should I move back to chicago? (apartment, lease, hotel)

[bluejaye]

Okay here is my situation I moved to San Diego from Chicago about 1 year ago. Reason being mostly for the weather and so I can do stuff outside. But my lease is up and have three days to get packed up and moved out of my apartment.
Over the last couple months I have been looking at different areas to live other then San Diego (I think I'm doing this due to not being able to find a good place for the money here): Colorado or Miami FL.....etc(but I ruled most of them out for different reasons.)

Anyhow I hohummed around so much not getting on the ball of finding anything I'm down to my final three days to make a decision. So I pretty much have narrowed down to just moving back to Chicago or staying here.

Reasons for moving back-Job offer, As far as Chicago the city goes its in no question the best in America and I have been to them all, I have tons of friends there, lakefront path <--most places do not have this luxury of 20 some miles of jogging space.

Reasons for not moving back- Its Damn freezing most of the year. Now that I'm use to sun everyday I'm not sure if I want to go back to many cloudy overcast days, they sorta depress me. sorta have the feeling of been there done that (I guess this is true anywhere after you live there for awhile.

So Since I'm completely driving myself crazy and cannot not make a for sure decision. I would most appreciate if anyone can please help and either convince me to stay in San Diego, or move back to the windy city?!

[Drover]

Move back here.

Even cloudy winter days have their charm. Head out with your friends to a pub with a fireplace; pull up to a table and chat the evening away. IMO friends are more important than weather, and it sounds like you have more of the former back here.

[chilady05]

hi bluejaye-

Should you move back to Chicago? You have listed some great reasons to move back and really only one that I can see that is holding you back...the freezing cold winter months.

Summertime in Chicago is the best time to be here...so if you move back right now, I think you would be very happy with your decision. I have been told by many people, midwest people are the most friendly and down to earth. You might have a better opinion of that though. You will still be by the water (although it is a lake), cheaper living costs, and closer to most of your friends. Again, summertime is awesome here...but the winter is horrible and people are like hermits for a couple months.

I think you should come up with a pro/com list and go from there. Also, keep in mind you can always move back to whatever city you want after a year.

[urbansagacity]

i'm not a proponent of suburban sprawl "sunbelt" cities. they are not cities to me; they are extended suburbs, with culture that pertains to strip malls, freeways, bad fashion, etc. If you are into the suburban and sunny lifestyle then stay in san diego. if you miss the lake, the trains, subways, buses, museums, cultures, nightlife, then come back to chicago. I may be biased considering i have only lived in chicago, NYC and SF; but chicago is a livable city, but chicago is like no other. And if the weather was so bad, why would 9 million people live in metro chicago and 30 milion in metro NYC (i know it's a little bit warmer in the winter). I feel weather is a lame excuse; unless you are post 50!

Anyhow, I am an urbanist, I do not drive and I love density, so my posting is completely one sided..

peace and good luck

[jessiegirl_98]

I'm in Tampa right now (for 1 year- for an internship) and there is great weather...but that's about it. I'll trade the weather in December in Florida for the snowy days in Chicago anytime.... as Drover said, you can enjoy that time with your friends.

I have plenty of things to do outdoors here, but no friends or family :-(

In Chicago, I may be cold sometimes, but there is soooo much more to do and all my friends and family are there :-)

[CityBound]

Well I'm headed for Chicago after this summer for school and I'm extremely excited. I love that city soooo much! So I can definately see why you'd want to go back, but maybe its time to go on an adventure, and take some risks before going back. You only live once and its a big world.

[Fishtacos]

You can't really compare years of one place vs one year in another in terms of where you friends are located, as has been indicated by a few in this thread. You can always maintain your friendships and make new ones over time elsewhere.

I'd also suggest a pro's and cons list. The weather in Chicago isn't go to magically change upon your return. You didn't mention anything about liking your job or not, among other things. Each place is unique and has its pros and cons. You'd have to match them up with what you want. If you still have trouble after that, I'd go with the place that offers you the best job to match your personal interests and likes. There are more affordable places than the one you chose to move to, but again, there will be differences and more pros and cons. You need a list of what you like and don't like and be specific and honest with yourself, and you need to prioritize what is most important to you, make a decision and move on with it. If your decision turns out to be the wrong one, ...whoopdeedoo. You then go through the process again and make another one. It isn't a big deal.


In life you need to buy a new bed often because you spend a lot of time in it. You also need to like what you do for a living imo, especially if you are in a position to have control over that path at this time. You'll be spending a lot of time at work too.

I can say that it is easiest to travel, relocate, live in different cities, when you are young. It gets progressively more difficult to do as you get older. You can always move back to Chicago if things didn't work out at this stop or your next one. You could also move to Chicago now and if you aren't happy, move back out again.

There is no perfect place. It doesn't exist. Every place will have pros and cons. Good luck.

[ndfmnlf]

From a purely economic standpoint, I'd pick Chicago over San diego. Your money goes further along in Chicago. If you are looking 10 to 30 years down the road, you'd be able to save more money if you lived in Chicago. The nice weather in San Diego isn't going to help you when you are broke at age 65, whereas if you've saved a bundle from living and working in Chicago, you can then retire anywhere you want. Besides, bad Chicago weather really just occurs over 3 to 4 months (December to March). The rest of the year is passably comfortable.

I was in your situation last year. I had the choice of working in Socal for $170k/year (I'm an MD), versus working in metro Chicago for $180-200K. It was a no-brainer. Not only is the pay higher in Chicago, you also get more bang for your buck.

Of course there are other considerations besides pay. If you are actually happier in San Diego, then you'd be better off staying put. You have to ask yourself: where are you happier?

[bluejaye]

OH my gosh everyone thank you so much for your replies!!!!! Much appreciated amd lots to ponder about in the two days left I have to decide.

I guess it really does come down to a couple things.

1. Mainly being the weather....Today was cloudy and chilly and it pissed me off....I think this is a bad sign I should depend on weather for happiness, i never cared in Chicago at all about weather really. But now its like so happy to be out in blue sky sunny days. BUT like Jessiegirl said sun doesn't equal complete happiness. You gotta have more to life.

2. I do like the feel of the west sometimes, it feels open and vast, but with a ton of people as well <---If that makes sense!

3. Chicago peeps kick ass and are way more imaginative then the people out here.

4. My job in Chicago is a past job i had there last year with my old boss that wants me to come back...its good money, but kinda gets old quick kinda job.

5. It would cost me about 1000 bucks in gas and hotel to drive across the country which sucks.

6. I miss Chicago Architecture, If I visit one more strip mall i'm going to scream!

Well these are my internal debates as of right now. I gotta decide what most important to me, which is the hardest part.

I let everyone know what I pick since I have to be moved out on WED, you'll get to know soon!

[bluejaye]

oh yeah by the way ndfmnlf I hear that all time from Doctors out here that they take about a 15G pay cut, just to like in San Diego! I think it might be true for a lot of people in just about every field out here, deems to make less money then other places. Just cause the employers can get away with it, that is so WRONG!