their property taxes are about one fifth to one fourth of what I pay.
Isn’t the HOA going to vary dramatically though? For example, my friends in Alpharetta pay about $100/mo., but their property taxes are about one fifth to one fourth of what I pay.
Makes things a little harder to compare anyway.
It really depends on where you are. Some are cheap, some are high, depending on the subdivision obviously, but I personally would rather gouge my own eyes out than live in Alpharetta. I found living in the suburbs in the south to be soul-crushing, particularly as a single person. As with anything, you get what you pay for, and you just don't get the same level of community amenities in the Atlanta metro that you have here in Chicago.
It really depends on where you are. Some are cheap, some are high, depending on the subdivision obviously, but I personally would rather gouge my own eyes out than live in Alpharetta. I found living in the suburbs in the south to be soul-crushing, particularly as a single person. As with anything, you get what you pay for, and you just don't get the same level of community amenities in the Atlanta metro that you have here in Chicago.
Austin is such a confusing place to me. Most people my age seem to want to live in a big city with decent transit. But Austin is booming with millennials. Makes no sense to me.
Yeah, I'm trying to figure it out, too. I tell people who are Texas bound to check out Houston, San Antonio and Dallas. Austin's a great city, but traffic is a huge problem and property taxes are very high. If you have allergies, forget it. My guess is it will be Atlanta or Boston, but I really don't know. It would be great for Chicago...
The weather, the biotech, the "weird" culture, the low crime, the economic progress, the population boom of the educated, the friendliness of the people, the cost of living, the overall momentum -- there is so much to like about Austin. Sure some millennials may prefer some kind of light rail system, but that's just one factor of many and probably not a deal breaker for anyone.
I'd move there in a heartbeat if given the opportunity - Chicago isn't inherently a bad city, but it sure isn't easy living here, and Austin manages to avoid so many of our tensions - political, social, racial, financial - that we see day in day out.
Other generations seem to think that millennial are obsessed with public transit, but it's not really true. Besides NYC, Chicago, and one or two other cities, most places in the US have terrible public transportation.
People who grew up in a place like California and are used to driving everywhere will feel right at home in Texas.
I'm originally from the South and not having to drive everywhere feels strange to me. It's nice not having to deal with a car all the time, but I do miss the convenience of being able to drive everywhere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by damba
Isn’t the HOA going to vary dramatically though? For example, my friends in Alpharetta pay about $100/mo., but their property taxes are about one fifth to one fourth of what I pay.
Makes things a little harder to compare anyway.
My parents live in a new housing development in NC and pay $250. This pays for common area lawn care, a pool, and cable/internet.
There are condos here in Bridgeport with $400/mo HOA fees that have absolutely zero amenities. The HOA only covers building maintenance and trash.
Atlanta and Chicago and their suburbs have completely different housing stock and their housing costs are about the same. Atlanta also doesn't have distinct neighborhoods in the way that Chicago has, and Chicago's close suburbs are still quite urban compared to Atlanta's suburbs with access to transit or commuter rail. Many of Atlanta's suburbs have no transit access at all or even taxi service. True you can get newer, bigger houses in Atlanta's suburbs, but the quality of construction of those homes is poor compared to Chicago's old brick bungalows. They are vey cheaply built and are in areas techie millennials may not want to live in. A lot of people really don't want to live in the suburbs.
I bought into the hype about how cheap Atlanta was but when I actually started looking to buy a home or looking at apartments when I lived there, I quickly found housing in Atlanta was very expensive (even more than Chicago) and what was affordable was in far out suburbs I had no desire to live in or crime-infested areas with bad schools. Atlanta may be cheaper than the coasts but not Chicago.
And what people think they will save in Atlanta, it gets quickly eaten up by car owership/gas because you have to drive eveywhere. And if Amazon were to put it's HQ2 in say downtown or Midtown Atlanta and many of its workers moved to the burbs, especially places like Alpharetta or Johns Creek, the commute would be hellish. Car insurance is also more expensive in Georgia. I paid more for car insurance in Georgia than in both Texas and Illinois. Also, if you are a renter in Atlanta, you pay all the utilities a homeower would pay, including water, sewer and trash. You can easily pay little or no utilities as a renter in Chicago.
But I agree the Chicago property taxes are high. And while it is true that in Chicago you may have to buy a condo and pay HOA fees, that is also the case if you are a homeowner in Atlanta suburbs. What you think you may save on taxes to own a single family in Georgia, you will spend paying HOA fees to a subdivision. Again, unlike Chicago, Atlanta suburbs do not have distinct neighborhoods. They have subdivisions, and if you live in those subdivisions, especially if it is the newer-built ones, you have to pay HOA fees. At least in Chicago you can get around HOA fees by buying a single family home. If you buy a single family home in Atlanta's suburbs, you will still have to pay HOA fees to use subdivision amenities and have to abide by their rules as to how you maintain the exterior of your home. You cannot get out of HOA fees as a single family homeowner in many of Atlanta's suburbs. Your single family home can be foreclosed on for not paying HOA fees even if your mortgage is current. Atlanta's cookie-cutter subdivisions do not have the neighborhood amemities that you would find in Chicago or in suburban Chicago neighborhoods, so you have to pay HOA fees to have access to playgrounds, swimming pools and tennis courts. And many Atlanta neighborhoods and suburban subdivisions do not have sidewalks.
I would rather own a small SFH in Chicago than a big one in an Atlanta suburb because at least here I don't have to pay HOA fees to live in a house. There you do.
Chicago has some of the most diverse, stylistic suburbs in the country. You've got inner-ring suburbs that are mostly urban (with a slight mix of traditional suburban- i.e. Oak Park and Evanston). Then you've got the old-money North Shore suburbs that are quaint, and you don't even feel like your anywhere near a major city. You've got suburbs in Lake County with mansions. You've got large modern, traditional NW suburbs like Arlington Heights, Schaumburg that are similar to suburbs you'd find in Atlanta, Austin, etc. Same with western suburbs like Naperville and Downers Grove, etc. Then you have south suburbs that are older suburbs with a mix of blue collar. Throw in suburbs like Skokie, La Grange, etc that have a traditional "Chicago suburbs" feel. The Chicagoland suburbs are literally endless, and span every possible category. Collectively, they are so diverse which is a huge strength IMO.
In addition to these ten Amazon-friendly locations, the bid is also said to include an incentive package from local, county, and state governments. According to a report from WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, sources say this could amount to $2 billion in tax breaks and associated infrastructure and capital expenditures.
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