Should I relocate away from Chicago for a job? (Washington: apartments, rentals)

[Chicago-Eman]

Chicago has been my beloved city for 8+ years. I live in the DePaul area, near the L, Metra, 90/94, Lake Michigan. Family members live in Wrigley, parents and extended family live in the northwest burbs and Wisconsin. I have a solid group of friends scattered around the city and burbs.

Even though the winters are rough, taxes are too high, and politicians are corrupt...I enjoy being able to walk everywhere (good public transportation), the SUMMER, street fests, art shows, events, the beach and the lake (which I use all summer), restaurants/bars, and everything there is to do. Can you tell I don't want to leave this lifestyle??

Here is the kicker, I have been given a great opportunity (career and money wise) that would take me to either KC or St. Louis. They gave me the option of St. Louis when they saw my reaction to possibly having to live in KC. I realize I would make new friends over time, but with the job I would be traveling through much of Missouri and Kansas (my territory) during the week and not have much time to place roots--so to speak.

I am definitely in my comfort zone here (and love it here) and not in need of $$ (I do contract work now as my company was bought), but career wise this could be really good for me. I would expect to be there for 3-5 years minimum--that would be how long it would take to really build the territory.

So, what advice would you all give me? Would you do it?? Thanks in advance!!

[Lookout Kid]

I don't really know your current employment situation, but now is not a great time to be changing jobs because of the economy. If you have a job in Chicago and have a good relationship with your superiors, this could be a large factor in your decision since you're happy here in Chicago.

I personally would never move to St. Louis or Kansas City, but that's just my opinion. If I had roots in the area that might change things. For intance, Milwaukee is more attractive to me than many other people because I have family in Wisconsin. But without some other big incentive, I wouldn't make that move unless it were a REALLY great job opportunity.

[MyssaTx]

Stay
In Chicago

[aragx6]

Though you already know what I think, I'll just throw it out there anyway!

There's only a few things on your list you have to give up for St. Louis -- the lake, the beach and the summer (I assumed you meant the nice, beautiful cool-ish summers) as well as your friends and your gf. That's a lot I know, but you'll get ...

A career advance, cheaper living, lower taxes and less corruption (even as a moderate liberal, the nanny-state gov't here weighs on me)

I say do it.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by aragx6

There's only a few things on your list you have to give up for St. Louis -- the lake, the beach and the summer (I assumed you meant the nice, beautiful cool-ish summers) as well as your friends and your gf.

I know you're from St. Louis and really like it, but he'll be giving up a heck of a lot more than you listed! I mean, c'mon!

And, since I've flirted with the Milwaukee move myself a few times (a city not that different from St. Louis), I'll add another reason I've avoided it. I just don't see cities like St. Louis and Milwaukee having very good long term economic prospects. Both cities are struggling, and seem to have even great struggles ahead. And if you lose your job or have to move on for other reasons there just aren't that many places to go--and you'll end up having to move again.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

I know you're from St. Louis and really like it, but he'll be giving up a heck of a lot more than you listed! I mean, c'mon!

I respectfully disagree. It's all about scale.

[aragx6]

I also don't believe St. Louis is struggling particularly. Manufacturing sucks, that's a given -- I wouldn't suggest moving there for a factory job at Boeing or the Ford plant, but St. Louis has eked out a very solid healthcare and pharma industries as well as others. St. Louis has 8 fortune 500 companies and 13 more in the top 1000.

It's also one of the top sellers markets in the country with a stable housing picture for the long term.

The population of the city went up for the first time in decades in the 2000 census and every indication is that that trend will continue.

And, if he doesn't like it, he can just come home. It's the same long-term career goal type decision I've made, just in reverse.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Maybe you should post this in the St. Louis forum. Both forums will be a bit biased, but maybe you can get some idea of the differences between the cities.

I don't live in St. Louis, but I love St. Louis, but I've also never been to Chicago. Obviously, St. Louis is not on a lake. Nothing you can do about that, but for a vacation or a 3-day trip you could travel 3 hours to Lake of the Ozarks.

St. Louis City is much smaller than Chicago also, but there are urban parts of St. Louis. The North Side I've heard compared to Chicago's southside as far as crime, but I have no experience in either myself. But there are good things in the Northside, Crown Candy Kitchen for example. But overall, most St. Louisans have no reason to visit the North Side.

I don't know that crime would be worse in either place. I know St. Louis has a reputation, but I'm sure both cities have good and bad neighborhoods. St. Louis urbanites could better tell you about good and bad neighborhoods.

This is your decision to make. I'm sure you'll be fine in either city. I mean home is what you make it. Is your pay going to be greater in St. Louis? Because St. Louis will probably be cheaper.

St. Louis may not be able to offer all that Chicago does, simply because St. Louis is smaller, but St. Louis, to me, has a lot to do anyway. Wanna go see Chuck Berry play live once a month? You can't do that in Chicago. Wanna see one of the top ten zoos in the country for free? Not sure if Chicago offers that.

You can still see the Cubs (or are you a White Sox fan) here a few times a year (if you can afford it). You can also see the Blackhawks here, though those games sell out pretty quickly. You may get some heckling, but as long as you don't pick a fight, you'll probably be okay. Earlier this year a Red Wings fan got his jersey pulled off over his head and his jersey floated into the lower bowl. I think he also got hauled off to the Drunk Tank.

It's certainly your decision. In this economy, if you've got a better job offer, might as well take it. It was hard, but my Aunt and Uncle got jobs in Milwaukee. They hated moving that far away (about 7 hours the way my Aunt drives), but it was the best opportunity for them both.

Here's Craigslist if you wanna browse:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/
Central West End is more of a college-student-area I think. Downtown is nice as well, fair amount of young people I think. Some apartments, some lofts, some condos. In the Blu CitySpaces, studios start at $80k. I'm not sure why they made them condos and not apartments, since their target demographic seems to be young people.

If you have time, browse my thread here:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/st-lo...ga-thread.html

Might give you some idea of the recent developments. Roberts Tower is still under construction. Ballpark Village is, well, stalled. As far as Downtown Rentals: I believe Merchandise Mart, Cupples Station Loft Apartments, GW Lofts, Tudor Lofts, and the Paul Brown are rental. I might have missed a couple. Paul Brown shows 3 1 BR, 1 floor apartments for rent for $800/month on their website.
http://www.paulbrownlofts.com/index.html
Click "floorplans" and you can do a search.

Wherever you decide, best of luck!

In case you're curious, some of those loft developments on Washington Ave are shown here, with some history. Nice read if you have the time.
http://www.builtstlouis.net/washington/18b.html

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I respectfully disagree. It's all about scale.

Not just scale. Depth, breadth, and quality. In St. Louis you can get decent Mexican food, but in Chicago you can pick the region of Mexico you want to try food from. And there are just more strata to pick from in all types of things, from cultural offerings to shopping to entertainment, etc. There's just more of everything to pick from. And then there's architecture and walkability. St. Louis only has a handful of neighborhoods that are liveable, safe, and walkable all at the same time. Chicago has many.

The big advantages to St. Louis are affordability and a slower pace (i.e. less traffic, smaller crowds, etc.). Some people thrive on the pulse in Chicago, however--so not everyone would consider that an advantage.

I don't want to turn this into a St. Louis vs. Chicago thread... It may be too late.

[STLCardsBlues1989]

Well the OP was asking the difference between Chicago and STL, was he not?

I don't know that either city is better. They're different. Obviously Chicago is much, much larger.
I don't know a lot about the St. Louis economy, but there was an article a while back stating that St. Louis' largest financial firms: Stifel-Nicholas, Edward Jones, Wachovia, and Scottrade, are all in pretty good shape. If we get the China Hub deal (looks like we will, but it's far from done), then that should bring more jobs to St. Louis, specifically North St. Louis County.

Really, I don't know the OP. I don't know if any of us on this forum do know him. However, I think it's possible to happily live in either city.

I disagree that Chicago has better quality. Better quantity sure. But that doesn't mean Chicago is better. It's simply different.