Thinking about moving to Chi Town, what is the cost of living like? (Chicago: low income, income)

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

...I honestly think anything from March 15th to November 15 is usually no problem at all...

Yes. Most normal people would agree.

[chet everett]

Weather is one thing, how the LIFESTYLE is set up is quite another. I love living in Chicago, but that is sometimes IN SPITE of the weather and how we have to deal with it. I have been to many other cities with worse climate that have MUCH better set-ups. Mostly it comes to consistency.

Let me explain. Unlike places out west (like Utah & Colorado) where there are really great outdoor sports opportunities, or places further north where the weather is much harsher (Minnesota & Calgary) and they seems to invest in many more "all season" (meaning indoor...) facilities for sports, families, and even singles and retired people, Chicago and the suburbs are MOSTLY designed around things are pleasant to do in the period from about late March through November. If we have a coolish summer (like we are experiencing this year) we get robbed of a bit of the really "hottest weather only" things like actually SWIMMING in Lake Michigan, where the water temp at the beaches needs several weeks of high 80 degree air temp to really warm up. And at the other extereme if you love to wear as little as possible as long as possible and tan on a regular schedule you are going to have buy a membership at a tanning salon and frequent the night spots of the young and carefree -- plenty of opportunities to do both, but not too often on the STREETS like in Miami or Venice Beach.

We have to have lots and lots of "back up plans". Are rains are far less predicatable than San Diego, so if someone is hosting something in their yard they will have to get a tent or maybe use the garage or basement if a sudden thunderstorm decides to come out of nowhere / change course from Canada or the Gulf of Mexico. We do get some storms that we can see coming for days, but nothing like the routine weather patterns of San Diego...

Folks can and do use their backyards all year round in Chicago region, but when temps are under 45 or so an April or October night you really will want a fireplace. If you want to spend time out doors when we have our sloppiest / coldest weather in January / February and the temps are higher on the Alaskan coast you had better dress like the deck hand on a crab boat. Rarely do the worst periods last more than a few weeks.

When you hear the WGN weather guy talking about "real summer" they are certainly referencing the highest temperatures, which MAY on occaision get right up there with the worst from Atlanta or Phoenix or Houston, but again those peaks last only a week or so. Our June was a bit a cool side too this year, but still very comfortable and a bit wet, so friends that were visiting from the Pacific Northwest felt right at home. Now that is all gone and folks without sprinklers have yards that look every bit as brown as public golf course in Palm Springs...

Chicago area home buyer LOVE big closests becuase even the least fashion conscious really do need to have a wardrobe that can go from South Beach to South Pole -- and generally in a pretty progessive manner! (though there are notable variations on that too!)

[mmcgirk3]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Yes. Most normal people would agree.

What's normal? Why be normal?

[whinniethezen]

Again thanks to everyone for being patient with this post until we got enough well rounded responses. Yes, we are totally indecisive people right now. So if I asked for the negatives of Chicago living as well as all the good stuff, I wasn't trying to shoot down the idea of moving. I have no family here except my own, so no strings.
Yes our commute is currently only 15-25 minutes, the weather is great obviously, and our home is nice and nearly paid for. Yes Yes Yes.
I guess you have all helped me realize one thing. There would be significant trade off here even if his salary would be higher. It sounds like the commute from the suburbs of Chicago would be pretty long and/or expensive. It also sounds like housing/rent would be more expensive since we are only around $700. We would not be willing to rent anyway.
Maybe San Diego is the best place for us afterall. I will share all these with my husband Mike and we will weigh it all out.

[Chicago60614]

^ exactly. I mean you're going to have a hell of a time finding nice housing at $700 a month ANYWHERE in the USA.

Same with the commute. Go to any large city in the country and Chicago would probably fit right in with commute. A 15 minute commute would be very nice anywhere over 1,000,000 people.

[5Lakes]

Originally Posted by whinniethezen

Thanks so much for EVERYONES observations. We pretty much knew most of this stuff about Chicago though. Much is available online about things to do, history, and so forth.
It's a bit harder to find feedback from lifelong Chicago natives who are able to temper their eternally optimistic opinions of Chicago with any kind of real criticisms. We've heard all the pros, and I was hoping not to rely on the forums which BASH Chicago for some of the cons, as those websites can be very biased and unfounded. The only negatives listed here so far is that the weather is cold and gray and the el trains are slower when it's not rush hour. That's it? That's all that's wrong with Chicago?
I will try this instead. I will list a few things that I've heard that are supposed negatives (and yes every city has negatives I know) and just let us know what you think. I'd prefer a lifelong Chicagoan to answer.

We've already covered commute times, so I'll leave that out. Here are some criticisms we've heard:

1. In Chicago the weather goes from blazing hot/humid to freezing cold with only a short seasonal change, then winter drags on forever. While I love snow, if I want it in San Diego, I can drive to the snow no problem.

2. The congestion. Again there is congestion in all cities, but we are talking about a Chicago metro area of over 10 million people. Thats more than the CITY population of New York. From what I've read, Chicago has the second worse traffic snarls only after L.A.

3. The people. For everything I read about friendly midwesterners, Chicago seems to be the exception. I've heard that Chicagoans will often look/talk down at people from the suburbs or from neighboring states. That seems like a very New Yorkish thing to do. I've also heard they are bad drivers, like L.A.

4. We have heard by a few that salaries in Chicago do not keep up with the high cost of living, taxes, etc. I know this depends on where you work, but are there really these crazy sales taxes and property taxes? Where do these ideas and opinions come from?

5. The beaches are dirty/sometimes closed. obviously being from California, this one's huge. I've seen pictures of the beaches (with palm trees?) and they look nice. But if there is pollution issues that's not good.

6. The housing is overpriced. I keep hearing that unless we find an expensive condo, we will probably end up in an older house that is severly overvalued. I guess that is America right now. Like I said, we have a good housing situation in San Diego and pay less that $700/mth for our house.

7. The lack of vegetarian options. I hear that there are great veggie/vegan restaurants in Chicago and suburbs but they are scattered and not very plentiful. Also I've been told that if you go to most restaurants, they have only one or two veggie options. That would hurt since I don't eat meat.

8. Air quality. Last I checked Chicago had some of the worst air quality in America. So-cal is not much better, and L.A. is worse. But it's worth considering.

9. The vast majority of activities in Chicago revolve around drinking beer or eating. This one I highly doubt. I know Chicago has a great theatre and shopping scene, even though we are really not into broadway type shows. We also hate opera and classical music. We also know the parks are great, which is cool because we have a dog, but the main complaint seems to be that they are only really used for 3-4 months out of the year.

Well I lived in San Diego before Chicago, so I know pretty well how life in both places stack up to each other. Basically if you don't mind the burbs and like outdoor recreation then you will probably like San Diego better. If you value busy city life and want to be somewhere cosmopolitan you will enjoy Chicago more. If you are going to come to Chicago and live a suburban oriented lifestyle I would stay in San Diego, because if you are not taking advantage of the city life in Chicago then it is not really worth living here.

To answer your list of questions:

1. Personally I found that I acclimated to the weather where I lived. In San Diego 50 degrees felt cold to me because I became use to the constant 75 degree days. After moving to Chicago it was harsh at first, but no big deal after that first winter. Of course I grew up near Cleveland, so I had experience with similar weather before. If you are a SoCal native then your experience might be different.

2. Highway traffic in Chicago is much worse downtown, but San Diego has worse traffic in the farther out suburbs (I hate The 15 - ugg). Chicago is much larger and more spread out, so you could conceivably have to deal with longer stretches of bad traffic because of that. Traffic on the city streets is much heavier than in San Diego, but is about the same in the suburbs.

3. I think people in San Diego are more outgoing than Chicago, but at the same time they are also more flakey. I don’t find that many Chicago residents talk down to others from neighboring states or anything like that. This is actually something I found to be quit frequent when I lived in San Diego.

4. All things considered, it cost more to live in San Diego. Although, if you are close to downtown in a trendy neighborhood or in an upscale suburb it is not really by that much. Of course it is possible to get around Chicago without a car, so that helps with the cost of living.

5. Beaches here are better than you think. They are not like San Diego’s, but they will go a long way in coping with your west coast beach withdrawal. One big difference is that the local culture in San Diego is very much centered around the beach, which is not the case here. You will find some very busy beaches near downtown in the summer though.

6. Your housing situation tells me you should stay in San Diego.

7. Vegetarian options are much better in San Diego, especially if you don’t live in the city here.

8. I think the air quality is better in Chicago. Lots of dry, dusty weather combined with the mountains trapping in polluted air seem to make San Diego worse in this regard.

9. There is a lot to do in Chicago, but what you do to keep yourself entertained will have to change. Like I said earlier, the focus here is on city life, cultural amenities, and entertainment venues. You will have to get used to the fact that outdoor recreation is not going to be available year round. Usually the months of May to Oct are nice in Chicago.

[grapico]

agree with 5lakes, stay in SD if you want a suburban life, go to Chicago if you want an urban/city life...
There are only a few cities in the united states that offer the big city life, chicago is one of them, sd isn't. So if that is not your thing, I wouldn't do it...

[mmcgirk3]

Another thing you should consider is school systems. There are some OK schools in Chicagoland but keep in mind that the Chicago school system has 17 schools listed as some of the WORST performing in the country. Here is the link--Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by mmcgirk3

Another thing you should consider is school systems. There are some OK schools in Chicagoland but keep in mind that the Chicago school system has 17 schools listed as some of the WORST performing in the country. Here is the link--Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

There are plenty of schools which are not just OK but excellent. Almost all of them are in the suburbs, however.

[mmcgirk3]

Originally Posted by 5Lakes

3. I think people in San Diego are more outgoing than Chicago, but at the same time they are also more flakey. I don’t find that many Chicago residents talk down to others from neighboring states or anything like that. This is actually something I found to be quit frequent when I lived in San Diego.

This is my opinion of people here (of which I am gratefully one!)
I'm living in North Barrington and I run all over the Chicago area consulting. I also lived in the suburbs of Milwaukee for a few years, so I also saw the other side. I can attest there are these people from here in Illinois and Chicago alike who will act snobbish and sometimes will talk down to (more likely behind their backs) and are very condescending toward residents from Indiana, Michigan, Wisconssin, Minnesota and even Ohio, simply because they are not from Chicago. I never understood that attitude because there are inordinately more undereducated and poverty stricken people in massive cities like Chicago than there are cultured and cosmopolitan types.
Also those people and businesses from neighboring states are extremely important to Chicago's economy. To act as if they are second rate citizens is for choosing a less stressful life (for them) is plain ignorant. Not all of us do it but it does exist. I would say anyplace in America where big city meets more rural or suburban communities there will be these border wars and pompous attitudes.